Beware of the Fruitless Deeds of Darkness
Ephesians 5:11 (NIV)
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them”
Ephesians 5:11 (NIV)
Beloved, let us note the Apostle Paul’s aforementioned warnings. The Apostle identified the deeds of darkness as follows: sexual immorality, obscenity, foolish talk, dishonesty, impurity, idolatry, greed, coarse joking, involvement in alcohol binge, and disobedience – Ephesians 5:3-6, 18 (NIV). Thus, be very careful on your life journey with whom you partner and/or associate.
The Scriptures remind us in 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 (NKJV), ‘Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” Awake to righteousness, and sin not,….’ Saints, depending on the type of friends we keep, they can negatively or positively affect our relationship with God. Therefore, we must remember that those of us who want to be friends with the world, make ourselves enemies of God – James 4:4 (NIV).
We need to emulate Christ in our daily lives. In John 15:5-6 (NIV), Jesus declares, that we need to remain in him and he will remain in us, guiding us along the correct path, as branches and trees are connected to each other. To remain in the Lord means that we continually receive, believe, and trust that Jesus is everything we need. As disciples of Christ, our faith will always be put to test. That test may look like years of prayers that are answered, “wait”, or being thrown into a world of uncertainty and chaos. However, it is God the Father, Who removes the unfruitful branches and prunes the fruitful ones so that they may be even more fruitful. This pruning is a painful process but as branches of God, if we are to be fruitful, we need to remain connected.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that You give us the strength to reject the fruitless deeds of darkness outright, lest we be cast out of Your presence as worthless branches, disconnected from You, our Saviour. We implore You, Jehovah Elohim Shomri (Protector); give us the strength not to depart from the faith and give heed to seducing spirits and doctrine of demons as mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:1 (KJV).
John 3:16 describes Your love for us, and the Scripture Proverbs 3:12, informs us that as our Father, You discipline who You love and delight in; Lord God we submit to Your correction, wisdom, and guidance so that we may be able to bear the fruit of the Spirit, as we successfully navigate our new beginnings, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
Read: John 15:5-6; Ephesians 5:3-6, 18; 1 Timothy 4:1
Bible Reading Guide: Psalms 115:1-11; Philippians 1:27-30; Philippians 2:1-11; Jeremiah 1; Jeremiah 2:1-30
