"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." - John 15:2 (ESV)

The world teaches that discipline is about shaming us into acting perfectly. Discipline from the world usually comes from a place of selfishness rather than love, a pursuit of perfection rather than godliness, and intends to lead us to the appearance of morality rather than molding and shaping the heart. For this reason, we so often run away from the discipline of our heavenly Father. But, Hebrews 12:5-6 says, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” God loves us, so he disciplines us. He has such incredible plans for us that he must mold and shape us into children ready and equipped for authority, influence, and the power of the Spirit. His discipline is always intended to lead us to abundant life, not to tear us down or shame us. As we look at God’s desire to discipline us, allow his love to open your heart and lead you into the process of pruning intended solely to refine, help, and produce fruit in you.

John 15:2 says, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The only way for us to bear more fruit in God is to allow him to prune us. The pursuit and cares of the world are like weeds that crowd out and steal nourishment from the good, fruitful branches rooted in God. God’s plan is to prune, heal and transform us into children who live in the world but are not of it (John 17:14-19). He longs to tear down the strongholds of pride and sin that have kept us from experiencing the fullness of his promises. And he plans to lead us to a lifestyle of important and eternal fruit which will fill us with the fullness of joy.

So how do we allow God to prune us? How can we engage in his process of healing and transformation? It all starts with seeing the depth of his love for us. Psalm 103:2-4 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” God’s process of discipline is so different than the world’s because it is all rooted in his unconditional love for us. In order to consistently engage in his loving discipline, we must consistently encounter his love. We have to spend time with the all-loving heart of our heavenly Father to separate his discipline from the unloving discipline of so many of our earthly fathers. His discipline is always solely for our benefit and completely to our good. In order for us to fully give ourselves over to his discipline, we must have continual revelation of the depth of his love for us.

Next we have to choose his ways over the ways of the world. We have to sacrifice what we thought mattered for what he says matters. Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” His discipline will be painful because it will lead you to look different from the world you grew up in. He will take our living sacrifice of the world’s opinions and transform us into children who solely value his opinion. Most of us have valued the ways and opinions of the world so highly that living apart from them feels completely foreign and frightening. So we must choose to trust God over what we have understood to be important or valuable. God will lead all of us to a lifestyle of humility in opposition to the world’s values of pride and success. He will lead all of us to a lifestyle of loving others rather than getting all we can out of others. He will lead all of us to a lifestyle of dependence on him rather than self-empowerment. And he will most certainly lead all of us to a life of relationship with him as our highest priority over the opinions and friendship of others. Every piece of the pruning process is difficult. But, every time you agree with and follow the Holy Spirit through the process you will come out more satisfied, joyful, free, empowered, and fruitful than you were before. Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” After you throw off the weight of the world you will wonder how you ever lived under its burden.

Engage with your loving heavenly Father in the process of pruning. Open your heart and allow him to tear down the walls that have been keeping you from experiencing the flood of abundant life and works he has planned for you. See his love and respond to it by sacrificing your ways of thinking and living. He has plans to heal, transform, and free you today if you will simply follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit through the pruning process.

Recently, I have heard some say that as believers, our worship music should be more focused on who God and Jesus are and less on what He has done for us. I had to take some time to consider this and had the following verse come to mind:

“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This reference is clear that our great adversary is destroyed by the blood of the lamb AND the word of our testimony. So, while there is great occasion to sing about the awesome power, incomparable greatness, and mighty justice of our Lord as well as grace beyond measure; our testimonies of what He has done for all of those who have gone before us and all He has done for us are also what has conquered the accuser of our souls. 

One of the most comforting Psalms, Psalm 23, was written by David and says, “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” It continues to declare the personal things that the Lord did for David and what he also does for us as we walk with Him. 

Our personal testimonies are what makes Jesus real to us. They are often feelings-driven, passionate, and messy but also what so often speaks to others walking through similar hard things looking for hope. Many times, feelings of loneliness and isolation are what drives those who are lost to seek after the Lord. Our feelings were given to us by a Holy God who loves us and meets us in emotion.  He also meets us in wisdom, knowledge, vision, sight, comfort, belief, faith, touch, passion, drive, work, suffering, trials, hardship, and so many other places in our lives that are personal and transformational, calling us who believe to be like Christ in all we do. Yes, we are to take every thought captive to obey Christ. Yes, we are to trust and obey His Word. Yes, our hearts are deceitful and can be desperately sick without the Lord’s guidance.

