The Master Pruner.

John 15:2 (New International Version)

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Crepe Myrtles are beautiful with vibrant leaves and gorgeous blooms. When planted the single trunk soon multiplies into many branches with suckers nipped at the base. By the second year it only grows a few inches. As you read about them you see that you have to remove what was stunting its growth.

If plants could speak, they’d say “Ouch” when pruned. They don’t comprehend we’re doing them a favor. Plants grow through photosynthesis and from nutrients in the soil, but without pruning their growth is undirected and their fruit less than possible.

When connected to the vine (Jesus) by faith, we also inherit the potential to bear fruit, but pruning is required for efficiency. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:2)

Unlike plants who can’t speak, I usually say, “Ouch” when God prunes me. Or “Can’t you figure out a better way to get me on track?” God knows I can’t grow in the right direction, at the desired rate or produce the fruit I’m capable of without a little help now and then. So He’s pruned me through sickness, disappointment, depression, discouragement, broken relationships, death and a multitude of other things I’d rather forget.

But I’m taller and leaner now, and most of the suckers have disappeared. The worries that were there are less and anxiety only shows up occasionally. My trust factor is stronger, and I enjoy each day God allows me to wake up. So don’t resist God’s pruning. Enjoy it however he does it, knowing you’ll be more fruitful afterwards.

Dear Lord please enable us to trust Your pruning, realizing that You are working to develop us to our full potential. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Swing Set and Fruits of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23a (New International Version)   

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Growing up we had in our back yard one of the coolest swing sets. The day soon came that my brothers and I we out grew it.  Once we did the question came, what we do with it. Not sure whose idea it was but the decision was made to make it into a grape arbor.  As the summer progressed we were able to enjoy the many grapes that were produced. What a joy it was to go pick the grapes directly from the vine. Unlike the seedless grapes I buy in the store, these grapes had seeds. These seeds which I would so tediously take out of each grape would produce more grapes if I'd plant them and give them the right conditions under which to grow and multiply.

I thought of the fruits of the Spirit. Like the grapes from the vine, these fruits, if handled correctly, would multiply in our lives, making us better persons and blessing others who touch our lives.

Have we allowed the fruits of the Spirit to be manipulated like the hybrid grapes until there are no seeds to be planted and spread to others? Have we made them beautiful and enjoyable for our use only, with no means to spread them to others?

The good things of life need to be shared and multiplied, but unless the seeds are there, they become dead ends, one-time-only fruits that evidence the Spirit in us, but don't allow us to pass them on to others.

Have we allowed our churches to become hybrids -- producing the very best programs possible in the most beautiful buildings we can afford, yet producing a fruit that contains no seeds?

Dear Lord help us to understand that our spiritual fruits must contain seed that will multiply and grow to keep Your church going.  Make us seed producers in Your church. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Best Friends

Ephesians 4:29-32 (New International Version)

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Former prisoner James Knapp confessed to police that he'd robbed two stores in Oklahoma, because he missed his old cell mates. Police said they'd see if James could be reunited with his old friends.

I think Mr. Knapp may have expressed something important, however. Friends, wherever we find them, are absolutely necessary.

But do you know who your best friend is? Automaker Henry Ford was having lunch with a man, when he suddenly asked the man that very question. "Who is your best friend?" Ford asked.

The man hesitated and Ford went on. "I'll tell you who your best friend is," he said. Then he wrote this sentence for the man to read: "Your best friend is he who brings out the best that is within you." Our best friends are those who do more than simply like us. They also believe in us. They support us but, occasionally, they nudge us as well.

Someone put it well: "A friend is someone who knows you as you are, understands where you've been, accepts who you've become, and still, gently invites you to grow."

Are you that best friend to somebody today? Let’s make it our goal to become a best friend today.

Dear Lord we pray that we would be the kind of friend today that will help others grow to become the very best that they can. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Are You Rich?

Romans 13:8 (New International Version)

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

I read a story about an elderly, blind lady living alone named Stella, one might think she should have spun long tales of hardship and misery. And I suppose she could have told such stories, but she made little room in her life for self-pity. She might have mentioned the deaths of friends and family, including her husband; the glaucoma which finally claimed her eyesight; the small pension on which she was forced to subsist and the arthritis which kept her home bound in a little trailer house. And nobody could blame her had she despaired that she had grown so dependent on others.

She never did lament about all her hardships, either past or present. Many times she would talk about her good fortune. Speaking of her son, she often would say: "My Jimmy came to see me today. He's so good to me!" Of her friends, she often commented: "I've been talking on the phone all morning. I'm so thankful I have such good friends." Then, with a slap on her knee and a broad smile on her lips, she would invariably exclaim, "I'm the richest person in the world!"

And maybe she was! She had love. She found it in her friends, her family and her faith. She had everything she needed for a happy and fulfilled life. And what’s more, she knew it.

Stella spoke of her upcoming 90th birthday. "All my family will be here," she smiled. And with that familiar slap on her knee, she exclaimed, "You know, I'm the richest person in the world!"

But she barely made that birthday celebration herself. Several days prior she was laid in a hospital bed and slipped into a coma. Her family was told she would die shortly.

However, a strange thing happened. On the day of her birthday, she opened her eyes and greeted the smiling faces of family and friends surrounding her bed. She sat up and enjoyed birthday cake while someone read cards. They told her they loved her and they said, "Good-bye." With family and friends around she smiled and whispered, "I'm the richest person in the world!"

Stella went to sleep that night and slipped peacefully away.

As I read the story I wondered if she felt sorry for those who have everything but happiness.

After all, they could be just as wealthy and happy as she, if they only realized that the greatest of all riches is love.

Let’s make it our goal to become the richest person in the world!

