The Vine & The Branch II

^{I would like to continue in John 15:3.} 

³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 

The disciples left everything to follow Christ. They held onto every word He spoke. They witnessed with their own eyes the authority He has over all things physical and spiritual. Watching the waves retreat and the demons flee, they understood His words were not empty, but powerful. His explanation and demonstration of the path to Heaven were clear for all to receive. No gimmicks or outlandish tricks. Just follow Him. As they did, they were transformed. The shackles of sin were broken, while the clouds of misunderstanding parted. Life now seemed to have a clear purpose and requirement religion became a willful relationship. This is how simple it can be if we will are willing to sit at His feet and listen to His words. They tell us how to live a faithful and holy life. Men have wasted countless years trying to invent another way. The towers of self-righteousness have been built and destroyed, but the way of Christ still stands. As broad as many claim the path to be, Jesus maintains a narrow way.

Friend, don't complicate your Christianity. You are surely forgiven by His sacrifice and redeemed by His blood. Don't waver on that fact.   

Christ will surely come expecting to find the fruits of holiness in all that profess to know Him.

His words endure forever and stand as unmovable truth, regardless of the opinions of men.

Matthew 7 says this:

²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

The promise to those that will hear and apply the words of Christ, is a foundation that doesn't crumble under pressure. Life's hardest trials are overcome and hells fiercest wrath disarmed. There is no disappointment, only delight in Gods faithfulness. This is not so for the holiday church goer or Sunday sleeper that is comforted in false peace. Entering the building and putting money in the plate doesn't buy us a ticket to Heaven. Shaking the pastors hand while complimenting his great message doesn't save us. We must listen and apply the Word. The great fall of the foolish man will be the deep regret he will have when  he stands before Almighty God, only to hear, "Depart!"

This is not Gods plan for us, and surely avoidable. Who are we listening to today? Who are we living for?  Let's choose Jesus.

The Vine & The Branch I

I think it is important for us as Christians, regardless of denominational affiliation, to investigate the scriptures. Many times our Bible reading is just that, reading. Many people devote hours to reading, but close the book without gaining much. The end result is then frustration, which results in less searching or reading and possibly abandoning the faith altogether. God wants us to understand what He is saying. He wants to teach us about Himself. He created us in His image to have a relationship with Him. He reveals His mind and heart and will though His Word. So I would say that it is more advantageous for us to slow down and search the scriptures rather than speed read through our chapter each day.

I want to look at John 15:1-2.

1: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Jesus gives us some great and easy to understand word pictures. Here He uses a vineyard, the caretaker of the vineyard, and the expectation of the branches. He is the true vine. He doesn't deny that there are other vines, in fact He reveals this. In our lives we can get caught up in all kinds of thoughts about why we exist, or what our purpose is in life, or even search for the key to happiness. Some find it, some get close, and some utterly fail. Some get that hard earned possession or find the right spouse. Some take that long awaited and much needed vacation. While these are great things to have and enjoy, they ultimately leave us asking "is this all there is to life"? When we come to know the salvation of Christ and the life He has for us, there is a fulfillment in the soul. It is finished. A satisfaction and peace that can't be found in this world.

God the Father is the keeper here. While He knows the lifeline for the branches is strong and healthy, he turns His attention to the branches themselves. We are the branches. 

2: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

He comes to inspect us, as the expert keeper, and do what is required to make us stronger. When He finds no fruit on our branch, in the season that it is expected, He takes the branch away, much like we see in horticulture. It is the healthiest thing to do for the other branches that are bearing fruit. It is in the best interest of the plant altogether. While this verse may not be popular in the church, the gardener will gladly tell you that it is required.

While we are actively seeking Christ and striving to live for Him each day, the keeper looks on us and removes the little offshoots that grow in different direction and steal the energy from the main branch. These are the distractions, sins, thought patterns, and worldly influences that keep us from really becoming the people of God that we should be. These are the things that choke out our growth and keep us from knowing God in a deeper way. Lets take for example offenses and forgiveness. If someone offends us, this offense will choke us out if we let it. We can become bitter, revengeful, and even hateful (to which Jesus says is equal to murder). How will God come and purge this offshoot? He asks us to forgive. Yes Lord, but that person did this to me! Forgive. I recently talked with a lady that was hateful toward her daughter in-law. She said she hated her. I told her to write her a letter telling her how much she appreciated her. That wasn't well received so I reminded her of her favorite prayer, the Lords Prayer. I said remember the part where you ask God to forgive you of your sins to the same degree that you forgive others? She was quite shocked! Thats exactly my point earlier in this blog. We can read but we don't understand what we are reading. A couple days later she thanked me for helping her realize this.

