Pruning And Cultivating For Growth

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:2

As gardeners we know that to increase production we must remove the ‘dead wood’ and prune those branches that are producing to help them reach their peak production rate.  We also know that from time to time we need to dig around the plants to loosen the soil so that the roots can get more air and also to give them more room to grow. In this passage this is exactly what Jesus is describing.

God, in order to encourage new growth in the Kingdom, removes those unproductive branches from the Vine – He casts off the non-believers, such as those Jews who wouldn’t accept Jesus as Messiah. Then He will remove those things from our lives – unforgiveness, doubt, fear, etc – to allow us room to produce more of the ‘Fruit of His Spirit; Love, joy, peace, patience, etc. Next He will dig through the dirt we are growing in to stir up our spiritual beliefs – our foundation – this encourages us to study the Bible in order to find His Whole Truth.

On the other hand, when an architect designs a building they want to be sure it will withstand the ‘natural disasters common to the area. So they build a scale model and test it to see it’s reactions in earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes, etc. before it is built. This is similar to God’s cultivation process.  God will put others in our path to ‘test’ our faith and to make it stronger in order for us to be ready for Satan and his ‘earth shattering’ attacks before they come upon us.

There are other reasons for God’s cultivation process, too.  As cultivating brings more air to the roots of plants, so too God’s cultivation allows the Holy Spirit to be present in more areas of our life.

So plant seeds, water plants and allow God to prune and cultivate them as they grow!

~*~

Waterless Places

Walking In Waterless Places

Matthew 12:43,New American Standard Bible:

Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

Survival and the Rule of “Threes” – In an emergency a person can live for:

·        Three Minutes without Oxygen

·        Three Hours without Shelter

·        Three Days without Water

·        Three Weeks without Food

Water sustains life in plants and people. Figuratively, it also sustains our spirit.

Keepers’ of the Springs:

Before there was indoor plumbing, water was drawn from rivers and springs close by where communities of people lived.  Wherever there was a good water source, people gathered near and shared that source. When a leader was chosen in the community he would delegate important responsibilities to trusted persons of the community. One of the responsibilities he delegated was the position of “Keeper of the Spring.”.

The Keeper of the Spring would go to the water source regularly – even daily, when necessary – to make sure that there was nothing floating in the water that would defile, or poison, or clog the flow.  This job was important for all the members of the community – remember Three days without water?  Well, defiled water could kill a person even faster than that.

Spiritual life is much like physical life in these instances. Life in our physical bodies is meant to mimic the life of our spirits so that we can use these natural things as an example for our Christian walk. 

Walking Against Gods Plan:

We do have a choice. But if we choose to walk contrary to God’s will for our lives, we shove aside the Holy Spirit and allow our own will to displace God’s Spirit in our lives. In doing this we allow our “unclean nature/spirit of the old man” to take control. Then we, like the unclean spirit in our text, are allowed to wander in “waterless places.”  Places where no Christian is meant to dwell as the Holy Spirit can’t live there.

My “Spiritual Survival Rule of Threes” looks something like this:

·        Three Minutes without Prayer unceasing, and our wireless connection to God has been cut. Satan has placed earplugs in our spiritual ears.

·        Three Hours without resting on His promises, and we are defeated by the enemy of our souls.

·        Three Days without Living Water flowing in our spirits, and we have been defiled in our minds – we have given Satan control

·        Three Weeks without Reading God’s Word and our spirits are on the verge of death.

God gives us time to repent and come back to the fold. He will fill us again with His Holy Spirit when me change our mind and allow Him back on the throne of our hearts’ once again. – Back in His proper place.

Then we will experience once again the refreshment of Those Living Waters flowing through our heart once more.

Matthew 12:43-45 NASB:

Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.

What is true in the negative in this passage also holds true in the affirmative. When we repent and let the Holy Spirit reign again in our hearts and lives. He will sweep clean the throne room of our spirit and take up residence once more. Now we know there is only one Holy Spirit, so He won’t be bring seven others more holy than he to join Him. But He will give us more of His spiritual attributes so that we can grow seven times closer to Jesus than we were before.

I know this is true, for when I was in college I walked with God for a short time and was filled with the Holy Spirit. I even spoke in tongues. But after some bad experiences with a husband that claimed to be a “Christian” I fell away from my faith and found myself much as these verses describe the state of the man when the evil spirit returned with his buddies. I was wandering in those “waterless places.”

But when my spirit had “bottomed out” Jesus showed Himself to me once again. I invited Him to come into my heart and life to live as Savior and King forevermore.  Today I am more than seven times greater in my walk with God than I had been when I first believed.

If God can make these mighty changes in my life, He can do the same in yours. But you have to make a choice to allow Him complete access to the throne room of your spirit!

Choose to Serve God and allow His Spirit to run free in you today.

New Year - New You!

So as the New Year is looming nigh

And our spirits are soaring high

Let's take the time to seek out God

Ask Him about the path we trod

Does it please Him in every way?

Do we give Him thanks for each new day?

Are we searching out His word?

And have our neighbors His message heard?

Or do we faint at the tasks at hand?

Though our plans to us seem grand

Yet our Father must sometimes laugh

When He views the plans we draft.

Resolutions we have often set

Then a few days later, we do forget

But if our hearts to God be true

We must make a change or two

Listen to His loving voice

And truly make a righteous choice

To do His will each and every day

And spread the Gospel along our way

Lead our loved ones to God's throne

So that each may be His own

And give yourself to Him anew

Let Him make His changes in you

That you may lead a holy life

And be prepared to be His Wife

Eternity with Him to share

With all God's people, from everywhere

Spread His Gospel far and wide

And do not His light in your life hide

May the New Year be different for you

Tomorrow and every other day, too!

Happy New Year, 2012

Leigh

12/31/11