An Emoji Devotional for Saturday 19th Sept, 2026
Topic: The Tree that got Cursed was a Practical Parable
Highlight:
"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." — John 15:2 NIV
"Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, 'May you never bear fruit again!' Immediately the tree withered." — Matthew 21:19 NIV
When God began His mighty ministry of restoring humanity to Himself as a True and loving Father, He launched it by delivering the children of Israel with His Great and Mighty Hand! From 420 years of brutal slavery in Egypt, God broke the chains. He performed raw signs and wonders through His servants Moses and Aaron to dignify His Holy Name. These miracles were so devastating that they broke the policy of Pharaoh—a hardened king converted by force of sight to let the children of Israel free! And when Pharaoh changed his mind, pursuing them to drag them back into bondage, God Himself stepped onto the battlefield. The Red Sea looked and fled! Jordan was driven back! Mountains skipped like rams and little hills like lambs before them! The entire earth trembled at the presence of God (Psalms 114:1-8).
Hear this: This was not a campaign of human strategy; it was God’s intense ministry of reconciliation, drawing men to Himself through unyielding faith. This is why God awarded righteousness to Abraham—not for his works, but because he had raw faith, believing the True God for what was promised. "And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith" (Genesis 15:6). This means God declares a person right with Him through total trust rather than through human deeds. Moving forward in His ministry, God sent prophet after prophet to proclaim that He does not want empty sacrifices—He wants obedience and radical faith!
Brethren, when the Lord Jesus Christ arrived, He came to show us that carrying this Faith inside us allows God to unleash miracles, deliverance, and salvation in our lives! When He met a faithless generation, He cried out with passion: "You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me!" (Mark 9:19). Jesus then died like a seed buried deep in the soil, and rose up on the third day to explode with a harvest of fruit—the fruit of faith in God!
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." — Matthew 12:40
Jesus wants everyone to know that God has buried those old days of using human effort and legalistic sacrifices to reach Him. The divine ministry of reconciling people by faith has begun through His resurrection program! After He resurrected, He poured out His Spirit into everyone of us to join Him in this global mission. We are called to preach and conquer the hearts of men through a message of hope, welcoming love, and the absolute goodness of God. If we trust Him and lay down our guards of human dependency, we will build a powerful faith-journey, commanding His blessings by obedience and not by our struggling efforts. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).
Are you born again? Have you given your absolute trust to Jesus Christ? Are you living by Faith to God through Jesus? Then you have a mandate to continue this ministry of reconciliation! You must tell others to have faith in God through Jesus Christ so they can possess eternal life (John 3:16).
Look at the fire of the early Church:
"Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said... So there was great joy in that city." — Acts 8:4-8 NIV
You are called to give the world great joy by commanding them to have faith in God through Jesus Christ—and that is exactly how you become fruitful in the eyes of God! "He answered, 'The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.'" (Matthew 13:37).
When you tell people to have faith in God, you are actively sowing the seed of God. Through your mouth, Jesus is sowing good seed. This is precisely why Jesus cursed the fig tree: because His seed must always bear fruit! Leafy profession without fruit is a target for a curse.
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." — John 15:16 NIV
After you receive Faith through Jesus, you cannot stay quiet. You must begin to tell people about faith. This is how you partner with Jesus in His grand mission to save the world!
Thank you for reading. Now, it is time to fully understand God's word and produce power:
"But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” — Matthew 13:23
"But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." — Luke 8:15
"Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” — Mark 4:20
Your faith is your certificate of access to God! Your ability to retain it, hold it fast, and produce fruit with it is the ultimate proof of your understanding of God.
Prayer:
Almighty Father, I have understood clearly that my Faith is paramount to You. Fire me up to keep to this faith always and to spread it with passion, in Jesus' mighty name. Amen!
