Monday, September 7, 2015

Fruit ~ More Fruit ~ Much Fruit

Spirit producing fruit will go on producing
from one life to another.
There will be fruit, more fruit, much fruit.
~**~
Such a beautiful picture but not always an easy process.
As Christians, we often pray that God will
make us more fruitful, but we do not always
enjoy the pruning process that follows.


In my last post I shared with you on The True Vine  
that apart from the Vine we can do nothing.
Abiding in Christ reflects one's dependence on Him,
communion with Him, and obedience to Him.
When we remain in these things our lives will
result in becoming fruitful for Christ.
It is Christ alone, who provides grace and provision
for the needs in life.
 Therefore ~ we must remain faithful to our service for
               the Lord and to the study of His Word in order to bear fruit.  


"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples."
(John 15:8)
 A true branch, united with the vine, will always bear fruit.
There is always fruit where there is life.
"I am the Vine, ye are the branches;
He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit;
for without me ye can do nothing."
(John 15:5)
If there is no fruit, the branch is worthless
and it is cast away and burned.


There are two ways that the branches are pruned,
by cutting away the dead wood and by cutting away living tissue.
With the living tissue you do not want the life of the vine 
to become dissipated causing the quality of the crop to become jeopardized.
~ I found it quite interesting as I researched the pruning process of a vine ~
The pruning process is the most important part of the enterprise,
and those who do the pruning must be carefully trained
so as to know where to cut, how much to cut and even what angle to make the cut. 
After finding this out I've made sure my husband and I were extra careful
when pruning our trees.


"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away;
and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it,
that it may bring forth more fruit."
(John 15:1-2)
Because the Father loves us, He prunes us and encourages us
to bear more fruit for His glory.
Sometimes this pruning process hurts,
but in the end we will rejoice over God's love for us.
We may not want it ~ but we need it.


  How does the Father prune us?
Many times it is simply through His Word as it convicts and cleanses us.
"That he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of water by the word.
That he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
but that it should be holy and without blemish."
(Ephesians 5:26-27)
Our Heavenly Father is ever so near to us 
when He is pruning our lives.
It is the sweet fruit of trusting in the Lord
and allowing Him to do the work that is needed in and through us
that will produce joy to the glory of God.     

~**~

Sometimes the pruning process comes as God must chasten us.
            "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous;
nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby."
(Hebrews 12:11) 
Hebrews 12 1 through 11 is excellent!
Our Heavenly Father makes no mistakes ~ He knows what we need
in order to grow and produce more fruit.

~**~

In the end we must remember that the fruit we are producing
is not for ourselves, but for others.
We should strive to be gracious women
who willingly feed others by our words as well as our actions.
"The lips of the righteous feed many;
but fools die for want of wisdom."
(Proverbs 10:21)
This verse should cause us to see the importance
of serving others, not just pleasing ourselves.
The Spirit produced fruit will go on producing from one life to another.
There will be fruit ~ more fruit ~ much fruit.




We bear fruit when we win others for Christ (Romans 1:13)
We are a part of the harvest (John 4:35-38)
As we grow in holiness and obedience,
we are bearing fruit (Romans 6:22)
The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is the kind of Christian
character that glorifies God and makes Christ real to others.
God's Word has so much for us.
Oh ~ that we might dig deep and grace our lives with the nuggets of gold
that are found through out the Scriptures.
"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord,
unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every
good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."
(Colossians 1:10)
All to the glory of God, that should be our utmost desire!
"By him therefore let us offer sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."
(Hebrews 13:15) 

~**~

All for Jesus, all for Jesus!
Our Precious Heavenly Father,
have Your own way in our lives.
Prune us as needed so we may
bear much fruit to Your glory.
Amen.

Be Beautiful!
~ Debbie ~ 

I have joined Stephanie's party over at
Roses of Inspiration 

33 comments:

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Ah what a great blessing this "abiding in Him, being trained aright by Him "thought is...

Abiding in the vine. And the pruning of the Master Husbandman in our lives dear sister, Debbie, truly we are is rich in Him.

Yes that pruning really hurts but so needful for growth and we wiil and have rejoiced in in this...afterwards... "the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby"...

