Born to Reproduce
Ignorance
Not abiding in Christ
Disobedience
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Day 1
So, what does this fruit look like? Good fruit is seen in a change in our disposition, attitudes, affections, and actions. Those sins which we formerly loved become loathsome to us (Romans 6:21). We begin to love others with the love of Christ (John 13:34–35). We more easily forgive (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). As we are given opportunity, we seek to do good to everyone (Galatians 6:9–10). We exercise our spiritual gifts for the building up of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:11–16). We share the good news of salvation and make disciples (Matthew 28:18–20). We are grateful and give praise to God (Colossians 3:15). We seek to do all things for God's glory (Colossians 3:17). We confess our sins to God and pray for His continual work in us (1 John 1:9; Philippians 1:6). We strive to know God and to do the things which please Him, knowing that we can bear no true fruit apart from Him (John 15:1–12).
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Changed character
Day 2
Being a fruitful Christian is not accomplished by checking off a "to do" list but by having our essential being and character changed, renewed, and progressively conformed to the image and likeness of Christ (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18). To be fruitful means to follow Christ. To love what He loves. To do what He commands from a loving motive and with a joyful spirit. This obedience is both predestined by and empowered by God Himself which removes any grounds for boasting in how fruitful our lives or ministries become (Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 1:28–31). It is by God's grace and our abiding in Christ that we produce good fruit (John 15:4–5). The fruit is good because God is good and we ascribe all the glory to Him for it (Philippians 1:11).None of us is ever free from sin; sometimes we succumb to temptation. When God shows us our sin, we need to repent and receive His forgiveness—like weeding the garden. We should guard against new sinful habits just as we are vigilant against invading pests. If we guard our roots and shoots and deal with sin, God will bear fruit through us
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Day 3
A TREE WITHOUT FRUIT
Jesus’ parable of the barren fig tree was given in the context of a wider discussion. A group of Jews had approached Jesus and told Him about the death of some Galileans who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. An insurrection had arisen in Jerusalem, and the Roman governor Pilate had quelled the uprising with violence. On one occasion, his soldiers had invaded the precincts of the temple and cut down some Galilean pilgrims who were in the very act of bringing their sacrifices. The Jews regarded all calamity as the judgment of God incurred because of the suff erer’s sin. The group of Jews who believed they were the most favored by God described this event with secret satisfaction. They presumed that these Galileans had deserved this calamity. Jesus discerned their elitist mindset and explained that the poor Galileans were no greater sinners than any others. He appealed to all those listening to repent. Through this parable, Jesus sought to make the Jews aware of the privileges and responsibilities they had as a nation. We are accountable for the lives we live on earth. We cannot afford to live it anyhow. Nobody comes to this world by accident. God’s master plan has a definite purpose and role for us to play. That purpose must be fulfilled, if we are to bear fruits. Our Lord Jesus calls us to a productive and effective life in the different areas of endeavour we have been called to operate in.
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Day 4
A PROSPEROUS LIFE
Psalm 1 compares the righteous person to a fruit-bearing tree planted by a river: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper” (Ps. 1:2, 3). Bearing fruit is linked with prospering in life, and this is connected to delighting in God’s commandments. When we view the Ten Commandments as ten promises of what God wants to do in our lives, we will experience an abundant life full of purpose and true happiness. Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in two commandments: love God and love your neighbor (Matt. 22:37–40). Our interactions with others will reveal a true love for God. We receive love from Him and share this love with those we meet. The fruit of the Christian life includes our character—what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit. ((Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).)) Fruit is also the result of our service to others. When we pray for people, care for them, counsel them, and encourage them, or when we share the good news of Jesus with an unbeliever, the fruit of a changed life can result. Bearing fruit happens every time we help someone to grow as a disciple of Jesus, just as we have grown.
