2022-01-06
John 15:2 TLB
You must submit to the pruning process. “He prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops.” Pruning entails cutting off dead branches and cutting back living branches. Both are necessary to shape the tree and stimulate growth. Professional pruners will tell you that most people are too hesitant when it comes to pruning.
But God is not. He not only cuts off that which is sinful and superficial, He cuts back that which is alive and successful; a business that’s doing great, a satisfying relationship, or a plan that seems to be working well. God doesn’t just cut off the “bad,” but the “good,” in order to give you the “best.” It’s not pleasant, but it’s absolutely essential for spiritual growth.
What does God want in your life? “Much fruit” (John 15:8). So, you are going to be pruned! You may be undergoing pruning right now, and it may not all be deadwood. God cuts off things we view as productive so that more fruit may be produced in our lives. This can be perplexing. We believe we’re being faithful, so we are puzzled, even frustrated, by His pruning.
“Why are you doing this, God? I have given my business to you, but it’s unprofitable. I have committed my health to you, now I’m in the hospital. I’ve been tithing faithfully, yet I’m going bankrupt.” What’s happening? “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 NIV). You’re being pruned for greater fruitfulness.
Soul food: Gen 10-12; Luke 1:39-56; Ps 10:12-18; Pro 1:17-19
John 15:2 TLB
We must allow the pruning process to happen. ‘He prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops.’ Pruning involves cutting off dead branches and cutting back living branches, and both processes are needed to shape the tree and encourage growth. Professional gardeners say that most people are too hesitant when it comes to pruning. But God isn’t. He not only cuts off the parts that are sinful and superficial, He cuts back some parts that are alive and successful; a job that’s going well, a satisfying relationship, or a plan that seems to be working out. God doesn’t just cut off the ‘bad’, but also the ‘good’, in order to give us the ‘best’.
It’s not pleasant, but it’s absolutely essential for spiritual growth. God wants us to bear ‘much fruit’ (John 15:8) in our lives, so we’re going to be pruned! We might be experiencing pruning right now, and it might not all be ‘dead wood’ that’s being removed. God cuts off things we view as productive so that more fruit can be produced in our lives, which can be really confusing. We believe we’re being faithful, so we’re puzzled, and even frustrated, by His pruning.
We might cry out: ‘Why are you doing this, God? I’ve invited You into my work, but it’s not going well. I’ve prayed about my health, but I’m still feeling unwell. I’ve been giving faithfully and I’ve tried to be generous, but now I’m struggling. What’s going on? What are You doing?’ ‘No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it’ (Hebrews 12:11 NIV). If things seem tough at the moment, it just might be that we’re being pruned for greater fruitfulness.
Gen 10-12; Luke 1:39-56; Ps 10:12-18; Pro 1:17-19
Johannes 15:2 DB
Jy moet jou aan die snoeiproses onderwerp. ‘…Hy snoei hulle en maak hulle skoon sodat daar baie plek vir die druiwetrossies is.’ Die snoeiproses beteken dat jy dooie takke afsny en lewende takke wegsny. Beide is noodsaaklik om die boom te vorm en groei te stimuleer. God sny egter nie net dit wat sondig en oppervlakkig is af nie, Hy sny ook dit wat lewendig en suksesvol is, weg; ‘n besigheid wat goed doen, ‘n bevredigende verhouding of ‘n plan wat lyk of dit goed werk. God sny nie net die ‘slegte’ af nie, maar ook die ‘goeie’ om jou sodoende die ‘beste’ te gee. Dis nie lekker nie, maar dit is absoluut noodsaaklik vir geestelike groei.
Wat wil God in jou lewe hê? Baie vrugte (sien Johannes 15:8). Dus gaan jy gesnoei word! Jy mag dalk tans ‘n besnoeiing ondergaan en dit mag dalk nie alles dooie hout wees nie. God sny dinge wat ons as produktief sien af, sodat meer vrugte in ons lewens geproduseer kan word. Ons glo dat ons getrou is, dus verwar en frustreer dit ons wanneer Hy aan ons snoei.
‘Hoekom doen U dit, Here? Ek het my besigheid aan U oorgegee, maar nou is dit nie winsgewend nie. Ek het my gesondheid aan U toevertrou, maar nou is ek in die hospitaal. Ek het getrou my tiende gegee, maar tog is ek bankrot.’ Wat gebeur? ‘Elke vorm van tug lyk vir ons op die oomblik meer na ‘n rede vir trane as vir blydskap, maar later sal dit vir hulle wat daardeur gebrei is, die blye oes oplewer van ‘n lewe volgens die wil van God’ (Hebreërs 12:11 NLV). Jy word vir groter vrugbaarheid gesnoei.
Sielskos: Gen 10-12; Luk 1:39-56; Ps 10:12-18; Spr 1:17-19
2022-01-05
Luke 8:14 NLT
You must eliminate the weeds. In His famous parable of the sower, Jesus said the seed fell into four different kinds of soil. “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature” (v. 14 NIV). Notice, three varieties of “weeds” can keep you from growing into spiritual maturity.
(1) Worry. You become so preoccupied with everyday cares that you take your eyes off Jesus.
(2) Riches. Making money and buying things dominates your life so much that you don’t have time for the Lord.
(3) Pleasure. Pursuing “the good life” can choke out your spiritual growth. It’s okay to have a good time, but you need to protect your priorities. When you have time to shop, go to the beach, play golf, or spend hours watching television yet you don’t have time to read your Bible and pray, your priorities are out of balance. You say, “I just don’t have time to serve the Lord. I’m too busy. I don’t have time to commit.” Then you are too busy!
You’d better do some weeding. Lots of things in life are not necessarily wrong; they are just not necessary. Maybe you need to cut back your schedule a little to remove the weeds. You have to tend your tomato plants, but you don’t have to do anything to produce dandelions; they grow by themselves when you neglect your garden. Getting the idea? If the “weeds” in your life are keeping you from bearing “fruit,” it’s time to stop talking about it and take action.
Soul food: Gen 7-9; Luke 1:26-38; Ps 10:1-11; Pro 1:10-16
Luke 8:14 NLT
We must eliminate the weeds. In His parable of the sower, Jesus said the seed fell into four different kinds of soil. ‘The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature’ (v.14 NIV). There are three varieties of ‘weeds’ that can prevent us from growing into spiritual maturity.
1) Worry. We can become so preoccupied with everyday cares that we take our eyes off Jesus.
2) Riches. Making money and buying things can dominate our lives so much that we don’t have time for God.
3) Pleasure. Constantly pursuing the ‘fun stuff’ can choke out our spiritual growth. It’s okay to have a good time, but we also need to protect our priorities and have good times with God too. When we can make time for things like shopping, going to the cinema, playing football, watching TV, or scrolling through social media, but we never seem to have time to read the Bible and pray, our priorities are out of balance.
We might say, ‘I just don’t have time for God right now. I’m too busy. I don’t have time at the moment to commit to Him.’ If that’s the case, we need to do some weeding in our lives. Lots of things in life are not necessarily wrong; they’re just not necessary. We might need to cut back a little on some things to remove the weeds. Fruit trees have to be tended to and protected, but dandelions take no effort; they grow by themselves when we neglect our garden. If the ‘weeds’ in our lives are stopping us bearing ‘fruit’, it’s time to have a rethink about our priorities and take action.
Gen 7-9; Luke 1:26-38; Ps 10:1-11; Pro 1:10-16
