“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.” John 15:2 (ESV)
Any good gardener knows that it is important to prune your crop and rid it of unfruitful “branches” that those which are healthy will thrive and bear even more than if you did nothing. In this same sense, Jesus equates these unfruitful branches with those in His kingdom who are not bearing fruit or doing work to further the Kingdom by spreading the Gospel message and making disciples. He also tells us that even those branches which are fruitful must be pruned from time to time to remove the unhealthy or diseased parts, which equates to the remnant of a sinful lifestyle in the born again believer. Each of us will undergo pruning by way of rebuking, correction, disappointment, illnesses, etc., all to ensure that we remain as spiritually healthy and productive as possible. Is there something on your branch you need to allow the Lord to prune?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalms 19:14 (ESV)
Unfortunately in today’s world, when we hear the world “pious” our first thoughts tend to go towards someone who is egotistical, self-righteous, vain, or even hypocritical. However, I believe we can rightly call the Psalmist here a pious man, though not under those definitions. He was pious in that he had the true hope and desire that he would be wholly, completely devoted to His Lord. With complete devotion unto God comes the desire to maintain only pure and righteous thoughts, speech, and even actions. This was the piety the Psalmist possessed as he so desperately pleaded to God to redirect his words and thoughts of his heart from their carnal leanings toward God’s righteous will for his life, all for the honor and glory of God. What kind of piety are you exhibiting? How are your thoughts and what kind of words are you allowing to come forth from your lips?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked.” Proverbs 13:6 (ESV)
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” I am sure most everyone has heard this quote before (though mistakenly believe it to have been said by Aristotle). When this was written by Will Durant, he was attempting to simplify Aristotle’s philosophy. However, this quote could be applied to today’s verse as well. You see, when we continue in righteousness, righteousness itself will keep our hearts and minds from wandering and going astray from God’s Word and His will. The contrary is also true: When we do not keep our eyes on righteousness, we will find sin overthrowing us and putting our life into chaos. So, what acts are you repeating? How are you striving to live each day? What is your “habit”?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“”One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” Luke 16:10 (ESV)
When it comes to wealth in the terms of money or other materialistic gain in this world, as Charles Ellicott is widely said: “To be faithful in that is to acknowledge that we have it as stewards, not as possessors, and shall have to give an account of our stewardship.” Knowing that what we have and gain comes from God, we must remain faithful stewards — whether with little or with much wealth. In doing so, we will prove ourselves faithful stewards of the Kingdom of God. Contrarily, when we act dishonest, neglectful, disobedient, or even ungrateful for what we have, it sheds light on the nature of our hearts. So what kind of a steward are you?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” (Luke 16:10 ESV)
What a marked contrast from how we view things in this world. It is almost an unspoken rule in politics and society that being dishonest is acceptable. It is not acceptable, not even a little in God’s eyes. We treat it as if it does not matter, but it matters to many people, and more importantly it matters to God.
We can fall into the trap of thinking that we do not need to be faithful with the small things, as if the small things do not matter. I would like to share an anecdote my grandfather used to tell me about the importance of the penny. He said: “If you watch out for your pennies, your dollars will take care of themselves”. What Grampie Jim meant was that if you’re faithful in how you handle the little things, you will not have to worry about the larger things as the faithfulness and diligence you showed in watching your pennies would cause dollars to just pile up. It also means that if we spend wisely with the smaller we will certainly spend wisely with our dollars. This illustrates to me that we will be faithful in whatever we do that is big if we are faithful in the small and that is exactly what today’s verse is talking about.
Are we faithful in the small things God asks us to do? How we handle what God asks us to do, that we consider small, will determine how we handle bigger things for the Lord Jesus. Everyone wants to reap of the blessings of the Lord and do the socially noteworthy work of God to partake of its benefits. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to be faithful in sowing the little seeds of faith in our daily conversations. We may figure it is no big deal to be dishonest, we may not even see it as being dishonest, and remain silent about our faith. We could faithfully sow seeds of truth in every situation. We could boldly proclaim the power of the Gospel, not because of our boldness but because of the boldness of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who dwells within us.
