THE SEVEN "I AMs" #7
                                                          Blog #40 - 1/30/2020

Have you heard the story of the man who bought a piece of land in order to grow an orange grove? He was shocked when he discovered the orange trees that he planted produced bitter-tasting oranges. He found out the soil could only support bitter-tasting orange trees.What was he going to do? He found a way he could accomplish what he wanted. When the stocks of the bitter-tasting orange trees grew to a certain size, he engrafted the stock of the sweet-tasting orange trees. Little by little, he pruned the branches that produced bitter-tasting oranges. With time,the trees took on the characteristics of the trees that produced sweet-tasting oranges.

For a moment, let's imagine that out lives are like the branches of a tree. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He engrafted His life in us.When Jesus Christ forgives us of our sins, He prunes away the branches that belonged to our old way of life. As we spiritually grow in Christ, He prunes away more of the branches that belonged to our old way of life. The result is little by little we become more like Him.

Jesus says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5, NIV).

                                "The Memoirs of One Man's Journey Through Time"
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