Fruit, and the importance of Memorizing Scripture

I am reading through the Bible using a different system this year; it seems a little disjointed to me, since the reading bounces around the different sections of the Bible throughout the week.   So I started off my reading time as I should be doing every day, praying that He would reveal to me exactly what I needed to hear today. 

The passage this morning in Matthew 3-4.  Yes, that passage is chock full of things that the Lord wants us to know - the ministry of John the Baptist, and his encounter with the religious leaders of the day; the baptism of Jesus by John; the temptation of Jesus and how he resisted Satan using scripture. 

My first observation came in chapter 3, verse 8.  John is addressing the religious leaders of his day.  He could see through their façade of piety, and he called them on it.  Without going into the background of the Pharisees and Sadducees, he pointedly asked them if they were bearing the fruit that showed their repentance.   

If John were looking at me today, would he see any fruit that show that I am repentant?  Galatians 4:22-23 gives a list of the fruit that should be evident in my life as a Spirit-indwelled believer:   love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  I thought about it for a while.  Am I bearing fruit that is evident to others, both believers and unbelievers alike?  Sometimes I wonder what kind of fruit others are seeing. Is it good, nourishing fruit, or is it shriveled, rotten, under ripe, bitter fruit?  Is it fruit that I have in abundance, or are there only one or two pieces? My prayer is that the Lord will work in my life so I bear good fruit, and good fruit in abundance. 

The second observation that I made today is  from the temptation of Jesus.  One of the major reasons we memorize scripture is to combat Satan. For every temptation that Satan threw at Jesus, He responded with "It is written." THAT is what I need to be doing when I am tempted, especially when I am tempted to dwell in my past.  I am NOT that person any longer, God has re-created me into His image, and I need to reflect that. I am significant in His eyes.  Since I've joined with Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries in memorizing 24 verses this year, my prayer is that God will reveal exactly what passages I need to memorize so that I have an arsenal to be used when I'm plagued by the temptation to think I'm insignificant.

Yes, the Lord did speak to me today in my quiet time, as I knew He would.  I need to meditate on His word and commit it to memory because it is through that discipline that the fruit of the Spirit is developed in my life.  His word is what I need to combat Satan, and to answer those who have questions.  Lord, help me continue to hide Your word in my heart so I may bear much fruit, and so I can say "it is written" when the tempter attacks.