August 12, 2019: SOAP #3538:  Jeremiah 13-15; John 15

Scripture:  John (NIV) 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 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.
3  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Observation:  When something I do not like happens to me, or I miss something I wanted to attend, or I lose something I really liked—In those times I can feel that God must be punishing me.  I probably did something He did not like.  But according to verse 2 above, God may be working in me to make me more fruitful.

God must have known that some of his children would think like me, so He quickly added verse 3 to reassure us that we are already clean.

His pruning is not to rid us of something bad; pruning often involves cutting back healthy growth.  The pruning is to make room for more fruit!  The energy of the plant is being focused on that which will bear large, healthy fruit, not just more leaves.

Application:  It is a blessing to receive from the Lord and enjoy His abundant supply.  It is easy to look at God’s generous supply and be thankful for His blessings.  But…may I never lose sight of this…
…if I want my life to be a blessing to Him, I must allow Him to remove things from my life.  The loss may open doors for future fruitful ministry.  The amount of time I invest in one activity/ministry might be better invested in another ministry.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I trust my life to you.  Do your pruning as will be most fruitful for your kingdom. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!