Every Single Day

 

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts

¹² The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³ Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’^[a]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^[b]”
¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and his disciples^[c] went out of the city.
²⁰ In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”







²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly^[d] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.   Mark 11:12-24

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, . . . Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

- John 15:1, 4 (NIV)

 

“Is it loaded?” my friend Leticia asked when I told her that my fig tree had yielded fruit for the first time. Although I answered “No,” I was still excited and happy about my discovery. For several years, when my fig tree should have been bearing fruit, it produced only leaves. Just as Jesus was not pleased when the fig tree mentioned in the scripture did not bear fruit, I was also disappointed about my fruitless tree. However, success came when I placed the tree in a spot where it got more sun. In addition, I prayed for the tree to bear fruit, remembering that Jesus advised his disciples,

“Have faith in God . . . whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Of course, when it comes to bearing fruit in our service to God, faith is the key factor. Jesus described how we can faithfully bear fruit: “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). My fig tree may or may not bear more fruit next year. However, by faithfully serving God, each of us can bear fruit every single day!

The Author - Jimmie Oliver Fleming (Virginia, USA) - from The Upper Room

Thought for the Day - Our faith in God helps us bear fruit all year long.

Prayer - Sustainer of life, make us ready and willing to bear more of your fruit. Amen.

Prayer focus - Plant seeds in those around us