Stress Test Devotional April 20
April 20, 2024
DAY 14
MATTHEW 7:15-20; 13:18-23
One day left on this theme and so many possibilities! Have you ever been given a thought or idea by God? Before every sermon we pray a “Prayer of Illumination”, asking God to teach, reveal and inspire. So often I find the key to a problem, or the central idea of a sermon comes in the quiet, with surprising clarity and completeness, and it often runs quite against the grain of my own natural thought processes. In this moment, I sense God’s spirit is helping.
We can’t finish this question without the simplest and most mysterious answer—“fruitfulness.” The impact of our life on others is a key way to see how God is at work in us. A good tree bears fruit and without Jesus’ help, we can do “nothing” of real significance. Fruitfulness, however, is hard to measure and much about our impact will remain obscure until God makes it known.
Pray a prayer for “illumination”—God, please inspire and teach me. Share your wisdom and insight. Make plain the mysterious and make simple the profound. I ask in the name of Jesus, the great Teacher. Amen.
FAMILY TIME— Think of someone in your family whose life is “fruitful.” How can you tell.
