I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.- John 15:1a.
Now the leaves are falling, bronze and brown and yellow.- Andrew Downing (Poet).
Now the leaves are falling, bronze and brown and yellow.- Andrew Downing (Poet).It is now early March, and the start of Autumn in Australia, although we are still getting temperatures of 36-40 degrees celsius. Theoreticially the season is here but the weather patterns haven't caught up yet.
Nature's indication that Autumn has arrived is often displayed with the falling of leaves from deciduous trees. These leaves change from green to orange and then brown. What was once alive has fallen off and is now dead.
I think how wonderful it would be for my sins to just drop off and die so that I can be dormant and restored and then grow anew. Still be the same tree but without sin. Other countries call Autumn - "Fall" which reminds me of the fall of mankind after Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge.
Just as Autumn marks the transition of summer to winter, so Jesus marks the transition from our old carnal self to our spiritual rebirth. It is through Jesus that sin falls from God's judgement ... just as the leaves fall. Our renewal is an ongoing process that needs pruning.
Every time that I confess my sins, these spiritually dead leaves fall off the tree and blow back to Calvary, and I can move on in my life anew, not buried in guilt but following Jesus victoriously.
It is not a matter though, of using God's forgiveness as an excuse to repeatedly sin. We must stay rooted and grounded in Jesus so that we can bear good fruit.
Just as Autumn marks the transition of summer to winter, so Jesus marks the transition from our old carnal self to our spiritual rebirth. It is through Jesus that sin falls from God's judgement ... just as the leaves fall. Our renewal is an ongoing process that needs pruning.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.-John 15:1-5.
Every time that I confess my sins, these spiritually dead leaves fall off the tree and blow back to Calvary, and I can move on in my life anew, not buried in guilt but following Jesus victoriously.
It is not a matter though, of using God's forgiveness as an excuse to repeatedly sin. We must stay rooted and grounded in Jesus so that we can bear good fruit.
Who is doing your pruning and weeding - God, self or the world? We need to be planted daily in Jesus Christ so that we don't fall but bear good fruit.
Jenteelability. http://devotionalchristiancafe.blogspot.com
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