What then is the fruit? The fruit is simply the transmission of the character of Jesus Christ to the human body. What we are referring to is sanctification. Justification is the acceptance of God's plan of salvation whereby He atones for me. It is God's gift on Calvary. In accepting this gift, I am justified. But if justification is my title to Heaven, my fitness for Heaven depends on the purging; and the purging is about sanctification, not justification. Justification always comes first; sanctification also begins immediately at the time of justification, but the process lasts a lifetime. How long does purging go on? All the time! What is the purpose of purging? Take us deeper and deeper into the character of Jesus, that His character might be imparted to us. So when Christ takes a look at the branch that is bearing lots of nice fruit, He notices that there is a bit here and there that needs to be trimmed off, and He trims it. It is ongoing work of sanctification that keeps justification current.
We must remember that knowledge of the Scriptures does not build men. The Scriptures only lead men to Jesus, who builds men--that's the purpose of the Scriptures. Prophecy, teaching, beliefs, everything you learn without Jesus is worthless.
The branch doesn't worry about fruit-bearing, does it? But the Devil tries to get you worrying about bearing fruit, and the more you worry about bearing fruit, the less fruit you will bear. Your job and mine as branches is to abide in the Vine. The branch cannot help but bear fruit if it is abiding in the Vine. It will happen.
By now, some of you are probably practicing what you are learning and I am glad, I am doing the same thing. I received this little booklet a couple of months ago and started reading it and was so impressed, I asked the distributor if I could share it on my blog and he said absolutely. So you are learning as I am learning. I was so excited that I didn't finish reading it, I just started sharing it. So I am reading it for the first time too, but I know it's true because I know the man that wrote it and he was a fine Christian man who spent the last ten years of his life in teaching people these principles and it has helped many people understand John 15. He has other books too, His name is Frank Philips, he has spent his life sharing God's truths. He has passed away now but I am sure he will be among the saved. I pray that you are letting these lessons soak into your heart and mind and can apply them to your life and abide in Christ each and every day of your life from now on. Life is so much easier when we abide in Christ daily and when we slip, repent and he will reconnect you to the Vine. So simple but so hard for some people to surrender their all to Christ but it is well worth the effort. Grandma Joan
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Friday, December 29, 2017
Abiding and God's Word -Part 32
To understand this we need to go back to our discussions of purging. What is it that purges? The Word of God. If my life doesn't harmonize with the Word all the way through, I am fooling myself. We can internally fool ourselves by being overly influenced by positive or negative feelings; in the one case feeling purging is unneccessary, or in the second case feeling the pain and consequences that might come with purging, and therefore have an unpurged and unfruitful branch that may eventually be cut off. But we also recognize that the cutting off doesn't occur until the burning takes place.
If I have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, my name can be blotted out only when probation's door closes. That will also be the time when the purging takes place. Does God write my name on His list today, only to take it back off tomorrow? Isn't it the same with the 'tare' I am told, 'Let both grow together (the wheat and the tare) until the harvest". Matthew 13:30. When is this? Should I be purging it out now? No! Jesus said to let it grow.
Security does't come by way of feelings, nor does it come by way of having my name on the church books. It isn't how I feel that counts; rather it is how the Word has done its work in my life that matters, to what degree I have allowed the Word to do its purging work. It is this that determines whether I am abiding in the Vine or not. The branch that refuses the purging is not going to bear fruit, even though it may bear a little fruit--at least bearing what seems like fruit--on its own. But is it real fruit? No!
If we know in our hearts that we are not obeying the Word of God, then we know that we are not accepting the purging that the Word does in our hearts. We must let the Word purge out all our sin day by day, it is called Sanctification and Sanctification we are told is the work of a lifetime, so each day we are to be over-comers as God shows us in His Word. We cannot attain this over-coming in a day, month or year. God is merciful and is gentle with us as long as we surrender what He shows us needs surrendering, we must surrender as we are shown the things in our life that do not belong there. I am so happy that when we slip and fall, we have a merciful, kind, gentle, loving Savior to lift us back up and connect us again the Vine. Aren't you thankful for that too. Grandma Joan
If I have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, my name can be blotted out only when probation's door closes. That will also be the time when the purging takes place. Does God write my name on His list today, only to take it back off tomorrow? Isn't it the same with the 'tare' I am told, 'Let both grow together (the wheat and the tare) until the harvest". Matthew 13:30. When is this? Should I be purging it out now? No! Jesus said to let it grow.
Security does't come by way of feelings, nor does it come by way of having my name on the church books. It isn't how I feel that counts; rather it is how the Word has done its work in my life that matters, to what degree I have allowed the Word to do its purging work. It is this that determines whether I am abiding in the Vine or not. The branch that refuses the purging is not going to bear fruit, even though it may bear a little fruit--at least bearing what seems like fruit--on its own. But is it real fruit? No!
If we know in our hearts that we are not obeying the Word of God, then we know that we are not accepting the purging that the Word does in our hearts. We must let the Word purge out all our sin day by day, it is called Sanctification and Sanctification we are told is the work of a lifetime, so each day we are to be over-comers as God shows us in His Word. We cannot attain this over-coming in a day, month or year. God is merciful and is gentle with us as long as we surrender what He shows us needs surrendering, we must surrender as we are shown the things in our life that do not belong there. I am so happy that when we slip and fall, we have a merciful, kind, gentle, loving Savior to lift us back up and connect us again the Vine. Aren't you thankful for that too. Grandma Joan
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Being Cut Off From The Source - part 31
To find the real answer to this abiding and fruit-bearing business, we simply need to look at it from the reverse side and ask, "Which areas is Satan most actively working in?" Does he work on you relative to abiding and keeping yourself in Christ, or does he work on you relative to producing fruit? His goal is to break your contact with God. He knows fruit-bearing will take care of itself. When he gets you to concentrate on the fruit, he is trying to produce a fruit through you that God didn't intend, as well as causing you to also cease abiding in the Vine and abide instead in self. Instead of producing the fruit God wants you to bear, you produce self-righteousness. The only way to produce the fruit of righteousness--what Paul called the fruit of the Spirit--is by abiding in the Vine; otherwise you produce self-righteousness, and none of us is exempt. You may not think so, but it is true nevertheless.
So Satan focuses on the fruit, but his object is to cut us off from the Source. This is clearly portrayed in Scripture, where Jesus spoke of the people who would approach Him at the time of His Second Coming, saying, "Lord, we don't deserve the treatment You're giving us because we were with You all the way. We even performed many miracles in Your power. We cast out devils, we healed the sick, and we performed miracle after miracle in Your name." But the Master's words are going to be, "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity; I never know you" Matthew 7:22,23.
Abiding, Yet Not Abiding
Apparently it is possible to abide in the Vine, and yet not abide in the Vine, which suggests that we may be using the wrong term and ned to establish some definitions.
"If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." John 15:6. This verse depicts a time in the future when the bundles--branches that were cut off--will be gathered and burned in the final end. This indicates that it is possible to remain in the Vine and yet not abide.
I went to Websters dictionary to find the various definitions of 'abiding'. I was shocked by what I discovered, and wrote down four different definitions: 'to endure without yielding,' 'to bear patiently',
'to accept without objection,' and 'to remain stable.' We could have a good discussion on any of these, but I think we can readily agree that abiding includes the possibility of yielding while being in the Vine, or fail to endure.
Jesus referred to yielding individuals who are blown about by every wind of doctrine, and yet feel that they are connected to the Vine. They think they are abiding' they trust that they are abiding. If this were not possible, we wouldn't have individuals coming and saying, "Lord, You treated me wrong! I was sincere in this, but I was fooled. I couldn't tell I was fooled, but I was. I thought for sure that I was abiding in the Vine." If this matter of 'abiding, yet not abiding' were not possible, there wouldn't be the group that comes and says, 'Lord, You treated me wrong. I don't deserve this at all. I deserve better treatment because I did all of those things in Your name.' So abiding isn't a matter of feelings; it isn't a matter of feeling good, bad, or indifferent.
Apparently there are a lot of people who think they are connected to the Vine and they are not. They think because they are doing things and think the things are fruits that they are connected to the Vine.
And yet they just spend a few minutes a day talking to God and reading something spiritual, and they think that is being connected to the Vine, but Jesus said, 'Abide in Me and I in you'. I have learned by these studies that Abiding means surrendering our lives and our plans to God and staying connected to Him all day every day by surrendering our lives, our words and everything we do, to God every day all day. It is a beautiful way to live and there are no worries or pits to fall into because we are with Him and He is our protection all the time we are abiding. I love these studies, I need to really concentrate on this more and more until I never go in the ditch again. This is what the Bible calls Sanctification, it is a daily close walk with God, minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day until He comes to take us home. This doesn't mean we will never fall, we live in a sinful world with a sinful nature but we can jump back up and repent and continuing abiding. Jesus always accepts us when we are truly sorry and tell Him so. So don't give up, jump up and keep abiding. Grandma Joan
So Satan focuses on the fruit, but his object is to cut us off from the Source. This is clearly portrayed in Scripture, where Jesus spoke of the people who would approach Him at the time of His Second Coming, saying, "Lord, we don't deserve the treatment You're giving us because we were with You all the way. We even performed many miracles in Your power. We cast out devils, we healed the sick, and we performed miracle after miracle in Your name." But the Master's words are going to be, "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity; I never know you" Matthew 7:22,23.
