God's Pruning

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2)

What is it about us that God the Father must remove, prune—cut away; in order for us to be able to bear more fruit to Him?

First, we need to understand what fruit He is looking for.

Some think the ”fruit” God most desires is soul winning; leading unsaved people to Christ. And while that is certainly part of it, I think we need to look much deeper within.

What is the purpose and process of our sanctification?—to be set apart for holiness.

Knowing that the Father is pruning each of us that we bear more fruit to Him, then we need to look at what scriptures specifically mention spiritual fruit.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Isn’t this a literal description of what it means to be Christ-like?

So if being more like Jesus is to see more of the fruit of the Spirit manifest in our lives, then what would God need to prune from each of us to bring this to fruition?

The answer is simple; anything that gets in the way of that process and goal.

And He is not primarily pruning physical things out of our lives, but bad attitudes. Things of the heart. Wrong thoughts. Selfishness. Stubbornness. Immaturity.

And this pruning—this cutting away—can be quite painful; when we resist God in His efforts to do so.

Time for some serious, sincere, self-examination before God.

When the fruit of the Spirit mentioned above is absent, the works, or fruit of the flesh is evident. This fleshly fruit is as follows:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident;, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, partying.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

And though you may not physically be murdering anyone, or committing the act of adultery with someone who is not your spouse, are you contentious with someone in your life? Do you frequently explode in childish outbursts of wrath whenever something does not go your way? Are you being selfish or self-centered in your personal ambitions? In your relationships? Are there temporal, earthly things that are so important to you that you have in effect made them idols?

These are the kinds of destructive things that God must painfully prune from your life—from your heart—in order for you to be able to bear more fruit of the Spirit to Him.

The question is—will you continue to resist Him?

You will never experience true freedom, peace and joy in your life until you willingly surrender your heart and the things in your life to God.

People who regularly demonstrate any of the works (fruit) of the flesh in their lives are not free, They are bound; prisoners of their own hard-hearted rebellion against God.

Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)

What fruit are you known by?

When your spouse, your children, your friends, your co-workers see you, do they see a person who regularly explodes in outbursts of wrath when you don’t get your way?

Or do they see a person who is at peace, kind, gentle, and who demonstrates self-control when faced with a challenging situation?

Really take some time and do some honest soul-searching before God, and examine your heart and the fruit of your life.

You are known by your fruits.

People see you. If you’re a follower of Christ, they are watching you, to see if you’re the real deal.

Jesus is the Vine, and you are a branch. God the Father prunes His branches that abide in Jesus, so that you will bear more fruit of the Spirit to Him.

Are you submitting to Him?

Or resisting Him in His efforts to prune you?


—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

A Better Hope

"He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6)

Are you disillusioned with the superficial promises of health, wealth and happiness that you were led to believe would all be yours, if you chose what was behind Door # 1 and became a Christian?

"Just name it and claim it in Jeezus' name, and you will have all the material blessings you could ever want!"

The superficial, fleshly part of me that I'm ashamed of, wishes it were that simple.

But it's just not reality.

The sad fact is, many today who call themselves "Christian" just want to use God to get what they want out of life.

They don't really want Him personally. Just His blessings. God is like a divine vending machine to them. Just put in the right change, pull the lever, and out pour the blessings. Rub the bottle and out pops your personal Genie to give you everything your heart desires.

Don't you think God is insulted by this shallow treatment?

Time for a reality check.

The Old Covenant was: you keep the Law perfectly, do everything God commands you, and follow all of His regulations to the Letter; and He will reward you with the promise of His blessings and prosperity.

The problem is, no human being in history was able to follow that written code perfectly.

Enter Jesus—who established the New Covenant; which was a better covenant, established on better promises.

What better promises?

For starters, that you are no longer bound by the old Law of having to be perfect to be declared righteous (because you can't). That you are not required to earn your salvation by "being good enough" (because you can't). And that you are not required to be perfect enough to keep your salvation once you have received it (because you can't).

Salvation is a free gift to all those who will turn from their sin, who will choose to put their trust (faith) in Jesus Christ—who will believe that He suffered, was crucified, and died on a Cross, was buried, and then rose from the grave three days later.

It's a free gift. It's called Grace: God's unmerited favor.

And it's a life of God's unmerited favor that we live, as we follow on to know and serve Christ. 

Where Christians make the biggest mistake, is that we think God is somehow indebted to bless us as we try our best to be good, obedient people.

We try to go to church every week. We try to pray. We try to tithe our 10%. We try to read our bibles. We try not to flip that guy off who cut in front of us in traffic this morning. We try not too drink to much. 

