Everyday there are new apples on our lawn. They are getting ripe and falling off the tree. The good ones are gathered and brought to the kitchen for raw eating or baking. The ones that are too bruised or the birds have half eaten or are wormy are gathered and brought out to the heifers in the pasture who are very eager to devour as many as we can feed them.
Like Newton's apple, they just fall. The apples did not have to strain, work, or exert any effort to blossom, bud, and ripen. All they needed to do was stay attached to the tree.
Jesus makes a comparison to help us understand what is necessary to becoming a fruitful disciple.
John 15:5-8
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit' apart from me you can do nothing. 6If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 8This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples."
The time you spend praying should not be a strain or a chore, but a life flowing connection. Time spent reading the Bible and telling others about Jesus should happen with the same ease an apple ripens. Showing others how to follow Jesus should be like a healthy apple tree producing fruit. If it is full of effort and strain, then it is a good time to check your connection to Jesus.
Let the Son, ripen you!
Like Newton's apple, they just fall. The apples did not have to strain, work, or exert any effort to blossom, bud, and ripen. All they needed to do was stay attached to the tree.
Jesus makes a comparison to help us understand what is necessary to becoming a fruitful disciple.
John 15:5-8
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit' apart from me you can do nothing. 6If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 8This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples."
The time you spend praying should not be a strain or a chore, but a life flowing connection. Time spent reading the Bible and telling others about Jesus should happen with the same ease an apple ripens. Showing others how to follow Jesus should be like a healthy apple tree producing fruit. If it is full of effort and strain, then it is a good time to check your connection to Jesus.
Let the Son, ripen you!
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