Abiding, Yet Not Abiding
Apparently it is possible to abide in the Vine, and yet not abide in the Vine, which suggests that we may be using the wrong term and ned to establish some definitions.
"If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." John 15:6. This verse depicts a time in the future when the bundles--branches that were cut off--will be gathered and burned in the final end. This indicates that it is possible to remain in the Vine and yet not abide.
I went to Websters dictionary to find the various definitions of 'abiding'. I was shocked by what I discovered, and wrote down four different definitions: 'to endure without yielding,' 'to bear patiently',
'to accept without objection,' and 'to remain stable.' We could have a good discussion on any of these, but I think we can readily agree that abiding includes the possibility of yielding while being in the Vine, or fail to endure.
Jesus referred to yielding individuals who are blown about by every wind of doctrine, and yet feel that they are connected to the Vine. They think they are abiding' they trust that they are abiding. If this were not possible, we wouldn't have individuals coming and saying, "Lord, You treated me wrong! I was sincere in this, but I was fooled. I couldn't tell I was fooled, but I was. I thought for sure that I was abiding in the Vine." If this matter of 'abiding, yet not abiding' were not possible, there wouldn't be the group that comes and says, 'Lord, You treated me wrong. I don't deserve this at all. I deserve better treatment because I did all of those things in Your name.' So abiding isn't a matter of feelings; it isn't a matter of feeling good, bad, or indifferent.
Apparently there are a lot of people who think they are connected to the Vine and they are not. They think because they are doing things and think the things are fruits that they are connected to the Vine.
And yet they just spend a few minutes a day talking to God and reading something spiritual, and they think that is being connected to the Vine, but Jesus said, 'Abide in Me and I in you'. I have learned by these studies that Abiding means surrendering our lives and our plans to God and staying connected to Him all day every day by surrendering our lives, our words and everything we do, to God every day all day. It is a beautiful way to live and there are no worries or pits to fall into because we are with Him and He is our protection all the time we are abiding. I love these studies, I need to really concentrate on this more and more until I never go in the ditch again. This is what the Bible calls Sanctification, it is a daily close walk with God, minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day until He comes to take us home. This doesn't mean we will never fall, we live in a sinful world with a sinful nature but we can jump back up and repent and continuing abiding. Jesus always accepts us when we are truly sorry and tell Him so. So don't give up, jump up and keep abiding. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
The Essential Task - Part 30
Reading John 15:4 & 5 again, "Abide in Me, and I in you, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except you abide in Me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that abides in Me, an I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.
So what is the real purpose and task of the branch? More times than not, most people will suggest bearing fruit and abiding. Regarding bearing fruit, we tend to think about the end result and the production of fruit. We are so anxious for end results. Few people are naturally patient. Do you know many patient people? I've ye to meet a person who was naturally patient by birth. Genuine human patience is the result of the Lord Jesu coming into the human heart. People can endure things, but to be naturally patient and wait on the Lord is something else!
Most people want to get in and do things for ourselves, whatever the situation may be; we are not willing to wait for the Lord. The problem that comes with being a branch and bearing fruit, so far as the end result is concerned, is that you can't do anything about it; all you can do is stay hooked to the Vine. What can you do about bearing fruit? Can you get more leaves? Can You produce fruit on your own? Is there something else you can do? Nothing! You only have one task: Abide!
Abiding, putting yourself into God's Vine, is something you can do, You can also move into the driver's seat and take yourself out of God's Vine any time you want to, and God won't put up any fuss about it. He doesn't object, He just moves over and lets you see what happens. So you can take yourself out of the Vine anytime you want to, and many of us have been in and out hundreds of times.
Have you been in the driver's seat, some of us have been there for many years and it's time to let God have control of the wheel. I want to be connected to the Vine, don't you? Every time I decide to drive I go in the ditch and sometimes it is really hard to get out of the ditch, we can't on our own, we have to turn to Christ and tell Him we are so sorry that we wanted to take over the driving and ask Him to take over again. It's just that simple, but it doesn't seem simple and some ditches are bigger than others and have a real impact on our character, that's why it is so important for us to let God do the driving and we will arrive at our destination safe and sound, which is the heavenly kingdom. I hope to see all my blogging friends and all others too and family safe and sound in God's eternal home.
Grandma Joan
So what is the real purpose and task of the branch? More times than not, most people will suggest bearing fruit and abiding. Regarding bearing fruit, we tend to think about the end result and the production of fruit. We are so anxious for end results. Few people are naturally patient. Do you know many patient people? I've ye to meet a person who was naturally patient by birth. Genuine human patience is the result of the Lord Jesu coming into the human heart. People can endure things, but to be naturally patient and wait on the Lord is something else!
Most people want to get in and do things for ourselves, whatever the situation may be; we are not willing to wait for the Lord. The problem that comes with being a branch and bearing fruit, so far as the end result is concerned, is that you can't do anything about it; all you can do is stay hooked to the Vine. What can you do about bearing fruit? Can you get more leaves? Can You produce fruit on your own? Is there something else you can do? Nothing! You only have one task: Abide!
Abiding, putting yourself into God's Vine, is something you can do, You can also move into the driver's seat and take yourself out of God's Vine any time you want to, and God won't put up any fuss about it. He doesn't object, He just moves over and lets you see what happens. So you can take yourself out of the Vine anytime you want to, and many of us have been in and out hundreds of times.
Have you been in the driver's seat, some of us have been there for many years and it's time to let God have control of the wheel. I want to be connected to the Vine, don't you? Every time I decide to drive I go in the ditch and sometimes it is really hard to get out of the ditch, we can't on our own, we have to turn to Christ and tell Him we are so sorry that we wanted to take over the driving and ask Him to take over again. It's just that simple, but it doesn't seem simple and some ditches are bigger than others and have a real impact on our character, that's why it is so important for us to let God do the driving and we will arrive at our destination safe and sound, which is the heavenly kingdom. I hope to see all my blogging friends and all others too and family safe and sound in God's eternal home.
Grandma Joan
Monday, December 25, 2017
Loving God Supremely and Loving Our Neighbor As Ourselves - Part 29
In John 15:12 Jesus said, "This is My commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." Now what was the first commandment? "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." How much is left? Not much! So the first commandment is "Love to God." The second commandment is "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
It is utterly impossible to put this second into words, even in the Bible, because though the Bible is composed of divinely inspired human words, they are still inadequate, since they are of human origin and best suited to describe human things. When attempting to grasp the full meaning of the first commandment "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength," when we try to comprehend everything that is intended, we acknowledge our human inability to fully understand. So God sent Jesus to this planet to give us a living demonstration of the love that is the outworking of this commandment.
In simple terms Jesus said, "Thous shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus expressed the same idea with other words when He said, "That ye love one another as I have loved you" John 13:34, & 15:12.
How do I love my neighbor as myself? I love my neighbor as myself in the same way Jesus loved me. Does that make it any easier to understand? If it doesn't, all I have to do is return to the Scriptures and study the life of Christ, for there in His life are exemplified all the teachings of Scripture. Every doctrine, every teaching, every single experience of life, for life's problems, I go to the Scriptures. Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me" John 5:39.
Jesus' life, Jesus' whole purpose--His work for mankind through the plan of redemption--was exemplified in the Old Testament in different definitions: "to endure without yielding, "to bear patiently," to accept without objection," and "to remain stable." We could have a good discussion on any of these, but I think we can readily agree that abiding includes the possibility of yielding while being in the Vine, or fail to endure.
Jesus referred to yielding individuals who are blown about by every wind of doctrine, and yet feel they are connected to the Vine. They think they are abiding; they trust that they are abiding. If this were not possible, we wouldn't have individuals coming and saying, "Lord, You treated me wrong! I was sincere in this, but I was fooled. I couldn't tell I was fooled, but I was. I thought for sure that I was abiding in the Vine." If this matter of "abiding, yet not abiding" were not possible, there wouldn't be the group that comes and says, "Lord, You treated me wrong. I don't deserve this at all. I deserve better treatment because I did all of those things in Your name." So abiding isn't a matter of feelings; it isn't a matter of feeling good, bad or indifferent.
I can't add anything to this, it seems self-explanatory that we must not believe everything that anyone says about the Scriptures. There are a lot of false doctrines floating around out there and we must have all our doctrine from the Scriptures, every bit of them. No guessing to whats right or whats wrong, the Bible is very explicit as to our duty to God and man. Just believe and follow Christ as you abide in the Vine it will all turn out just right if you stay there or if you do fall, like I did yesterday, I really went in the ditch, but saw my error and repented immediately several times, I was so sorry. Then we are back with the Vine again. Isn't that the greatest news. I am so happy to know that if I stay there, there will be no worries, I need to trust God to take care of me in every situation. Grandma Joan
It is utterly impossible to put this second into words, even in the Bible, because though the Bible is composed of divinely inspired human words, they are still inadequate, since they are of human origin and best suited to describe human things. When attempting to grasp the full meaning of the first commandment "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength," when we try to comprehend everything that is intended, we acknowledge our human inability to fully understand. So God sent Jesus to this planet to give us a living demonstration of the love that is the outworking of this commandment.
