devotionals |
Daily Inspirational Devotionals
The Divine Gardener I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. (John 15:1) The book you hold in your hand is no doubt much neater and cleaner than it was while I was working on it. The words you’re reading now first appeared on my computer screen. I spend my days writing and rewriting, then printing out the pages on my printer. Soon it will go to the publisher, and the painful process of editing will begin. Someone with a red pen and a refined eye will take my precious words and work them over. They will mark and cut and correct and highlight and suggest changes to make the manuscript stronger. At times the process can be brutal. Writers learn early to be thick-skinned; otherwise they’re likely to have a short career. Good books don’t become good by accident. It takes a lot of hard work by a lot of people to make them worthy of shelf space. The better I do my job and the better they do theirs, the more likely people are to want the finished product. And the more God will use what we do to touch the lives of others. If I want to write books that make a difference, I must learn to accept this process. I have to allow others to cut and prune and shape the words I write until they are the best that they can be. God works in our life that same way. Like a good editor, God takes all that we have and are and works us over. He shapes and molds us into something better. He marks and cuts and highlights and trims us into something much more useful and beautiful than we could ever have become without him. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener,” says Jesus. “He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more” (John 15:1-2). The purpose of a good gardener is not to punish the vine with his shears but to make it the most fruitful plant it can be. He trims because all branches develop dead vines. He cuts because only by cutting can he make room for new growth. He prunes because pruning is critical to the amount of fruit a vine can bear. When he is finished, the vine is at its best. And when a vine is at its best, the gardener can use it to feed more people. The best we can do is to let the gardener work and wait for the results.
Today’s Reading John 15:1; Galatians 5:22-23 Reflection How can you better prepare yourself for God’s pruning? How can you tell that God is preparing you for a greater harvest? Does your life exhibit the fruit of the Spirit recorded in Galatians 5?
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The best-selling Left Behind series has captured the attention of millions of readers, and it has changed lives. It has brought millions of believers the motivation to examine their hearts. Are you ready to embrace eternity? Live each moment as if it could be your last? Your future is more important than your past. Where you are going matters more than where you have been. What you do from this day forward means much more than what you have already done. You may be affected by your past, but you are not defined by it. Not in the eyes of God. What does it mean to embrace eternity? It means grasping each breath as if it could be your last, living life moment by precious moment with your feet planted firmly on earth but your heart aimed squarely at heaven. It means learning to embrace the role of dual citizenship—living in one world while belonging to another. It is a lifestyle of living like there’s no tomorrow and then dying so that your real life can finally begin! This 365-day devotional explores the themes introduced in the Left Behind series—themes of salvation, grace, obedience, and faith. New believers as well as mature believers will find a message of faith that will inspire and motivate daily.
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