Daily Bread

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

There’s always room for growth as long as you are alive, so that is why cutting is necessary if we want to grow. Just because we are bearing fruit, we think that’s the end of it, but not with God.

John 15:2 (NIV): “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

Stagnation is never in God’s plan, yes, even when you are producing. God wants us to be even more fruitful, and that’s why He prunes us.  For some of us, it was the pruning process that led us to not bear fruit, because what’s the use of going through difficulties when I am already doing what God says?  However, what we didn’t understand is that we were being cut so that we may be even more fruitful.

Takeaway: What do you do when you are producing, and it seems like God is taking your fruits for granted?

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

We are living in a world where some people believe they are vines; that is why they think they can do it by themselves. However, for us who are branches and Jesus Christ is the vine, we must remain in Him. There’s a lot we can glean from today’s verse, but we need to ensure I don’t overwhelm your mind with too much information.

John 15:4 (NLT): “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus is telling the disciples to remain? It is as if He knew that the cares of life would come and try to convince us to remove ourselves from the branch. Oh, by the way, He knew. Another interesting thing is the word “remain” (meaning: continue to exist, especially after other similar people or things have ceased to do so). One thing we don’t discuss is our brothers and sisters who have backslid and are convincing us to do the same because they think this Jesus thing is not working. But Jesus says, “Remain.”

Takeaway: Send encouragement to your brothers and sisters and tell them to remain in Him, because the truth is that we are to share in Jesus’ suffering, so our brothers and sisters may be discouraged.

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

As I was thinking about the last question I asked yesterday, “Why am I not bearing any fruit?” A thought came to me: What if someone is in the process of producing those fruits? Surely, you don’t become the branch and suddenly start producing fruit.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (BSB): “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:”

One of the reasons I am highlighting patience in bearing fruit is that we tend to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to those who are already enjoying the fruits they have produced, while we are still waiting for ours.  Also, before we jump to the conclusion that our brother or sister is not producing any fruit, can we ask which stage he or she is at in the process of producing fruit?

Takeaway: “Don’t let those who are eating their ripe harvest, pressure you into eating your seeds.” African Proverb

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

Today, I found myself asking if I am bearing fruit because it is possible to live a good life while not bearing any fruit. Therefore, it is important that whenever we get the time, we reflect on our fruitfulness.

Genesis 1:28 (ESV): And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

We were blessed to be fruitful. And if God wants us to be fruitful, yet we are not, can we stand tall and claim we are doing His will? The question to ask yourself is: what does fruitfulness look like? Because I don’t want to set any standard for you, one thing we can agree on is that being fruitful means you are bearing fruit, so bearing fruit is the evidence that you are fruitful.

Takeaway: Am I bearing fruit?  If so, what kind of fruit? If not, why am I not bearing any fruit?

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

As I was going through my old emails, I found myself in Genesis. I know we all recognize Genesis; this is where we all began as Christians. But how many of us take the time to reflect on Genesis? When we were in Sunday School, we hardly thought much about these things, which is why I feel the need for us to revisit Genesis from time to time as Christians. So, what are we having today?

Genesis 1:26 (ESV): Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Sometimes the only time I am reminded of whose image I reflect is when someone tells me. I think that might be one of the reasons why I am not courageous and bold at times, because I don’t often remind myself that I am created in God’s image.

One thing I find interesting is that we are given dominion over animals, and we are truly exercising that dominion, but how is it that we can tame dangerous animals yet struggle with our feelings?

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

Association brings assimilation, whether you like it or not.  There are people who honestly believe that those they spend time with cannot influence them.  Okay, keep hanging out with them; you won’t even have to tell us-your actions will suffice. What are we having today?

Proverbs 22:24 (MSG): “Don’t hang out with angry people; don’t keep company with hotheads.”

How often do we ask if the people we hang out with are easily angered? Are they hot-tempered? And how many times have they tried to give excuses for their temper? I don’t know about you, but being aware of anger in the people I associate with has never been something I watch for, because it can take a month or even months to realize that your company is full of hotheads. Unless you can tell from the beginning, then thank God for that.

Takeaway: Can we sharpen our discernment and not ignore what we see in the company we keep, as it will affect us? So take an inventory of the things you have overlooked; are they worthy of being overlooked, or did you avoid addressing them?

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

I told you good people that being able to slow down your anger has to come naturally, and that’s why we are gathering all the necessities we need to practice it. What are we having today?

Proverbs 19:11 (ESV): “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”

Good sense-the ability to make sound judgments and decisions, often implying practical wisdom and common sense. I think it’s not a bad question to ask yourself if you have “good sense.”  Sometimes, we tend to assume a lot and claim a lot. If you have a hasty temper, you can’t convince us that you possess good sense, because being slow to anger is a product of good sense.

Not every offense needs attention; it is your glory to overlook an offense.  Reflect on that; let that be your takeaway for today.

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

How we react to situations can tell people whether we have understanding or are just displaying folly, so it matters how we react.  Not only that, but every reaction has an outcome.

Proverbs 14:29 (ESV): “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”

We talked about being “slow to anger” yesterday, and I am bringing it back today because it is very important for us to have patience when dealing with anger. As we can see, hasty temper is one of the things that precedes folly. It’s sad that some people even boast about having hasty tempers, claiming that others don’t mess with them.  But what if the reason people keep their distance from you is because that temper of yours destroys everything around it?

Takeaway: Today you must choose for yourself: do you want to have great understanding or display folly (foolishness)?

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

It is easy to get carried away into speaking without listening; all you want is to dominate a conversation. Even if you have a lot to say, you still have to listen.

James 1:19 (NLT): “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

The fastest way to anger is slow listening and quick speaking. My brothers and sisters, even if you do your part in “quick to listen and slow to speak,” some people will make sure to anger you; you might even think it’s their job to anger people, so that’s why you are to be slow to anger.

Takeaway: Take note of your listening, speaking, and anger, and if they are leading to more anger, you gotta work hard on what James says until it becomes natural.

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!

Good day, good people! This is the day that the Lord has made; never forget that. Regardless of what you face in the morning, afternoon, or evening, this day to you and me is a gift, so let’s cherish it.

You cannot go around speaking anyhow just because you have freedom of speech. Sadly, some people have found themselves in bad situations because of their answers. Avoid angering people whenever you get a chance. And one way to do so is to watch your mouth.

Proverbs 15:1 (ESV): “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

“Well, you can’t tell me what to say; I will say what I want to,” he said. But then a harsh word stirs up anger (it causes anger to be more intense), and you don’t want to be ignorant. And “an angry person stirs up conflict,…”(Proverbs 29:22).

It doesn’t cost a dime to give a soft (gentle) answer. So what’s hindering you?

Prayer: Abba, Father, we thank you in Jesus’ name, Ameni!