In simple terms Jesus said, "Thous shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus expressed the same idea with other words when He said, "That ye love one another as I have loved you" John 13:34, & 15:12.
How do I love my neighbor as myself? I love my neighbor as myself in the same way Jesus loved me. Does that make it any easier to understand? If it doesn't, all I have to do is return to the Scriptures and study the life of Christ, for there in His life are exemplified all the teachings of Scripture. Every doctrine, every teaching, every single experience of life, for life's problems, I go to the Scriptures. Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me" John 5:39.
Jesus' life, Jesus' whole purpose--His work for mankind through the plan of redemption--was exemplified in the Old Testament in different definitions: "to endure without yielding, "to bear patiently," to accept without objection," and "to remain stable." We could have a good discussion on any of these, but I think we can readily agree that abiding includes the possibility of yielding while being in the Vine, or fail to endure.
Jesus referred to yielding individuals who are blown about by every wind of doctrine, and yet feel they are connected to the Vine. They think they are abiding; they trust that they are abiding. If this were not possible, we wouldn't have individuals coming and saying, "Lord, You treated me wrong! I was sincere in this, but I was fooled. I couldn't tell I was fooled, but I was. I thought for sure that I was abiding in the Vine." If this matter of "abiding, yet not abiding" were not possible, there wouldn't be the group that comes and says, "Lord, You treated me wrong. I don't deserve this at all. I deserve better treatment because I did all of those things in Your name." So abiding isn't a matter of feelings; it isn't a matter of feeling good, bad or indifferent.
I can't add anything to this, it seems self-explanatory that we must not believe everything that anyone says about the Scriptures. There are a lot of false doctrines floating around out there and we must have all our doctrine from the Scriptures, every bit of them. No guessing to whats right or whats wrong, the Bible is very explicit as to our duty to God and man. Just believe and follow Christ as you abide in the Vine it will all turn out just right if you stay there or if you do fall, like I did yesterday, I really went in the ditch, but saw my error and repented immediately several times, I was so sorry. Then we are back with the Vine again. Isn't that the greatest news. I am so happy to know that if I stay there, there will be no worries, I need to trust God to take care of me in every situation. Grandma Joan
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Fruit-bearing and Commandment Keeping - Part 28
How do we compare these verses in John 15 with the verses in Revelation 22:14 where Jesus said, "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city"? That's been a strong and encouraging text to many church members, and has boyed up their spirits for a long time. Modern translations render these words, "Blessed are they that wash their robes,", which is different and doesn't sit well with some people, but is part of the ancient manuscripts; and we need to accept their rendering too--in fact, it is the same thing.
How would you compare and explain these two verses of Scripture? What was being said? Jesus said, "Without Me, ye can do nothing" John 15:5. He also said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me"
John 15:4. In Revelation 22:14 we find, "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life." How do we integrate these two? Are they a paradox? Are they contradictory? Can they be harmonize? How can they be harmonized?
Now in and of ourselves, it is utterly impossible for us to keep the commandments of God; anyone who thinks he can is fooling himself; and it is ridiculous to try the impossible! The Jews were a good example of this, for at the same time that they were teaching the law they were seeking to kill Him. Though they believed the law that said "Thou shalt not kill," they were still plotting to take His life even at that very moment. Such is the outcome of man's ridiculous reasoning when he tries to carry out divine principles on his own. Divine principles can only be carried out as the Holy Spirit lives and guides and interprets in our experience that which is right and true.
Notice Mark 12:29-31, where it states: Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is, Hear O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
Do you see that this is the first commandment of the ten, in expanded form? Being honest, are you able to keep that commandment? Of course not! It is utterly impossible. Only as the Holy Spirit does this in and through you is it possible; you simply can't. But you can choose to do it; you can set your will to do it. That is why the Christian life is lived totally in the "will," and not in the "way".
Rather the human directs the "will", and the "way" becomes directed by the Holy Spirit. But that is precisely where we fall down, for we try to do God's part, and want God to do our part.
Wow! That is profound, I had to pray over that to be able to understand what he was saying there.
Here's how I get it, Our part is to turn our will over to God's will and His part is to direct the way we live our lives. What we do, what we say, every part of our life is to be directed by the Holy Spirit, that is why it is so important to turn our will over to Him the very first thing in the morning. Now I'm understanding this important message. More tomorrow, I can't wait! Grandma Joan
How would you compare and explain these two verses of Scripture? What was being said? Jesus said, "Without Me, ye can do nothing" John 15:5. He also said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me"
John 15:4. In Revelation 22:14 we find, "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life." How do we integrate these two? Are they a paradox? Are they contradictory? Can they be harmonize? How can they be harmonized?
Now in and of ourselves, it is utterly impossible for us to keep the commandments of God; anyone who thinks he can is fooling himself; and it is ridiculous to try the impossible! The Jews were a good example of this, for at the same time that they were teaching the law they were seeking to kill Him. Though they believed the law that said "Thou shalt not kill," they were still plotting to take His life even at that very moment. Such is the outcome of man's ridiculous reasoning when he tries to carry out divine principles on his own. Divine principles can only be carried out as the Holy Spirit lives and guides and interprets in our experience that which is right and true.
Notice Mark 12:29-31, where it states: Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is, Hear O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
Do you see that this is the first commandment of the ten, in expanded form? Being honest, are you able to keep that commandment? Of course not! It is utterly impossible. Only as the Holy Spirit does this in and through you is it possible; you simply can't. But you can choose to do it; you can set your will to do it. That is why the Christian life is lived totally in the "will," and not in the "way".
Rather the human directs the "will", and the "way" becomes directed by the Holy Spirit. But that is precisely where we fall down, for we try to do God's part, and want God to do our part.
Wow! That is profound, I had to pray over that to be able to understand what he was saying there.
Here's how I get it, Our part is to turn our will over to God's will and His part is to direct the way we live our lives. What we do, what we say, every part of our life is to be directed by the Holy Spirit, that is why it is so important to turn our will over to Him the very first thing in the morning. Now I'm understanding this important message. More tomorrow, I can't wait! Grandma Joan
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Reciprocal Abiding - Part 27
But there are problems connected with this, for at the same time that it speaks of Christ being the Vine and our needing to abide in the Vine, it also speaks of Christ abiding in the branch, which makes it essential that we keep reading to where it says,"Abide in Me," and then "I abide in you" (John 15: 4) It's a two way street.
Many individuals have attached themselves to the church thinking thay have attached themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. They feel thay have obtained the security or insurance they need by attaching themselves to the organization. But this kid of attaching has nothing to do with salvation or genuine security. Security only comes as we not only abide in Him, but as He also abides in us--that's the real source of security!
So while Jesus makes it clear in these verses that He is the One who produces the ever increasing fruit in our lives, while we abide in Him, that fruit is the result of His abiding in us.
Putting God in the Driver's Seat
Our part is to choose to enter God's plan in any and all circumstances. But it is so easy to take ourselves out of God's plan and place ourselves--as one person put it--in the driver's seat when any disturbing factors come along. It is interesting that God so easily responds to our desire to take over the wheel again; He doesn't put up a fight. Even though He is "driving" and directing our lives, anytime we want to take over, He simply moves out of the way. Does He say, "No,stop, think about what you are doing. Listen to Me. I'm directing the course and getting along fine. If you take over the driving, and I eventually find myself in the ditch. And it happens all the time.
Perhaps you have never been in the ditch. If you have, however, it always resulted from your taking over the drivr's seat--that's what happens in my life, for whenever I take over, I find myself in the ditch, I end up having to call for service, and the Lord comes and gets me out. That's the routine, and it happens time and time again until we finally recognize our inability to control or guide ourselves.
Have you been there? I have been in so many ditches in my life time that I could never count them. I am not bragging about this at all. I am ashamed to say it, but I never knew, or never analyzed it like that. Too much ego to let God have control of all of me. As I said, I am ashamed to say it, but it is so true, when we take over there will be a wreck down the road of life, guaranteed. I am not a young person any more and it's time for us all to let God control our lives because time is short and surely we want to be in the kingdom and the New Earth He will recreate for us to dwell in, it will be so beautiful, I long to be there. Don't you? I hope so. Grandma Joan
Many individuals have attached themselves to the church thinking thay have attached themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. They feel thay have obtained the security or insurance they need by attaching themselves to the organization. But this kid of attaching has nothing to do with salvation or genuine security. Security only comes as we not only abide in Him, but as He also abides in us--that's the real source of security!
So while Jesus makes it clear in these verses that He is the One who produces the ever increasing fruit in our lives, while we abide in Him, that fruit is the result of His abiding in us.
Putting God in the Driver's Seat
Our part is to choose to enter God's plan in any and all circumstances. But it is so easy to take ourselves out of God's plan and place ourselves--as one person put it--in the driver's seat when any disturbing factors come along. It is interesting that God so easily responds to our desire to take over the wheel again; He doesn't put up a fight. Even though He is "driving" and directing our lives, anytime we want to take over, He simply moves out of the way. Does He say, "No,stop, think about what you are doing. Listen to Me. I'm directing the course and getting along fine. If you take over the driving, and I eventually find myself in the ditch. And it happens all the time.
