Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us . . . Hebrews 12:1

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us . . . " Hebrews 12:1



Almost 18 years ago, life changed in an instant when Steven Sauder sustained a head injury after a car collision. Although there have been many difficulties, God's grace has been clearly evident. The past few years, Steven continued to decline, yet God gave him the strength to "never give up". On May 9, 2011, he reached the end of his journey.



Friday, October 30, 2015

Fruit Bearing and Pruning


After installing a new wood floor throughout most of my home in 2013, I am now having to tear it out again and replace the whole thing, due to water vapor emission from the slab (which insurance doesn't cover).  In addition, I have a nasty mold situation under the wood flooring. 
Searching for some discipleship materials, I came across the following article that I had written for MTS back in November of 2013.  It fit my current situation so well that I thought I would share the article with you......
So many times reading a verse of Scripture, the Holy Spirit will open up a deeper understanding of the verse than we have had before.  That happened with me a few days ago with John 15:2b:  “He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit.” 

The verse doesn’t say “He prunes us so we will bear fruit.”  Rather, it says, basically, that if we are bearing fruit, we will get pruned.

Obviously, you and I want to be in that classification of “fruitbearers”, but…….with that calling comes cleansing and repeated pruning – in other words, suffering, struggles, problems, pain, persecution – repeatedly, continually.

The last part of the verse gives the reason:  “to make me bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.”    It’s like a cycle – suffering and struggles = bear more fruit = more suffering and struggles = bear richer fruit = continued suffering and struggles = bear richer and more excellent fruit……and so on.  We can’t have one without the other.  He says so.

Sunday in church the pastor was talking about the burial of Joseph’s father Jacob and how all the officials of Pharaoh – a huge entourage of nobles and elders and guards – went with Joseph and his family to Canaan to bury Jacob.  There, at the threshing floor of Atad, they mourned loudly for a whole week.  (Genesis 50)  Listening to the pastor talk about mourning in our own lives, I suddenly started to cry and had to really struggle to stop.  Life had been tough for a long time, years and years and years, seeming like an endless barrage of problems and pain and rough situations.  Just the last month alone had included a nasty flood (including a new wood floor) when bathtub plumbing broke, evacuation of my commercial building because of a gas leak, a broken foot, unfixable AC condenser, etc.  Pruning….pruning….and more pruning.

But then came Monday noon.  I had been praying much Sunday about a specific situation, asking God for a very specific thing.  And Monday noon He answered that prayer in an unbelievable,   awesome, truly miraculous way!  And so quickly!!   My mourning turned to dancing as He lifted me up in glorious praise to my God!

And this week has been one of truly unexpected opportunities to witness for Him – opportunities just falling into my lap – and more reason to praise.

As I stopped and thought about the years of tough things, I realized that all during these tough times He has been continually pulling me back up to praise with His love gifts - to show He is there, involved in my life second by second, loving me intensely and totally and unconditionally.

 “I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness (suffering), and I will speak tenderly and to her heart and make the Valley of Achor (troubling) for her a door of hope and expectation.  And she shall sing there….”  Hosea 2:14-15          

 

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