The Lord has set His pruning principles in creation, so we can learn from them. The pruning in vegetation is a reassurance to help His children not to become discouraged or disillusioned when pruning occurs. A pruned plant/tree does not stay pruned forever, and as soon as the season changes the new growth reappears.

In my research, I found that there were several benefits for pruning trees. First, pruning makes trees healthy because it allows their root to grow stronger. The stronger root system allows the trees to hold up to the storms better. Spiritually speaking, when we go through pruning, we have a tendency to get closer to the Lord. We don’t have all the busyness or the distractions around us to keep us from being focused on the Lord. In addition, we find ourselves in greater need of Him, and we have a greater degree of desperation to gain His comfort and His reassurance in the pruning season.

This shall be a sign to you:

The Link: https://www.angieslist.com/articles/6-reasons-why-you-should-prune-your-trees.htm

Every gardner understands the value of pruning because they have seen the result of that process in their garden. God in His infinite wisdom uses the pruning process to allow us to grow and to come into our full potential.The Lord’s pruning is not pleasant, but the ultimate result of pruning produces far more fruitfuness than before.

Pruning brings about deep and severe change. While some may claim that they enjoy change in life, most of us want to be in control of the change. We want to determine the extent and the speed of change in our lives. However, the Gardener is the expert and He does not ask His vine about the extent of the change desired.  Our decision is to either accept the process of pruning and allow God to do His work or to resist Him and remain comfortable. The problem with being comfortable is that eventually can lead to complacency.

Rise up, you women who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come. Isaiah 32:9-10

The King James Version translates the word “complacent” as  “careless”. Complacency breathes carelessness. If we want God’s best, we can’t remain complacent. Complacency is about having false security. It is about putting trust in something that will not bear fruit.

When a rose bush is pruned, we know that the bush is going to look very ugly for a couple of months before the new life grows sprouts. In the immediate time, a tree/bush that is not pruned looks much better than the one that was pruned.  It takes courage and humility not to be worried about what others think and allow God to do what He desires to cut off those branches that are not fruitful in our lives. If we are too worried about our image and what people will think of us, we may use carnal means to resist the pruning process. 

The above scripture explains that the crop expected was not going to appear the following year due to complacency. The consequence of not being pruned is not seen right away. It may take months or years, but we will eventually feel discontentment developing in our lives. We may not be able to put our finger on it, but we realize that we are not happy with where we are at. We’re too afraid of losses, so we settle for a discontented life and keep acting and living as if we are satisfied!

Are you experiencing a change that is directed by the Lord? Are you resisting change in this season of your life? Can you trust Him that He is doing a good work in your life through the pruning process?

The Lord is compassionate towards all that He has made and Jesus was compassionate towards others. Similarly, God calls us to be compassionate towards people.

Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”  And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:30-37

Definition of Compassion (According to Strong’s Concordance): to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion.

Compassion makes us feel something deep inside of us for others. There is a tender affection that moves us into action. It takes us out of the routine of responsibility and obligation and allows our spirit man and soul to come alive by feeling something for others.

The Good Samaritan story shows that compassion overcame prejudice and hatred. The Samaritan man helped someone whom he could have considered his enemy. From a spiritual standpoint, the priest and the Levite should have reached out to him, but they were too busy fulfilling their obligations that they had no time or heart for this man. On the other hand, no one would have expected the Samaritan to help due to the racial and cultural differences. 

Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. John 4:9

The woman at the well was surprised with Jesus talking to her because the Jewish people did not interact with Samaritans. The Jewish people looked down up the Samaritans because of intermarriage that made them a mixture of races. The Assyrian kings tried to breakdown ethnic distinctions and loyalty towards a particular race during the time when they had the Jewish people under their captivity (See 2Kings 17:24). The Jewish people considered themselves as genuine article and God’s chosen people.

The truth is that man in his nature may have a long list of criteria for the acceptable type of people that he/she wants to associate with. Generally, those factors are tied to external factors such as race, education, socioeconomic status, etc. This causes our heart to be open and compassionate only towards those that we consider worthy or that we prefer to receive help from. However, when a person falls on hard times, those issues suddenly become immaterial and one appreciates whoever helps them.

Jesus shared the Good Samaritan story to show that we are more vulnerable than we think we are, and God can use unlikely individuals to show us compassion. Pride rejects, neglects, and discriminates, but compassion heals, cares, and develops community. Loving our neighbor would be evident by our acts of love, compassion, and generosity. Having a heart of compassion softens our hearts and allows the life of God to fill us with love and tenderness towards others again. Let’s embrace compassion and pray that the Lord would increase it in our lives!