Perhaps you have never been in the ditch. If you have, however, it always resulted from your taking over the drivr's seat--that's what happens in my life, for whenever I take over, I find myself in the ditch, I end up having to call for service, and the Lord comes and gets me out. That's the routine, and it happens time and time again until we finally recognize our inability to control or guide ourselves.
Have you been there? I have been in so many ditches in my life time that I could never count them. I am not bragging about this at all. I am ashamed to say it, but I never knew, or never analyzed it like that. Too much ego to let God have control of all of me. As I said, I am ashamed to say it, but it is so true, when we take over there will be a wreck down the road of life, guaranteed. I am not a young person any more and it's time for us all to let God control our lives because time is short and surely we want to be in the kingdom and the New Earth He will recreate for us to dwell in, it will be so beautiful, I long to be there. Don't you? I hope so. Grandma Joan
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Purging: A Necessary Continuing Process - Part 26
To appreciate these verses, John 15:4 & 5, we need to review the pruning or purging that is done on a vine. Anyone who has worked in a vineyard knows what I am refering to. We used to have a vineyard, and discovered that going through and pruning all the branches was a big job.
The spiritual pruning we are learning about is also a big job. To really understand, we need to not only know "what" does the pruning, but "who" does the pruning.
Regarding the "What" does the pruning question mean? Jesus was talking about the "Word." But accepting that the Word does the Pruning isn't easy. Why? Because we are disinclined to accept God"s counsel! You see, when the bible indentifies something that needs pruning, we usually argue against it, preferring to rationalize, saying, "I think it is all right for the Smiths, but I'm not sure it is right for the Joneses." Yet, though we prefer to apply the counsel to others, the Bible speaks directly to us for the purpose of bringing conviction and correction, which is precisely what we need.
Pruning makes it possible for us to bear more fruit. The only way to produce more fruit is through the learning process, where the things learned are personally applied. Merely knowing the Scriptures is inadequatae and won't help us. The Word only becomes profitable when the learning is applied, and fruit will be borne as a result.
Fruit-bearing isn't about getting lots of people to surrender their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. No, fruit-bearing is rather what Paul talked about in the book of Galatians when he said the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, lont-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22). All of these are the fruit--Paul uses the singular form in this instance--of the Spirit, because the Christian life reflects all of them, and it is God's plan that there be abundant fruit.
Understanding that the Word does the cleansing or pruning, we need to also consider "who" does the pruning that barings about the more abundant fruit?
It is the Vine that causes the fruit to be produced. But though the Vine produces fruit, the branch can't bear anything unless it abides in the Vine and receives its nourishment from the Vine, which results in the branch becoming a channel through which fruit is produed. This has been God's purpose for us from the beginning.
It is God's purpose for you and me too. It is up to us who we choose to follow and spend our time with. Is it Christ or satan that we abide with? We must choose, otherwise it will naturally fall to satan because he is the one who is ruling this world today as you can see, we MUST choose who we will follow, to be nutral is to be lost. That is what it amounts to. Christ is getting ready to come and redeem His people from this earth, Are you ready? Grandma Joan
The spiritual pruning we are learning about is also a big job. To really understand, we need to not only know "what" does the pruning, but "who" does the pruning.
Regarding the "What" does the pruning question mean? Jesus was talking about the "Word." But accepting that the Word does the Pruning isn't easy. Why? Because we are disinclined to accept God"s counsel! You see, when the bible indentifies something that needs pruning, we usually argue against it, preferring to rationalize, saying, "I think it is all right for the Smiths, but I'm not sure it is right for the Joneses." Yet, though we prefer to apply the counsel to others, the Bible speaks directly to us for the purpose of bringing conviction and correction, which is precisely what we need.
Pruning makes it possible for us to bear more fruit. The only way to produce more fruit is through the learning process, where the things learned are personally applied. Merely knowing the Scriptures is inadequatae and won't help us. The Word only becomes profitable when the learning is applied, and fruit will be borne as a result.
Fruit-bearing isn't about getting lots of people to surrender their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. No, fruit-bearing is rather what Paul talked about in the book of Galatians when he said the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, lont-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22). All of these are the fruit--Paul uses the singular form in this instance--of the Spirit, because the Christian life reflects all of them, and it is God's plan that there be abundant fruit.
Understanding that the Word does the cleansing or pruning, we need to also consider "who" does the pruning that barings about the more abundant fruit?
It is the Vine that causes the fruit to be produced. But though the Vine produces fruit, the branch can't bear anything unless it abides in the Vine and receives its nourishment from the Vine, which results in the branch becoming a channel through which fruit is produed. This has been God's purpose for us from the beginning.
It is God's purpose for you and me too. It is up to us who we choose to follow and spend our time with. Is it Christ or satan that we abide with? We must choose, otherwise it will naturally fall to satan because he is the one who is ruling this world today as you can see, we MUST choose who we will follow, to be nutral is to be lost. That is what it amounts to. Christ is getting ready to come and redeem His people from this earth, Are you ready? Grandma Joan
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
A Review of What We Have Been Learning - Part 25
This is just a short review of what we have learned so far.
We have been considering the precious counsel that Jesus gave His disciples just before He went to His death. This was in effect His last will and testament, and He gave it after leaving the upper room and before He entered the Garden of Gethsemane. He couldn't have had much time to talk with them, at most a couple of hours.
Coming upon a beautiful vine that was shimmering in the moonlight, and which the Jews took as an apt symbol of themselves as a people and nation, Jesus surprised the disciples by saying, "I am the True Vine." It must have been hard for them to hear and shocking that the very Person the Jewish people were rejecting was identifying Himself as the True Vine.
We find the conversation recorded in John 15. Jesus first pointed out that He was the True Vine and His Father was the Husbandman. In verse two, He told the disciples that unfruitful branches would be taken away, but branches bearing fruit would be purged that they might bear more fruit.
In verse three, He revealed that cleansing would come by way of His word: "Ye are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you."In studying this verse, we learned that cleansing only comes through the Word of God. We also learned that the Word revealed from Genesis to Revelation points to one thing, and that is Christ! Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me." John 5:39.
Let's read John 15:4 & 5
"Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing."
Aren't you glad that Jesus is our example? And the Word does the pruning. I would not like to be in the hands of any earthly king or priest or anyone as far as that goes. It would be scary indeed, but knowing we are in the hands of a loving God should thrill us through and through, simply because He is a loving God and the Word means us no harm in any way. The Word only prunes that we bring forth more fruit such as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law. Now, do you see anything in the list of the fruits that you wouldn't want? I don't, and I am pretty sure that those of you reading this would love to have a character with these fruits shining brightly to all those around us. So the answer is: let us be abiding day by day and let God's Word show us what needs taken out of our life and see that we have these fruits in our life. It is nothing we can do except abide in Christ's presence continually and by this I mean, spend time in His Word, and be able by doing this to talk to Him personally all through the day and we will see what God can do in a willing human being that trusts in Him. I love these lessons, they are so simple but so hard to surrender all our preconceived ideas about doing it all ourselves, when Christ is there to enable us to do anything that He asks us to do which will be letting our fruits shine out of our life and win others to Jesus. My greatest desire! Is it yours? Grandma Joan
We have been considering the precious counsel that Jesus gave His disciples just before He went to His death. This was in effect His last will and testament, and He gave it after leaving the upper room and before He entered the Garden of Gethsemane. He couldn't have had much time to talk with them, at most a couple of hours.
Coming upon a beautiful vine that was shimmering in the moonlight, and which the Jews took as an apt symbol of themselves as a people and nation, Jesus surprised the disciples by saying, "I am the True Vine." It must have been hard for them to hear and shocking that the very Person the Jewish people were rejecting was identifying Himself as the True Vine.
We find the conversation recorded in John 15. Jesus first pointed out that He was the True Vine and His Father was the Husbandman. In verse two, He told the disciples that unfruitful branches would be taken away, but branches bearing fruit would be purged that they might bear more fruit.
In verse three, He revealed that cleansing would come by way of His word: "Ye are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you."In studying this verse, we learned that cleansing only comes through the Word of God. We also learned that the Word revealed from Genesis to Revelation points to one thing, and that is Christ! Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me." John 5:39.
Let's read John 15:4 & 5
"Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing."
Aren't you glad that Jesus is our example? And the Word does the pruning. I would not like to be in the hands of any earthly king or priest or anyone as far as that goes. It would be scary indeed, but knowing we are in the hands of a loving God should thrill us through and through, simply because He is a loving God and the Word means us no harm in any way. The Word only prunes that we bring forth more fruit such as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law. Now, do you see anything in the list of the fruits that you wouldn't want? I don't, and I am pretty sure that those of you reading this would love to have a character with these fruits shining brightly to all those around us. So the answer is: let us be abiding day by day and let God's Word show us what needs taken out of our life and see that we have these fruits in our life. It is nothing we can do except abide in Christ's presence continually and by this I mean, spend time in His Word, and be able by doing this to talk to Him personally all through the day and we will see what God can do in a willing human being that trusts in Him. I love these lessons, they are so simple but so hard to surrender all our preconceived ideas about doing it all ourselves, when Christ is there to enable us to do anything that He asks us to do which will be letting our fruits shine out of our life and win others to Jesus. My greatest desire! Is it yours? Grandma Joan
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Pruning and God's Word -part 24
It is interesting that many Christians believe God uses the trials and tribulations that are allowed to come our way in the course of the pruning process. Being perfectly honest, most of us would agree. It may surprise you, then, to know that John 15:3 suggests something quite ifferent. Before Jesus told His disciples about the necessity of abiding. He said, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." I am completely convinced that the Word of God, and the Word of God alone is the knife that does the pruning--I am absolute satisfied with this.