However, the entirety of scripture is filled with testimony after testimony of amazing things that God did in the lives of those who have gone before us. Every one of those who learned to trust in the Lord had to battle feelings that either drew them closer to or further away from the Lord. Abraham learned to trust through his waiting for a son and feelings of uncertainty and unbelief into his old age. Jonah learned to trust in the belly of a large fish despite feelings of pride and arrogance. Daniel learned to trust as he stood up when everyone else bowed down, facing fear, ridicule and isolation, even being thrown into the lion’s den with the terror of what by every worldly perception meant death.  Esther learned to trust in the castle battling sorrow at the possibility of her people dying. The list goes on. Jesus meets us in our emotions. We can worship out of reverence and awe, but also within the context of deep feelings about who God is and all He has done for us. 

Psalm 100 declares the heart posture we should have in worship, whether we are praising Him for His awesome power OR the amazing ways he has worked in our own lives…all of it is for His glory.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness;  come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God,  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;  his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Merry Christmas

Anxiety, worry, and complacency concerning Jesus are the consequences of fear, and fear thrives as faith is not nourished . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This IS a Christmas devotion. This is a Christmas devotion because; what is the opposite of fear? JOY! Remember this, all through the year, every day - just as there was a day in history (June 18, 1815) when the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon, just as there was a day in history when Muhammad Ali became the heavyweight boxing champion, and just as there was a day in history when you first joined us here at Living Legacy church, there was a day in history when the sky was filled with angels telling men “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Remember this, all through the year, every day.

Fear births anxiety, worry, and complacency regarding the gospel. The Greek word translated to the English ‘angel’ means ‘messenger’ - God’s message to us on that day that His Son Jesus was born is “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Joy is a fruit, not a gift, of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to His church, He gives us evangelists, preachers, elders, deacons, etc. Joy isn’t a gift (in that sense) it is a fruit just as faith and humility are fruits (natural process, outgrowth) of the Holy Spirit . . . so that, not every Christian can be a preacher or deacons, etc - but every Christian can be, should be, filled with joy. 

The Holy Spirit may call you to be an elder or deacon, or He may not, those are gifts at His disposal to give to men for the work of His church - but the Holy Spirit calls every believer to be faithful, humble, and filled with joy. It’s absurd that so many mark the Christmas season as a time of anxiety, fretfulness, and worry - always remember this, all through the year, every day; there was a day in history when the sky was filled with angels telling men “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Remember this, all through the year, every day. Merry Christmas.

November makes me think of Thanksgiving and the many reasons I have to be thankful:  Family, church family, friends, food on my table, a roof over my head, my cats. Then there are all the things I often take for granted: Blue skies, puffy white clouds, sunrises, sunsets, ocean waves, trees, green grass, flowers, freedom to worship without fear of persecution, the promise of eternal life with Jesus, etc., etc.

As I turned the page in my "Every Day With Jesus" devotional book and saw that November's " Love Letter from Jesus" was on thankfulness, I knew it needed to be shared:

"Because of Who I am, you truly can give thanks in everything.  I hold you in My everlasting arms. Nothing comes into your life without going through Me first.  What this means is this--regardless of how things might seem, I am in control. I am working all things together for your good. So you can be thankful in all things, letting your heart rest securely in My love.

Let not your heart be troubled nor afraid.  Instead be thankful. God's will for you as a believer in Me is that you trust Him in all things and choose thankfulness over fear. Because I broke My body for you, you can be thankful for salvation.   Because I conquered death, you can be thankful for eternal life. Because I forgive your sins, you can be thankful for restoration.  Because I never leave you, you can be thankful for My presence.  Because My strength is perfect, you can be thankful for your weakness.  Because I am the Way, you can be thankful for each step along your journey.  Because I am the Truth, you can be thankful you are set free.  Because I call you, you can be thankful for your purpose.  Because I give you My spirit, you can be thankful for His comfort.  Because I calm the storm, you can be thankful for peace.  Because I live in you, you can be thankful to live a godly life.  Because I make no mistakes, you can be thankful even for hardships.  And because My kingdom never ends, you can be thankful for the future. "

1 Thessalonians 5:18:  "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." NIV

Psalm 100: 4-5:  "Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." NIV

1 John 1:9 HCBS  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It is said that ";confession is good for the soul". It really is!! When you pray do you pray

deep or on the surface? Do you confess your failures in general or are you deeply honest and specific with your Father in Heaven? Perhaps you need to probe deeper than the failures of today and examine the unresolved actions of past years, those memories that bind you and hold you back..

We live in such a busy time that often we communicate with God in short hand. When you come before your Heavenly Father take time to pause from the business, confess to Him your love, be honest with Him about your life and your failures. Explain to Him your pain and revisit your failures together and God promises not only to forgive your failures, but to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Trust His ability to receive your confession more than your ability to confess it. Don't

fear that you weren't sincere or that you might forget a failure, of course you will! Do you think God tells us to confess our failures so that He might know what they are? God knows long before we confess what our failures are. God desires that you acknowledge your failures that you might know the forgiveness that is already yours in Christ Jesus.

Let this prayer of the Psalmist be yours. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalms 139:23-24 NLT  "And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 HCSB