A Heart That Follows God
When we plant apple seeds, we expect an apple tree to grow. It’s the seed and the roots that decide what kind of tree grows in the soil.
Similarly, when we belong to God we expect goodness and righteousness to grow in our lives. It is the fruit of our actions that tells us what kind of seeds we’ve planted.
One of the ways we can identify the work of God in our life is by watching what type of fruit we produce. A sign of a growing and godly life is a heart that desires to live and act in accordance with God’s Word. Only someone who has spent time with God will produce that type of action in their life.
John cautions us to be mindful of what type of fruit our lives produce. When we truly belong to God, and we spend time with Him, our lives will naturally produce goodness and right living.
The goal is not to be prideful about how many good deeds we do, but instead, to cultivate a heart that wants to selflessly do good to others in the name of Jesus. We may not be perfect, but our hearts should desire to follow God.
Take a moment to think about your thoughts and actions over the past week. Do they reflect a heart that has been in a close relationship with God? Think of some steps you can take to create regular rhythms of spending time with God.
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituræa and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall be made straight, And the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to ...
Cultivating Honest Conversations with God
Prayer is one of the most important habits we can develop. Not only does Scripture command us to pray often, but there are tremendous benefits to building a life of prayer.
Prayer connects us relationally to God. We can thank God for who He is and what He has done for us during our prayer time. We can ask Him for things that we need.
Even though we know we should pray, we often don't take the time to do it. Unless we set aside time to talk to God, it doesn’t always find a way into our daily schedules. But Paul, the writer of the letter to the Ephesians, urges Christians to build a life of prayer. He says that every occasion is a chance to talk to God.
All of our requests and needs should be given to God. However, our time praying should not only be asking God for things. We should also spend part of our time in worship—thanking God for who He is and all He has done.
Paul also encourages us to pray for other people. In fact, part of our ...