Spring is Coming May 4th 2014

Good Morning,

I find myself content to move slowly today. I am enjoying some sunshine and a cup of Door County Raspberry Butter Crunch Coffee.

I was reading the headlines today and it seems as if Northern Michigan is experiencing an "ice tsunami" . Large mountains of ice are being pushed ashore from Lake Superior and causing severe damage. This is one last reminder just how harsh this last winter has been.

Our property shows evidence of the hard cold winter also. We had soil brought in to replace damage soil and grass. It will be a lot of hard work to get the property back into shape. What I did notice however is that all of our apple trees are ready to blossom soon. Each branch is loaded with buds. A few weeks ago I pruned the trees cutting away all the dead branches and those others that would interfere with the sun being able to shine onto the fruit producers. Not one of the branches I removed was going to bear any fruit. Some would actually interfere with the fruit production of the other branches. They needed to go. Receiving the right amount of sunshine is critical to apples. It is much like that in our Christian walk. From time to time God needs to prune us and keep us in a position to be close to the "Son". There are times that God needs to remove the dead branches around us so that they do not block our view of the "Son". These dead branches are the sins that creep into our lives and choke off our view and desire for Jesus. God loves us and we are His. He takes us seriously and allows the Holy Spirit to expose and work to remove the sin in our lives. From time to time I miss a branch that should have been cut down or trimmed. 100% of the time this branch either produces bad apples or no apples at all. God desires for His children to produce good fruit through our works.

John 15 (NIV)

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

James 2:14-26 (NIV)

Faith and Deeds

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^[a]? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^[b] and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Friends, as a tree reaches toward the sun for the nutrients that it receives from the warm rays, won't you look toward the "Son Jesus Christ" for your spiritual nutrients? Aim high and seek Him out today, trim the bad habits before the Divine Gardner has to do it for you.

Be blessed,

Marty