Why Bother Pruning?

      Bobby watched Grandma snipping away at the plants around the side of the house. They were quite big plants and he thought they looked quite nice.

“Why are you cutting those plants back Grandma?” he asked.

Grandma paused a moment and then said, “You see these leaves here, Bobby?” she asked, “They have all got little black spots on them, and that’s a disease. Besides, these plants are getting too big and are covering up the smaller ones underneath them”.

“Oh”, said Bobby, “So you are taking all the bad leaves off. Will they grow again?”

“Oh yes,” Grandma replied, “In a couple if months you won’t know them. They will all send up new shoots again, and the bush will look much better.”

“What about those weeds there Grandma? Are you going to take them out?”. Bobby asked.

“What do you think Bobby?” Grandma asked.

“Yes, I guess they aren’t doing any good there. Shall I pull them up for you?” Bobby went on, and then bent down to pull them out.

“What does this remind you of, Bobby?” Grandma asked.

“Well, I know weeds aren’t supposed to be in the garden”, Bobby said, “I guess they are like the bad habits we have….if we leave them and keep doing them all the time they will grow and take us over”.

“That’s quite right Bobby”, said Grandma. “And the pruning is another way to get rid of things we shouldn’t be doing like telling lies and cheating. It might hurt us to put things  right, but when we have done this, we can start to grow good habits and the flower buds will start coming. Then people will admire us and enjoy our company just like they will admire these flower bushes when they grow again”.

“Wow!” said Bobby, “I never thought of that before. I guess it’s a good idea to cut all those bad leaves off after all Grandma!”

Grandma smiled to herself. She knew that Bobby wouldn’t  forget this lesson in a hurry. She also remembered the Bible verse that talks about pruning where Jesus said…..I am the true He takes  away: and every branch that bears fruit (flowers) , He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit (flowers).

How Did Things Start?

Genesis One….(v.1)

Verse 1….

   The first phrase of the Bible says….”In the beginning, God”. This is where most people start but as we go through the Bible we get little glimpses of eternity past….things that happened before the world was even created. Verse one presupposes that God was there before He started creating.

One of the main attributes of God is that He is a God of Love. How could He possibly display this love to the beings that existed there in eternity with Him? They all obeyed Him implicitly, and there was no reason why they shouldn’t. They had been created to be His ministering spirits to do His slightest command (Hebrews 1:7, 14)

God wanted to display His manifold (many faceted) wisdom to all the principalities and powers of the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:10). How could He do this unless there was a dark backdrop to show His marvelous light against? Unless there is disobedience, perfect obedience doesn’t have any impact.

Therefore it is safe to assume that God had a plan  BEFORE He ever began creation. Not only did He have this plan, but it was written down in detail ahead of time. Jesus Christ could say to His Father, “You have prepared Me a body, as it is written in the volume of the Book” (Hebrews 10:5-7)

God’s plan was written in His Book, Of things the angels wanted to look;                             He made the earth so He could show, His love and light for men to know.

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Genesis One….(v.1)

Verse 1….

   We have seen that God had a plan BEFORE He began His creation work (and is still working to it). From God’s viewpoint, the whole plan was as good as accomplished….now He is just waiting for it to work itself out. After all, He created TIME….ETERNITY is timeless, without time! Time didn’t come into being until the sun, moon and stars were created for without them, there is no measuring rule.

God knew before He began, how He would bring salvation to man….that His only beloved Son (part of Himself) would go to earth to live a sinless life and then be qualified to die to pay the penalty of sin…a Person with no sin of His own (1 Peter 1:20). He knew BEFORE time began, all those who would come to Him in repentance, and wrote their names in the Book of Life (Revelation 17:8b.) He had even prepared a kingdom for them all BEFORE the foundation of the earth was laid  (Matthew 25:34). But all these things were kept a secret from angels and principalities until AFTER Jesus Christ had died and brought salvation to mankind. (Matthew 13:35). It was then that God’s Holy Spirit revealed these truths to His Apostles who wrote them down for us to read today in the Holy Bible. Let’s make sure that we not only read all about these things for ourselves, but that we make sure that our name is in the Book of Life!

God’s plan was written and early made, Before the world’s foundation laid;             Before the sun e’er showed its face, Or time began, God made our space.

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Thoughts from Proverbs (3)

PROVERBS  THREE…. (v.1-10)

Verses 1-10

     Solomon is again telling his son to take notice of what he is saying, so he can enjoy a long and peaceful life.

The first thing is to be 100% truthful and honest before God and before man……there is nothing more peaceful than a clear conscience! To experience  the mercy of God, one must be merciful to others and not judgmental. Paul goes into great detail of how a believer must act towards others, and we are left in no doubt as to what the Lord expects. We might think this is hard to do, but Solomon gives us the key…..”trust in the Lord,” he says, “Don’t follow your first reaction to circumstances, ask what God would have you to do! If you do this, you will KNOW the right thing to do”

Paul goes on to say that we will then have God’s peace ruling in our heart with our minds and consciences at rest. We will be thankful for what we HAVE got, and be able to count our blessings. God’s peace helps our state of health…..our stress levels are lower, our stomach stops churning, and we sleep better; “health to our navel” as Solomon says! What better advice could we have than this!  (Colossians 3:12-17)

God wants His people honest and true, Kind-hearted and helpful all their days through;                                                                                                                                                                      Trust in the Lord and His leading each day, And He’ll constantly keep you along Life’s way!