Dear Lord we thank You for the gift of love that You have given to each of us We pray today that we would share that love with family and friends around us so that we may be the richest person in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Some Lessons I have learned from Diamond (my dog)

Genesis 1:24 (New International Version)

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.

After the hurricanes of 2004 Diamond found herself homeless, hungry and wandering the streets of Central Florida. She found herself unwanted and picked up by the Human society. With that all behind her our dog Diamond doubtless feels blessed to be part of our loving home. But I feel more blessed to have her, primarily because he is such a great role model. It's funny, but I have learned quite a bit about myself, my family, and life in general from our four-legged friend. Diamond was a stray, and it breaks my heart to think someone didn't want her or gave up looking for her. We realized right away of her terrible past as we brought this skinny little dog home and she immediately went to the back yard and curled up against the fence, not realizing that her new home was behind the door of the house. Now she thinks that she is the queen of the house. Her job is to protect us and her house, even if the person is walking down the other side of the street.

On many occasions I have struggled because of my back pain, it is during those times that you will find Diamond laying near me with concerned eyes constantly watching. It is as if she understands that I am in pain and she wants to be there for me to help in whatever way she can.

There have been times when I have been upset with her and scolded her for something she should not have done, only to feel terrible afterwards because she would look at me with those loving eyes that begged forgiveness. And yet if I asked her to come to me, she would come running with excitement and wagging her tail like crazy. I wish I could forgive as easily and as fast.

She always has time for his "Mommy" and "Daddy," and when we come home from work, she is so excited to see us. Never ashamed to show her love or affection, she is always eager to give it freely. Whether it's playing games or lying around watching television, she acts as though her whole universe revolves around us, and she only wants to make us happy. If only I too could learn to make others feel that loved and needed.

When times are hard, it is Diamond that comforts us when no one else was around. Somehow knowing of the emotional pain. I sure wish I had as much compassion for others.

Someone once said: "My goal in life is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am." Well, my goal in life is to be the kind of person that I know my dog is.

Dear Lord we thank You for the lessons that we can learn from the things around us. Today we thank You for the animals that You created for our enjoyment. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Mission Accomplished

John 14:1-3 (New International Version)

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

It’s the story of a friendship forged during one of the worst battles of World War II, and a promise made almost 60 years earlier, a promise that was finally kept.

Harold Huggins, a U.S. veteran of 10 major campaigns in World War II and the last survivor of his battalion, traveled halfway across the United States by train on one last mission in memory of his best buddy.

"I’ve had this on my mind for 57 years, trying to locate his sister and loved ones out there in California ," says Huggins. "Part of him lives in me."

Huggins, from Albany , IL, and Mack McClain from Marysville, CA, were best friends in the army. They wound up together at Anzio Beach , Italy , the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. Mack told Harold that he didn't think he was going to make it out of there alive, so he gave Harold some mementos, a belt, some photos, and said: "’Give this to my sister, tell her that I love her,’ Huggins recalls. ’You can even give her a kiss.’"

Harold promised that if anything happened to Mack he would do what was asked. One day later, Mack was killed in an artillery barrage.

After the war, Harold looked for Mack’s sister but he never found her until Harold’s daughter sent out e-mails to various veterans groups inquiring about Mack’s relatives. Some California veterans found Mack’s sister, Grace, whose last name had changed because she married.

"We have always hoped and prayed that we would meet somebody that would tell us about Mack," says Grace.

On Thursday, August 2, 2001, at the place where his buddy’s name is engraved in marble at the Veterans Memorial in Marysville , CA , Harold Huggins kept that promise he made 57 years earlier. He met Mack’s sister for the very first time, gave her the kiss that Mack asked Harold to deliver, and entrusted to her the mementos from his fallen friend.

For an old soldier who wouldn't give up his search for a buddy’s long lost sister, there was a feeling of mission accomplished.

Today I want to remind you of Friend who died for you. In fact, He voluntarily gave His life so that you and I might live (1 Thessalonians 5:10). "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus Christ demonstrated this great love and died for our sins so that you and I might live with Him forever in heaven.

God’s mission of salvation was accomplished when Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross (Ephesians 1:7).

Dear Lord we thank You for finishing the mission. We thank You for dying on the cross and raising from the dead so that we may have eternal live through You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Letter From Jesus

John 15:13 (New International Version)

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Most of you have probably seen this before, It is a great reminder for each of us. Enjoy and remember our friend is always there.

I just had to write to tell you how much I love you and care for you. Yesterday, I saw you walking and laughing with your friends; I hoped that soon you'd want Me to walk along with you, too. So, I painted you a sunset to close your day and whispered a cool breeze to refresh you. I waited, but you never called. I just kept on loving you.

As I watched you fall asleep last night, I wanted so much to touch you. I spilled moonlight onto your face- trickling down your cheeks as so many tears have. You didn't even think of me; I wanted so much to comfort you.

The next day I exploded a brilliant sunrise into a glorious morning for you. But you woke up late and rushed off to work - you didn't even notice. My sky became cloudy and My tears were the rain.

I love you. Oh, if you'd only listen. I really love you. I try to say it in the quiet of the green meadow and in the blue sky. The wind whispers My love throughout the treetops and spills it into the vibrant colours of the flowers. I shout it to you in the thunder of the great waterfalls and compose love songs for bands to sing for you. I warm you with the clothing of My sunshine and perfume the air with nature's sweet scent.

My love for you is deeper than the ocean and greater than any need in your heart. If you'd only realize how I care. I died just for you.

My Dad sends His love. I want you to meet Him. He cares, too. Fathers are just that way. So please call Me soon. No matter how long it takes, I'll wait because I love you.

Your Friend,

Jesus

Dear Lord Thank You for being our friend. In Jesus’ name, Amen.