Pruned for Joy

If you’ve ever experienced the joy of gardening, you will appreciate the wonderful benefits of pruning off all the dead leaves and twigs after a hard season of winter.

When we ourselves experience God’s pruning in our lives, we assume that He too is cutting off all the dead things in our lives.

However, I recently heard an insightful sermon that gave me a different perspective to God’s kind of pruning and His purpose for it in our lives. 

Unlike winter pruning, God also prunes us during Spring and Summer seasons by thinning out our growth to help our fruits grow better and bigger. By fruits, I’m not only referring to our fruits of the spirit, but our Christian growth in general.

All pruning is painful, but we need to understand that God’s purpose for it, is to help change us so that we can better fulfill our purpose and destiny, thus enabling a more joy filled life.

We can see this kind of pruning throughout the Bible, through the testimonies of men like Joseph. So often we experience testing times after a spiritual victory, which is God’s way of snipping off our ego and keeping the glory on Him instead of on ourselves.

Much like plants, God’s pruning builds character by removing over-mature, weak, problematic & excessive growth, so that we can produce a bigger yield of better, longer-lasting, more durable fruit.

Our fruit is not only for our benefit, but also for the building of God’s kingdom. When we allow our growth to remain uneaten within us, it becomes overripe and inedible, and will be pruned from us.

When we submit to God’s pruning, we inevitably become better, more mature Christians with better, bigger more life-changing fruit (growth).

If you are going through a tough time right now, I challenge you to ask yourself what is God trying to prune out of your life? Is it people, like aphids that are eating away at your growth; is it securities and things that you have become too dependent on; or is there pride, ego or offenses that need to be pruned out of you?

Rest for the Week

Working for a Jewish boss, I have often admired his family’s devout observance of the Shabbat, the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, and have at times pondered the concept of what this means.

As Christians, we tend to believe that the Sabbath commandment only applies to Jewish followers, as a law to be strictly adhered to, and that it is not necessary for the rest of us. Having recently heard an insightful sermon on the Sabbath, I have had a change of heart and am intrigued what it could mean for all Christiams. 

It is the fourth commandment in the Old Testament, and even though many Christians interpret Hebrews 4 as Jesus becoming our rest, I am also seeing a purpose and a need for setting aside one day a week to recharge ourselves physically, and to reconnect with God, to refresh and strengthen us spiritually.

There are many verses in the Bible that urge us not to work on the Sabbath or do anything in pursuit of our own interests. (See Isaiah 58:13-14) Yet, instead of seeing this as a legalistic law, we need to realise that rest is not meant to be a reward or a luxury, but a necessity of life, something we tend not to allow ourselves enough of, without feeling guilty.

We’ve chosen to ignore the need to rest, choosing instead to be fearful of not getting everything done, or running out of time to finish all the tasks on our to-do list.  Yet, God promises us that a Sabbath rest is a fruitful time and that when we observe it with a willing, holy attitude, He will provide provision in place of it, like He did with the manna for the Israelite's.

We should not see it as an obligation to NOT do ANY work, but rather as an opportunity to seek God and find rest in the process.  When we change our perspective of it, the Sabbath becomes the Lord’s gift to us and is no longer a law or a burden, but an invitation to be blessed with a much needed rest.

When we spend time resting in God’s presence, the fruits and blessings we receive are peace and joy, which is a great inventory to start a new week with - Not to mention the increased productivity and creativity it will produce in our lives.

The Sabbath is not about resting perfectly, but resting in the one who is perfect!  It’s not about not doing chores or work, or things we must be doing on the day, it’s merely about being consciously in His presence. The Sabbath is not some meaningless ritual or restriction. God created it for our benefit as a gift and a blessing.

We need to see the Sabbath, our Sunday, as Christians, as our weekly date with God, and become eager and willing to sacrifice OUR time to give Him our undivided attention to help deepen our relationship with Him.

If this has struck a chord with you, I urge you to study God’s word further on this subject.

Remembering the Deceased

In a recent insurance application, I was asked the date and age of death of my late mother and father, which got me thinking... Why do I have no desire to acknowledge that anniversary and yet so many people around the world, go to great lengths and expense at marking the occasion? 

Memorial Day is different, as we are remembering the loss of so many to war, 'lest we forget', but for a loved one, it makes no sense to me

For me, an anniversary, for example, for a birthday, a wedding or when you gave up an addiction, is something to be celebrated as a happy memory, so I don't understand why a death should want to be remembered in the same way. Don't get me wrong, I still have special days of when I remember them more than most, but these are on their birthdays and on Mothers/Fathers day.  Whatever way we choose to remember our loved ones, whether it be by lighting a candle, taking flowers to their gravestone or place of death, or just spending time mulling over all our memories of them, it is an acknowledgement to ourselves and others that, although they are gone, they are not forgotten.

I'm also intrigued that some people still pray for their loved ones who have passed on, and I have to wonder if God still hears these prayers, especially if you aren't sure that the person has gone to heaven...

Some people go to great lengths to show they are in mourning and yet others, like the Irish, view a death as a celebration of their life and not as an end of it.  Let's face it, we all must face a death at some point in our lives, but as sad and painful it is to miss someone, when I reach my end, I would much rather have my life celebrated, than my death remembered...  

What do you think?...

Life is short

Today I was reminded again how short and fragile life is... One of our clients at work, who was only 52 has died suddenly and unexpectantly.  Although he wasn't well and was in hospital for what everyone had thought was an operation to cure him, it was sadly not meant to be.

