Pruning our "fruit" for "more fruit"!

Dearest friends and family,

We live in a world “geared against God”. We so need our hearts prepared. Remember well, our “Heart” is the combined faculties of our mind, our will, our affections, our reason, and our understanding! to “serve God with our whole heart” must include all these faculties; to leave out one of these would not be “whole hearted” devotion or service.

We need our daily lives guarded and regulated by God’s Word

Jesus said that if we’d spend time daily with him, read, learn know, and apply His Word and Words to our daily lives, we’d bear “fruit” for His Father. This Fruit is first inward then outward. Inward fruit is realized as we see Christ-like Character and characteristics slowly being formed in our day to day life.

Inward transformation will naturally lead to outward manifestation.

Over the past few months I’ve been studying John 15 and in prayer I’ve been asking the Lord to reveal to me some truths and insight into this process of bearing fruit, of pruning, and more fruit “for the Father.” I believe the Spirit has done just this and I have a beautiful example of the “pruning process” that happened to me this past week.

You all know of my precious Charlotte’s life-struggle with Parkinson’s. You may not know, however, how the Lord has welded my mind and heart to her and for her. I love her deeply and serve her as best I can. Many times I’ve served her in selfishness, doing things “for her” when in reality it’s been “for me.” I’ve done “for her” as I want to do rather that as she needs and desires, and she gets upset. She’s told me many times to stop this and offer an apology, and then I continue doing the same thing.

In one of these usual selfish gestures of service the other day, she said no thank you, I asked again, then she “fired back” at me and said...”...why can’t you just accept it when I say I’m ok...I can do it, etc, etc...” Now, I responded in gentleness and apologized sincerely...she accepted my apology and we moved on. I was troubled in my spirit over the rest of the evening and went to bed not comfortable in my mind. The next morning in my time with Him, here’s what happened.

In prayer and meditation, I did not sense or hear “condemnation”...I heard clearly that the Father was pleased with me when my love and service is “unselfish.” These are times when the “fruit” of my caregiving for my dear Charlotte is void of selfishness, and I’m led by the spirit to do for her “in the Father’s best interest for her,” and my mess is not mixed up in it. True fruit from our Vine Jesus’ life will be void of selfishness.

I could hear the voice of the Spirit saying that the Father was going to “Prune” this area for “more fruit”.....the Spirit clearly and with impact revealed my “selfishness” in my “service”....I saw what Charlotte has been saying to me very clear...when the Spirit revealed the ugly “selfishness” in what I was calling “unselfish caregiving” I was at first convicted and then encouraged. When the Father sees “fruit” in my life, He’s then going after it and will prune if for “more fruit” and this can only mean one thing...prune out the admixture of my flesh and selfishness.

Dear friends, I believe that this is the desired process and always has been....he wants our hearts, not our service first! The doing and serving is proper and is acceptable “if our hearts are pure in motives.” Christ the Vine and His life flowing into us daily, many times daily if possible, will purify our actions. Christ’s life flowing INTO us will express itself in "Christ-like character and characteristics.

These “inner qualities” are simply the “fruit of the Spirit” which is the Spirit producing Christ-likeness IN us and expressed THROUGH us and it all takes place on the basis of Christ’s great life, death, and resurrection FOR us and AS us!!

By God’s grace, coupled with “the spiritual disciplines” of prayer, study of the Word, and regular times of quiet meditation and reflection, the “fruit of the Spirit” / The very life of Christ / will be “formed” IN us and will be expressed through us.

In my opinion, this is the proper order of God’s intent and purpose and design for our lives in sanctification: deal with our hearts and our works and service will be a natural fruit that will glorify the Father! Through the continued “spiritual disciplines” in the sphere of God’s sweet grace we are transformed into His likeness! As leaders, we should have been far more interested in our “time spent with Him” than in “our service for Him.” The stories of church leaders who have fallen and brought reproach to the Lord all have one common theme:

• lacking or void in The spiritual disciplines, which are
• prayer, study of the Word, and consistent time spent in meditation and reflection in solitude , strong egos, and isolation from “loving accountability” from spiritual men and women who know them well and love them.

On the contrary, I don’t know a man or woman of God who has fallen from his/her high calling when

• the spiritual disciplines were in place
• he/she guarded their hearts carefully, and
• they were in a strong relationship of “loving accountability” from spiritual men and women

I cannot say today that I’m committed to this process; what I can say, however, is that I’m committed to being committed to this process! This means that I am doing this in some manner, I fail often, and when I fail, I want to be corrected and brought back to the means of sanctification through prayer, study of the Word, and quiet time with the Lord Jesus in meditation, reflection, and praise. This simple and wonderful “means of grace” will so position my heart for God, cripple my sinful nature, and regulate my daily conduct in a manner that The Father calls “fruit that remains.” I am grateful for this “grace of knowledge” from Him and my prayer is that you too will be

Encouraged by these words. I often fall; I quickly get up because I know “in whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to Him, against that day.” The Gospel tells me to “get up” and “lifts me us.”

Under the Pruning Shears of His goodness and grace,

Jerry & Charlotte
Col 1:18b “...that in all things, Christ might have the supremacy!”