02/05/2026
You can have a form without fruit. An appearance but without substance. Or a religious activity without real devotion.🤍
🤍 Devotion | May 1, 2026
🤍 Reading: Mark 11
🤍 Key Verse: Mark 11:22
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.”
🤍 Reflection:
Today, while reading Mark 11, I got stuck on one part and kept going back to read it again. It was the moment Peter pointed out that the fig tree Jesus cursed had withered, and then Jesus simply replied, “Have faith in God.”
If I’m honest, at first parang hindi ko ma-connect yung sagot ni Lord sa nangyari. I kept asking, Lord, bakit faith agad ang sagot Ninyo tungkol sa withered fig tree? It felt almost unrelated to what Peter noticed. But as I stayed in the passage longer, I began to see something deeper.
The fig tree was not just about a tree. It had leaves, it looked alive, it looked fruitful from a distance… but it had no fruit. And I realized, the Lord was not merely talking about unfruitfulness in a tree, but unfruitfulness that can also happen in the heart.
You can have a form without fruit. An appearance but without substance. Or a religious activity without real devotion.
And then it made sense why Jesus answered, “Have faith in God.”
Parang sinasabi Niya kay Peter, and even to me, do not just be amazed at the judgment on a fruitless tree… learn what produces true fruit.
Which is Faith!
Because real fruit does not come from merely looking spiritual. It comes from trusting God. And that spoke to me personally. Because there are times I can have “leaves” too. Being present in church. Doing Christian things. Being surrounded by ministry. Yet the Lord gently asks, is there a fruit flowing from faith? That humbled me.
And I also noticed that right after saying “Have faith in God,” Jesus talked about believing prayer, mountains being moved, and praying without doubting. It was as if He was showing that fruitful living and powerful prayer both flow from the same source: Faith in God. Not from self-effort. Not from appearance. But Faith.
And I love how the Lord answered a question I was wrestling with in the text. I started reading confused, wondering why Jesus responded that way, and ended the chapter realizing His answer was actually the whole point.
Sometimes we want God to explain every detail, but He leads us deeper instead. What began as a question about a withered tree became a reminder to examine my own heart.
Lord, keep me from having only leaves. Make my life bear fruit that comes from genuine faith in You.
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit…” — John 15:8
Thank You, Lord, for meeting me even in the places where I struggle to understand Your Word, and for showing me that true fruitfulness begins with simply having faith in God. Amen.
| Love, Ate G 🤍