As believers we know that there is one way to God, the Bible tells us so, why then are we unfaithful in sharing that? Not to say that is a little thing, because it is not. We hold the key to eternal life, yet we watch people blindly walk of the edge of life every day and do and say nothing about it. We have been conditioned to be so fearful of offending people, that we actually have lost the whole point of loving them as Christ loved us. You can love someone and tell them the Truth. You cannot love them and withhold the Truth. You may feel that you are not a big evangelist with thousands of people following you, but you hold just as much power to radically and dramatically change lives for the Kingdom. If in fact the Living God Christ Jesus dwells in you the power that created the universe is in you! Nothing can stop you except yourself. Fully surrender to the Father by accepting Christ Jesus today! Be faithful in what God gave you, because when He gave us Jesus He gave us everything. Jesus is not a way, He is the way!
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV)
Father, I praise Your mighty name and I ask that You would touch each and every one of us right now. Lord, turn our hearts to You through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior! Align our minds with your Word, and our will with Your Will! Sanctify our lips and our speech Lord that we might lead others to salvation in Christ and not to destruction. Bless all who read, hear, and share these posts. Bless all who labor for this ministry and support and pray for it. Help us all to be faithful in the little things, that we might prove faithful in the big things even as Your Word says. In Jesus’ MIGHTY name I pray, Amen!
Blessings in Christ, Rev. Christopher B. Cain Minister of Evangelism and Discipleship Alive Ministries USA
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (ESV)
If you have been a reader of Alive Ministries USA’s posts for some time, you will probably recall founder Rev. Christopher B. Cain referencing our late father, Rev. Clifford L. Cain, when saying “what is the ‘therefore’ there for?”. In the case of today’s verse, we need to jump back a few verses to see what James tells us in verse 4: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4) You cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24); you cannot be a friend of the world while simultaneously being in perfect harmony with God. In order to be in harmony and at peace with God, you must submit yourself fully to Him and to His will for your life. In doing so, you must also make an active choice to resist the devil and all of his temptations that will try and pull you away from God. Once you have made these two distinct decisions, you will begin to draw closer to God and He in turn will draw closer to you (James 4:8). Are you fully submitting to God and actively resisting the devil? That is our prayer for each and every one of you!
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
Note: “…in all circumstances”. This exhortation to give thanks is not for when God has met a specific need, answered a particular prayer, or in general “life is grand”. It is in fact an exhortation to give thanks to our Creator and Savior in ALL circumstances, good or bad. The two verses preceding this one compel us to: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). Again, it is noted to be doing these things “always” and “without ceasing”, not merely when we feel God has “done right” by us. If we practice these actions of always rejoicing no matter the season we are in, keeping in constant communication with Him through prayer, and thanking Him for all He does for us each and every day (even the things we do not see), it is then we will find ourselves in line with His will for our lives. When we are aligned with the will of God for our lives, how can we not “give thanks in all circumstances” knowing that He is working all things out for good (Romans 8:28) to accomplish His will and His perfect plan? A truly beautiful circle of love, grace, mercy, truth, and peace!
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Psalms 16:8 (ESV)
If you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you ought always to keep that in the forefront of your mind. Having Him as the One you have trusted for salvation, surely you can trust Him when the battles of life take their stance against you, as He will always be beside you as your “shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4) who is faithful to protect you. With this trust and understanding of the shield and protection you have from your Lord, you can remain unshaken and free of fear and anxiety, even amidst the fiercest foe. Do you trust Him?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.” Job 19:25 (ESV)
Job just may be the one human who we can say suffered the most on this earth, between physical pain and ailments and emotional distress of the loss of family and possessions. The friends who came to bring comfort to him in the midst of his suffering only seemed to bring more stress, anxiety, and even anger. They may have been able to accuse Job of not being the most humble man alive, or perhaps being hypocritical, but Job wants one thing for certain on the record. Job wants it known to these friends (and any in generations to come who might hear of the sufferings he endured) to understand that he still had faith and trust in his Redeemer. He knew that even if he was not delivered from his physical ailments, or restored his worldly possessions, that in the end the God he had always trusted in was a living God who would ultimately redeem Job to Himself for all eternity. Can you state with the confidence of Job that you know your Redeemer, the living God, and that He will restore you to Himself for all eternity?
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations,” Deuteronomy 7:9 (ESV)
This great passage from the Old Testament separates God from the idols who were worshipped by the Egyptians the Israelites had just been rescued from, as well as those worshipped by the peoples in the land around them. These idols were described as: “…silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.” (Psalms 115:4-7 ESV) Unlike all of those idols, or false gods, the God that had delivered them out of captivity had proved He was faithful in keeping His promises and showing His love to His chosen people. If they, and if we, would “love Him and keep His commandments”, He will remain steadfast and faithful, pouring out His love on His children.
Jessica Ford Communications Director Alive Ministries USA
