Adventure in the Ascent
To the adventure in Him... This phrase has been a rallying cry for me and my circle of friends for years. We were designed for intimate relationship with God. Jesus made this possible through His sacrifice on the Cross. The veil was torn, and we were invited beyond. We were created for a grand adventure in which we come to Him in repentance, maintain intimacy, learn of Him, walk His path, and ascend the hill of the Lord. Let's ascend together and experience the adventure with God. There's more...
Adventure in the Ascent
BEING ROOTED: Pruning (John 15:1-5)
“The vinedresser is never nearer the branches then when He is pruning them.” -David Jeremiah
↠Pruning is a Natural Part of our Relationship with God (Colossians 2:6-7)
↠Pruning: “to trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.”
↠Just like a plant, a Christian experiences growth when unhealthy areas of their lives are trimmed or thinned. Like many aspects of our faith journey, pruning isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary in order for healthy new growth to occur- you are called to live a fruitful life!
↠God’s Got a Green Thumb (John 15:1, Rom. 8:28)
↠Jesus is the vine, there’s no true and abundant life apart from Him/connection (Jn. 10:10)
↠Just as nutrients flow through the vine, our life flows from Him
↠The Gentle Art of Elimination and Cultivation
↠One of the main jobs of a gardener is to remove dead, fruitless or broken limbs from a plant- plants are actually hindered by dead parts
↠The plant is wasting precious energy and nutrients on branches that do not produce fruit
↠In our lives, we often have areas that are hindrances to us- It may be sin that needs to be removed, discipline in our lives that we need to accept, may even be something good in our lives that is distracting us from something great, but they are drawing too much from the branches that actually need to grow! He has your best in mind!
↠Removal of Things to Run the Race Unhindered (Hebrews 12:1)
↠Pruning is not because He is angry with us, but for our good- run and finish well!
↠Anything that gets in the way of this race of faith, has to go. We have this picture of an unbridled race- no hindrances, no distractions, no nutrient sucking branches (loins girded)
↠A Healthy Connection to the Vine will Produce Good Fruit (John 15:4-5, Galatians 5:22-23)
↠Desiring to grow in the fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5). The only way these fruits are able to grow day to day in our lives is for us to remain connected to Jesus through full surrender and unwavering faithfulness. As we remain connected, the Divine Gardener/Vinedresser prunes away the unhealthy and fruitless parts of our lives. Let Him cut…
This Week- Respond:
THINK: God has our spiritual growth as His ultimate goal. He will use anything in our lives to shape us into the people that He wants us to be. If there’s something in our lives that is unhealthy for us, God will want to prune it. If there is something in our lives that is good but not the best, God will want to prune it.
FEEL: Jesus is the source of all life and every person must be careful to remain connected to Him. To grow deep roots that will sustain us through anything we will face in life, we must receive acceptance, guidance and love as a branch receives from a vine. Lean in, stay connected…
DO: We must make a conscious decision to welcome God’s pruning in our lives. Join Him in actively seeking out areas of our lives that He would like to effectively change. Ask Holy Spirit to highlight areas and bring conviction.
Prayer: “My deep desire is to grow in relationship with You, Father. Search my heart and know our minds and remove those things that will cause us harm. I want to be a faithful follower of You. Cause our roots to grow deep into Your love and give us a solid foundation for our lives.”