Are You Bearing Fruit?

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Be fruitful
Genesis 1:28

Jesus said, '...every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit' (John 15:2 NKJV). Without periodic pruning a vine will only produce a fraction of its potential harvest. Vineyards have only one purpose: to produce grapes. Energy spent on anything else is wasted. The pruner has four things in mind: removing what's dead or dying; making sure sunlight gets to the fruit-bearing branches; increasing the size and quality of the grapes; encouraging new grapes to develop. To make room for the kind of abundance Christ redeemed you for, He will cut away the parts of your life that are draining precious time and energy from what's truly important to Him.

To accomplish this, He will even risk you misunderstanding His methods. His purpose for your life requires the cutting away of bad habits and attitudes, wrong relationships, lesser priorities, and anything that distracts you from your highest calling. Are you praying for God's blessing in your life? Are you asking Him to make you more fruitful in His service? Then get ready for the shears! Pruning is how God answers such prayers. Sometimes we blame the devil or other people for the loss of certain things in our lives. No, 'He prunes.' Today, if God is pruning you,:1) pay attention; don't waste this season of preparation. 2) ask God whether you're being pruned for greater fruitfulness or disciplined because of sin - there's a difference. If it's sin, repent and get back on track as quickly as possible. 3) if your response to the pruning process is right, you'll begin to move from barrenness to blessing.

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.