Our world needs Godly compassion more than ever. People carry around many offenses that leads to their hardened hearts. The natural reaction is to be either indifferent or reciprocate the hostility. However, our supernatural response is to show a heart of compassion towards those who are hurting even though their attitude is something less than desirable!

For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again. Psalm 78:37-39

The above word “compassion” is primarily reserved for God. The Lord has the capacity to be compassionate towards all that He has made, and His dealings with people are not rote or out of duty. He has committed Himself to be in covenant with those who receive His son, and His heart is always moved with compassion towards His children. We all have disobeyed God numerous times, but God has not ceased to show us compassion. I am so thankful that the Lord is deeply merciful and long-suffering towards us.  Where would we be without God’s loving compassion!?

Do you see God’s compassion towards you? Have you recognized His mercy when you did not deserve it and could not earn it with your own efforts? God’s compassion and mercy softens us as His children and gives us a heart of compassion towards others who suffering. 

And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34

Jesus’s ministry was full of passion and compassion. He was passionate towards God and compassionate towards people. He saw people as sheep that needed a shepherd. There were times that He wept for others seeing them in their lost state. Jesus had compassion on those with no shepherd and taught them the truth, which they should have learned from their leaders. His intent was to show the heart of the Father to the destitute and the needy.

Leading God’s people requires a heart of compassion. Leaders should be good teachers who try to help the sheep to grow strong in their faith and to not get devoured by the enemy. Compassion allows us to be gentle and meek with people. Having compassion does not mean that we compromise the truth, it only means that we have tenderness in our hearts in the way we communicate and reach the person. 

Do you have a heart of compassion towards others? If not, we can pray that we would recognize God’s compassion towards us and that the Lord would soften our hearts with mercy and compassion towards others! The world needs compassionate and truthful Christians! 

Another sphere that the Bible speaks about is the civil government. Every society needs a form of civil governance to ensure that there are proper boundaries, so that everyone can live in peace and protection from external harm. If we keep the right priorities in self governance, family governance, and church governance, there will be fewer reasons to look to civil government to legislate multitude of laws for the various ailments in society. Below are a couple of scriptures in regards to civil government.

“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” 1Peter 2:13-17

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:1-4

These letters were penned when the Jewish people were under the Roman empire, and the new Christians were being persecuted unjustly in the hands of the religious and governmental leaders. The scriptures show that the role of civil government is to be just and fair. It has a responsibility to punish the violators (evildoers) in order to protect the innocent from harm. It is our job to make it a priority to pray for our governmental leaders, so we can live peaceful lives. The power of civil government should be constrained, but when all the other spheres of government are weak, sadly, people look to government to seek solutions for those failures. 

In the above scripture, Peter calls the Christians to honor the king. It also speaks about not using our freedom as a cloak for vice. Unfortunately, some Christians have fallen in the carnal trap of believing that they are free to choose when to give honor. The world has two main messages about honoring those who lead: First, leaders only deserve honor if they like them or agree with them; second, since they live in a democracy, they have the right to criticize, demean, or label the leaders in order to bring awareness to the problems at hand. In truth those who operate in this manner, may have a pattern of dishonor towards parents, spouses, bosses, and pastors. This is not about who is in power, but it is about our trust in God and knowing that God allows people come to power.

Furthermore, democracy gives the opportunity for each person to vote, but once someone is in the office,  we should all pray for them, honor them, and support their efforts to make our nation better regardless of how we feel about them. We should also be fair in acknowledging those actions/policies that have been beneficial to the country. When/if we don’t agree with certain policies, we have avenues such as protesting, writing to our elected leaders, or joining a civic organization to do something about the bad policies. 

As believers, our hope is not in civil government, but we understand its necessity. A good government allows us to have liberty and peace, so we can freely make decisions for ourselves and our families. Keeping the right perspective of civil government will allow us not to get sucked in by the chaos present in the political arena. We should always remind ourselves that the civil government is carnal and while it is necessary, it cannot take the place of our allegiance to Jesus and our Godly response in the midst of division and chaos. 

The next sphere of government that God has established is the church government. The Lord has instituted the church to be the pillar of righteousness on the earth. Christians form the body of Christ and each member of the body contributes to the health and growth of the body of Christ.  Jesus gave us the Great Commission before He was taken up to heaven.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-19

Jesus has called every believer to proclaim the Good News and tell others about God’s mercy and grace through His son. The Lord expects us to disciple those who believe, so they can grow in their relationship and walk with Jesus. When each of us take part in reaching others and inviting them to receive Jesus by faith, we get involved in the business of restoration of lives and society. We co-labor to see God redeem what was lost in the garden of Eden. Those who repent have the opportunity to learn self-government and to allow their lives, their marriages, and their families to be restored by God’s love, grace, and power!

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:11-16

The church government provides the authority and the structure to train and instruct people in righteousness, so they can be salt and light in a dark world. The church government allows the body of Christ to function effectively as each member is joined and connected to others and operates in their calling and gifting. The body of Christ helps individuals to grow and mature spiritually by feeding them the word of God. It also strengthens marriages, and trains parents in raising the next generation for the glory of God. In addition, the church is called to help the sick, the poor, the orphan, and the widows.

We are called to be a sweet aroma of Christ in our communities and to draw people to the Savior. The church is the representative of the Lord on the earth, and it is called to be the standard bearer in the society. That standard is to be preached from the pulpit, and it should be also lived out by those who confess to be the followers of Christ.

When you have an opportunity to visit the Bible Museum in Washington DC, you find that those who believed have made a remarkable impact in education, science, medicine, government, prison, and humanitarian efforts. Many Christians have sacrificed their lives and been martyred for their faith to see their communities changed for the glory of God! While our ultimate destination is heaven, our lives and our just actions should change the society for the better. 

The true change that people in society are seeking, will not come from legislating new laws, but it comes from regeneration that the church is supposed to preach and live out. The church cannot hide behind its four walls, and neither should it water down the gospel message. When a church waters down the message to please people, it loses its power and effectiveness. This in turn causes the Church to lost respect and to be shunned by the very people it tried to please!

I shared in the last devotional that marriage/family government is one of the key building blocks in every society, but it is the very sphere that has been under attack from the onset. It is God’s desire for us to build strong marriages and families. They honor God, build security for each family members, and create healthier societies. The scripture gives us insight on how we can build stronger marriages.

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1Corinthians 6:18-20

As a believer, God has called us to abstain from fornication and sexual immorality. Sexual sin causes ungodly soulish ties, and it can also lead to out of wedlock pregnancies. Sex outside of marriage causes pollution in the relationship and people may marry each other or break up for wrong reasons. The children born in these situations may experience the lack of commitment of one or both parents in their lives. 

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14

We are called to be equally yoked. Marrying an unbeliever is against God’s will and makes the marriage much harder. Couples should take their time to get to know each other spiritually. Many claim to be a Christian but do not have a living relationship with the Lord. If submitting to a man is difficult for a woman, it becomes much harder to submit to him if he is not a believer!

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33

In the line of priorities, the Lord should always come first, and then our spouse is next in the line of priorities. Our mate is not supposed to take the place of our relationship with the Lord. At the same time, our career, ministry, or children should not be more important than our marriage. Improper priorities lead to an insidious and gradual breakdown of marriage that couples don’t notice until something becomes the last straw that breaks the marriage. 

For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.Ephesians 5:23

God has called the husband and wife to love and respect each other, but God specifically has determined that man to be the head of his household. Marriage/family is a God ordained from of government, and the Lord has assigned the husband to govern it. Sometimes women want to take the man’s place because a man is passive, or he is not doing his part to lead. The problem is that the more the woman takes the place of her husband, the more the husband will shrink back from his role. This causes even greater frustration for the woman. 

God uses marriage as an instrument to shape us. However, shaping is not always pleasant but painful. This is where marriages go through turmoil, and sometimes couples don’t make it. The key to a healthy marriage is having the right perspective between God’s part, our part, and our mate’s part. We have the most control on our part. However, if a spouse feels that she/he is always the one who has to change to make the marriage work, then it may be necessary for the couple to seek help from a Godly counselor. Please don’t to worry about what others would think of your marriage but give your marriage a fighting chance! 

God is in the business of restoring marriages. If there are areas that we have failed in the past, we should repent. If there is room for improvement on our part, we can ask the Lord to help us to do it His way! If both individuals are willing to do marriage God’s way, there is a greater chance of success for marriages in the church. This gives us the permission to have a voice in the society and help others with their marriages.

The stability of marriage government also provides a greater chance for healthy and secure children who are hopeful about their future. It reduces the risk of children getting into trouble, and it also diminishes the chance of poverty. We can build a stronger society when we build stronger marriages/families.  

The second most important sphere of government is marriage/family government. This sphere is one of the most neglected spheres of government.

 “And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  Genesis 2:18

“And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:23-25

God created marriage and blessed it between a man and a woman. Marriage is a lifelong covenant between the two where the couple leave all other affections and priorities and cleave to one another and become one. Marriage is also the place for safe and blessed sexual relationship, which creates the perfect environment for raising a child whose parents are committed to each other and the baby.

Marriage brings stability for everyone, and it provides a safe and secure environment to raise self-governing children. Parents have a responsibility to set the right example for them and to teach and train the children in Truth. This fulfills God’s mandate of being fruitful by raising children who are God honoring and are productive and responsible citizens in their society. 

