Tuesday - go and bear fruit

Prayer:  Almighty and Loving God,  enable us to become Your light in our community.  Instill within us the thirst for Your Holy Word.   Instill in our minds a right spirit and quest for Your wisdom.    Provide us with strength so that all day long we may live in Your glory and share Your love.  This we ask in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Read  St John 15: 1 – 17

This is the time of year when we prune away the summer’s  growth of flora and fauna in preparation of wintertime.      Jesus taught the disciples that in order to grow and become mature Christians,  they needed to have a continual pruning or cleaning.   We too must be continually pruned and cleaned in order to live lives of mature Christians.    We become mature Christians but knowing what we believe… by reading the Word of God each day…. by praying each day….. by meditating upon God’s  Word… by worshipping God. 

Jesus told the disciples that they must go and bear fruit.  We too must remain in Christ and learn more about Christ in order to go and bear fruit.   How do we go and bear fruit?  Christ instructed the disciples that love is the key to good growth and bearing fruit (and becoming mature Christians).   

Notice that bearing fruit – teaching other’s  about Christ --  is a life time of learning and not something that is taught in a mere moment.     Our life time of learning of the love of God also involves “pruning”.    Sometimes we have great ideas and go forth on our own.  We forget to listen if the great idea we have is God’s  will.   When we try to go forth on our own without God,  we stumble.  This is the kind of “pruning” that Jesus is instructing the disciples.   We can not grow and mature as Christians by depending upon our own ideas and will,  we must seek out the will of God.

How will you go and bear fruit this week?   

Prayer:  This day and every day Holy God,  we depend upon Your guidance in our lives.  Help us to live full and loving lives as we seek Your will.   May we always remember to see and hear of the needs of others so that we can serve You all of our days.  This we ask in Jesus’  name.  Amen.