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Day 5
A fruitfuless Life
A fruitful life requires both receiving and giving. On another occasion, Jesus approached a fig tree looking for fruit. Fig trees naturally grow fruit before the leaves open, so this tree in full leaf gave promise of well-developed fruit within it. However, its appearance was deceptive. Upon searching its branches, Jesus found “nothing but leaves” (Mark 11:13). It was a mass of pretentious foliage, nothing more. Jesus pronounced judgment on the tree, saying, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again” (Mark 11:14). The next day, the fig tree had withered away. A spiritual lesson emerges from this story. We can look good on the outside, but only close examination of our lives will reveal if we are bearing any fruit. Many Christians appear religious, but not all who profess the name of Jesus actually reveal Him in their lives. Just like a tree has roots that nourish and sustain the tree, allowing it to bear fruit, so we must abide in Christ. One reason God calls us into local churches is because that is where our growth (or lack of it) becomes visible. In meaningful relationships, who we really are becomes clear. The outward expressions of our inner life are like the shoots of a plant. Are they healthy, or faded and disfigured? Is my life becoming more like Jesus’ life or not? One mark of growth is our willingness to forgive others when they hurt or offend us. Do we live life to serve and bless others? Our choices should increasingly reflect godly thinking.
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NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Day 6
Jesus does everything He possibly can to develop His character in us. The owner and the dresser of the vineyard are one in their interest in the fig tree. So the Father and the Son were one in their love for the chosen people. Christ was saying to His hearers that increased opportunities would be given them. Every means that the love of God could devise would be put in operation that they might become trees of righteousness, bringing forth fruit for the blessing of the world. Jesus spares no effort to help His people flourish so they can give to the world what they have received from Him. He declared that the gospel will go into all the world as a witness before the end comes (Matt. 24:14). This means that the gospel will be both lived and preached by God’s people. God’s blessings must be both proclaimed and experienced.
We receive so we can give. Fortunately, Jesus does not easily give up on His chosen people. After the disciple Peter had been with Jesus for three and a half years, he still had a lot to learn and unlearn. When under pressure, he capitulated and denied Jesus three times. Still, Jesus did not cast Peter away. He saw the potential of what Peter could become once restored. Jesus predicted Simon Peter’s fall but added, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31, 32). Peter confessed his sin, and Jesus restored him so he could bear fruit to God’s glory. Christ’s mercy, compassion, and power made Peter into a mighty apostle. The gospels recount many stories of Jesus giving people second chances and new opportunities to bear fruit. Through all our ups and downs, Jesus is not just idly waiting until we get our act together.
He is investing in us, just like the vinedresser nourished the tree. He does everything in His power to save us and make us witnesses to others. The book of Acts tells the story of Paul and Barnabas as they set out on their fi rst missionary journey. They took a young man named John Mark with them. Because of the diffi culties and trials the three men faced, John Mark abandoned the mission. Later, he reconsidered and expressed his desire to rejoin the two apostles on another mission trip. While Paul emphatically denied the young man a second chance, Barnabas was ready to take John Mark under his wing once again. Though Paul and Barnabas parted because of this very issue (Acts 15:39), Paul later acknowledged that John Mark became a useful disciple (2 Tim. 4:11). The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” Like the vinedresser, Barnabas was patient with John Mark, despite his early discouragement and burnout. Thanks to the encouragement received from Barnabas, John Mark again became a fruitful worker for God.
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Day 7
THIS YEAR ALSO
“In the parable the dresser of the vineyard does not question the sentence that the tree, if it remained fruitless, should be cut down; but he knows and shares the owner’s interest in that barren tree. Nothing could give him greater joy than to see its growth and fruitfulness. He responds to the desire of the owner, saying, ‘Let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it; and if it bear fruit, well.’ “The gardener does not refuse to minister to so unpromising a plant. He stands ready to give it still greater care. He will make its surroundings most favorable, and will lavish upon it every attention. To them the solemn warning was given. ‘If not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.’ Upon them it depended whether the irrevocable words should be spoken. The day of wrath was near. God is mercifully forewarning us of the destruction of the unfruitful tree. “The warning sounds down along the line to us in this generation. Are you, O careless heart, a fruitless tree in the Lord’s vineyard? Shall the words of doom are long be spoken of you? How long have you received His gifts? How long has He watched and waited for a return of love? Planted in His vineyard, under the watchful care of the gardener, what privileges are yours! How often has the tender gospel message thrilled your heart! You have taken the name of Christ, you are outwardly a member of the church which is His body, and yet you are conscious of no living connection with the great heart of love. The tide of His life does not flow through you.
