Pruned

John 15:2 NAS Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

You have probably seen them at the entrance to amusement parks or within the botanical gardens of a local park. Topiaries are the fun-shaped shrubs that have been pruned into geometric shapes or funny characters. Creating a topiary requires time, knowledge of the plant, and commitment to the plan. We are human topiaries in the kingdom of God.

Pruning is the process of creating a topiary: focused on molding and shaping the plant to display its beauty and enhance the garden. But there is a big difference between pruning and trimming. Pruning involves selectively cutting specific parts of a plant to shape and promote healthy growth. At times, the pruning process can appear extreme, involving the removal of larger branches to achieve the shape, promote healthy growth, and increase fruitfulness. Studies show that well-pruned flowering shrubs can produce 30% more blooms and fruit than those left unpruned. Trimming, however, generally refers to cutting back smaller branches and leaves to tidy up the overall appearance but without altering the plant’s overall structure.

God is not interested in trimming or just tidying up your life. The goal of the Gospel is not to affirm you, celebrate you, and accept you. The ultimate goal of the Gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and redirect you, molding and shaping your life into the image of Christ. Casual, comfortable, and celebrated Christians are not changing the world…. Christ-followers who have surrendered everything to be transformed into the image of Jesus are. 1 Corinthians 15:49 TPT “Once we carried the likeness of the man of dust, but now let us carry the likeness of the man of heaven.”

Pruning is never punishment but is actually for those who are already fruitful in their lives. ”Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” Pruning is for those Christ-followers who are already experiencing the fruit of a Christ-centered life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Pruning is much like a soldier being trained before the next battle. No matter how experienced, the soldier’s training is focused on eliminating habits or behaviors that could hinder them from performing in intense battle situations or, even worse, put them and their fellow soldiers in harm’s way. God works to remove unfruitful or diseased portions of our spiritual life, all so we can be productive members of His kingdom, molded and shaped into His likeness. Left unpruned, unfruitful portions of our life will drain us of spiritual vitality and hinder us from achieving all that God has planned for us.

So, if the purpose of pruning is to produce more fruit, what does it really mean to be fruitful? Fruitfulness is living a life that is filled with and demonstrates the grace, mercy, kindness, and compassion of Jesus, flourishing even when tests and trials come our way. This life is cultivated in one place only: through abiding in Christ. “Those who abide in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NLT. To abide is to be and remain continually in His presence, allowing the Holy Spirit to mold and shape our lives. When we abide in His presence, surrendering everything to the will and purposes of God, great fruitfulness is the result.

If you are going through a pruning season – rejoice! You are being shaped into His likeness.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

Isaiah 64:8 NLT And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Romans 8:28-29 AMP We are assured and know that all things work together and are for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also destined from the beginning to be molded into the image of His Son and share inwardly His likeness.

2 Corinthians 3:18 TPT We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Romans 12:2 TPT Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.

Colossians 3:10 NLT Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

Galatians 2:20 NLT My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Philippians 3:20-21 NIV But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NAS But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

2 Timothy 3:16 TPT God has transmitted his very substance into every Scripture,  for it is God-breathed.  It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness.

Philippians 2:5-7 TPT And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation. He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead, he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human!

Titus 3:5-6 TPT He came to save us. Not because of any virtuous deed that we have done but only because of his extravagant mercy. He saved us, resurrecting us through the washing of rebirth. We are made completely new by the Holy Spirit, whom he splashed over us richly by Jesus, the Messiah, our Life Giver.