As we remain connected to the Vine, continually cleaning and pruning, do you think we will realize when the fruit is ready for harvest? Will we know and see the fruit that is produced? Many of us have become used to measuring fruitfulness in terms of numbers and calculations. Budgets, butts in the pew, updated facilities, and even numbers of baptisms. Is the harvest measured in quantity only? I’m thinking fruit can be separated by quality. I do not want to purchase seeds nor fruit that are old. Fresh and ripe fruit is the best, reflecting effort behind the scenes.
“I like to call this the rhythm of the kingdom, that this is a pattern that goes around and around and around. And it’s God’s way of inviting us again and again and again in those places of disorientation to reconsider new narratives, as you would say, a new way of doing life. And it’s really a time where our imagination begins to flourish.” - Dallas Willard
“Abiding in Jesus means abiding in His words, and having His words live in the disciple. The faithful, abiding disciple should expect answered prayer as part of their relationship with Jesus. A failure to see prayer answered means something is not right in the disciple’s relationship. Perhaps something is not right in the abiding, and prayers are amiss and unanswered. Perhaps something is not right in the asking and there is no perception of what Jesus wants to do in and through His disciple.” - Based on The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik.
No comments:
Post a Comment