We may have trials and tribulations along the way, but these don't really bother us. The thing that bothers us about trials and tribulations is the solution the Word gives for them. Do you believe that? Are you following me? You see, problems come our way, we search for the solution in the Word of God,and find a clear solution. Generally that solution is "believe on Me," "abide in Me", " trust Me". We don't like that solution because it's much easier to get along with outselves if we do something. But where is our only source of strength? The Bible and what it reveals about Jesus Christ! This is the source of strength, but we look for it everywhere else. We go to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Tom. We go everywhere, we read everything, we try every possibility, to get this strength, except receiving it from the Vine. Why? Because we don't like the Vine's solutio: drink deeper of th blood of Jesus Christ.
The Bible reveals only one thing: Jesus Chrisst, and Him crucified. From Genesis to Revelation one story is repeated over and over again in multitudinous ways, and that is the life and vicarious death of Jesus Christ for you and me--that's the only story told in the Bible, and that story forms your life and mine. But it's not appealing because the branch cannot do anything ecept simply appreciate it, rest in it and trust completely in it--that's all, and it's not very thrilling or glamorous; and it's not something you beat drums over. You simply rest and believe in it.
Can you do that? Just simply rest and believe it? It's not the way we were brought up thinking, was it? It's all 'I've got to do this and I've got to do that, to be saved, when all the time Jesus has been waiting for us to believe Him that all we can do is abide in the Vine, which is Jesus. Let's see if we can do that and just simply rest in Him. Grandma Joan
We may have trials and tribulations along the way, but these don't really bother us. The thing that bothers us about trials and tribulations is the solution the Word gives for them. Do you believe that? Are you following me? You see, problems come our way, we search for the solution in the Word of God,and find a clear solution. Generally that solution is "believe on Me," "abide in Me", " trust Me". We don't like that solution because it's much easier to get along with outselves if we do something. But where is our only source of strength? The Bible and what it reveals about Jesus Christ! This is the source of strength, but we look for it everywhere else. We go to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Tom. We go everywhere, we read everything, we try every possibility, to get this strength, except receiving it from the Vine. Why? Because we don't like the Vine's solutio: drink deeper of th blood of Jesus Christ.
The Bible reveals only one thing: Jesus Chrisst, and Him crucified. From Genesis to Revelation one story is repeated over and over again in multitudinous ways, and that is the life and vicarious death of Jesus Christ for you and me--that's the only story told in the Bible, and that story forms your life and mine. But it's not appealing because the branch cannot do anything ecept simply appreciate it, rest in it and trust completely in it--that's all, and it's not very thrilling or glamorous; and it's not something you beat drums over. You simply rest and believe in it.
Can you do that? Just simply rest and believe it? It's not the way we were brought up thinking, was it? It's all 'I've got to do this and I've got to do that, to be saved, when all the time Jesus has been waiting for us to believe Him that all we can do is abide in the Vine, which is Jesus. Let's see if we can do that and just simply rest in Him. Grandma Joan
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Unconditional Surrender - Part 23
Notice the statement, "Until the heart is surrendered unconditionally to God, the human agent is not abiding in the True Vine. . . Let me repeat that, "Until the heart is surrendered unconditionally . . ."What does it mean to surrender unconditionally? It means to surrender without any reservations. "Until the heart is surrendered unconditionally to God, the human agent is not abiding in the True Vine, and cannot flourish in the Vine and bear rich clusters of fruit." There is only one way the human agent can do this, and that is by unconditionally surrendering to the Vine.
Let's think about this process for a moment. The fruit-bearing branch first receives purging. What is purging? It is when the branch is pruned. What do you think God uses for His pruning or purging process? Some people suggest that God uses trials. If that is the case, it would seem that some people are not being pruned very much. Some might suggest that the easy road is indicative of the pruning process or the lack thereof in lives of some individuals.
Pruning and God's Word
It is interesting that many Christians believe God uses the trial and tribulations that are allowed to come our way in the course of the pruning process. Being perfectly honest, most of us would agree. It may surprise you, then, to know that John 15:3 suggests something quite different. Before Jesus told His disciples about the necessity of abiding, He said, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." I am completely convinced that the Word of God, and the Word of God alone, is the knife that does the pruning--I am absolutely satisfied with this.
We may have trials and tribulations along the way, but these don't really bother us. The thing that bothers us about trials and tribulations is the solution the Word gives for them. Do you believe that?
Are you following me? You see, problems come our way, we search for the solution in the Word of God, and find a clear solution. Generally, that solution is "believe on Me," "Abide in Me,", "Trust Me". We don't like that solution because it's much easier to get along with ourselves if we do something. But where is our only source of strength? The Bible and what it reveals about Jesus Christ! This is the source of strength, but we look for it everywhere else. We go to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Tom. We go everywhere, we read everything, we try every possibility, to get this strength, except receiving it from the Vine. Why? Because we don't like the Vine's solution: drink deeper of the blood of Jesus Christ.
The Bible reveals only one thing: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. From Genesis to Revelation one story is repeated over and over again in multitudinous ways, and that is the life and vicarious death of
Jesus Christ for you and for me--That's the only story told in the Bible, and that story forms your life and mine. But it's not appealing because the branch cannot do anything except simply appreciate, rest in it and trust completely in it-that's all, and it's not very thrilling or glamorous, and it's not something you beat drums over. You simply rest and believe in it.
Wow!! What a study, I'm totally and completely undone! This is so overwhelming to me and yet it is so simple. We must study this until it is part of us, that's my feelings about it. Please let it soak in and become part of your life as I am going to do. Have a great study!!!! Grandma Joan
Let's think about this process for a moment. The fruit-bearing branch first receives purging. What is purging? It is when the branch is pruned. What do you think God uses for His pruning or purging process? Some people suggest that God uses trials. If that is the case, it would seem that some people are not being pruned very much. Some might suggest that the easy road is indicative of the pruning process or the lack thereof in lives of some individuals.
Pruning and God's Word
It is interesting that many Christians believe God uses the trial and tribulations that are allowed to come our way in the course of the pruning process. Being perfectly honest, most of us would agree. It may surprise you, then, to know that John 15:3 suggests something quite different. Before Jesus told His disciples about the necessity of abiding, He said, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." I am completely convinced that the Word of God, and the Word of God alone, is the knife that does the pruning--I am absolutely satisfied with this.
We may have trials and tribulations along the way, but these don't really bother us. The thing that bothers us about trials and tribulations is the solution the Word gives for them. Do you believe that?
Are you following me? You see, problems come our way, we search for the solution in the Word of God, and find a clear solution. Generally, that solution is "believe on Me," "Abide in Me,", "Trust Me". We don't like that solution because it's much easier to get along with ourselves if we do something. But where is our only source of strength? The Bible and what it reveals about Jesus Christ! This is the source of strength, but we look for it everywhere else. We go to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Tom. We go everywhere, we read everything, we try every possibility, to get this strength, except receiving it from the Vine. Why? Because we don't like the Vine's solution: drink deeper of the blood of Jesus Christ.
The Bible reveals only one thing: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. From Genesis to Revelation one story is repeated over and over again in multitudinous ways, and that is the life and vicarious death of
Jesus Christ for you and for me--That's the only story told in the Bible, and that story forms your life and mine. But it's not appealing because the branch cannot do anything except simply appreciate, rest in it and trust completely in it-that's all, and it's not very thrilling or glamorous, and it's not something you beat drums over. You simply rest and believe in it.
Wow!! What a study, I'm totally and completely undone! This is so overwhelming to me and yet it is so simple. We must study this until it is part of us, that's my feelings about it. Please let it soak in and become part of your life as I am going to do. Have a great study!!!! Grandma Joan
Friday, December 15, 2017
The Branch's Helplessness - Part 22
The problem here is manifested in the first part of th sentence, where it speaks of our attempt to attach ourselves to Christ. When the branch is attached to the Vine, who does th attaching? The Husbandman. The Problem comes when I think I can attach myself to the Lord Jesus Christ and I want to do it my own way. And of course when I attach myself to th Vine my own way, I certainly don't take the difficult, painstaking way of going through the grafting process. Why? Because not only does the parent stalk have to be wounded, but if I'm going to be grafted in, I have to be severely pruned--wounded--too.
