What is the purpose of our fruitfulness? What does God do with the unfruitful and with the fruitful?

The kingdom of God is for those who produce kingdom fruit for God. Those who do not generate fruitfulness for God do not get the opportunity and the blessing to enjoy God’s fruitful kingdom.

When we produce kingdom fruit, we enjoy a fruitful relationship with God and inherit his fruit-filled kingdom.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus spoke this truth to the unfaithful people, saying, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” (Matthew 21:43, ESV).

Can you produce fruit without a connection to Jesus? What does the fruit you produce communicate about who you are and what is important to you? What do you do with the fruit you produce and what does that communicate?

In the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, ESV).

We are called to produce fruit in our lives. However, without abiding in Jesus—without staying connected with him—we cannot produce fruit in our lives.

Where have you been? Where are you now? Where are you headed? How sure is your footing as you journey through this life?

All of us have a story of where we have been. We are all somewhere in life. We are all headed somewhere. We are not where we once were, and we are on our way. God is at work in our lives. God has been with us, is with us, and will be with us, caring for us and guiding us along the way.

King David shared his story of encountering God in the journey of life in Psalm 40, when he wrote, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” (Psalm 40:1-2, ESV).

How fruitful is your life? How are you filling the earth and cultivating it? In what ways is your exercise of control over the things of this world bringing about fruit?

God spoke to the first human beings at creation “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”’ (Genesis 1:28, ESV).

God blessed humanity in the very beginning and gave us the work of being fruitful. We are called to exercise dominion over the earth, to fill the earth, and to make it submissive to our cultivation, care, and good use.

Do you plan out your work? Are your plans God’s plans? Does your work reflect the work of God?

Our work matters to God. Our work honors God, and we can honor God by committing our work to him. When we commit our work to God, he establishes our plans along the way to accomplish this work according to his purposes.

The wisdom of the Proverbs tells us, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3, ESV).

Are your paths straight, or are they meandering and filled with obstacles and misdirection? What would it look like if your paths were clear and directed by God?

When we trust in our own understanding, biased insight, and limited knowledge, we can be led astray. However, when we trust in God, our path will be directed by God.

The wisdom of the Proverbs tells us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV).

How faithful is God to provide all you need? What if your normal means of provision dries up or changes? Is God still faithful to provide in times of scarcity—when circumstances change and become difficult?

The provision of God is as certain as God. It is in God’s faithful character and nature to provide in every circumstance, even when natural means fail us and prove to be uncertain and unfaithful.

The Prophet Habakkuk wrote, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18, ESV).

How do our words impact our lives? How do words influence us and those around us?

Our words matter. Grace filled words can add sweetness and healing to our soul and body.

The wisdom of the Proverbs promises, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” (Proverbs 16:24, ESV).

Is today’s anxiety enough for you, or would you like some more anxieties?

Most of us do not go around looking for more problems to be anxious about in our lives. The anxieties we experience on any given day are enough. We usually do not go around looking for more trouble.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34, ESV).

Do you think like God thinks? Are your ways like God’s ways? Do you know what God knows? Do you do the things God does? Do you make decisions like God makes decision? Is God like you?

Our thinking is not like God’s thinking. What we do is not what God does. God’s thinking and God’s actions are insurmountably better than we can imagine.

God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, saying, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV).

Can you age out of being a student of Jesus? Does being a disciple of Jesus have an expiration date?

We are never too old to learn. We are never too old to be a disciple of Jesus.

We are all called to be learners. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be disciples of Jesus. We are called to be lifelong learners who are fully mature in Jesus.

The Apostle Paul said this about discipleship when he wrote, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” (Colossians 1:28–29, ESV).

How pure is your religious expression? When was the last time you visited an orphan or widow in their painful condition? Are you differentiated from this world?

Often we think of a devoted religious life as church attendance; however, pure religion is more than that. Visiting the marginalized and those who have experienced great affliction, and keeping ourselves from the entanglements of this world is what God sees as pure religion.

James, the half brother of Jesus, said it this way, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27, ESV).

In what ways do you need help? How present to you is the help you need?

We all need help in difficulties and in hard times. We need the safety and security of peaceful refuge, strong protection, and provision when trouble comes.

The Psalmist writes, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1, ESV).

God is our shelter and our helping hand. God provides the help we need in our trouble. God is very present with us in our difficulties.

How are you holding up? How do you hold up, hang tight, and endure hardships in your life? What do you do to endure trials?

Hard times are inevitable in a fallen world. We all face trials and hardships in life at some point and time.

As God’s beloved children, we are called by God to stand firm in hardships and when we are experiencing trials. God blesses those who love him and who endure to the end with his crown of life.

James, the half brother of Jesus, said it this way when he wrote, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12, ESV).

What will you say to God when you are confident he is your trustable refuge and strength?

What we say to God indicates our level of trust, safety, and security in him.

The Psalmist writes, “I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” (Psalm 91:2, ESV).

Confident in God’s strength and safety, the Psalmist places their complete trust in him.

How near is God to you? Did you know that the more broken you are the closer God is to you? How crushed is your spirit? Did you know God saves the crushed in spirit?

The Psalmist writes of God’s closeness to those who are broken, saying, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18, ESV).

When we are downtrodden and broken, God is near. When we are disheartened, discouraged, and crushed in spirit, God is mighty to save.

What does it look like for God to search your heart? What does God discover in searching your heart?

Repentance requires an honest assessment of where we are with God. Only God can reveal the true condition of our heart by searching deep within us and honestly revealing our condition to us so that we may have his light and turn to God in our darkness.

The Psalmist writes, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, ESV).

When we ask God to search our hearts, he will tenderly reveal what we need to know so that we can come to God and be led by God into his perfect and everlasting way.

What do you set out to accomplish when you pray? Why should you pray? What does it look like to pray like Jesus?

Prayer is a priority for Jesus. Many times in the scriptures we see Jesus praying to spend time with his father.

The gospel of Luke tells us, “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.’” (John 11:1-2, ESV).

Have you ever left some things behind to pursue something better? Do you have priorities that are different from God’s priorities for your life?

We have hopes and goals and go about our day pursuing our lives, and when we encounter Jesus along the way, our priorities change. Our priorities become the priority of Jesus.

The gospel of John tells us that when Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well, “The woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?'” (John 4:28-29, ESV).

Does God hear and respond to our prayers? Will God give good gifts to his children when they make requests of him?

Prayer is coming to God with who we are and with what we need in a dependent and loving relationship with our Heavenly Father.

When we seek God, we find God. When we ask of God, he hears our request and responds in love to our need. God answers our prayers.

In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus encouraged his followers of God’s faithfulness in answering prayer when he said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13, ESV).