![]() If God is going to cleanse something from you it means it is no longer in alignment with His will for you. The branch is sick – the fruit is rotten, there is striving with little results, growth is hindered because it is oppressed. The branch is dead – results will be fruitless, no obvious growth, no life is flowing through. Just as in the case of a real life tree, there are similar reasons as to why you will be pruned. Yet, it’s a necessary part of our growth so that we can mature in the Lord. Neither way is easy and both can be painful. He will also take us out of certain situations and close doors so that we will continue to grow in the way that He wants us to. ![]() Don’t you just love the illustrations God gives us in the Bible to make things easier to understand? I know I do.Īs part of our sanctification process we know that God will strip us of the sin that so easily entangles us but that is not all. He does this so that those who are producing fruit will produce even more fruit. If you go back and read the scripture above (John 15:1-2) you will see that all believers are pruned by the Lord. So how do you know if you are in fact being pruned? ![]() Jagged stumps formed new growth and I’m happy to report that our tree is now flourishing. The great news is that once we trimmed off the dead branches our tree came back to life. We then had to saw those dead limbs away leaving unsightly stumps where branches once swayed. When Spring rolled around that year half our tree budded with new growth while the other half laid bare. We didn’t realize the importance of cutting away the dead branches so that new growth would occur. We admittedly tried to go without pruning away the dead branches and for an entire year our tree suffered. With that being said our poor tree was neglected for far too long. We are more of the type to plant something and cross our fingers that it grows. My husband and I are not what one would call “gardening types”. We have a very large tree that grows in our front yard and every year we have to prune it. However, just as a healthy tree needs pruning. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NLT Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. ![]() “Yes, I am the vine you are the branches. The only way to stay healthy is remain in Him and stay connected to the Vine. The word “prune” as stated in John 15:2 means ‘ to cleanse‘ in the original Greek. The healthy branches will yield much fruit where as the useless ones will be gathered for the fire. In His own words He describes Himself as the Vine and us as the branches. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” John 15:1-2 NLT “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. Stay tuned friend, you might be experiencing the following and I assure you that you will leave this post with a little more clarity and a lot more peace about it. Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a pruning process? Perhaps you are a little intrigued by the title of this blog post because you aren’t quite sure what the pruning process looks like or what it’s supposed to produce. ![]()
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