They don't take a gigantic branch which has borne all kinds of fruit and just graft it in. No, they prune that branch down; they trim it, cut it and fit it into the wound; then they bind it into the wound of the parent stalk. As a result, the branch begins to receive entirely new nourishment. Now if I did this myself, I would say, "Lord, let's just you and I walk together. I'll need Your help a little along the way. I really am sinecre and I think I can make it, but I will probably need Your help a little bit." Unfortunately, this is the Christian philosophy of many, many people. "Just stay close by, Lord, because whenever I stumble and get into difficulty I'll need Your help.
Jesus said, "Without Me ye can do nothing." And so, as Jesus was talking to His disciples that last evening. He was trying to help them understand their helplessness. Do you understand your helplessness? Do you? This is the important question, and many do sense it, since they talk to me about their helplessness. We must all feel our utter dependence upon God. What does the word "utter" mean? Extreme; it means our extreme dependence upon God.
Do you understand your extreme helplessness? I am not sure I do. I was raised to do it yourself, and that means that I have to do the work of attaching myself to the Vine. I see that I cannot do that. So now I guess the best thing to do is to ask God to attach me to Christ. Am I ready to be pruned and wounded so that I can be grafted in? This is a good question for me and maybe for you. Think about it, it is something that all of us must do to be saved. Sounds hard doesn't it? Yes, I agree but if the Father is the Husbandman and He does it, then it must not be out of our reach. Read on tomorrow.
Grandma Joan
They don't take a gigantic branch which has borne all kinds of fruit and just graft it in. No, they prune that branch down; they trim it, cut it and fit it into the wound; then they bind it into the wound of the parent stalk. As a result, the branch begins to receive entirely new nourishment. Now if I did this myself, I would say, "Lord, let's just you and I walk together. I'll need Your help a little along the way. I really am sinecre and I think I can make it, but I will probably need Your help a little bit." Unfortunately, this is the Christian philosophy of many, many people. "Just stay close by, Lord, because whenever I stumble and get into difficulty I'll need Your help.
Jesus said, "Without Me ye can do nothing." And so, as Jesus was talking to His disciples that last evening. He was trying to help them understand their helplessness. Do you understand your helplessness? Do you? This is the important question, and many do sense it, since they talk to me about their helplessness. We must all feel our utter dependence upon God. What does the word "utter" mean? Extreme; it means our extreme dependence upon God.
Do you understand your extreme helplessness? I am not sure I do. I was raised to do it yourself, and that means that I have to do the work of attaching myself to the Vine. I see that I cannot do that. So now I guess the best thing to do is to ask God to attach me to Christ. Am I ready to be pruned and wounded so that I can be grafted in? This is a good question for me and maybe for you. Think about it, it is something that all of us must do to be saved. Sounds hard doesn't it? Yes, I agree but if the Father is the Husbandman and He does it, then it must not be out of our reach. Read on tomorrow.
Grandma Joan
Monday, December 11, 2017
Pruning and Submission - part 21
Next, our passage says, "They must submit their own will to the will of God." Here is where troubles begin. "They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There must ba a painful work of detchment as well as a work of attachment." What must we be detached from? Pride--that's the very first thing you see. Remember, we read about this relationship as being, "entered into be a proud being," and so we are cut off from that old source of pride, cut off from th stalk from which pride grew. And to pride, we can add, "selfishness, vanity, worldliness--sin in all its forms-must be overcome...."
There is only one way to overcome all of this, and that is to be cut off from it. You must cut off the life source of pride, selfisihness, and sin in all of its forms--which is actually the world. So we must be cut off from our love of the world. That's why the Bible says that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. So we cannot compromise. We cannot bring the world and the Lord Jesus Christ together; we cannot blend them, for they are diametrically opposed. Any person who thinks the world can be held with one hand and the Lord Jesus Christ with the other hand, is fooling themselves and attempting an utter impossibility.
Reading further, "Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness--sin in all it forms-- must be overcome, if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle- - - " what does the word fickle mean? Changeable, unstable, saying one thing but doing another--"The reason..."I like statements that get right to the "this is it" nitty-gritty--"The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from their Cherished idols."
Did this help you some? I think I've been helped by it but will have to read it over, maybe even several times until I get the real message. So don't feel bad about not getting it the first time, read it again and again until you do get it. I hope you are being blessed, even if it is all new to you, God will bless us as we struggle to understand and apply it to our lives. Grandma Joan
There is only one way to overcome all of this, and that is to be cut off from it. You must cut off the life source of pride, selfisihness, and sin in all of its forms--which is actually the world. So we must be cut off from our love of the world. That's why the Bible says that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. So we cannot compromise. We cannot bring the world and the Lord Jesus Christ together; we cannot blend them, for they are diametrically opposed. Any person who thinks the world can be held with one hand and the Lord Jesus Christ with the other hand, is fooling themselves and attempting an utter impossibility.
Reading further, "Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness--sin in all it forms-- must be overcome, if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle- - - " what does the word fickle mean? Changeable, unstable, saying one thing but doing another--"The reason..."I like statements that get right to the "this is it" nitty-gritty--"The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from their Cherished idols."
Did this help you some? I think I've been helped by it but will have to read it over, maybe even several times until I get the real message. So don't feel bad about not getting it the first time, read it again and again until you do get it. I hope you are being blessed, even if it is all new to you, God will bless us as we struggle to understand and apply it to our lives. Grandma Joan
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Pruning and Fruit-bearing - 20 cont'.
Notice as well that Christ received the wound by which we have been grafted in. Paul speaks of the grafting process in Romans 11:17, where he speaks of our having been grafted into the Vine. Now before a graft can be made in any plant, what has to happen to the plant? It has to be wounded. A cut has to be made that severely wounds the stalk, and this cut opens the wound into which the graft is inserted. Thus the graft obtains its life as a result of the wound.
The strength of your life and mine comes from the atonement--it comes from no other place. Hiding in the atonement is His power. It isn't because Jesus Christ was the Creator, as great and marvelous at that was; nor is it because He demonstrated miraculous power in calling forth the dead, which was also wonderful and thrilling. The one thing that gives me life is that Jesus as God was willing to die--was wounded--enabling me to be grafted in and to receive life. In spite of that, we go along complacently thinking that life comes as a result of doing something good. That's ridiculous! The only source of life is to be found in partaking of that sap, which is none other than the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other source of life! If we don't receive it there, we simply don't have it.
Reading on, "They must have a change of heart." Who? The branch. The branch, which was cut off from its own stock and put into the True Vine to receive the new heart, is going to receive a new source of life and will have a new kind of fruit as it draws nourishment from the Vine.
The branch is going to have a new kind of experience--termed a new heart--because the heart of Jesus Christ is now supplying the life flow to that branch.
Do you want that new kind of experience, I sure do, I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I am still learning and trying to surrender all so that I may have that new kind of experience. God is definitely working in my life minute by minute to give me His kind of character which I desperately need.
Let's pray for each other each day to receive that kind of experience. Grandma Joan
The strength of your life and mine comes from the atonement--it comes from no other place. Hiding in the atonement is His power. It isn't because Jesus Christ was the Creator, as great and marvelous at that was; nor is it because He demonstrated miraculous power in calling forth the dead, which was also wonderful and thrilling. The one thing that gives me life is that Jesus as God was willing to die--was wounded--enabling me to be grafted in and to receive life. In spite of that, we go along complacently thinking that life comes as a result of doing something good. That's ridiculous! The only source of life is to be found in partaking of that sap, which is none other than the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other source of life! If we don't receive it there, we simply don't have it.
Reading on, "They must have a change of heart." Who? The branch. The branch, which was cut off from its own stock and put into the True Vine to receive the new heart, is going to receive a new source of life and will have a new kind of fruit as it draws nourishment from the Vine.
The branch is going to have a new kind of experience--termed a new heart--because the heart of Jesus Christ is now supplying the life flow to that branch.
Do you want that new kind of experience, I sure do, I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I am still learning and trying to surrender all so that I may have that new kind of experience. God is definitely working in my life minute by minute to give me His kind of character which I desperately need.
Let's pray for each other each day to receive that kind of experience. Grandma Joan
Friday, December 8, 2017
Pruning and Fruit Bearing - Part 20
So, what is it that produces "more fruit"? And who is it that produces "more fruit"? The pruning or purging process is intended to do one thing: draw us into a closer relationship to God, that we might be a more efficient vehicle through which the fruit is revealed--that's the purpose.
The thing we need to settle, then, is who does this pruning, and how does the pruning process really take place?
Notice the following quotation that speaks of our possible union with Christ, which in the parable is described as the relationship between the branch and the Vine.
"A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first, and last, and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a relation of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being."
We have to stop right here. "It is a relationship of utter dependene, to be entered into by a proud being." How is pride affected? We are proud! We all have proud, egocentric natures, and the only way we can be free from this pride is to recognize the purpose of the braanch. There is only one source of strength for the branch. What is that source? The Vine. The Vine is our Source of strength, our only Source of strength. But do we look to the Source? No! We look everywhere else. We go to Aunt Jenny and we go to Uncle Tom. We go everywhere. We read everything. We try anything and everything to find this strength, except going to the Vine to find it. Why? Because we don't like the Vine's solution: drinking deeper of the blood of Christ.
The branch doesn't support the Vine, does it? Absolutely not! The branch continually receives from the vine--that's the branch's purpose, and it is simply the vehicle. Our relationship with God is to function the same way. That's why God said,"....to be entered into by a proud being." Why? Because it is a humbling process. It is humbling to realize we can do nothing by ourselves; it is humbling to realize that a branch cut off from the Vine is only fit to be gathered and burned, according to verse six.
Now we read, "All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ." That's the life blood. The branch must feel its need of the life-giving flow of sap, which is the atoning blood of Christ. If the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are not a reality to you and me, if the atonement paid on Calvary's cross is not a reality; if these are not real and central points in our thinking, our religion is vain, and we are tied to the wrong vine. Remember, Christ is the Vine, and when we receive strength from the Vine, we receive it from Christ.
To be continued tomorrow. Grandma Joan
The thing we need to settle, then, is who does this pruning, and how does the pruning process really take place?
Notice the following quotation that speaks of our possible union with Christ, which in the parable is described as the relationship between the branch and the Vine.
"A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first, and last, and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a relation of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being."
We have to stop right here. "It is a relationship of utter dependene, to be entered into by a proud being." How is pride affected? We are proud! We all have proud, egocentric natures, and the only way we can be free from this pride is to recognize the purpose of the braanch. There is only one source of strength for the branch. What is that source? The Vine. The Vine is our Source of strength, our only Source of strength. But do we look to the Source? No! We look everywhere else. We go to Aunt Jenny and we go to Uncle Tom. We go everywhere. We read everything. We try anything and everything to find this strength, except going to the Vine to find it. Why? Because we don't like the Vine's solution: drinking deeper of the blood of Christ.
The branch doesn't support the Vine, does it? Absolutely not! The branch continually receives from the vine--that's the branch's purpose, and it is simply the vehicle. Our relationship with God is to function the same way. That's why God said,"....to be entered into by a proud being." Why? Because it is a humbling process. It is humbling to realize we can do nothing by ourselves; it is humbling to realize that a branch cut off from the Vine is only fit to be gathered and burned, according to verse six.
Now we read, "All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ." That's the life blood. The branch must feel its need of the life-giving flow of sap, which is the atoning blood of Christ. If the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are not a reality to you and me, if the atonement paid on Calvary's cross is not a reality; if these are not real and central points in our thinking, our religion is vain, and we are tied to the wrong vine. Remember, Christ is the Vine, and when we receive strength from the Vine, we receive it from Christ.
To be continued tomorrow. Grandma Joan
Thursday, December 7, 2017
A Dangerous Complacency - 19
Accordingly, the real danger in any Christian life, and I mean the very real and serious danger in any Christin life, is complacency. Do you believe that? Perhaps you ask, "What do you mean using the word complacency? Revelation 3:14-18 provides the answer in the message to the church in Laodicea. What was the problem there? Lukewarmness. The problem of lukewarmness has faced the church throughout history, but is particularly true of today's church.
Revelation 3:14-18 "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor; and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and whit raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see"
The problem that comes to every Christian along the way is not a lack of fruit-bearing. Rather, when he finds himself feeling that he has borne a little fruit, felt a little of the love of God and the joy of salvation, has enjoyed a little experience and is feeling elevated about the whole thing, he settles down and remembers that experience the rest of his life. He lives on it, and talks about it, but doesn't go any further. And he accordingly misses the 'more fruit' element of being the branch. But the capacity of the branch is tremendous, and the Husbandman comes along and begins to prune the branch in order to produce more fruit.
Have you experience this last paragraph? I have and most Christians have. To me it's a little scary that I can get into a condition of complacency and not really know it until I start to analyze my self and my condition. It pays to sit back and look things over regarding ourselves. We may see some things we are not proud of. The time we have spent with God every day, and all day. Of course we have to work and do many things but we should always be in the attitude of prayer so that we can reach out to God anytime and anywhere. Praying for more fruit is important too, and to be pruned so we may bear more fruit. Read Galatians 5:22,23 if you have forgotten what the fruit of the Spirit is.
May you be blessed every day as you read these little studies. They may be small but they are huge when it comes to bearing fruit for the kingdom of heaven and winning souls to Christ through our fruit bearing. Grandma Joan
Revelation 3:14-18 "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor; and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and whit raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see"
The problem that comes to every Christian along the way is not a lack of fruit-bearing. Rather, when he finds himself feeling that he has borne a little fruit, felt a little of the love of God and the joy of salvation, has enjoyed a little experience and is feeling elevated about the whole thing, he settles down and remembers that experience the rest of his life. He lives on it, and talks about it, but doesn't go any further. And he accordingly misses the 'more fruit' element of being the branch. But the capacity of the branch is tremendous, and the Husbandman comes along and begins to prune the branch in order to produce more fruit.
Have you experience this last paragraph? I have and most Christians have. To me it's a little scary that I can get into a condition of complacency and not really know it until I start to analyze my self and my condition. It pays to sit back and look things over regarding ourselves. We may see some things we are not proud of. The time we have spent with God every day, and all day. Of course we have to work and do many things but we should always be in the attitude of prayer so that we can reach out to God anytime and anywhere. Praying for more fruit is important too, and to be pruned so we may bear more fruit. Read Galatians 5:22,23 if you have forgotten what the fruit of the Spirit is.
May you be blessed every day as you read these little studies. They may be small but they are huge when it comes to bearing fruit for the kingdom of heaven and winning souls to Christ through our fruit bearing. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Fruitful Branches - Part 18
Now notice what Andrew Murray says next:
"Let us begin to think as God thinks. Let us accept Christ's teaching and respond to it. The one object of my being a branch, the one mark of my being a true branch, the one condition of my abiding and growing strong, is that I bear the fruit of the heavenly Vine for dying men to eat and live. The one thing of which I can have the most perfect assurance is that, with Christ as my Vine, and the Father as my Husbandman, I can indeed be a fruitful branch."
No one needs to feel they cannot bear a fruitful branch. Every person can be a fruitful branch! Jesus says that if a branch is not bearing fruit, The husbandman cuts it off. But the Husbandman cuts if off in His Own time and in His Own way--that's His business, not ours. But every branch that is bearing fruit, He purges it. So the fruit-bearing becomes the real problem in most people's thinking because we are subject to deception and Satan has caused us to misunderstand what fruit-bearing really is. But here Jesus says that every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Remember Galatians 5:22, 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. These are the fruit we are to bear for Christ the Vine. Not one of these fruit would be bad to have. In fact I would love to have all of them, how about you? God has given me His love in my heart for others but I need more, so I need to pray for more love to others. He is helping me by giving me more patience, but I can use more of that too. Once in a while Satan tries to destroy my peace but as a rule I seem to be at peace. But it wouldn't hurt to pray for the fruit of the Spirit all the time, all of them. When I wake up in the morning I ask God to help me abide with Him all day, sure makes the day go better, I am so thankful for His unending love for me. I don't know what I would do without Him. Life would be so hard to cope with. With Him it is best if we let Him control things and then they don't get out of hand. Keep up your studying, it is worth every moment that we spend time with Him. Grandma Joan
"Let us begin to think as God thinks. Let us accept Christ's teaching and respond to it. The one object of my being a branch, the one mark of my being a true branch, the one condition of my abiding and growing strong, is that I bear the fruit of the heavenly Vine for dying men to eat and live. The one thing of which I can have the most perfect assurance is that, with Christ as my Vine, and the Father as my Husbandman, I can indeed be a fruitful branch."
No one needs to feel they cannot bear a fruitful branch. Every person can be a fruitful branch! Jesus says that if a branch is not bearing fruit, The husbandman cuts it off. But the Husbandman cuts if off in His Own time and in His Own way--that's His business, not ours. But every branch that is bearing fruit, He purges it. So the fruit-bearing becomes the real problem in most people's thinking because we are subject to deception and Satan has caused us to misunderstand what fruit-bearing really is. But here Jesus says that every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Remember Galatians 5:22, 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. These are the fruit we are to bear for Christ the Vine. Not one of these fruit would be bad to have. In fact I would love to have all of them, how about you? God has given me His love in my heart for others but I need more, so I need to pray for more love to others. He is helping me by giving me more patience, but I can use more of that too. Once in a while Satan tries to destroy my peace but as a rule I seem to be at peace. But it wouldn't hurt to pray for the fruit of the Spirit all the time, all of them. When I wake up in the morning I ask God to help me abide with Him all day, sure makes the day go better, I am so thankful for His unending love for me. I don't know what I would do without Him. Life would be so hard to cope with. With Him it is best if we let Him control things and then they don't get out of hand. Keep up your studying, it is worth every moment that we spend time with Him. Grandma Joan
Sunday, December 3, 2017
A Single Purpose - Part 17
Andrew Murray states in his book, The Mystery of the True Vine: "Let us specially beware of one great mistake. Many Christians think their own salvation is the first thing; their temperal life and prosperity. with the care of their family the second; and what of time and interest is left may be devoted to fruit-bearing, to the saving of men. No wonder that in most ccases very little time or interest can be found. No, Christian, the one object with which you have been made a member of God's body is that the Head may have you carry out His saving work. The one object God had in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring life to men. Your personal salvation, your business and care for your family, are entirely subordinate to this."