When Adam and Eve sinned against God, it impacted their relationship with God and with one another. They were blamed each other and did not take responsibility for their own actions before a holy God. This was the breakdown of self-government which also impacted the marriage/family government. The breakdown of one sphere of government has a ripple affect on the spheres of government. 

Marriage has continually been under assault from the beginning because it is the nucleus of God’s governance on the earth, and it represents our spiritual relationship to a holy God. God sees marriage as a holy covenant. It is about a husband and wife who are willing to be committed to God and be self-less towards one another. It is the ultimate expression of Jesus’ two greatest commandments. 

To the contrary, the enemy is after separating and destroying families. Due to man’s hardened heart, God permitted divorce for only two reasons. First, it was adultery, and the other was abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. However, the current no-fault divorce has caused much damage to families and the society as a whole. The divorce rate in the church is the same as those outside of the church. This is not about shaming those of us who have gone through divorce, but it is about understanding the schemes of the enemy and the huge consequences of divorce.

How do we build stronger marriages and families? I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. 

In the Garden of Eden,  when Adam and Eve decided to ignore God’s boundaries, self-government failed. Over the course of time, God instituted the Ten Commandments for people to govern their actions. The law eventually proved that man’s nature does not change by external rules.

Finally, God sent His son, Jesus, to give us a new nature. He taught us that true transformation occurs when our heart changes through repentance. When we ask for forgiveness and accept His work on the cross, the regeneration process begins. Jesus offers us a fresh start and teaches us how to walk with God. He redeemed what was lost by Adam in the Garden. The change is not a religion but a relationship that continues to change us from the inside out.

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in the above two commandments. Those who are born-again have the power to be self-governing by following Jesus and His ways of doing life. There are no laws that can legislate the above two commandments effectively; they are the most powerful two commandments that can shape the nature of any society or nation. The change always begins with us and its ripple affect impacts those around us. True self-government begins when we fear and love God!

We can look at a simple example of traffic laws and the impact of violating them on the society. While we have law enforcement that holds individuals accountable to traffic violations, the system is designed with the assumption that most people will be self-governing and will follow the traffic laws. If everyone in a city decided not to follow the traffic laws, chaos would ensue in the matter of hours. There would be numerous accidents and the police force would not be able to handle all the traffic violations and accidents. When people don’t honor the law, it creates an unsafe and insecure environment for everyone in the community. 

In every sphere of society, we are dependent on men and women who are willing to follow the laws of various institutions and do right in order to protect themselves and others from harm. It used to be that the the lawlessness was equated with those marginalized in society. However, nowadays, lawlessness is embraced as a sign of intelligence and political engagement in some circles, and those in power encourage the average person to be lawless. While unjust laws should be challenged through the right channels, we cannot have a society where people just decide to be lawless whenever something doesn’t meet their expectations. This pattern of behavior creates anarchy, and it threatens the security of every innocent person. We are all accountable to the Lord in how we conduct our lives, and we should not condone lawlessness as trendy or smart!

As our nation is going through political and social turmoil, it is important for us to go to the Bible and discover God’s views on these matters. One of the aspects of success in our human experience is in living in peace and respect of one another, but we cannot live in this manner unless we have healthy governance in every sphere of society. Last week, I wrote about this subject on Facebook. However, since many of my readers are not connected with me on Facebook, I would like to share these important concepts with you all and expound on some of those issues. 

In general terms, the role of governance is the role oversight given to a person or a group people who have the responsibility of protecting and providing for those under their jurisdiction. There are different spheres of governance in society. In each sphere, there are those who lead and there are those who are subjects. Each person has a God-given responsibility to function according to the parameters that God has defined their job description to be. The scripture points out different spheres of government and the God-given role and function for each sphere. 

According to 1828 Webster’s dictionary: GOVERNMENT means: Direction; regulation. These precepts will serve for the government of our conduct. 1. Control; restraint. Men are apt to neglect the government of their temper and passions.”

The most important sphere of government is self-government. This is at the heart of every healthy society. When we are willing to restrain ourselves and do what is right and equitable, we develop a building block to a healthy society.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28

God created Adam and Eve in His own image and had a relationship with them. He also gave them authority over everything that He created. Adam in his perfect and sinless state was a self-governing individual and was able to walk with God and steward what God had entrusted to him. However, after the fall, Adam and Eve became subject to fear and pride, which led them to shame, guilt, and blame.

We see the lack of self-governance in our society. The darts of shame, guilt, and blame are flying all around us. People do not want to take responsibility for their own lives and neither do they seek to change. However, they have plenty of opinions for how others should change and behave better. When things go wrong, the pointing of fingers begin, but we hardly hear anyone taking the log out of their own eyes. This creates much chaos, confusion, and division. 

Are we able to govern our tempers and passions and, at the same time, do what is right in the eyes of God? 

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.