Daily Bible Reading
To prevent the frustration of falling behind, which most of us tend to do when following a Bible reading plan, each month of this plan gives you only twenty-five readings. Today we start a few “free days” . We encourage you to catch up on any readings you may have missed this month.
If you have finished the month’s readings, you can use these final days of the month to study the passages that challenged or intrigued you.
The Bible reading plan we are following can be found here: https://www.navigators.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/navigators-bible-reading-plan.pdf
Daily Devotion
Be Fruitful
It was such a coincidence to read about the Fruit of the Spirit the other day. As I am traveling overseas, I had the opportunity to visit several islands of Palawan in the Philippines, along with my family. My niece and I were sitting at one of the cafes in the airport in Palawan. Inside the café were stairs painted with the scriptures we refer to as the Fruit of the Spirit. As we sat at the bar stool staring at the stairs, I was thinking about these nine fruitful qualities of Jesus: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” I began to think that God is not so interested in what we “do” for Him in our bearing spiritual fruit, but rather He is interested in whether His Spirit within us can produce the godly character that He wants us to be.
Jesus said “…You must be born again” in John 3:7. Being born again is the beginning point for spiritual growth, growth in a way that demonstrates that we have the capacity to grow spiritually. With rebirth, God has planted a seed inside us that will grow. We must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). He wants us to grow in each area, and the Holy Spirit is working in us to create the character of Jesus. The Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18).
There are several areas that I need to work on in order for me to continue to grow. I want the Holy Spirit to lead and empower me to grow in every way so I can be more like Jesus in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. May we live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10). Be fruitful!
~ Niezel Carganilla-Gaoaen