Daily Scripture Verse: Galatians 6:1-5

1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

5 For every man shall bear his own burden

In this verse, bearing another's burdens is the helping of another to overcome temptation and sin. Jesus did this for us in the garden at Gethsemane, bleeding from each pore. We should also note that providing meat and potatoes does not bear another's burdens because the instruction to "restore" is also significant in the alternatives that it excludes. When another is caught in a sin, do we rejoice in his fall? Do we, out of ill will or spite, broadcast his failure? Or, do we ignore and minimize his sin? All these are acts of the flesh, and not of the Spirit. Paul says, "ye which are spiritual" should restore him. This would involve confrontation, correction, instruction, and continual encouragement in directing the erring brother back to the right path.
In so bearing the heavy burdens of others, we fulfill the law of Christ.

Two things could hinder someone from becoming involved with other believers in this way. First, perhaps he "think himself to be something when he is nothing," but here "he deceiveth himself." No one should think so highly of himself as to think that he is above caring for his brothers in the Lord. A second destructive tendency is constant comparison with others, and to draw illegitimate conclusions from his supposed inferiority or superiority to his brothers. Paul says each should examine himself against the law of Christ, and not to compare himself to others, but rather to carry their burdens as they have need.

Daily Scripture Verse

Matthew 21:19-22

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

The fig tree produces fruit before leaves, thus since the tree was producing leaves it also produced fruit. The tree is representing the Jewish religious system at the time which appeared healthy (leaves on the tree) but was producing no fruit. This event occurs after the cleansing of the temple and Jesus had declared the house of prayer as a den of thieves; he is now passing judgement on a barren Israel.

The instant withering of the tree after the curse metaphorically pronounces the decline of Judaism. The essence of the curse also indicates the upcoming shift in the work of God. Matthew wrote this about 80 AD and could also be referring indirectly to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. So, not only was this spiritually effective, but people saw the real downfall of the temple, Judaism's symbol of faith.

Faith is not a magical power that we can use on our own, but we need to use it in conjunction with prayer. Prayer does not activate faith, but faith must be proffered to God in prayer. Thus, it is God's will that determines the movement of the mountain.

Jesus' response to his disciples that they should have faith and not doubt thus having power thru that faith indicates that their roles in God's Kingdom as servants to the people of the world in the dawning of Christ. But they should not utilize the power of God to fulfill their wants or needs or perform miracles they want to perform, Jesus had just condemned those actions. They are to use their power as God's people to produce the "fruit" that Israel could not produce, in other words be fruitful.