Monthly Archives: May 2013

Who is holding Your Pruning Shears?

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In my last blog, I spoke about the need to understand the different seasons of life that you will ultimately find yourself experiencing. Biblically speaking, there are two seasons—“seed time” and “harvest time”. In this INpowering™ blog, I want to impart in you a challenging but necessary process that growing individuals must experience—the pruning process.



According to E. P. Christopher, author of The Pruning Manual (1954), R. L. Hudson, author of The Pruning Handbook (1973), and C. Brickell, author of Pruning (1979), the process of pruning is described as follows: “Pruning is a horticultural practice of cutting away an unwanted, unnecessary, or undesirable plant part, used most often on trees, shrubs, hedges, and woody vines. We use pruning to remove diseased or injured parts of the plant, to influence vertical or lateral growth for various reasons, and to increase flowering or fruit yield. Another way to define it is cutting away superfluous or undesirable branches.” The practice of pruning requires targeted removal of damaged, dead, or non-productive tissue from the plant. It must be properly pruned and nurtured in order for it to produce high-quality fruit. The pruning process is essential for keeping the plant healthy and in a condition to produce a crop of ample proportions.

Throughout the ministry and teachings of Jesus, it is not surprising that he used farming terminology in describing the Kingdom of God. In other words, He gave earthly examples that the people of that time could understand, yet it had a divine, life-shifting implication. When we read the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, we see this practice. In verses one through three, the text is as follows: “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing, He prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.”



In the first seventeen verses of the fifteenth chapter of the gospel of John, Jesus teaches us how to be fruitful. In the Kingdom of God, success is not judged by your bank account, the home you live in or by the automobile that you drive. Success in the kingdom is based on being fruitful. In order to grow fruit you must plant the seeds during the appropriate time so that when the season for harvesting comes, you will have fruit on the tree. You cannot have fruit if you don’t plant and you cannot be MORE fruitful if you don’t endure the pruning process. It’s nice that you have fruit on your tree, celebrate that; however, Beloved, let me INpower™ you with the knowledge that God has MORE for you! That’s right, my brother and my sister, “MORE” is looking for you! Stop settling; stop being pacified by what is “good” and begin setting your mind on achieving EXCELLENCE! Remember when Paul said, “I will show you the most excellent way” (I Corinthians 12:31)? Beloved, we often times find ourselves severely challenged when we have to make a choice between what is good and what is better. We have no problems choosing between good and bad; however, when we are faced with the obstacle of having to select something that is better, we tend to settle for what is easiest to attain.

We must allow God to prune the unproductive and fruitless areas of our lives, in an effort to prepare us for greater. Take inventory of your life. Are you bogged down by lifeless friends, negative thoughts and unnecessary possessions? Or perhaps you are traveling on a dead-end path, lending your efforts to an ineffective lifestyle, or maybe even feel trapped by a hopeless future. By allowing God’s pruning process to take place, we open ourselves up for the possibility to flourish and bear more fruit for the Kingdom of God. And that, Beloved, is success! We will not only add to the Kingdom in capacity but also in excellence! Sometimes blessings are masqueraded as painful experiences. God uses those phases as a season of pruning. Isaiah noted that it was in the midst of death that he saw the Lord high and lifted (Isaiah 6). I understand that he was merely noting the time of his calling; however, I think it is quite significant that it took place during the same time that he was grieving the loss of a beloved king. Yes, one king died but he saw a GREATER King that was high and lifted.

God has a purpose for us, and ultimately, His purpose is designed to produce the best possible fruit from His vineyard. Not only does God want the best from you; God wants to give you the best, as well! Have a blessed assurance, Beloved, that when the pruning knife from our Heavenly Father comes upon your life it comes with a purpose. You and I may not always understand what that reason is but since it is God who is the Farmer, God asks that we trust Him. The important aspect about pruning is not the knife itself, but the One who holds it. What am I saying? Make sure it’s God who is doing the pruning and not anyone else. Don’t allow other people or things to cut into your God-ordained purpose. Know who you are and whose you are, and don’t settle for anything less than God’s best! Nothing happens without God’s authorization. God is working to make us more like Christ. He is working to remove from us those things that do not help us fulfill our purpose in life.



