You Will Bear Fruit

 

 

 

As you abide with Jesus, staying close to Him (just like a branch stays attached to the vine), your life will produce the fruit God intends. The good works God prepares for you to do involve blessing others through service but also leading those who don’t know the Lord to Jesus Christ.

Your life won’t look like anyone else’s because God designed specific good works for you that He enables you to do by the power of the Holy Spirit. Think about your neighborhood, your school, or your place of work. The Bible teaches that God chooses the exact places where we live (Acts 17:26). What if God placed you exactly where you are in order to bless others and lead them to Jesus? What if the circumstances of your life constitute the perfect soil for the fruit God intends to bear?

You might ask, “Why did God bring me here? I don’t understand His purpose for me!” You now know that God intends to bear fruit through you right where you are as you abide with Jesus.

If you feel confused about how and when this will happen, remember that God’s word teaches us that God gives us the desire and the ability to fulfill the purpose He sets for our lives (Phil. 2:13). He will lead you to the good works designed for you. When the timing doesn’t seem right, or this fruit-bearing seems to take too long, recall the words of Paul who said, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9)

Jesus chose you and appointed you to bear fruit right where you are in His perfect timing.

 

From God's Plan For Me Devotional on YouVersion 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

About Your Growing Faith

 

 

 

“Nothing is more thrilling than doing something and realizing God is with you in the doing. It has become a supernatural thing. If you don’t suppress what God is doing, you will grow and flourish very quickly. Your faith rockets up into sturdy mature trees. You’ll easily say yes to harder and harder challenges because your growing faith is more than a match for what is needed."

From "Healing Is By Grace Alone" by Dee Henderson 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

Tip On Studying God's Word

 

 

 

Here is an approach I have loved using over the years because it makes Scripture leap off the page and Velcro itself to my mind. Sit down with a Bible and a notebook. Pick a New Testament book such as James or Colossians. Read it through unhurriedly, stopping each time you see a nonnegotiable command. For example: My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:19 – 21) Did you notice there are lots of commands in this passage? 

Here is what you might write down in your notebook: When dealing with others, I need to be: 

• Willing to listen right off the bat 

• Not in a hurry to speak (or especially to voice my opinion!) Patient, trying not to boil over with anger — flying off the handle doesn’t accomplish anything that God desires I must also: 

• Do away with anything immoral or wicked 

• Spend time [e]mbedding Scripture in my heart in a humble way. It will save me! 

After writing out the commands in your own words, jot down a few sentences of reflection based on what the verse says. Are there any action steps you might take in order to act on what the verse or verses command? Any behavioral changes or attitude adjustments required? When we read the Bible, we learn. 

However, when we write out biblical commands in a way that is personal to us, we allow the Word to take root deep within our hearts. This will help us the next time we are faced with a challenging situation and need to use words wisely. When we have trained our brain to recall and apply biblical nonnegotiables, we are equipped to speak, act, and react in ways that honor God.

 

~From "Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All" by Karen Ehman

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

Build A Relationship With God

 

 We were made to love God. Think about that for a minute: We were made to love God. ... [He wants you and me in a relationship filled with] love, intimacy, and fellowship with Him. Not a second of our existence passes without God thinking about how to turn our hearts toward Him. Not one single second.

The almost unbelievable joy is that you can enjoy a relationship with God that He will have with no one else. And God eagerly, passionately, yearns for that relationship to begin. God is just as eager to love and know you as He was to know Moses, David, and Mary.

You are no less precious to Him than were these heroes of the faith. But each one of these saints — Moses, David, and Mary — spent time cultivating and growing their relationship with God. Each one made knowing God the chief passion of their hearts.

 

~from Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

No Shame

 

 

 

God is no shamer. He came to set you free from shame, cleanse you with His love and grace, reinstate you into His family, and make you part of His great adventure. No, God is no shamer.

 

~From the Lies We Believe About God Devotional on YouVersion

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

You Can't Change People

 

 

 

Trying to change people is also a work of the flesh. Only God can change people. We can and should pray for them, but we cannot change them. True and lasting change must come from the inside out, and only God can change a person’s heart. We should love people as they are rather than how we want them to be.

~Joyce Meyer, Know Your Enemy, Part 10 and Your Battles Belong to the Lord

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

God Is In Control!

                                                                 

 

 

When we say "this too, shall pass" from God's point of view, we are saying that God is in control -- and look how great He is in His powerful love! 

 

~Daily Devotions for Kingdom Seekers, Vol. 1 by Dennis Jernigan

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!