Fruitful – by Stephanie M. White

"…your fruitfulness comes from Me. Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. " Hosea 14:8-9 NIV

As we receive Christ and begin a new life in Him, we must quickly understand that we are not able to produce Spiritual fruit without Him (John 15:5). We cannot produce Spiritual fruit unless we are abiding in Christ – and He is the Word. Taking in the Word of God is the key to producing Spiritual fruit. The Word of God tells us that faith comes from hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17) and faith produces Spiritual fruit. We cannot produce Spiritual fruit apart from continuing in the Word of God. The Word tells us that if we are wise and discerning, then we will understand that we are desperate for God and that we cannot produce Spiritual fruit without Him. God’s plan for man is total dependence on Christ and Christ is the Word (John 1:1). His ways are right – He alone can enable us to produce fruit and live by faith as we abide in His Word. This does not mean that we cannot do “good” things unless we are abiding in the Word, but it does mean that we cannot produce Spiritual fruit apart from Christ! Many times we confuse “good” works with Spiritual fruit, but God does not confuse the two. God is not impressed with what we can produce on our own. We must realize that whatever we can muster up on our own means nothing to God.

Today’s writer teaches Bible studies in her church. She is the author of four books. You can read her book A Season of Grief for free right now in exchange for a simple book review. Contact