Faithful and Fruitful

Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward. 

2017 has just passed, 2018 has just begun. No new year resolutions, for they are all useless, leading to self deception and and hypocrisy. No promises, for none can really fulfill any promise made. Not even religious consecration, for it is too superficial and event bound. 

The only difference of old and new year is, it is another day in another year. Instead of all physical and mental resolution, thank the Lord for His great mercy and faithfulness all these years, and look to Him for more grace to enjoy and gain Him this coming year. Do not make any special event for the turn of year, but simply look to the Lord for His grace to enjoy Him every day; ordinary days of originally enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, gaining Christ, growing in Christ, and maturing in Christ. 

Forget the things behind-good or bad, success or failure. Stretch forward to gain Christ. In gaining Christ, I am burdened for faithfulness and fruitfulness. 

This is exactly what I am doing this new year. And my specific prayer is, Lord make me faithful by You being my faithfulness, I and make be fruitful by abiding in You to be my fruitfulness. 

John 15:8

In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so you will become My disciples. 

Quantitatively, I have not been fruitful in terms of gaining people into the church life nor bringing sinners into salvation with water baptism. Though I have many contacts and contacted many sinners and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, still the quantified remaining fruit has been so substantial and totally unsatisfactory. The burden the Lord imparted in this year is, faithfulness and fruitfulness. 

Matthew 24:45

Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time? 

This burden has been much strengthened in my time with the Lord. In fact, I have fellowshipped this burden to the saints and prayed over and over again; personally, corporately in our family prayer, and the church prayer. No longer to be passive observer, but to be properly aggressive in gaining building materials for God's building. 

This is no resolution nor promise nor consecration, but a burden from the Lord in the Body for the Body. 

The verse in John 5:8 touched me deeply. Fruit bearing is for the Father's glorification, for there is the multiplication of life. And fruit bearing also makes one a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Without fruit bearing, where then can be the glorification? For glory is God expressed, and and God wants to express Himself through His children begotten of Him by fruit bearing. Without fruit bearing, how can one be the Lord's disciple? For discipleship bears fruits. 

My prayer is, Lord, grace me to abide in You and bear much fruits, and that my fruits remain for Your multiplication and Your glorification. This burden is in unison with faithfulness in all what the Lord has bestowed upon me with Him as my faithfulness.