“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)



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God is removing from us what we do not need. He is removing from us what hinders our growth and development.



Allow me to share with you the absolute most important aspect of the gospel of John 15:1-8. It is found in verses four through seven and it is repeated in each verse. It conveys to us how we can handle the pruning seasons of our lives like champions! “Remain in me….” That’s it! Did you really get it? (Read it again). Jesus says we must remain connected to Him. Not only is having a relationship with Jesus important, however, having constant fellowship with Jesus is vital. It is critical for us to spend quality time with Jesus in order to produce because apart from him, we can do nothing. We achieve our closeness with God through daily worship, which includes prayer, and studying the Word. I admonish you to learn to seek God’s face, and not just God’s hands in your efforts to receive from God. The greatest joy comes from knowing that every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Your connection with God continues to get better and stronger with each passing day.



I pray that whatever The Lord is doing in this season, that He doesn’t do it without you! In Jesus name, Amen.

bINpowered™

D.K.Kearney

©2013

Live, Laugh, Love, Lead

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“Live, Laugh, Love & Lead” became my mantra for life almost 3 years ago, after going through a very tough season. I found myself in a battle–one that was more internal than external. Beloved, I tell you, you truly have not fought a real battle until you war with those that are within the confines of your own mind and spirit. Those battles are hardest to fight because most of the time, you are warring within yourself. During that season of my life I felt like giving up on everything and everyone, including God and the ministry that God placed inside of me. It seemed that everywhere I turned, there were issues, problems and pain. I did not feel like going to church; I did not feel like praying; I did not feel like being around myself, much less people. It felt like everyone was against me and I felt like I wasn’t going to make it. At any given moment, I was ready to call it quits. To make matters worse, God spoke to me only once, and never said anything else during that timeframe. That season lasted 1,051,920 minutes, 17,532 hours, 730 days, yet God spoke only once!!! Through all of that, it wasn’t until 2010, after hanging out in my own “pigpen”, that I came to myself, and said, GET UP! God has not only promised life, but He promised an abundant life. It was at that very moment that I began to reevaluate my life.

I’ve discovered two ways I could live in abundance, knowing every day is a non-refundable, precious gift from God. The first way to live in abundance is to seize the day. One of the great patriarchs of the Old Testament, King David, sets an awesome example of how to seize the day. In Psalm 142:1- 4, we find King David held up in a cave, hiding from Saul, running for his life. He was frightened, battered, exasperated and defeated. But in verses 5 – 6 David starts to praise God. What happened? Saul didn’t concede. The cave didn’t turn into a luminous palace. The only thing that transformed was David’s attitude! If you’re waiting for all of your bills to be paid, everything in your life to be perfect, everyone who doesn’t like you to favor you, or a better job, YOU WON’T EVER BE HAPPY!!! David’s prayers didn’t modify his situation for him, his prayers revolutionized him for his situation. When you allow people and problems to determine your happiness, you are giving too much power to external forces that impact your internal peace.

The final way that I learned to live everyday in abundance is to serve the Lord. If Jesus is not your Lord, then who is? And how long are we supposed to serve Him? Every day until the last day! When are we supposed to start? NOW! It is never too late.

Beloved, today is the day that the Lord has made! I admonish you on this day to LIVE in abundance every second of this day! LAUGH all day long! LOVE every hour that you have left! This day will never come again, so let us not waste it. Beloved, LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, and LEAD!

A soda bottle reads: “No Deposit, No Return.” If you don’t go to the trouble of bringing it back, you don’t get anything back. That’s life!!! The only way you get something out of life is when you bring your life back to where you got it from–to God! God is the giver of life, but not just life, ABUNDANT LIFE! Take what you have been given and give it back to the One who gave it. No deposit, no return! Put your life in God’s hands and “LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE & LEAD”!

bINpowered,
D.K.Kearney.
©2013

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It’s Your Time!

