Pruning

Do you know the importance of pruning a plant? It done to maintain a plant’s health and aesthetics by the removal of dead, diseased, or injured plant parts. Removal of these weak parts help to minimize the potential for pests and natural injuries; it also helps to maximize the aesthetic qualities and overall vigor of the plant. The same can be true for you and me.

We often need to prune from our lives things that are unhealthy for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Lent is a perfect time for us to consider pruning. During this season we can specifically focus on the practices and habits of our lives that are not beneficial to our well-being.

Pruning is scriptural. In John 15:1-5, we read that God is the gardener who prunes the life of everyone who abides in Christ and bears the fruit of Spirit. Spiritual disciplines such as fasting, confession, and Christian conferencing are crucial to the pruning process.

Fasting is a powerful means of grace and the most neglected. It is powerful because fasting is a physical self-emptying that connects us with Christ (Philippians 2:7) and opens our hearts to his grace. Fasting is neglected for a at least one very good reason: people are naturally reluctant to give up on the things that they have grown accustomed to. It is important to fast because we give up our reliance of what we have grown accustomed to and shift our focus to relying on God.

Confession, whether done corporately or individually, is a spiritual discipline that should be done as often as we pray. We should confess our sin before God and one another. We confess our sin before God because God is the only one who can forgive us. We should confess our sin before one another because we need each others support for spiritual growth.

Christian conferencing is important process of pruning because it shapes disciples and allows honest discussion. It is somewhat related to our corporate confession where we can help shape one another in directions of growth that benefit the body of Christ.

This Sunday in worship we will be discussing the importance of spiritual pruning and specifically how we need to remove toxic portions of life that stunt our spiritual growth. Join us for worship at 8:30 or 10:45 AM as we continue this discussion.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church