Friends God is jealous for our love and our fellowship. He is worthy of our trust and dependence. He will work in us, however so painfully it might be, that we might know the fulness of Christ. He is preparing us for the time of the harvest. Its a work we must surrender to, a lesson we must learn.

 May God who is rich in mercy, continue to work in us His good pleasure for our eternal good. May He open our eyes to see clearly that His way is perfect. 

Incorruptible Seed

I am by no means an expert in horticulture, but I do understand the identification of a tree or plant by the fruit it bears.  If I were to drive through a vast apple orchard with various types of apple trees, in the eve of the fall season, I would by no means be able to identify what kind of apple will grow on the tree. Come the following harvest, I now see the evidence of what was taking place under the bark of the tree. Behold a Macintosh! If indeed the DNA of the seed was to produce the Macintosh apple.
In much the same way we can look at our lives in Christ. 1 Peter 1:23 says " Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God..." So like the apple, we have a certain DNA within us. It is the seed of Christ, the Word of God. It will only produce certain identifying properties such as righteousness, holiness, love, and more that we can find in 1 Corinthians 13. All incorruptible fruits that are reproduced in us from an incorruptible God, by his incorruptible seed, Jesus Christ. The seed of Christ does not crossbreed. Light will not mix with darkness, nor righteousness with unrighteousness. 
Unfortunately we see much of this attempt in the Christian church today. An attempt to breed the Word of God with the opinions and appetites of men. An attempt to crossbreed the flesh and the Spirit. We have surely reaped the confusion of this attempt rather than bringing forth the pure fruit that God expects to find when he comes to harvest. Amazing that most denominations claim to use the same bible, but are not bearing the same fruits. We have established a sort of Baskin Robbins-31 flavor style church. If we like this sin, we can find a church to condone it. If we like that lifestyle, we can surely find a church to rally around us.
In John 15, the vine is Jesus and we are His branches. When the Father comes looking for the fruit what will he find? That is an individual answer for each of us. We can be sure that what He will be looking for is the virtue and character of Jesus in all of those that bear His name. It must be Christ in us. Can we look at ourselves and say that old things are passed away or are we still living as the old man? Do we know the victory of overcoming this world or are we chocked out by it? There is so much more to say on this point, but I think this will suffice. May God help us to judge ourselves rightly that we may surrender all to Him.

The Pressure And The Evidence

In these blogs I will attempt to present biblical ponderings that will stir the heart or at least give us something to consider.

As most of us enjoy the taste of a fresh glass of orange juice or possibly the smell of a freshly cut field of grass, we may not think much about the process it took to create the experience.  The orange must be put through a pressure process while the field of grass must be cut. Simple enough. As a Christian we should see the trials and tribulatiuons or hardships that we go through as reflective of the orange and grass. "Why God?", or perhaps you have heard this: "Lord, why am I going through this? What have I done"?
These are questions that cause us to think upon our lives or examine ourselves. If we take them at face value it is easy to react or respond according to our emotions. If we take time to reflect we might just see the hand of God at work within us.
These trials and hardships, as inconvenient as they may be, act as a sort of spiritual resistance without which we cannot be strengthened. In the physical, we go to the fitness center and load up the weights or turn up the speed in order to apply resistance. We know this will ultimately help us to become stronger and healthier though we struggle and sweat. While we may even ask ourselves "why am I doing this?" we know the end result is good and good for us. The book of Hebrews tells us that it is not a comfortable or convenient time we go through but grevious. Its frustrating and its a pain! It's also designed to be that way. It shows us what comes out of us when the pressure is on. Faithful, devoted and seemingly godly people become something else when these seasons come upon us. Their words and actions are shocking for others to see.
But these are the seasons that reveal what is going on inside of us. They reveal the fruit of who we are and not who we think we are. Hebrews continues and says that it will bring the peaceable fruit of righteousness when we have been trained by the trial. Friends, it is not easy and it will not get any easier in this world, but  we must continue to let God work in us His virtue and character. We have no option but to let the work accomplish in us Gods will that the world may taste and see that the Lord is good!