I love Hebrews I listen to my CD with it on often as my going to sleep music, and verses 12:1-6 are my life verses, but I learnt the verses 11-15 with them too.
Hugs dear Debbie and thanks for popping over,
Shaz in Oz.x

{Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}

Linda said...

Dearest Debbie, the song currently playing on your blog is one of my favourites! Nadia's Theme! Another lovely, encouraging and inspiring post! Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you. :)

NanaDiana said...

What a great post, Debbie. Pruning is so important but, like the grape vines, it is important how it is done and must be done carefully so as not to ruin the vine(spirit). Hope you have a great Labor Day- xo Diana

Kelly-Anne said...

Dear Debbie...oh, so beautiful! Much to ponder on this this graciously woven post...I dearly love the Scripture you chose to include...thank you for offering encouragement to us, dear Debbie...my heart is always refreshed when I visit with you! Many blessings and joy in Jesus!
Kelly-Anne

White Lace and Promises said...

Oh how the pruning hurts, but how wonderful it is to abide in Him.

Sandi said...

"The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is the kind of Christian
character that glorifies God and makes Christ real to others."

This really jumped out at me!

It really does make you consider what all the pruning is for. Thanks, Debbie.

CherylQuilts said...

Oh, dearest Debbie, it's wonderful to see and read another post from you today. And it's a beautiful one and also one that is powerful. Pruning is necessary for trees and plants, and it's vital in our own lives. But it is indeed hard at times...very hard. And yet we know with great confidence that God is always the Master Pruner and does so with precision and with a goal in mind that will make us more and more like Christ! There are days when I have to remind myself of His perfect pruning in my life...especially when disappointment can grow. So thank for you the beautiful Scripture and wonderful photos. You continue to bless us all, and praise God that He is a loving Father. We can trust Him through it all! Hugs, dear friend!

Alex said...

I feel very blessed to be able to read your wise words, Debbie.
It is a sobering theme... 'Am I fruitful for the Lord?' but you have this way of gently encouraging which feels supportive while urging us to press on.
Thanks so much for being you!
I know I have lost ground in the past, few of my branches did not bear well as they might have, but my tree is now taking in all the nutrients it needs.... I hope... A MATURE Tree!

Jeanna said...

AMEN! Thank you for today's blessing, Debbie.

Sherry @ Thrift My House said...

A beautiful post Debbie!

Debby Ray said...

Debbie, this is such a beautiful post and so important as well. What we need does not always feel good to us...and it shouldn't! I need pruned quite often. Have a good evening, sweet friend :)

Ida said...

Wonderful post with beautiful words and photos. - For some reason your link coming into my e-mail is not correct. I had to look up your blog to see your post.

Delvalina said...

Thank you for sharing this encouraging post.
Remind me to always and always fruitful in everyday life - sometimes it's not easy to get complete of the fruits the evil always looks for chance to steal one from my basket. and I just watch and wont let him steal the fruits.

Thanks for sharing the verses as well ;) they are beautiful reminder

and the pictures are adorable especially for the fruits they look so inviting.

Love to you Mrs. Debbie. Praying that Lord willing I could meet you someday.

Linda said...

Debbie, thank you so much for stopping by my blog tonight to let me know you saw the movie, "The Blind Side", and that you enjoyed it. I am so glad! :)

Denise said...

such a lovely post, bless you.

Marilyn @ MountainTopSpice said...

Oh, what a beautiful post, and I loved the pictures you took to share with us such a beautiful picture of how our lives are supposed to produce fruit. Indeed, many times while working in the garden, I think of my own life, and how there are so many parallels to the garden, and to our spiritual lives. This was a beautiful, heartfelt, encouraging, and strengthening post dear Debbie, and appreciated so very much. Without Him, our efforts to produce fruit are in vain, and there are times when our efforts must be pruned, and cut back, so that His life can come forth, new and beautiful. I love this thought, although in reality, in real life, it hurts. I've been there... but I know enough about my Lord that His ways are always best. Appreciated your post tonight Dear Debbie, and pray the Lord has blessed your weekend abundantly :)

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Good morning Debbie! Your post is the second one this morning that I've seen that has this theme; yours with a Christian message, the other about nature and how everything is LINKED. I wish that during childhood, more people were educated in the fact that we are ALL LINKED, all organisms, all people....so that this truth of the spiritual could be more accepted. But it's by faith, by the power of the holy spirit that this concept can even be received. Thank GOD we are connected to the heavenly father, and I am grateful that His spirit is the one that reveals this to those who believe. BLESS YOU!