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God is Moving you into a New Level, a New Dimension, and a New Season.

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” –
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Every aspect of our lives is as to a season and there is a purpose for those seasons. The events of your life are not accidental. There are seasons you didn’t want to go through but through those seasons you’ve learned valuable lessons.

There are seasons you’ve gone through that you don’t know why you had to endure, however, in the midst of that season, you’ve asked yourself, will I ever get out of this? Beloved, I, as your brother in Christ can testify, I have gone through some of these seasons where I have asked all of the above and then some. I have cried. I have screamed. I have hit rock bottom not knowing if I was going to make it, and if I made it if I would still have my right mind.

Just because you are going through or have gone through a rough season doesn’t mean God is finished with you because “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

In nature, seeds are planted, seeds grow, seeds fulfill their purpose and seeds die. Winter and spring are seasons of preparation. Plants that have died during the previous season decay and help replenish nourishment for the soil. Even death has a purpose in nature. Even in seasons of death, growth and development takes place. There are some things in our lives that must die in order for you to reach that level of growth that God has predestined you to obtain. Remember, when Isaiah was called into the ministry (Isaiah 6)? I think it is significant that the death of King Uzziah took place and immediately afterwards, Isaiah “saw the Lord high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). The point that I want to make is that, Isaiah saw greatness during a season of death. Think about it, in order to have life in Christ we must put to death the flesh. Then as the late winter and early spring comes the soil is plowed and made ready. Seeds are planted, cultivated and flourished. In summer and fall, crops mature and are gathered. Beloved, get your buckets ready, prepare your barns, because God is getting ready to open the windows of Heaven and pour into your cup blessings that will overflow to the point you will have to drink from the saucer.

In Genesis 8:22. The scripture reads…”While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest (seasons) and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” This scripture also gives us a basic description of seasons. We can surmise from this scripture that seasons, biblically, are divided into two categories… seasons of seedtime (preparation) and seasons of harvest (reaping from what has been sewn during the season of seedtime). One of the challenges on this walk is discovering which season you are in. Often we are trying to reap when it is time to plant. Then we try to plant when it’s time to reap. During seedtime it is challenging to plant seeds when the ground is dry and when the ground is hard. The work becomes difficult– your hands sometimes will bleed, your backs gets sore, your arms and shoulders may ache and to top it all off you become thirsty. Furthermore, you can’t expect to reap if you have not planted. But you know what is so great about the season of labor, what is so awesome to experience? THE RAIN! Rain will break up tough ground. There are some tough situations you have been in– maybe you’re in one right now or getting ready to walk in one. Guess what? Even during that time God has a way that is mighty sweet. He will send RAIN. Whether you are in your season of preparation or your season of harvest– IT’S YOUR TIME! Each of those seasons is an opportunity for great blessings. It is important that you have the same amount of joy during your season of planting as you do your season of reaping. Knowing that God is preparing you for something prodigious is just as exciting as receiving the abundance.

Don’t you give up now Beloved! Don’t relent. IT’S YOUR TIME. “So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good things. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up or quit” (Galatians 6:9). I know from experience it will feel like you’re so dry and empty and your mind is saying “this is ridiculous” and the devil is telling you it’s not worth it.

The devil is telling you it’s over, it’s dead, and it’s never going to happen.
Those dreams, visions and prophecies are never going to come to pass.

You’re never going to start that ministry.
You’re never going to write that book.
You’re never going to see your children saved.
You’re never going to birth that business idea.
You’re never going to get out of debt.

I want to speak to your spirit like Elijah said to Ahab: “Up on your feet! Eat and drink- celebrate! Rain is on the way, I hear it coming” (I Kings 18:41). That’s right, God is getting ready to shift your season. You’re getting ready to tap into a renewed anointing and a brand new source of the glory and the power of God and you’re going to be elevated with a new boldness and a new faith and determination. You’re going to go into the enemy’s camp and you’re going to take back everything he robbed from you. I pray and speak into your life a drought-breaking anointing.

bINpowered,™

D.K. Kearney

©2013

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