Hope Comes with Life Purpose: Produce the Fruit of the Spirit
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
There’s nothing like biting into a fresh piece of fruit picked from the tree. It’s full of all the goodness and sweetness that you’ve been waiting for. It’s the result of effort to prune, fertilize and ensure the best you can nothing threatens the ripening of the fruit.
Bad fruit is disgusting. It’s rotten, mushy, bug-infested and no one wants to eat it.
We can easily tell this when it comes to fruit that we eat.
What about the activities that we do?
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians made it very obvious for us what good and bad fruit look like:
Bad fruit…the things we do to glorify self and gratify our sinful nature:
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Good fruit…the things we do to glorify God and give evidence of the Spirit of God at work in us:
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Planted in Jesus…pruned by the Father leads to the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus wants us to produce fruit…a lot of it!
John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Like a juicy piece of fresh fruit, you can just sense the difference of the sinful nature at work and the fruit of the Spirit at work. The fruit of the Spirit is delightful. It impacts people in a positive way. It gives glory to God in every way.
Notice…the fruit of the Spirit is not specifics. It doesn’t identify what we DO, it identifies the heart behind ALL we do.
The fruit of the Spirit is the transforming of our minds and hearts to be like God’s heart. The fruit of the Spirit is a reflection of the love that we have experienced in Christ. It is fruit that can only come from a close connection to Jesus Christ. It is fruit that benefits others and helps them see Jesus in a small way.
This is what our Father enjoys seeing and is delightful to all who encounter it.
So, what is our life purpose? Give glory to God by bearing much fruit. It’s not the occupation we have, the relationships that we have or the people we impact, our life purpose is to do ALL to the glory of God. When we do it WILL affect our occupation, relationships, and the people around us. All of them will be blessed by the good fruit the Spirit of God is producing in you.
Apply: What benefits have you seen when you experience the fruit of the Spirit in someone else? What blessings have you experienced as God allows you to produce that fruit in your interactions with others?
Prayer: Father, thank you for planting us in Jesus and taking the time to prune us to be more fruitful. Spirit of God work in us that we produce MUCH fruit, to the glory of our heavenly Father. AMEN.
Hope comes with Life Purpose: Pruned by the Father.
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
Some of you know I like to tinker with a vegetable garden as well as try to get some fruit trees to grow and produce fruit for our family.
The hardest thing? Pruning.
Not because the physical labor is so difficult, but because the emotional angst is so great (It gets less, but is still there.)
I struggle to feel good about cutting off perfectly healthy branches. My logic says, “the more branches, the more fruit.” The “laws” of Horticulture say, “The more branches, the less fruit.” So it pains me to cut off good branches, but I have to trust that in pruning some branches, those that remain WILL be more fruitful.
John 15:1-2 Jesus says: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
I’ve learned that the purpose of pruning and why it works. Pruning does three things:
- Allows more light to get throughout the tree.
- Allows more air to flow through the tree.
- Allows more nutrition to go to fruit production than leaf and branch production.
Fruit needs all three of these to form and flourish.
Often times we think of the pruning the Father does as the “hardships and difficulties of life” we endure. We focus on the “cut” of the branch that is painful and sometimes leaves scars. True enough. But could it also be possible that the Gardner, our Father, cuts off the things in our life that are preventing the fruit from forming and flourishing?
Maybe the pruning in your life is removing the ability to engage in some recreation activity because your Father knows that it will cloud out time the Light of the World. Maybe pruning in your life is your heavenly Father refocusing time to spend with the Spirit of God. Maybe pruning in your life are situations that drive you back to the nourishment of the Word of God.
The more we have the Light of the World, the Spirit of God and the Word of God at work in our hearts the more abundant and significant the fruit is we will produce.
I’m not sure how the Father “feels” about “pruning” our lives, but I am sure he does it with full conviction that removing the things in our life that hinder the production of fruit will lead to more nutrition, light and air getting to our soul and when our soul is fed, fruit WILL BE produced! Your Father, the gardener, loves you too much to do what it takes to make you more fruitful.
Apply: What might God be pruning out of your life that perhaps you are upset at, but is a way for him to refocus your heart and life more fully on him?
Prayer: Father, thank you for your tender loving care that is willing to prune our branch from the things that get in the way of producing fruit for you. Lead us to see what you are pruning so we may produce the fruit for which you are looking! AMEN.
Hope Comes with Life Purpose: Planted in Jesus
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
The root determines the fruit.
For two reasons…it is the indicator of the type of plant it is and therefore the fruit it produces and is the source of the nutrients the plant needs.
If the base of the vine or tree is bad, it is certain the branches will not produce the fruit the Gardener intends.
Jesus said, (John 15:1,5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. …4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
To produce the fruit the Father desires one must remain planted in Jesus…and his words. Being connected to Jesus is our grounding, our strength, and our nutrition that allows us to produce fruit the Father desires.
But how do I know if I am planted in Jesus?
Consider these verses from Hosea 10:1-2:
Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. 2 Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.
Hosea points out two things that were happening to God’s people…that indicated they WERE NOT planted in the Lord.
First, they “brought forth fruit for himself.” All the activities of Israel were NOT being done for the name of the LORD and the following of his Word. They were being done for the self interest and promotion of themselves. Ironically the fruit looked good the “land prospered.” But this leads to the second indicator that we aren’t planted in the LORD…”their heart is deceitful.” Their hearts were believing the lie of the false gods that outward success and accumulation of stuff was the fruit their Father desired. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
The result? The Lord demolished their altars and destroyed their sacred stones.
