Daily Bible Study

Tweet

Day 60 Matthew 21:18-22 Matthew 21:18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. What is it you want? Do you think you will receive it? Jesus was hungry, and the fig tree looked like it had fruit on it, but there wasn’t, so he cursed the tree, and it withered. Mark’s gospel said it was withered from the roots. Mark 11:20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. (KJV) It wasn’t a simple matter of the tree not bearing that season, it would never bear fruit again. As Christians, some of you are like the fig tree. You look like you have fruit in your lives, yet on close inspection, you have nothing to offer. You enjoy saying you’re a Christian. You tell everyone you are doing great things for the kingdom of God, but in reality, you haven’t opened your Bible in a very long time, and God hasn’t heard a word from you in prayer since you accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. You have nothing to offer anyone, but empty words with no fruit. Jesus’ disciples were amazed by what happened to the fig tree when Jesus cursed it, and then further amazed when he told them all they needed was faith to believe, without doubting, and they would have whatever they asked. Jesus had told them they needed faith as a grain of mustard seed. Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (KJV) All it takes is a little faith, belief in what you want, without doubt, and God will give you what you desire, according to his will for your life. He won’t give you something that isn’t good for you. James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (KJV) However, everything that is good for you, if you have faith to believe, God will give you the desires of your heart. There are steps in believing for what you need and desire. Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. (KJV) Trust, delight, and commit are the requirements God seeks from you. Plus, one more: putting God first in everything you do. Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (KJV) Is it an easy matter to believe, trust, delight in, and commit your life to God? It could be. Stop being an unfruitful Christian and start doing what you tell everyone you are doing for the kingdom of God. Once you do, you will be able to say to the mountain of doubt to get out of your life, and you will start bearing fruit for the kingdom of God. When you do, God will give you whatever you ask. John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (KJV) Let’s pray: Father, your Word is explicit in what you require of me. Help me have the faith to believe, so I will bear fruit for your kingdom. Take the mountain of doubt out of my life, so I will not be unfruitful, but fruitful. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 18 June 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay