Morning Quiet Time

This morning, as I was reading scripture, I just so happened to be reading John 15&16 The first 8 verses of chapter 15 have really eat my lunch for some reason. There is an issue of which my daughters know about that I've been praying through for many years now and this morning seemed to be a revelation to me. Here's how my thought process went.

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser" I always imagine grape vines when I read this passage. My grandmother use to have grapevines along the side of her house. These grapevines sometimes would produce many grapes, the real deep purple ones which were so sweet and some years, it seemed like the grapes just were "so-so", not much "punkin" you know what I mean? I don't remember lots and lots of stories about my grandparents, but I do remember my granddaddy who was an itenerate preacher, cutting the grape vines back to almost nothing and I always wondered why he did that. It just did not make sense to me, it appeared that he would kill the grapevine.

"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit". I remember that the grapevine would run down a clothes line and it seemed much bigger by doing that, but he would cut it back almost back to where the grapevine went down into the ground.

So as I'm thinking about that, I find myself asking God, not to take away branches, but to prune the branches in my life so that fruit can be produced and glory and honor comes to Him. And as I was praying that and just stopped reading and prayed and prayed that God would do a great work in the pruneing of my life, I felt release and peace. Then I read the next verse and it said;

"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." I felt like God and I were just having a conversation. You see, I'm visioning either a cutting back a short distance for the pruneing and a cutting all the way back to the trunk of the vine and that part being thrown away to be later picked up and placed on a heap for the fire. But it was if Jesus were saying, "You are mine and I just need to prune you, not dead limbs but just some that need to produce more fruit.
Wow! what a feeling, what a picture that I received. Better still, What releif! Jesus said, that if I confess Him with my mouth and believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead, that I would be saved (in other words, HIS) I remember when that happened for real. You see, I did that when I was young, but there was no real change, but on Dec. 3, 1971, at First Baptist Church, Blountville, Tn, I prayed and ask Jesus to come in and do what He needed to do. Then He came in and cut everything back to the trunk. You see, I had no fruit producing limbs on me. Cutting back and throwing the dead part on the heap to be burned was what He had to do, and now all He is doing is just pruning so that more fruit will be produced.

Now the rest of those verses: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, 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, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (so that's why He needs to prune) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I've read those verses hundreds of times, but never like this morning. Jesus says that He does the pruning, He is the one who produces fruit through me and I have to abide. I can do nothing without Him. Oh, how many times have I tried to produce certain fruit. I can't produce fruit,Jesus does and all I have to do is abide in Him. So now, I'm questioning, Lord what does abiding mean for me?
Have you ever seen a limb grow that was not attached to the tree? Never! Have you ever seen a tomatoe grow that wasn't attached to the tomatoe vine? Never! So now, it appears that God says to me, OK you made the first decision on Dec 3, 1971 which was necessary to become attached to the vine, but so many times you have tried to grow on your own. You tried so hard that you forgot where your source is! Wow! Wow! Wow! YOu just need to abide (stay in my Word, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, Be all that God intends for you to be, Stay attached to the vine, realize the giver of life is God and God alone,) and so much more, but you get the idea and
God says, I want to grow you, so that the fruit of the Spirit is settled in and through you and when I do that for you, you will be in a position that you will only want what I want and desire what I desire and I will see to it that you get it if that's your desire because you were created to bring God glory and honor.

Hello! All these years, I've wanted a good thing and I believed God for it, but I wanted it for me. Not for God, Not for anybody's sake but mine.

Perhaps you are not feeling the way I am right this minute, and that's OK but let me tell you, this has been a "God moment" or whatever time it was. I love it when this happens. The light comes on and God gives you wisdom from on high. Praise God for His undiscribable gift.
I apologize if I rambled but I'm just a tad excited. God bless each of you who read this today and my prayer is that God give you some of those "God moments" in your life also.