Tuesday's Together in the Word!

Welcome to Tuesday's Together in the Word! We are a group of women reading the same Bible reading plan (reading through Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament this year) and then sharing what the Lord has spoken to us through our readings. For more information, to join us, and to read the posts of others participating head on over to DeeDee's.

I have pondered over what to share from this past week's readings, and this portion of scripture keeps coming to my mind. On the day that we read this chapter from Luke I spent lots of time thinking on the following portion:

"And He began telling this parable: A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground? And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down." Luke 13:6-9

This portion of scripture reminded me of the following one from John 15:2, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit."

The cross references in my Bible led me to these scriptures: Matthew 3:10, "And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Matthew 7:19 and Luke 3:9 state the same thing, that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

What did I glean from these scriptures? Jesus is very serious about fruit-bearing...

We are to do more than simply accept His gift of free salvation. So many accept His free gift of salvation and stop there... they do not pursue a relationship with their Savior. But that is what our Lord truly longs for, He longs for fellowship with us, He longs for relationship. He longs for us to surrender and allow our hearts and lives to be transformed by His amazing love for us. He longs for us to abide in Him, so that He can begin His work of bearing fruit in our lives to draw others to Him.

The scriptures point out that this fruit is to be good fruit. It is not to be bad, rotten, or even unripened fruit. It is to be good fruit; fruit that has a tantalizing aroma, a sweet and pleasant taste to it, and even looks good to the eye... this kind of fruit will draw others to the source of the fruit, Jesus Christ. But without relationship we can have no fruit. As we spend time pursuing and cultivating a relationship with our Savior He will produce the fruit in us; we do not have to work to make the fruit, it will come as a by-product of our relationship with our Savior.

What happens if we do not bear fruit? If we do not have a relationship with our Savior? If there is no evidence in our lives that we have been transformed by His love and His grace? According to the scriptures, we will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I do not know about you, but I do not want to be thrown into the fire! I think I will gratefully welcome a little pruning here and there, but keep me away from the fire!


I hope when people look at my life they see evidence of the transforming power of Christ. I hope they can see fruit that can only be explained as a result of time spent at my Savior's feet, time spent digging into the Word, and time spent in fellowship with my Lord through prayer.

I am asking the Lord to show me if I am bearing fruit that is glorifying to Him. I want to know if in His eyes my fruit is ripe and tasty or rotten. I am asking the Lord to show me where He would have me to be more fruitful. I am asking Him to prune me so that I may be more fruiful for Him. I am asking Him to help me continually abide in Him so that I may continually bear fruit for Him - I desire to always bear fruit for Him, I do not want to be a fruit-bearer for just a season.

What about you? Are you bearing fruit? Are you bearing much fruit or just a little? Good fruit or bad fruit? Or are you just warming a pew somewhere, content with your free gift of salvation? God wants to bear fruit through you... abide in Him and He will make sure you bear much good fruit!

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me." John 15:4

Father God, help us to be truly transformed by Your amazing love for us. Help us to surrender totally and completely to You. Help us to abide in You, day by day; so that You may produce good fruit in us that will draw others to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.