Grafting and pruning

Reading: 2 Kings 17, Isaiah 35, Psalm 8, John 15, and 1 Corinthians 8

Scripture: John 15:2, Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Thoughts: We are always producing something, be it the good fruit that Jesus is calling us to here in John, or if it is rotten fruit, or unrepented hard nasty fruit, or even just leaves like the fig tree that was cursed. Are we allowing God to work in our lives to prune out the things that are not effective and producing in a way that is not healthy? We are all called to bear fruit, sure my fruit will look different than yours but that fruit all should do the same thing, draw people to want a relationship with God. Recently I came across a bunch of videos of people grafting plants together, made me think about a pear tree that my parents got a few years back and it had three of four varieties grafted together so this portion produces this variety of pear, and that side does another and so on. That is exactly what God is doing with us. In Romans 11:19 talks about those branches broken off that we could be grafted in. We are all to be getting our nutrients and what we need from God our root and we get that from Jesus the vine that he refers to himself as in the next few verses. Like the tree in my parents backyard there is one root system one main trunk of the tree but many are grafted in and give a variety of fruit. What fruit are you producing? Are there things that need cutting out because it is making rotten fruit, are there branches that only have leaves on it taking nutrients from the branches trying to make the good fruit? Ask the gardener who knows you better than you know yourself for help pruning and cutting out of those branches that are not pointing to Him through your fruit.

Prayer: Lord God, creator of all things, you know me and you know the rotten fruit that I can produce. I lay my life before you and ask that you help me prune and remove those things in my life that do not point to you. I thank you for the molding and refining that you have been doing that that you continue to do in my life. Help me to produce the fruit that you have called me to, and my it glorify you.