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PROVERBS  THREE…. (v.11-18)

Verses 11-18

Do you think it sounds strange to be immediately told after these wonderful promises of peace and prosperity, that some unpleasant experiences may come upon you?

What is the purpose of trials and tests? Do you notice what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples immediately after His promises of asking and receiving? They would be granted what they asked for, but would not be exempt from experiences trials and tribulations!  (John 16:23-33)

What did Paul say about the problem he asked to have taken away from him? God allowed it to stay so he could experience God’s grace and strength in his time of weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Hebrews tells us that the results of chastening (or correction) teach us to put into practice God’s righteousness and to learn His peace (Hebrews 12:5-11).

Solomon tells us here that the lessons we learn from God’s chastening gives even more wisdom, and that these experiences are worth far more than silver or gold. We can rejoice in them after they are over and profit from them by knowing God better.

Troubles and trials are sent to us all, But our Lord is beside us and won’t let us fall;                                                                                                                                                                          He’ll carry us through, and give us more grace, As we look in His Word, and seek His pure face.

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What I Think is Right and Therefore Good Enough!

ELEPHANT 1Four men were blindfolded once and then taken to where an elephant was tethered. The first man was put by the elephant’s leg and told to feel it carefully and then say what it was. He carefully rubbed his hand all over the actual leg, and then pronounced, “This is without doubt a tree trunk. I can feel the bark and I’m positive it is a tree”.

The next man was taken to the elephant’s trunk and told to say what he was feeling. He carefully felt all over it, and said he was touching a snake, he was quite positive about it. It was a big one, but definitely a snake.

The third man was taken around  to the rear end of the elephant and given the tail to hold. “This is a rope”, he said positively, “It’s unravelling a bit at one end, but that is what it is!”

The fourth man was put by the elephant’s rear and told to rub his hands over that area. As he ran his hand over the large flat part of rump, he said he was feeling a wall. It was high and quite large, but he was sure that was what it was. A bit rough, but definitely a wall.

Each of these men were quite sure within their own minds that what they thought they were feeling was right. The blindfolds were taken off and they saw the large elephant standing in front of them. “Where’s the tree?” the first man asked.

“I definitely felt a snake”, the second man said, “Where has it gone?”

“Well, I had a length of rope in my hand” the third man said, “I’d swear to it!”

“I was sure I was by a wall”, the fourth man said, “I can’t believe it was the elephant that I was touching!”

Each of these men were quite sure that they were right. They could hardly believe they were so wrong! Many people today are feeling for the truth with blindfolds on their minds. They say that because they think a certain thing, that that is the truth. And because they refuse to find out the real truth of the matter, they will become like those who will find themselves standing before God in a time to come and hear Him saying, “ Depart from Me, I never knew you!”

“But Lord”, they will wail, “Look at all the good things I did in my life. I’m not really as bad as a lot of other people. I was really quite good!”

Not every one that says to me, “Lord, Lord,”  shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who  does the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many wonderful works?”

And then will I profess to them, “I never knew you: depart from me, you who work iniquity. Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

But every one that hears these sayings of Mine, and does them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”     (Matthew 7:21-27)

We should make sure that we KNOW without a doubt that what we believe is founded on the truth. What we THINK is not good enough….at the end of time when the blinkers are taken off our eyes, we will see that what we thought was good enough, has let us down badly and it is far too late to rectify the position. We have the chance NOW to find out the truth from the One Who said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”, and He will not let you down.

Let’s make sure that we don’t put off doing this while there is still time to do something about it!

Devotional Thoughts from Proverbs (2)

PROVERBS  ONE…. (v.7-9)

Verses 7-9

The beginning of real wisdom is to fear the Lord, that is, to acknowledge, reverence and obey Him, realising that we are accountable to Him.

Solomon goes on to tell his sons to listen to their parent’s instructions.  More importantly for us today, is that we listen to our Heavenly Father’s Words as recorded in His Word the Bible. If we hide it in our hearts, we will not sin against Him,  (Psalm 119:11 it will become a light showing  our way and a guide to our feet as to places to go (Psalm 119:105). It will both show you the way to go as well as the dangers to keep away from.

God’s Word is absolutely true and trustworthy, and the result of living in its way is to have GREAT PEACE where NOTHING will upset or offend us (Psalm 119:160, 165). What better ornament is there to wear than this!

The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord, Trust in him, and heed His Word,             Those who won’t take this to heart,  In the things of God will have no part!

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Shadows Can’t hurt You !

P1020749It was one of those days when the clouds race across the sky, giving patches of shade and sunshine. As a big shadow covered the sun and the warmth faded, it made me realise that shadows cannot hurt us. They may take the warmth and joy out of the day while they linger, but they will always pass and the sun will shine again. We go through bad times, and then find that time does heal the losses we have experienced, and the hurts we have suffered.

There is a well known verse in the Bible that sums it all up….Yes, even though I go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You (God) are with me, and Your rod and staff comfort me. (Psalm 23:4) We can know God’s comfort if we look to Him for it, but unless we roll all our cares on Him and leave them there, we cannot know His peace that passes all our understanding.