A Daily Devotion for Friday, June 20
- ontrakk
- Jun 20
- 1 min read
John 15:2
“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
This verse and the surrounding verses are familiar to me, but I can’t think of a time when I actually tried to apply them to my own life. What “deadwood” would God like me to notice and get rid of? What bad habits have I held onto for years, despite their uselessness or active negative influence? This is worth thinking more about and praying about.
Holy God, I know very well that I am not perfect, or even close. But you created me, and you see my perfect potential. Help me to see what I do have the power to change, or to eliminate. I want to be more like Christ. Amen
Becky, transforming
No pic today- poor connection
Jonah 4:1-11 and John 15:2
Each summer as my tomato plants put out their blossoms that will soon be tomatoes, I pinch some blossoms off each stem. I do this because I want bigger tomatoes not lots of small ones. This is the kind of pruning God wants us to do ourselves. I know I need to prune the time I spend on my ipad and maybe cut out some television time. As productive as I think I am, there is still much work to be done.
Prayer: Gracious God, help guide me away from distractions and toward more time with you.
AMEN
John 15:2
This verse is particularly relevant as I sit at our Annual Conference meeting. As a denomination, we are facing a time of deep and extensive pruning. The traditional formula of being church is being pruned away and we are being urged to emphasize and promote entirely different strategies to make disciples and spread Scriptural holiness. In many ways, this feels like it is a mission being entrusted to the next generation with a strong suggestion that we seniors yield the floor to those who will take the church into its bright new future. Scripture seems to indicate this is the right thing to do. My generation has not borne fruit to sustain the church. My hope is tha…
John 15:2
Just like a garden, we grow and mature and just like a garden we need to be tended to, weeded, watered and pruned. Just like a garden can get unruly and overgrown when we are not paying attention, so can we. We need to prune away our negative thoughts and actions and keep a healthy mind and heart that are focused on God and not all the troubles around us. Jonah wanted to question God but that is not for us to question. As we have said many times in this forum, God does things in His way and in his time. Keeping our hearts and minds “pruned” by taking in God’s word and direction daily helps us…
Friday June 20th, 2025
Clearing the way
(Focus: Roadwork crews
John 15:2
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.
This verse is teaching me that God the father knows who are true followers of his son Jesus and who are false. True Christians will be connected and become more fruitful while those who are not truly connected to Christ will not prosper, but will be cut off and will not produce fruit because they are fake. The lesson for me today is, Jesus Christ is the vine and I am a branch. The fruit represents the good works and actions…