The sweet graces of His character, ‘the fruits of the Spirit,’ are not seen in your life.... “You realize, though it may be but dimly, that you are a cumberer of the ground. Yet in His great mercy God has not cut you down. He does not look coldly upon you. He does not turn away with indifference, or leave you to destruction. Looking upon you He cries, as He cried so many centuries ago concerning Israel, ‘How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel?... I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man.’ Hosea 11:8, 9. The pitying Saviour is saying concerning you, Spare it this year also, till I shall dig about it and dress it.”
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Why is Jesus so categorical about producing fruits? The response is found in His statement - “I chose you.” The selection was done by Him; therefore it was not done at random. It was done with the knowledge of what each and every one is capable of accomplishing. We get to know Jesus who is ‘the Way and the Truth and the Life’ (John 14:6) because God has allowed it. “…no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” (John 6:65) Likewise the choice determines the objective for which God created us and for which we have been chosen.
We have not only been chosen but we have also been “appointed to go …” When someone is appointed then s/he is equipped to function in a particular position. That individual is provided with all s/he needs to get the work done. You cannot blame it on your tools, when things go wrong. Our Lord Jesus knows what we need and He provides them so that we might get the work done properly.
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) our Lord Jesus recounted the story of a man who was to embark on a long journey. Prior to his departure, he called his servants and gave them assignments ‘each according to his ability.’ In the parable of the ten minas, the king summoned ten servants and gave them ten minas each, adding; “Put this money to work until I come back.” (Luke 19:13) On their return some had made good use of the talents and minas they had been given, others not.
Like the seeds sown by the sower in one of our Lord Jesus’ parable (Matthew 13), not every seed sown will develop to yield fruits of sixty, eighty and a hundredfold. The concerns and preoccupations of this world get in the way and productivity drops considerably, expectations likewise. In the same manner, not all who have been chosen to bear fruits will be fruitful.
There is a penalty though for this category of servants. The gardener, who is His Father, will come and “cut off every branch that does not bear fruit…” (John 15:1) For positive results we ought to stay connected to the vine otherwise we shall be likened to a branch “that is thrown away and withers; such branches are cut, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6) The fruit-bearing vine gets special treatment; it is pruned so it can produce more fruit. Our Lord Jesus instructs that we ‘remain’ in Him. “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 7:18)
The Lord is willing to give a second chance to those who do not pull up their socks. “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil? “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ” (Luke 13:6-9) What a verdict! Yes, the axe will come down on any tree that does not bear fruit.
This is the story of our lives. When we seek to carry out our own agenda, we miss the mark and our lives become fruitless and useless because they do not serve the purpose for which God intended it in the first instance. Fruitfulness is a God-pleasing characteristic for every believer. It requires that we remain in Christ, the author and founder of our faith. When we fail to work according to His precepts, to abide in Him, we end up living worthless lives for which we shall be made accountable. Each and every one of us will have to render account on Judgment Day for our accomplishments. There is no way we can escape this.
Our Lord Jesus teaches that “By their fruits we shall know them.” (Matthew 7:16) Our deeds will always catch up with us. We shall be found out in the long or short run. “Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:16) Definitely not! So it is that a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree bad fruit. We cannot continue to do things our own way and expect God’s endorsement.
As we take our first steps in the year 2012, may we examine closely the kind of fruit we have borne during 2011 and seek to bear fruit in keeping with the word of God - fruit that will be visible and durable. May they be fruits for which the Father will say: “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness.” (Matthew 25:23)
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It’s significant that the parable is open-ended. “But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down’ ” (Luke 13:8, 9). The parable ends here, and we never hear what happened after the year ended. We know that ancient Israel as a nation failed to be the example God intended it to be. What about spiritual Israel today? We are all trees planted by the river. God does all He can to connect Himself with us so we can bear fruit. Ultimately, we must allow Him to do this work within us. We will each individually finish this parable
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