By this we do not mean cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions or becoming a more environment-friendly church. As the church is rightly more concerned about spiritual issues than temporal ones, our ‘green’ theme for Life Church in 2008 has to do with spiritual growth – "Towards a Growing and Fruit-bearing Christian Life." The leafy branches teeming with fresh ripe fruit on the cover of our new calendar aptly portray what we should strive to become both as a church, and as individual Christians – "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." (Psalm 1:3) This theme will be reflected in our worship service messages for 2008.

One passage in our Bible that speaks about spiritual growth is 2 Peter 1:3-8 – "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The first thing we learn from this is that all the conditions that are necessary for growth have been given to us. Verse 3 states that God’s divine power has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Therefore we really have no excuse for not growing. We must make good use of every means that the Lord has provided for our growth.

One good reason for embarking on this Daily Bible Reading programme is that a survey that was conducted 4 months ago revealed that many of us are not reading the Bible as we should. In answer to the question, "How often do you read the Bible?" 68 % responded that they read it daily, 26 % read the Bible only once a week, and 7 % read it even less than that. The survey also revealed that a whopping 55 % of us have not read through the Bible completely even once. Dear Lifer, if you do not take time to read God’s Word daily, how can you grow spiritually?

In order to gain maximum profit from your reading of the Word, always begin each reading session with prayer for understanding (Psalm 119:18 – "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."). Then read the whole chapter carefully and devotionally, trusting the Holy Spirit to enlighten and instruct you from His Word. By doing this, you will soon discover that the Bible is "more to be desired…than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." (Psalm 19:10)

In order to encourage you to keep pressing on in reading a chapter a day from the Scriptures, the references of the chapters you are to read for each week will be printed on the back page of our church weekly, beginning with this issue. Please look out for it and follow it! Each day’s devotional reading from F.B. Meyer’s "Our Daily Homily" will also remind you of this, as it will be based on the chapter to be read on the day.

Besides reading the Bible daily, we shall also embark on another series of passages for scripture memorization. These 28 passages have been printed into a small booklet ("The Growing Christian") that can be carried in your pocket or purse and reviewed whenever you have the opportunity, e.g. while waiting for a train or bus to arrive, or while waiting for your number to be called in a waiting room. The 28 passages have also been recorded onto an audio CD. Playing this CD in your car to aid memorization is an effective way of redeeming the time! Written review exercises will be held every quarter, covering 7 passages at each review. Those who achieve a score of 70 % and above will receive a certificate by mail.

Besides the Word of God, there are other means of grace that the Lord has provided for spiritual growth, such as prayer, Christian fellowship, worship and witnessing. Make the best use of each of them, so that you may be "fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10) If you are serious about growing spiritually, take full advantage of church programmes such as our Sunday School, Fellowship groups, Neighbourhood Bible Communities, Wednesday Night Bible Classes (which will begin in March), Family Worship, and our Tuesday night Prayer Meeting.

The second thing that we learn from 2 Peter 1:3-8 is that there are 8 fruits of Christian growth: Faith, Virtue, Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness and Charity (Love). The presence or absence of these fruits provide us with a way to measure how much we have progressed in our Christian growth.

Dear Lifer, please examine your own life now to see whether you have these fruits or not, and then seek to develop those that you still lack. If what you lack is faith, do something about it – pray that the Lord will strengthen your faith. He may do this in an unexpected manner – through sending you a trial that demands your exercise of faith in God. If what you lack is patience, ask the Lord to help you to cultivate this needed quality. He may put you in situations where you will have no choice but to wait and be patient.

These fruits can also be used to assess how far a church has grown. Numerical growth is not as important as spiritual growth, and head knowledge is of little value until it becomes applied knowledge. One evidence that a church is growing well is the practice of spontaneous brotherly kindness and genuine Christian love among its members. A church where mutual love and kindness are constantly being exercised by members toward one another and even to those beyond its 4 walls is a church that is making good spiritual progress. Our Lord Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:35)

It is encouraging to see members participating in church activities and sacrificing much time and effort to serve in the body of Christ with their spiritual gifts. But it is even more encouraging to see them concerned for brethren who are sick and suffering, going out of the way to help the needy, having compassion to reach out with the Gospel to the unsaved, comforting those who have lost loved ones, and forgiving those who have hurt them deeply. These are the signs of a church’s spiritual growth and maturity that the Lord wants to see in our midst. May we show such evidence of a growing and fruit-bearing church.

The third thing that we learn from 2 Peter 3:1-8 is that spiritual growth is worthwhile and rewarding. This is given in verse 8 – "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." There is no greater sense of fulfillment for the Christian than to be fruitful in the knowledge of Christ. It means that His grace has not been invested in vain

Spiritual barrenness is not good at all. It only gives us a close resemblance to the fig tree that was cursed and withered away because it could not satisfy the Lord Jesus when He came to find figs in it (Mark 11:13,14). A persistent lack of fruits must not be taken lightly, since Jesus said, "Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (Matthew 3:10, cf. John 15:2) Please take heed to this warning: A fruitless Christian may not be a true Christian at all – "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:20-21)

This dread of spiritual barrenness must motivate us now to grow diligently and bear fruit consistently for Christ. May the Lord help us all to be the productive Christians that He wants us to be. Let us therefore make it our goal in the New Year to strive toward a growing and fruit-bearing Christian life. —Pastor

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
Thy savoury salt to be;
That all the world may see my God:
Thy glory seen in me!

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
E’en though I’m full of sin
For Jesus bore them on the cross
And now I’m cleansed within!

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
I’ve tried without success
To bear these fruit all by myself,
Producing emptiness.

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
For Thy Word speaks to me
And makes me yearn to bear this fruit –
An off’ring unto Thee.

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
Let me abide in Thee,
The vine of Truth and nourishment,
The source of fruit, so free!

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
My heart I’ll not withhold;
I give to Thee all that I have
To fashion and to mould.

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
Of love and gentleness,
Of peace and joy and self-control
And blessed faithfulness.

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
To bear them everyday!
So keep me clinging to Thy side
Forever, all the way!

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
Till thou wilt come again
Then, taken up, I can proclaim:
"My life was not in vain!"

I want to bear Thy fruit, o Lord
O Jesus, hear my plea:
Bestir my soul, this moment start
To change my life for Thee!

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