Daily Devotion

August 2, 2014

LASTING SUCCESS


“He who abides in Me…bears much fruit.” Jn 15:5 NKJV

Jesus said, “I chose you and appointed you that you should…bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (v. 16 NKJV). God has two goals for us: (1) Greater success; (2) A legacy of success. And He will do whatever it takes to accomplish it. Just when we are comfortable at a certain level of success, He takes His shears and starts pruning some of the stuff we’d like to hold on to. The problem is, we settle for less than what God wants. When Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing,” He was teaching us that when we’re surrounded by the demands, needs and agendas of others we can get spiritually depleted. And when that happens, we begin operating in the energy of the flesh. Andrew Murray wrote: “Do not confuse work and fruit. There may be a good deal of work for Christ that is not the fruit of the heavenly vine.” Jesus wants “fruit that will last” (v. 16 NIV). Lasting success! Parent, God didn’t give you children so that you could lose them to the enemy. Paul said that the faith he saw in Timothy, he first observed in his mother and his grandmother, both of whom were married to unbelievers. How did they do it? They stayed connected to the vine and thrived in a hostile environment. Business person, God doesn’t want you settling for temporal success; His purpose in blessing you is so you can help to extend His kingdom. There’s no shortage of resources; God just needs people He can entrust them to. So pray, “Lord, make me successful, and give me success that lasts.”

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