Celestina Marie said...

Dear Debbie, again another beautiful and teaching post this morning. I love your writing and the inspiration you send.
Yes, without him we are nothing, without him we surly fail, without him we are drifting, like a ship without a sail.
Words from one of my favorite hymns.
Love your beautiful photos and your talented edits.
Have a beautiful day!
Blessings and love, cm

Vicky Hunt said...

You are such a beautiful "speaker" I do hope you use this gift in your church! I would love to hear you. This was a lovely post and so much truth here. Yes, it may hurt a little when He is pruning us, but it is always worth it if we will let Him complete his pruning. I hope your week is off to a lovely start!

Hugs, Vicky

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

What a wonderful lesson you've shared on connecting pruning and how Our Heavenly Father prunes us to bear more fruit. You're such an excellent teacher, Debbie and I enjoy learning from you. Bless you!

Deborah Montgomery said...

Pruning is definitely not pleasant, but as you say, necessary for producing fruit. Thank you for your wise teaching, Debbie. You chose such great pictures to illustrate your points, too.

Camille said...

The process can be painful...but, so necessary. How precious it is to know that our loving Heavenly Father does all these things for our good and His glory. We are being prepared for eternity with Him....what a thought! Hugs to you! Camille

Mehrll said...

What a wonderful post. I am so glad that my Father knows just how to prune my life to make it fruitful. It is so painful at times that we may want to resist the pruning but it is the only way to grow and produce fruit for Him. Thanks for again inspiring me with your words. Hugs

Linda said...

A Beautiful post, my friend. Thank you for sharing...Blessings

Linda Walker said...

Dear Debbie,
This was another lovely post full of inspiring words! You are a talented writer and as I mentioned before, I am always amazed by your use of metaphors. I also enjoy your photos. Many blessings to you Debbie,
xo
Linda

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Beautiful post and great photos! Love the music! I remember when everyone had music in their blogs......
thanks so much for stopping by!!

Hugs,
Deb

hobbyloes said...

Love to read this precious post.
Our Heavenly Father knows what he is doing to us, sometimes it is very painful,
but sometimes it is necessary.
Thank you, dear friend.

Lady Linda said...

Good evening Debbie, so much is packed into your loving blog post. I am always am amazed at your writing skills. You put so much thought and I'm sure time, into each beautiful post. I know it pleases our Lord very much. Hugs.

Dee said...

This was such a beautiful post and as always your encouraging words spoke to my heart. Thank you and many blessings to you... :)

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Debbie, love this post and so special to revisit once again. Thank you for stopping by and your kind comment. Thank you also for the feedback. Your words are so appreciated. Have a blessed evening.
Love and joy to you, cm

Denise said...

I am so glad You share Your personal devotions.They are so right on and beautiful.Of course they are right on because I can feel the Spirit Himself in them.The first thing I found Myself saying to Myself was....."Oh yes, Ouch ouch ouch ". Thank You for keeping in touch with Me. May blessings continue-Denise

Robyn said...

Oh, I just saw this post now, Debbie!
I so look forward to each time you share with us. Your thoughts on the importance of words really struck home today. Sometimes we carelessly toss our words around without thought to how they affect others and we all need reminders that we can make a tremendous with our words and actions.

Have a wonderful weekend, Daffy friend :)

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Hello, sweet Debbie, I am late in visiting and I am sorry for that as I could have used this lovely post to inspire me this week! Such wise thoughts today to remind us that we need to be mindful of how our words and actions 'bear fruit', and that we need to do careful pruning to show our worthiness to our Dear Lord. As I was reading these lovely and inspirational words, I was also listening to your lovely music. Nadia's Theme is a favorite of mine. Wishing you a blessed and 'fruitful' week, my dear. Hugs xo Karen

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