Welcome to the second quarter of the year! 2025 is zooming by.
Take a moment and think about what you have accomplished in the last three months. And what are some areas that you want to improve in for the remainder of the year?
“Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
Lamentations 3:23 NLT
Each day that the Lord gives us is an opportunity to be all that He has called us to be. It’s an opportunity to ‘take up our cross and follow him’ and ‘deny ourselves’ (Matthew 16:24).
God wants us to be like Him, and we cannot do that out of our own will. We need God and His Holy Spirit to help us. Having the desire to do good isn’t enough. His word says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
He gives us the desire to please Him! We can do go and be fruitful because God gives us the power to do so.
In Galatians 5, it lists the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The Holy Spirit produces these good things in our life.
We cannot produce these things without His spirit. And we also can’t produce these things if we aren’t surrendered to him and rooted in him.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. ‘Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.’”
John 15:4-5 NLT
And since we can’t be fruitful without him, let’s take inventory of ourselves. Are we being fruitful? And what type of fruit are we producing? Is it good fruit? The same fruit that the Holy Spirit produces?
For Jesus said, “You can identify them by their fruit…A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit” (Matthew 7: 16-18 NLT).
And it is God’s original intent for us to be fruitful (Genesis 1) and to bear good fruit.
So, take time out today, at the start of a new quarter and reflect if you are being fruitful in the way the God desires. Ask yourself if you are allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your life.
If you feel yourself falling short in producing the fruit of Galatians 5, then ask the Father to give you the grace to produce good fruit, strength to submit to the Holy Spirit, and the desire to fill your heart up with the things that He wants/has for you.
Be encouraged and know that God is patient with us. He holds our hand as we walk through life. He doesn’t want any of His children to miss the blessings that He has for them.
Y’all have a great week and remember to uplift, inspire, enlighten, and, more importantly, encourage someone. If you want to reach out or have any prayer request or questions, then you can submit them here.
