Chastening

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary explains that "Chasten" is to correct by punishment or suffering and To Prune (something, such as a work or style of art) of excess, pretense, or falsity.

John 15:1-11

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 2 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. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

i would spend a lot of summers with my grandparents both my moms and dads side. Both of my grandma's loved gardening, flowers, plants, fruits and veggies. One thing that they always did and the proper time was to prune the plants. I thought as a child that seemed wrong why cut off a branch that looked pretty good. I didn't know so I asked each said the same thing. You have to cut the plant back to better it for next year, or something to that effect.

i understand now through scripture that we too, must be pruned as well, to better us, to help us grow in strength and be more fruitful.

The ones hearing Jesus saying this would have known what he was talking about when he said, "My Father is the vine dresser." God is the one who cuts of the weak branches or the branches that need to be cut off to make the rest better. To prune properly it must be at the right time of year, post harvest time. To prune properly you do not take the entire branch, just the tip maybe about 6 inches or so. 

So, pruning doesn't mean death for the branch but just to take away that which is bad for the entire vine. 

This scripture is at time taught that this cutting away is severing the bad branch in its entirety, in others death both earthly and spiritually but that is not what Jesus is teaching here.

Jesus is teaching on the cutting away of that which is bad for us, his followers. This is teaching sanctification, which is the process of being made holy. It is a gift given through the power of God to a person or thing which is then considered sacred or set apart in an official capacity within the religion.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that Sanctify: 

• to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use to free from sin
• to impart or impute sacredness, inviolability, or respect to
• to give moral or social sanction
• to make productive of holiness or piety

I like "to...inviolability" - which means to secure from violation. How awesome is that? Think about if with me for a moment. Why is it we as human beings start out life as a baby crying for every need? Why is it when we start to walk hold our hands out to momma or daddy? Why is it when we start school and head off either into the bus or door to our room and look back to mom or dad or whoever we look to for our security? Why is it when we are sick we cling to our sick bed, sturdy pillow, blankets and the important need medicine and our significant other for security? (this can be either our mom or dad or grandparent. It can also be our spouse when we are older, or even older caretaker).

We as humans long for security.

We search it out daily.

We cling to life

We cling to breath

We long for that one who gives us our safe place

We cannot live alone

we try 

we fail

But all in all

We as humans have to have

SECURITY.

We as humans fail.

We cannot be someones everything

No matter how we try

No one on earth can give us total security

But

There is a Father

There is a Son

There is The Holy Spirit

There is security

Total and perfect

God is our Vine dresser

Jesus is our Vine

The Holy Spirit is our source

We have security - eternity

WE have salvation - in Christ

We have a helper - The Holy Spirit.

Think about it, why do we always go back to God, either in anger or fear or love or what have you? Because we as humans were made for God! We were not made for our own we were made for worship. We were made to live with HIM for eternity. We were made to be fruitful in all we do, for the GLORY OF GOD in CHRIST JESUS for died for us so that we can be made HOLY as HE IS HOLY.

This is AMAZING!!

Think about it, we are chastised at the proper times. It does NOT feel good. We get mad at God for letting things happen, we have trials and get caught in our sin. BUT, this is good for us. For God "for the Lord disciplines the one He loves, just as a father, the son he delights in." Proverbs 3:12 (HCSB)

The Holy Spirit will help us even when He is disciplining us. Isn't that great!?!?!

We get corrected by our Father in Heaven when we are in sin, but we do not have to go through the correction, disciplining chastisement alone.

John 14: 23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me. 25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.(emphasis mine)

We are not alone in this world of sin. Through chastening times and through trials we are made Holy. Take a deep breath and understand this and be prepared for it, it's a daily thing. 

The good news is chastisement will only be in this world Eternity we will be Holy as God is Holy, we will be in His presence forever. The chastisement will be over and we will be at rest.

Arbiter

While looking up a scripture for another reason, another thought I came across this interaction between Job and one of his 'friends' Bildad. He asked:

Job 8:

20 “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,
    nor take the hand of evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,
    and your lips with shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
    and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

Job 9

Then Job answered and said:

2 “Truly I know that it is so:
    But how can a man be in the right before God?
3 If one wished to contend with him,
    one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength
    —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
    when he overturns them in his anger,
6 who shakes the earth out of its place,
    and its pillars tremble;
7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
    who seals up the stars;
8 who alone stretched out the heavens
    and trampled the waves of the sea;
9 who made the Bear and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10 who does great things beyond searching out,
    and marvelous things beyond number.
11 Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not;
    he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12 Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?
    Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

13 “God will not turn back his anger;
    beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
14 How then can I answer him,
    choosing my words with him?
15 Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
    I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
    I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest
    and multiplies my wounds without cause;
18 he will not let me get my breath,
    but fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!
    If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20 Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;
    though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21 I am blameless; I regard not myself;
    I loathe my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
    ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
    he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
    he covers the faces of its judges—
    if it is not he, who then is it?

25 “My days are swifter than a runner;
    they flee away; they see no good.
26 They go by like skiffs of reed,
    like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
    I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’
28 I become afraid of all my suffering,
    for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 I shall be condemned;
    why then do I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow
    and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 yet you will plunge me into a pit,
    and my own clothes will abhor me.
32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
    that we should come to trial together.
33 There is no arbiter between us,
    who might lay his hand on us both.
34 Let him take his rod away from me,
    and let not dread of him terrify me.
35 Then I would speak without fear of him,
    for I am not so in myself.

(My emphasis out in on the word arbiter)

In Job's day pre-Christ, there was NOT an arbiter yet. Jesus had not been born. BUT NOW, in our day there is an arbiter.

An Arbiter is one who has "ultimate authority in a matter" as the dictionary says.

This is Jesus Christ, he is our arbiter our authority, our judge, our controller, our director, our master, our expert, our pundit.(pundit meaning one who puts in his opinions about (a subject) to the public. - he did this in the Holy Scriptures The Holy Bible)

Jesus is the great authority (Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”). He has been given this authority over everything. Every person, place thing, situation that you are going through. EVERYTHING. 

SO who are we to be despondent while going through a valley of despair. We do not walk through life alone when we are in Jesus Christ. Believe me it is so possible to forget this when trials hit, one right after another trial, sometimes in such endless supply of trails that one can get so much in a rut we feel like we are walking through sludge. But we have a great Arbiter who DOES want to help, One who has All Authority to give us what we need to face these trials. Remember Verse 20 in Matthew 28: 

"I AM with you always even to the end of the age."

God will not give us more than we can handle  (I Corinthians 10:13).

We will be tempted to fall in despair while being tempted to give up in trials God allows in our life. 

We need to remember this while in trials and tribulations,

 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Romans  12:12

and now ending on tow of the hardest verses to digest, at least for me anyway:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5

and

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

it is difficult to go through these trials and tribulations often called storms, not impossible just difficult. 

Remember: With God "All things are possible" Matthew 19:26

1: Have faith in God through Jesus Christ work on the Cross and Through the Holy Spirit (above scriptures)

2. Have patience knowing that God will deliver you through the valley (Psalm 23)

2 Have Joy God is in Control this too will pass. Revelation 4:10-11

Remember that crown James wrote about i mentioned above. Remember the emphasis is not on the crown but the giving God will give you a crown of life, but that is not ours to keep, because we have nothing to keep that that life that is why we see through John the Revelator story of what he saw:

"The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Q. Why do we go through trials?

A. So, that God will get the glory when he fixes it.

And He will fix it, He Promised!!!

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28