To be made clean only prepares us for producing fruit. If we stand still, simply resting on our justification, the dark forces will pull us backwards.

Horticulture is not so easy as merely planting a seed and watching it grow. Tending and keeping implies continually watering, fertilizing, and cultivating.

The majority of the growth or maturation of a pineapple plant takes place from within. The same holds true for our calling and conversion.

Within the fig, there are many fruits in what seems to be a singular fruit. Like the fig flower, God's saints do not fall if they are producing fruit.

Fruit is not produced immediately; it is produced only when a plant is both mature and stable enough that mere survival is no longer its top priority.

A basic agricultural principle, what is sown will be reaped, also applies to human behavior. Sin brings death, while following God's Word produces life.

If our worship of God ends in slavish obedience, so does our salvation! While He wants us to obey, God is not looking for obedient drudges but loyal children.

In the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, Jesus does not attribute tragedy directly to any person's sins as the Jews did; instead, He affirms the sinfulness of everyone.

The Bible speaks of the Spirit as the power or mind of God, the power of love and of a sound mind. It emanates from Him and thus can be said to be poured out

We must not think that we will achieve spiritual growth merely by passively standing in close proximity to God's word or His church; fruit requires work.

Each day in the count is a reminder to consider what we are sowing and what we are cultivating because it will assuredly come to fruition and then evaluation.

If we neglect our cultivation of spiritual fruit during the year, the harvest will reflect that. The fruit of one's labors will be evident at harvest time.

The Greek author Xenophon, in his work The Art of Horsemanship, dispels the notion that meekness is weakness by describing the 'meeking' of war horses.

Dr. Bruce Wilkinson explains that 'takes away' should be more properly rendered 'takes up,' meaning new grape vines are lifted out of the dirt.

Producing fruit is not simply a matter of having Jesus Christ or being forgiven. He says we will not produce anything unless we go on growing in Him.

We tend to avoid acknowledging our weaknesses, but at some point, each of us will admit our powerlessness and inability to carry out God's will on our own.

Jesus said the greatest commandments were Lord toward God and neighbor. There is no connective between the first and second clauses; they cannot be separated.

God can take satisfaction that He is doing the right thing, and thus His rejoicing can even come from painful judgments. Sacrificing and rejoicing are linked.

The Bible uses agriculture to provide many lessons for us. Are we learning them—or are we repeating history as Israel did?

Corinth had four positive teachers, yet a mysterious fifth teacher was also influencing them and instilling beliefs that were the source of all the bad fruit.

The temporary dwellings remind us that nothing earthly is permanent nor our true inheritance, and that our focus must be on what God is doing.

Most of our Christian lives will be spent going on to perfection. But how do we do it? This Bible Study helps explain this broad, yet vital subject.

Sometimes small things make big impacts, such as Simon of Cyrene's carrying of Christ's cross. Do we consider our 'smallness' to be a blessing or a curse?