Abound More and More

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

The Greek word for being filled is “pleroo” which means:
1. To make full
2. Cause to abound
3. Filled to the full
4. To be filled

Oh, how I long to be filled to the brim with the fruits of righteousness! How I long to bring glory and honor to my Lord through my daily life. I want to be ‘filled to the full’ and abound in the fruits of right living.

‘To be filled’ represents the present results of a past action. In other words, not only have we been filled with the fruits of righteousness but can continue to be filled with those fruits because of our relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. We need to continue to always be in the growing process. If we are not growing, we are dying.

If we allow ourselves to be continually in the “filling process” with the righteousness of Christ, there will be no room for any other kind of fruit. Only HIS fruit.

We are able to produce this fruit through the power of the Holy Spirit. And we do it to bring GLORY and PRAISE and HONOR to God. That is our spiritual purpose. That is our Godly pursuit.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4)

We can only bear the fruit that has been planted in us. In order for us to bear the fruit of righteousness , the fruit of “right living”, we must have a relationship with God that allows Him to impute or transfer His Righteousness to us.

We can’t do it on our own. It is only because of Christ and only through Him that we can even partake in this fruit. If we want to bear the fruit of righteousness, we have to be sowing into ourselves the things that will cause that to grow in us. We have to expose ourselves to things that are right, pure, lovely and virtuous. We have to steep ourselves in the Word of God. We have to spend time in prayer and thanksgiving.

Let us stand together in one spirit, with one mind, striving for the spread of the gospel of Christ. May we be a sweet smelling aroma; an acceptable sacrifice; and be well-pleasing to God. May we walk worthy of our calling. May we be pleasing to Him. Fruitful in every good work and ever increasing in the knowledge of God. May the fruit that we bear, reflect our growing relationship with the Lord.

Thank you Edie for this great new header/banner you created for me! You are just the best and the sweetest person to work with.