Thought of the Day !!

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
John 15:1-2 (NLT)

If you're a gardener, you know how much work a garden can be. It takes time and effort. It takes making sure it's watered when there's been no rain. It means fertilizing. It means getting on your hands and knees and working in the dirt. It also means cutting off the old dead parts of your plants that produce no fruit or vegetables so that you can get more out of them.

Growing grapes, whether in Palestine or America is a tedious job. The vines have to be kept up daily. For the best results, the grapes cannot touch the ground, and the vines have to be pruned often.

Now the vine is the main stem that comes from the root. And there are branches that come off of it. Some will bear grapes and others will not. A knowledgeable vine grower will be able to tell these two apart and will cut off the ones that won't produce. In doing this, the better branches will grow more and produce more because they don't have to share their nutrients with the useless ones.

In our own lives there are dead useless branches coming out of our lives. They may be habits or lifestyles or hobbies or any of a number of things. These dead branches can be detrimental to our spiritual lives or to our Christian witness. What might be in your own life that needs to be pruned or cut out all together.

In the love of Christ,
greg