Sep 24 2024

Afternoon Bible Verse

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

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During the winter months in many parts of the world, the temperature gets colder. Plants and trees shed their leaves and go dormant. Some plants don't survive the winter, while others need the cold weather as part of their life cycle. In the spring, however, everything changes. What appeared to be dead is now bursting forth with new life.

This can be compared to our spiritual life. We face seasons of growth followed by dry and stagnant seasons, which is why it's essential to stay close to God during every season of life.

In this afternoon's verse in John, Jesus says that He is the "vine" and we are the "branches". When we abide in Him, He abides in us, and we will bring forth much fruit. These are comforting words, especially during the tough seasons of life.

The fruit in this scripture refers to qualities such as love, joy, peace, wisdom, patience... the list goes on. The character of God is produced in our lives as we stay connected to Him.

There are times when growth doesn't take place in our lives because we are not connected to God the way we should be. Our prayer should be for God to prune us as needed so we stay connected to Him in every season of life.

Afternoon Prayer

Dear Lord, I want to keep maturing in my faith and growing closer to you. Thank you for the opportunity to abide in you. Make me aware of the times when I'm not staying connected to you. Give me a hunger to spend time in prayer and reading your Word. Remove the parts of me that hinder me from knowing you better. Produce good fruit in my life and make me more like you every single day. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Sep 23 2024

Yesterday Afternoon's Bible Verse

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. :

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Yesterday Afternoon's Bible study

Everyone needs God's grace. We may not always act like we need God, and sometimes we may not think we need God—but we do. As long as we are sinful, we need a Savior. We can try to hide our weaknesses and act like we have it all together, but in doing so we miss the opportunity to experience God's power that allows us to move forward in grace.

Pride can keep us from readily admitting and confessing our sins, but this afternoon's verse in Acts tells us to repent and be converted. When we repent, we're acknowledging things we have done that are not pleasing to God; things that go against His nature and who He is. Repentance is the act of admitting and turning away from our wrongdoing so we can know God.

By confessing our sins, our lives can change in profound ways. Once we have repented, God removes our sin and refreshes our souls.

Think of the various ways we use the word refresh. We say an ice-cold drink after chores or a workout is refreshing. When we forget something, we may ask a friend to refresh my memory. Even reloading a web browser is known as refreshing. If it freezes up and quits responding, we use the refresh command to make it reload and start working again.

Being refreshed by God also allows us to reload. But this time in His strength and power, so our hearts and minds are responding in the right way.

We must not allow pride to keep us from experiencing God's forgiveness and His times of refreshing. These are wonderful gifts that our hearts and souls desire.

Yesterday Afternoon's Prayer

God, thank you for refreshing me. Please humble my heart and help me turn to you instead of trusting in my own strength. I can't grant myself forgiveness or refresh my own soul, but you can. Give me a clean heart that desires to serve you more than my selfish desires. And when I sin, help me realize your great love for me and let me turn to you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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