God is not a debtor to any man.

Even our faith (our capacity to believe and trust in Christ for salvation) is a free gift.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As much as we would like it to be "Heaven" down here now, it isn't.

In this life there is much suffering. Followers of Christ still get cancer. We still lose jobs, houses, and 401-K earnings. Spouses still leave and run off with the neighbor down the street. And we don't always get from God what we ask of Him. 

Look at the following verses:

“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” (1 Peter 4:19)

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

As recipients of grace, we who live under a New Covenant, which was established on better promises, have been set free to live according to the law of the Spirit of life. Free to ask God for our needs and the needs of others, and then fully trust Him with the results. 

Why God heals a few people who have a life-threatening illness, and chooses not to heal most, is a mystery far too great for me to understand. Why some people are blessed with amazing success in this life, and many other faithful followers have lost everything, is known only to God.

And that's the point.

God alone has all knowledge, wisdom and power. 

He alone is sovereign. Nothing happens unless He either directly causes it to happen, or He chooses to allow it to happen.

So, I ask what I ask of Him, fully knowing and believing that He is able to do it, and then trust Him with the results; come what may.

And I can rest in that truth, in Him.

If my faith is in my faith, the pressure is on. It's up to me to be able to believe enough to make something happen.

But that's not trusting in God....that's trusting in me. 

Here's a very helpful practice; every time you see the word "faith" in the Bible, replace it with the word, "trust."  The biblical word translated "faith" primarily means to trust; to believe. (Greek; "pistis").

"Without trust, it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6)

God knows what is best for us. We don't.

We like to quote: 

"And my God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

We like that verse because we think we can somehow justify our lust for material riches by it.

But what if our greatest "need" is to be refined in the fires of adversity and suffering? What if God knows our greatest "need" in our pride and arrogance is to be humbled through difficult trials? 

We look at suffering and trials as if God had abandoned us.

But the Apostle James exhorts us, 

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:2-3)

The Apostle Peter writes:

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6-7)

We're told to joyfully rejoice whenever we go through fiery trials. But we do the opposite and we moan and complain.

“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” (1 Peter 4:19)

It's time for the modern Church to once and for all cast off our ungodly expectations and the false bill of goods we have been sold by the prosperity doctrine folks, and trust in the Lord and thank Him for all things, come what may.

"Without trust it's impossible to please God."

Draw near to God with only the supreme desire to know Him personally and more intimately—not for what He can give you.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Rest in Love

Are you tired of constantly striving to try and make your life work?

If you answered "yes" to that question, take heart weary traveler; there is hope.

Why does it so often seem like life just doesn't work out as we had hoped?  Many of us were taught when we became followers of Christ that if you just try your best to follow the principles in the Bible, that God will bless you with a good life, right?

But, if we are truly honest about it, we will admit that often times, things go south, even though we did "our best" to try and faithfully obey what we were taught.

In church you may have heard something like this, "Just stand under the spout where the blessings come out."

That may sound great in a sermon.

However, the reality is, sometimes, even though we've prayed, cried and tried, the marriage doesn't always work out.  The cancer isn't always healed.  The house or car still gets repossessed.  The job we had hoped for doesn't always materialize. The prodigal child for whom we've travailed in prayer for the last decade is still rebellious and unsaved.

"Why God?" we cry out.

"What happened?" we lament. 

"What am I doing wrong?" 

Sometimes, we as Christians try to claim promises that God never made to us.  Other times, we expect God to do everything we ask of Him simply because, "we have faith that He will do it."

But often times, He chooses to do something quite different than what we expect or demand.

The fact is—He is God, and He can do whatever He wants. This is His earth, His universe, His creation. All things were made by Him and for Him, including us.  And God is all-knowing.  He alone knows the future, and He will bring to pass His perfect will, not our imperfect will.

Sadly, many Christians today treat God as little more than a convenient mall Santa Claus.  We stand in line to rattle off our long list of demands, and then say, "See Ya next Christmas when it's time for You to bring me more presents!"

I think the following statement says it very well: 

"God is not a vending machine. We don't insert the proper change and then reach into the tray to claim whatever sweet blessing we want."

How often do we treat God that way?  Treating Him as if He were obligated to bless us, because we did "our best" to follow the rules?

God is not indebted to us. Rather, we, who have been saved by grace through the divine gift of faith, owe everything to Him.

If you are weary today of running on the hamster wheel of performance—trying to obey the rules in the Bible so that God will in turn bless you for it;  jump off that merry-go-round.  It will only lead you to more frustration, disappointment and defeat.