We may not have altars and stones set up to false gods, but our hearts can be deceived to think that outward gain, notoriety or possessions are indicators of a noble purpose. They are not. In fact the outward things can be deceptive of an inner problem…a heart NOT planted in the Lord.
This is why Jesus teaches, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” Sure, we can have a career, have success and even impact people…but without a grounding in Jesus, the fruit will not be to the Father’s liking or glory, because the planting of the heart was in self, not Jesus.
On the other hand, we know our purpose is being found in the right place when our hearts are rooted in Jesus and his truth. John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
When we are planted in Jesus, it means his life-giving words of Jesus are flowing through us and molding our minds, guiding our hearts, and directing our actions. Only when we are planted in Jesus, can we discover our life purpose, since at the heart of our life’s purpose is simply producing fruit the Father enjoys. The root does determine the fruit!
Apply: Check those things that you have connected to your purpose. Are they rooted in self or rooted in Jesus?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for calling out the deception of our hearts that loves to attach our purpose to worldly fame and fortune. Forgive us for Jesus sake and reorient our hearts to ALWAYS be planted in Jesus. AMEN.
Hope Comes with Life Purpose…Where do you look?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
Google “Find my purpose” and you will find many different blogs, articles and assessments ready to help you figure it out.
One such article suggested:
- Donate Time, Money, or Talent. …
- Listen to Feedback. …
- Surround Yourself With Positive People. …
- Start Conversations With New People. …
- Explore Your Interests. …
- Consider Injustices That Bother You. (https://www.verywellmind.com/tips-for-finding-your-purpose-in-life-4164689)
These and many more can be helpful. You may find satisfaction in helping with your time and resources. You can hone in on where you can make a difference based on where people give you positive feedback. Learn from new people, explore interests, help right a wrong…the list goes on.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with doing these things and being a blessing to others through them. The bigger question to ask is this, “Is any one of these “THE” purpose for your life?”
At times in my quest to discover purpose, it seemed that much of the discussion of purpose focused on what you DO, suggesting that a single activity or season of activity would bring you to find your life’s purpose. Be a pastor…be a professional athlete…start a non-profit…feed the hungry…discover a medical breakthrough…etc. You may look back at these activities and say, “Now I know why I was born.” Great…but is just “DOING” something of significance or a certain activity the essence of our purpose? Or is there more to our purpose than just what we do?
As we said yesterday, let us go back to the ONE who made us. Read John 15:1-8. Ask yourself, “What is the purpose Jesus is giving me in these verses?”
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus is teaching us that his purpose for us is to bear fruit to his Father’s glory…yet if I do not understand what goes into producing that fruit and what that fruit is, we will miss grasping our purpose. As Jesus loves to do, he loves to dig deeper…to our hearts to ensure what is inside is properly oriented so we can produce the fruit he desires. So…we continue the journey tomorrow so we understand how to produce fruit…
Apply: Consider some of the “accomplishments” you have achieved. Would you consider any of these your “life’s purpose”? Why or why not?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for challenging me to dig past the surface and find a deeper rooted and placed purpose in you. AMEN.
Hope Comes with Life Purpose: Why Am I Here?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
Why am I here?
I’m guessing (pretty safely) that you at some point have asked yourself this question. In fact, I think it would be safe to say that this existential question has been asked at some point by most of mankind. Philosophers have spent pages of ink and hours of debate to answer that very question. Personal growth gurus have written assessments and articles to help people in search of their “Why?”
Why?
Steve Taylor, a lecturer on psychology for Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom wrote this:
- The need for purpose is one the defining characteristics of human beings. Human beings crave purpose and suffer serious psychological difficulties when we don’t have it. Purpose is a fundamental component of a fulfilling life.
In this article, he contrasts the effects on a person when they don’t have a sense of purpose can be anxiety, boredom and depression. On the other hand having a sense of purpose life becomes more enjoyable, less complicated, and less stressful.
Mark Twain once said, “The two greatest days in a person’s life are the day they were born and the day you discover why.”
So we search to understand why are we here…what is our purpose?
I have to admit, this statement has challenged me for two reasons:
- Are we on a cosmic search for the ONE reason for which we were born on this earth?
- Is life meaningless until you discover the reason you are here?
- Is our life purpose to discover what our life’s purpose is? What if we never “find it”?
We all want to have purpose in life. Yet a 2020 article posted on www.verywellmind.com stated that only 25% of people identify that they have clarity on their purpose.*
So 3 out of 4 of you reading this struggle or have struggled to understand your purpose in this world.
The fact that we look for purpose indicates that we are all created with a purpose and for a purpose. But, could it be that we are looking for purpose in life either the wrong way or in the wrong place? Anything in life that has a purpose, has a Creator. Someone makes something or uses something for a purpose. So, the place for us to begin in this journey to understand our purpose is to ask the one who made us (You begin to see that truly understanding my purpose begins with a worldview that we have a creator. Acknowledging this may be the challenge of many.) When I ask God, my Creator, “Why did you create me?” his Words and truth in the Bible begin to educate and show me my purpose on this earth.
This week we will look at John 15:1-8 (I encourage you to listen to the full message via the link above) and develop this purpose Jesus speaks of in John 15:8: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
An early Christian influence, Augustine of Hippo put it this way: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Continue reading this week to discover more about your purpose in life so you a) see God’s purpose for you and b) discover renewed hope in life by having a renewed purpose each day.
Apply: Evaluate where you are finding or looking for purpose. Begin to ask, “God what is your purpose for me today?”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for creating me and giving me purpose. Help me to see it more clearly and live it more fully each day. AMEN.