Message summary: Today, "all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing". Members of our spiritual family are spreading the Gospel and planting spiritual seeds all over the world.

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"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth"  (Colossians 1:6).

Our raised garden beds are thriving and bearing fruit! Yesterday we ate some of our own tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in our salad. By the way tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are all botanically classified as fruit although they sure seem more like vegetables to me! But by culinary standards they are all vegetables.

All through the summer and early fall, we hope they will grow and bear much fruit!

As we travel on the country roads we are seeing more and more roadside stands with vegetables, fruit, and flowers especially through a region of Lancaster County known as "Garden Spot". When buying produce there's something extra special about "local" although everything is local somewhere. We took the photo of the produce stand this morning outside of Hershey, PA.

Just up the road from us our Amish neighbors are growing watermelon but they are still waiting for their harvest. And yes, watermelons are a fruit. However in Brooksyne's native Oklahoma it is the official state vegetable!*

But today we want to consider something else that's "bearing fruit and growing": the gospel of Jesus Christ. If I were to dwell only on the watered down gospel message that far too many are preaching I could easily become discouraged, but at the same time I'm reminded of the powerful message from Jesus Himself, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against My church".

The statement made in the daily text by the Apostle Paul to the early believers at Colossae, illustrates the rapid spread of the Gospel in the first century.  In fact it had extended into every quarter of the Roman Empire within three decades of Pentecost when the book of Colossians was written.

However, this is not just a statement from history but a present tense description of God's work around the world. Today it's still true that, "all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing". Members of our spiritual family are spreading the Gospel and planting spiritual seeds all over the world.

We have a group of friends from our former church who have been in Zimbabwe. Yesterday Brian and Jody, a couple from our Sunday School class, flew to Cambodia where they had served a number of years.

Paul was rejoicing as he wrote the daily text. Indeed "all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing". Paul didn't just focus on those he had direct fellowship with. He had a spiritual interest in all of God's people, local or distant, those he met personally and those he would later meet in heaven, so that the gospel would bear fruit and grow in their lives as they walked their life's journey here on earth. We should pray earnestly for those whom we may never meet on this side but will spend all eternity with as we worship the One and only true God.

As we do so the gospel will be bearing fruit and growing in our lives and in our world today!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13.

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber