Devotion for Thursday, September 19, 2024

“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33).

There is a difference between people who do good and people who do evil. In this age it may be a little more difficult to see, but there is a difference. Ultimately, one will either follow and serve the Lord, or else, follow and serve themselves. If curved inward to the self, the behavior will bear fruit that shows this. If outward toward the Lord, the evidence will display that. The Lord is telling us something that is very much only common sense.

Lord, there is evil in me, who only wants to do good. I look around and I see folk with what at first seems a mixture of fruit. Let me not judge myself by them, but by You alone. Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to humbly walk with You always. Graft me into to You fully so that all that I need is drawn from You. Only You can infuse the good life into any of us which comes through Your grace and mercy alone.

Lord Jesus, You know all that I need. You know where I am deficient and where what is good in the Father’s eyes is growing. Help me to be pliable in Your hands and to resist what is evil. By the means You choose, grant me fortitude to stay the course. Guide me to have a heart that looks to You as the author and source of my being and lead me according to Your design, resisting all influences that are not in accord with the Father’s will. Amen