New? January 18 Devotional
January 18, 2025
2 PETER 1:8-9 | 8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.
JOHN 15:2, 6 | 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Cultivating the habits of mind and action we’ve described will shape your soul and will make your life productive in a spiritual sense. Unfaithfulness is always a danger, as Jesus bluntly points out in his agricultural metaphor in John 15, but it will never be so for the one who “abides in him.” When we abide in Christ we are more and more aware of our own need for his grace and our gratitude for his mercy grows. This softens our hearts and makes them better soil for the fruits described in verses 6-7. Outward fruitfulness, or our capacity to bless others, grows from this inward development.
Are the fruits of character in verse 6 & 7 increasing in you?
Gracious God,
This year, I want to abide in Christ. To rest in his goodness and to allow my soul to grow toward a greater godliness and a deeper impact.
Help me Lord.
Amen.