Jesus came to bring a New and Living Way for us to live. 

He is the Way.

The old code of Law that we were under before we were saved in Christ brought only slavery and an eternal death sentence. We were slaves to a code of perfection that we could never perfectly obey. No one can.  That's why Jesus Christ came to offer salvation freely to the world—to all those who will choose to believe on Him and receive Him as Savior.

Here is our deliverance from that unattainable code of perfection—the freedom that we as Christians have now been given in Christ:

"The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the Law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."  (Hebrews 7:18-19)

The "better hope" spoken of here is Jesus Christ and the direct access we have to intimacy with God Himself, through Christ.  A New and Living Way.

Jesus said to the religious 'rule keeping' pharisees of His day:

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:39-40)

The entire Bible points to and reveals Jesus Christ.  So often though, we as Christians seek the blessings more than we seek the Blesser.  We seek the gifts while forsaking the Giver.  We don't come to Jesus that we may have life, but we come to Him looking for the things of this life. 

Is it any wonder so many of us are weary, disillusioned, and disappointed?

The old (wrong) way of thinking was, "If I just do enough good things, then God has to reward my goodness and obedience with His blessings."  

But Jesus said:  "There are none who are righteous; no, not one."

Our salvation was a free gift by God's grace.  We couldn't earn it by trying to be good, and we can't keep it by trying to be good. 

The same applies to God's blessings.   They are blessings from Him to us, as He chooses to give them, or withold them.  We cant earn or demand them on a system of merit.  That is returning to the old system of law which requires that we obey the whole code of law perfectly. In that old system, if we break just one requirement of the law, we were guilty before God of breaking the entire law.

But we tend to think that if we can obey the rules "most of the time" that, surely God is obligated to reward us with His blessings, because we "did our best."

God's blessings are not some kind of magic "formula" that we can 'name and claim.'

That's not how it works.

What God desires from us is our love and devotion.  He wants a relationship with us.  That's why Jesus came, to restore man's relationship with God. If we try to relate with God on a merit system of 'our performance obligates reward' we will be left feeling empty, disillusioned and weary.

If you are working to obtain a better marriage for instance, by merely "trying your best" to obey the marriage rules and methods in the Bible, your marriage is probably not going to be very successful.  Oh, things may go well for awhile.  But eventually, you will grow apart from your relationship with your spouse because you have grown apart from your relationship with God because you were not seeking Him first.

There is a simple triangle diagram illustrating "husband" on one of the bottom corners, and "wife" on the opposite bottom corner.  "God" is rightfully at the top of the peak.  At the bottom, husband and wife are far apart, but the closer they grow upward to God, the closer they will grow to each other. This is exactly why my wife and I are still married today, and are happier and more in love than we have ever been.

Even though marriage will never be perfect, what people perceive as the "perfect marriage" is only obtainable when both the husband and the wife choose to pursue intimacy with God first and foremost, and not pursue intimacy with each other as their primary goal.  Yes, God desires a husband and wife to experience true intimacy, in all its applications.  But He desires true intimacy with us as His children first. 

True intimacy in marriage is the fruit of having a right relationship with God.  A truly blessed marriage flows out of a husband and wife's intimacy with God.  Not by a man and a woman trying their best to obey and follow the right 'methods' for a successful marriage.

Yes, absolutely, as Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 5, "A husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for her."  And yes, absolutely, "And the wife must respect her husband."

But if we look at these commands from the Lord primarily as our dutiful obligation and as required rules for a successful marriage, we have missed the heart of God. If we choose to love God by embracing these commands as a joyous "get to" as opposed to a dutiful "got to," we can then begin to walk according to Love, and not Law.

It's about loving because of Relationship—not legally binding Rules.

The problems we experience in our marriages, or in our lives in general, are merely symptoms.  The root of our problems declare the condition of our relationship (or our lack of relationship) with God.

So, if you are weary today—tired of constantly striving to try and make your life work, then respond to the loving voice of Jesus—our Great Shepherd—and come to Him today.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Surrender all your working and striving of trying to earn His blessings by keeping all the rules to Jesus, and just seek intimacy with Him because you love Him.  Not because you want something from Him. The greatest blessing we can ever receive is the gift of relationship with Jesus. Only intimacy with Him can satisfy us and fill up all the longings and empty spaces in our hearts.

Jesus stands at the door of your heart and He gently knocks. He asks that you open the door of your heart from the inside. When you open your heart to Him, He will come in and He will dine with you, and you with Him. Rest in His love.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails