Today’s Podcast

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1. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
2. I’m not a gardener as anyone who knows me can attest. But I do know the difference between trimming and pruning. We don’t mind trims, but most of us don’t care for pruning very much.
3. Scripture
   1. John 15:1-4
   2. Jesus: I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.  My Father examines every branch in Me and cuts away those who do not bear fruit. He leaves those bearing fruit and carefully prunes them so that they will bear more fruit;  already you are clean because you have heard My voice.  Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is disconnected from the vine, and neither will you if you are not connected to Me.
4. Devotional
   1. I don’t have any fruit trees in my yard anymore. I do have several bush and I try to keep them reasonably shaped so I don’t get nastygrams from my Home Owners’ Association.
      1. Want to keep them all about the same size and shape
      2. Don’t want sprigs poking out everywhere
      3. Want them to be need and attractive from the street
      4. I trim them occasionally to make them look okay when driving past the house
      5. I have never pruned them
   2. Took a trip to Disneyland a few years ago
      1. Bushes formed in the shape of cartoon characters
      2. Takes careful pruning to ensure each branch retains the right amount of foliage and grows in the right direction to form those familiar shapes
      3. Pruning takes away what might look like good healthy branches, but they are not contributing to the purpose for which the gardener planted that particular bush
      4. Looks good, but the wrong direction, the wrong growth, non-contributor to the cause
   3. Fruit trees are like that
      1. Orchards filled with trees that are not very tall
      2. Produce extraordinary crops
      3. Every branch that doesn’t produce fruit is removed
      4. It doesn’t contribute to the purpose for which the tree was planted
      5. Just soaks up nutrients that the fruit bearing branches could use to produce more and better fruit
   4. Jesus wants to do that for us
      1. Prunes us
      2. Wants to take away everything that doesn’t produce fruit
      3. Wants to remove the things that just soak up time and energy with no purpose
      4. Wants to transform us into His likeness
   5. Doesn’t want to just trim the edges to make us look good from a distance; wants to prune us to make us better, more productive in His kingdom
5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.