February 28

Matthew 21:12-22 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:

Journal Entry

Scripture

18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once.
20When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" 21And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen. 22And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Observation

Jesus saw a fig tree by the road and as he went up to the tree, he saw nothing on it except leaves. Then Jesus said to the tree that it would never bear fruit again. And as soon as he said it, the tree withered. Jesus explained this situation to his disciples as comparison to our life of faith. We need to bear fruit and we would bear fruit when we have faith in Jesus without doubt. When our faith is strong we could do the same to the fig tree as well as to move the mountain. Do we exercise that type of faith in our daily life? Our faith needs to be practiced out each and every day.

Application

If I profess my faith in Jesus, then I need to exercise my faith in my daily life. One of the ways to do this is in my prayer life, my communication with the Lord. I must begin by being honest with the Lord by admitting my shortcomings. And be sincere in my request that is in line with God's will for my life. In so doing, I can be in tune with God's provision & His guidance for my life. And each step I take towards expanding my knowledge in doing God's will, my faith could grow stronger. My confidence in the Lord will able me ultimately to do things beyond my understanding.

Prayer

Lord, forgive me for my little faith I had while serving you. I want to exercise my faith in every aspect of my life, such as in my work life, church life, family life, and most importantly, in my relationship with you, Jesus. Help me to grow in my faith by desiring to know you more through reading the Word and meditating on the Word every day.

--Esther Koh