In Touch Daily Devotions 24th January 2022 | A Lesson in Pruning

In Touch Daily Devotions 24th January 2022 By Dr. Charles Stanley

Monday, Charles Stanley In Touch Daily Devotional 24th January 2022

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TOPIC: A Lesson in Pruning

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: John 15:1-5

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

In Touch Daily Devotions 24th January 2022 MESSAGE

Years ago I lived in Fruitland, North Carolina. It was apple country, and several of my parishioners were growers. When I stopped by to visit one of them, I found him mercilessly cutting branches from one of the trees. He told me that to produce an abundant crop of the best fruit, he had to prune the branches. It might look as if the tree was going to die, but new growth would spring from the wounds.

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Our conversation helped me understand why the Lord sometimes acts as a pruning knife in our lives. To get a plentiful crop of spiritual fruit, He must remove anything that hinders us from becoming the person He designed us to be. The process is often painful as God cuts away fleshly habits and worldly attitudes, but His pruning results in us becoming a more accurate reflection of Jesus Christ.

Being loved by God doesn’t mean being coddled. Our comfort is not His primary interest. Just as a grower prunes an apple tree to get a bountiful harvest, so God must sometimes cause us pain in order to bring forth greater spiritual growth, Christlike character, and abundance.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 25-27

THOUGHT FOR TODAY: It can be painful when God cuts fleshly habits and attitudes from our life, but that allows growth in Christlikeness.

In Touch Daily Devotions 24th January 2022 By Dr. Charles Stanley. He is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.