October 2, 2015: Fruitfulness in Christ

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2015 - Day 274  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video several of God’s wonderful truths with regard to Fruitfulness, … expressing truth from God’s word about our fruitfulness when we are in obedience and surrender to God’s Spirit.

Highlight Passage:   Joshua 24: 13 [NKJV] …  
13 I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ 
 …  God will provide for those who serve Him faithfully.
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Highlight Context – Joshua 24: 2, 8-15 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  …  
…  We become fruitful only when we choose to surrender to God’s will and serve the One - and Only - Lord
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Reference Passage #1 - John 15: 1-5 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… We can do NOTHING without God … and our fruitfulness is in our faithfulness.

Reference Passage #2 - Galatians 5: 22-23 [NKJV] … 
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 
… And we can express the fruit of God’s Spirit when we’re willing to surrender to Him daily. My 

Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson, used a story about a little girl to illustrate his teaching. He wrote: A young mother sighed as she scraped together lunch for her 3-year-old daughter. Spying the empty fruit basket on the table in their tiny kitchen, she sighed and said aloud, “If we just had a basket of fruit, I would feel rich!” Her little girl overheard her.  … Weeks passed. God sustained the small family. Still, the struggling mom worried. Then one day her little girl bounded into the kitchen. “Look, Mommy, we’re rich!” she exclaimed, pointing at the full fruit basket on the table. Nothing had changed except that the family had purchased a bag of apples. 

Good story to illustrate the truths brought out in the number and variety of Scriptures brought out in the YouTube readings, linked above. May I strongly exhort any reader here to take the time to take in the linked Scriptures and those copied/linked above; because as Christians we need to recognize/realize that God will provide what we, as believers, need for our service to Him; but we will only be fruitful in that service to the degree that we are surrendered to His will and seeking His ways through His word.

I’m challenged today by God’s Spirit (I believe) to answer the question, ”Bill, are you really as fruitful as you could be in My service?” … Perhaps you need to answer that question for yourself as well!

My Prayer Today:  Oh, my Lord, … I pray that I’m using all You provide for me to serve you and produce the fruit of the Spirit.  … Amen  

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.