It made me think of that phrase 'dying before ones time'. Who's to say when it's our time? Our lives are not our own and our expiry date has already been stamped by God  We live by His timing, and not our own. Another reason why each year, our birthdays should be celebrated! 

Death should be our wake-up call to start living with purpose, passion and power! May each moment of every day be meaningful, productive, enjoyed and appreciated. 

And when our bodies alert us with symptoms, may we not put off going to the Doctor to have it checked out, before it's too late... 

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

Promise Land Living

I was reminded recently how the Israelites wandered around the wilderness for forty years before reaching the promised land.  Metaphorically speaking, we too spend too much of our lives wandering in the wilderness, instead of living in the land God promised us.  My experience of wilderness wondering is much like the Israelites - full of complaints, doubts, lack of faith and trust in God, and forgetting all of His past miracles and blessings.  I refer to these times in my life as having a 'Faith wobble'.

Lisa Laizure from Womansbiblestudy.com in her series Life is a Battle, explains how we can live everyday in the Promised Land.  It's all about changing our focus back to God and making everything about Him.  No more whining or having a me, me, me pity party when things don't go our way. It means seeking God before making every decision, regardless of how trivial. It means staying in a 24/7 constant commune with the Holy Spirit and Jesus, in prayer and through our words, thoughts and actions.  When we allow God to use us as His hands, feet and voice, then we will find ourselves being able to stay calmer, remain more at peace and be filled with love for our fellow neighbours.  

The more we remain in this constant fellowship with God, the more inclined we will loose our selfish, judgemental, prideful ways. 

When we begin to accept that God is in full control of our lives, and that every trial or crisis we confront, is either a test or a lesson, then we can fully submit to it and stop struggling to control, fix or remove it from our lives. 

We need to start taking possession of our Promised Land, where we are living with the inheritance that is ours - an abundant life, flowing with milk and honey. All it takes is  a shift in our focus and making our lives all about God. 

Easter Reflections

This past Easter, I was blessed to learn a few things that helped make this special holiday even more symbolic to me, than it already is. 

Our church's Good Friday service was about Jesus's crown of thorns being the curse of sin that He bore upon Himself.  I had always thought they were just a mockery of a Royal crown in calling Jesus the 'King of the Jews' and to obviously cause pain.

In Genesis 3:18, we read how God introduced thorns to the land as the curse and punishment for Adam and Eve's sin. This meant that they and we, would have to work and toil the land in order to grow our food.  Learning that the thorns represent the curse of sin, reminds me that there are no co-incidences with God and that everything has a reason and a purpose.

Another interesting thing I learnt was the origins of the secular Easter characters. Some of you may have seen the social media video that went viral, of the Scottish girl questioning what the Easter bunny and eggs had to do with Jesus. Well, this got me wondering, and as I was on Sunday School duty on Easter Sunday, I wanted to be able to share this with the kids.

I learnt that the bunny rabbit became the mascot for Easter, as a symbol of their fertility, representing new life. You know that saying 'to breed like rabbits'? Well a rabbit can start breeding as young as 6 months old, can have as many as 12 babies, with their gestation period being only 30 days, and can breed again after only 6 weeks! So you do the maths...

As with many of our holiday symbols, these originated in the Northern Hemisphere, when the Easter period marks the beginning of Spring, a time to celebrate new life, when lambs and chickens are born and plant life sprouts new growth.  The egg also became the symbol representing new life. 

The early Christians in celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter, introduced the hot 'cross' bun, with the spices representing those used in His burial. Somewhere along the line, these two holiday celebrations became meshed and the egg became hollowed to represent the empty tomb.  Obviously, it was the chocolate companies who commercialized the Easter symbols with all things chocolatey!

In keeping with the symbolism of this special holiday, myself and many other Christians and Catholics like to enjoy pickled fish on Good Friday, not only because it is meat-free but to remember Jesus's flesh, and also to remember the sour vinegar that He was made to drink on the cross. 

Eating Lamb on Easter Sunday is also a well known tradition, remembering how Jesus, the Lamb of God, became the perfect and ultimate sacrificial lamb for the atonement of our sins.

As you reflect on Easter, may these iconic symbols bring your future celebrations of this holiday new meaning...

When Enough is Enough...

Lately I've been pondering on those encouraging Bible verses about how we are able to do ALL things with God's strength, and trusting that He will not give us any more than we can handle. 

However, sometimes in life, we may feel we have reached the end of our rope, our breaking point of giving up - of screaming into the face of our unbearable situation that 'Enough is enough', when we just can't take it anymore and feel like running away.  It's at those times when we need to encourage ourselves with the knowledge that God is using that situation to grow us up, to stretch our endurance levels, make us more patient and grow our long suffering fruit of the Spirit. We need to submit to the agony and pain, trusting that God IS still in control and that He has not abandoned us. 

It is through these tough times that we need a deliberate attitude adjustment.  We need to  grasp onto the hope that things WILL get better, that this uphill battle we are facing will soon reach the top, where it will be all downhill sailing.

However, if we continue to whine, complain and be negative about the situation, we can be assured that the problem will remain with us a lot longer than it needs to. I have fully experienced, that there is a transforming power in accepting, praising and being grateful, no matter how bleak or dire the situation is.

My own mantra when things feel particularly overwhelming is, "This too shall pass", and as my life experiences have proved, they always do...