I am sure you didn't get this. Let me repeat part of it, "The one object God had in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring life to men." God says, "I am the Vine, ye are the branches," and His one object for you is to make you a branch through which life can be imparted to men. Through what? The fruit! The fruit is what nourishes anyone who comes to the vine. Isn't that true? And if we are the branches, we are to bear fruit and thus supply the food through which the world is to know the Lord Jesus.
"The one object God has in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring life to men."
Might this be the reason we read that God is waiting for His people to perfectly reflect His image? Why? Because men and women can only feed on what they really see, and are only attracted to come to Christ on the basis of what they see as well. "The one object God has in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring life to men. Your personal salvation, your business and care for your family, are entirely subordinate to this one thing."
That's a broad statement. It is so easy for me to first care for myself, my family, and children. Taking care of my family causes me to feel like I have accomplished something noble and good, because any man who lookes after his family is thought of as a very fine person--and that is great and there's nothing wrong with tht. But our first and primary purpose for existence is not caring for our families. What is our first and primary purpose? Bearing fruit.
You see, our first obligation to God is fruit-bearing, not our salvation. If my relationship with God is wholly about salvation, then my relationship with Him is selfish. But if I have a relationship with God in order to abide in the Vine and am a faithful, fruit-bearing, branch, then I am fulfilling the purpose for which God created me, as expressed in John 15:5. "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." It doesn't mean the family will be ignored, however, for the family will be cared for, and will be the first benefit from this abiding.
Now notice that your first aim in life, your first aim every day, should be to know how Christ desires to carry out His purposes in you--That's the very first aim. did you ever read that Christ's first work every morning was seeking direction from His Heavenly Father as to what He was to do that day? Our first work should be the same: receiving our instructions fresh every morning.
Please know that this little book I am sharing with you each day is almost totally new to me too but such a revelation to me that I am overwhelmed with the knowledge it is presenting. I can't find any Scripture fault with any of it and it is such a relief to know these things. There is an abundant more knowledge coming up. I am so grateful to find out these things and share them with you. It will make our life so much better and it may be hard to abide in Christ every day all day to start with but it will be the most rewarding thing that we can do and it will win our families to God and all those that we associate with at least if they have an open heart and mind. Blessings to you as you study this out.
Grandma Joan
I am sure you didn't get this. Let me repeat part of it, "The one object God had in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring life to men." God says, "I am the Vine, ye are the branches," and His one object for you is to make you a branch through which life can be imparted to men. Through what? The fruit! The fruit is what nourishes anyone who comes to the vine. Isn't that true? And if we are the branches, we are to bear fruit and thus supply the food through which the world is to know the Lord Jesus.
"The one object God has in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring life to men."
Might this be the reason we read that God is waiting for His people to perfectly reflect His image? Why? Because men and women can only feed on what they really see, and are only attracted to come to Christ on the basis of what they see as well. "The one object God has in making you a branch is that Christ may through you bring life to men. Your personal salvation, your business and care for your family, are entirely subordinate to this one thing."
That's a broad statement. It is so easy for me to first care for myself, my family, and children. Taking care of my family causes me to feel like I have accomplished something noble and good, because any man who lookes after his family is thought of as a very fine person--and that is great and there's nothing wrong with tht. But our first and primary purpose for existence is not caring for our families. What is our first and primary purpose? Bearing fruit.
You see, our first obligation to God is fruit-bearing, not our salvation. If my relationship with God is wholly about salvation, then my relationship with Him is selfish. But if I have a relationship with God in order to abide in the Vine and am a faithful, fruit-bearing, branch, then I am fulfilling the purpose for which God created me, as expressed in John 15:5. "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." It doesn't mean the family will be ignored, however, for the family will be cared for, and will be the first benefit from this abiding.
Now notice that your first aim in life, your first aim every day, should be to know how Christ desires to carry out His purposes in you--That's the very first aim. did you ever read that Christ's first work every morning was seeking direction from His Heavenly Father as to what He was to do that day? Our first work should be the same: receiving our instructions fresh every morning.
Please know that this little book I am sharing with you each day is almost totally new to me too but such a revelation to me that I am overwhelmed with the knowledge it is presenting. I can't find any Scripture fault with any of it and it is such a relief to know these things. There is an abundant more knowledge coming up. I am so grateful to find out these things and share them with you. It will make our life so much better and it may be hard to abide in Christ every day all day to start with but it will be the most rewarding thing that we can do and it will win our families to God and all those that we associate with at least if they have an open heart and mind. Blessings to you as you study this out.
Grandma Joan
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Abiding and Pruning - Part 16 continued
The vine does all the work. The vine sends the root and tendrils out, perhaps sending them hundreds of feet. The fine little rootlets seek nourishment and moisture in the soil, return that nourishment, convert it into rich sap, an send it up the vine to the branch. What dos the branch do with the sap then? It carries the sap further. The branch is still only a vehicle, because the sap flows out into the branch and into the leaves. The leaves receive the life-giving sunshine, and the rays of light initiate a chemical process in the plant. None of this depends on the branch other than its function as the vehicle by which the sap flows. There are tremendous lessons here that need to be learned.
Now the real test of any branch is bearing fruit. If the branch fails to bear fruit, it is fir for nothing, and the Scripture says, He takes it away." This is interesting because in verse 2 it says, "Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away". Did you ever wonder why the He is there? Who is the 'He'? The Husbandman. Who is the Husbandman? The Father. God is the Husbandman, and He takes the unprofitable branch away. That should put us in our place, since a lot of us would like to do the pruning an chopping.
When you compare this with the counsel Jesus gave in Matthew 7:15,16, and 20, you begin to get a pretty clear picture of what our role should be and what should result so far as fruit is concerned. Notice verses 15 and 16: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." Verse 20 says, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." What do we do when we recognize the fruit? We tend to make ourselves husbandmen and do the dividing ourselves! We have always had the tendency to ask, "Lord shall we take out the weeds?" Notice how Jesus responded in His day: "Let them grow until the harvest." Who then must do the dividing, the separating, and the weeding? Only the Husbandman, because weeding is God's business, not ours, and I praise His name for that. And you know, even though fruit isn't all that easy to detect by human vision--which is why it isn't safe for humans to do the weeding--God still says we will know them by their fruits.
Accordingly, when prophets claim to be something, we can "know them by their fruits." Why? Because we can always check the fruit by the Word. Through God's Word we can detect the presence of fruit. But when we have recognized fruit, all we have done--and we must remember this--has increased our knowledge. But even then, it is not for us to pass judgment, for judgment is left entirely to God. But God has given us a way to detect the presence of fruit. So, "by their fruits" is the guideline we have been given. Reading further, it says, "Every branch that bears not fruit He takes away."
This is heavy isn't it, even for me as I have read these verses over and over and just now understanding the true meaning. So thankful that it is not my place to weed out the false prophets. God is perfect at it and He does it in His way, not mine. Very enlightening. Hope you are learning along with me. So thankful for this little booklet and have permission to share it with you. Grandma Joan
Now the real test of any branch is bearing fruit. If the branch fails to bear fruit, it is fir for nothing, and the Scripture says, He takes it away." This is interesting because in verse 2 it says, "Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away". Did you ever wonder why the He is there? Who is the 'He'? The Husbandman. Who is the Husbandman? The Father. God is the Husbandman, and He takes the unprofitable branch away. That should put us in our place, since a lot of us would like to do the pruning an chopping.
When you compare this with the counsel Jesus gave in Matthew 7:15,16, and 20, you begin to get a pretty clear picture of what our role should be and what should result so far as fruit is concerned. Notice verses 15 and 16: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." Verse 20 says, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." What do we do when we recognize the fruit? We tend to make ourselves husbandmen and do the dividing ourselves! We have always had the tendency to ask, "Lord shall we take out the weeds?" Notice how Jesus responded in His day: "Let them grow until the harvest." Who then must do the dividing, the separating, and the weeding? Only the Husbandman, because weeding is God's business, not ours, and I praise His name for that. And you know, even though fruit isn't all that easy to detect by human vision--which is why it isn't safe for humans to do the weeding--God still says we will know them by their fruits.
Accordingly, when prophets claim to be something, we can "know them by their fruits." Why? Because we can always check the fruit by the Word. Through God's Word we can detect the presence of fruit. But when we have recognized fruit, all we have done--and we must remember this--has increased our knowledge. But even then, it is not for us to pass judgment, for judgment is left entirely to God. But God has given us a way to detect the presence of fruit. So, "by their fruits" is the guideline we have been given. Reading further, it says, "Every branch that bears not fruit He takes away."
This is heavy isn't it, even for me as I have read these verses over and over and just now understanding the true meaning. So thankful that it is not my place to weed out the false prophets. God is perfect at it and He does it in His way, not mine. Very enlightening. Hope you are learning along with me. So thankful for this little booklet and have permission to share it with you. Grandma Joan
Friday, December 1, 2017
Abiding and Pruning - Part 16
John 15 has so very much meaning to it, it needs to be repeated again to keep us in touch with the subject that Jesus is trying to convey to His disciples which in turn is us today. So bear with me as I repeat these verses again.
John 15: 1-8 "I am the True Vine and My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that bears fruit He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, an cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall he be My disciples".
Jesus spoke these words after having celebrated the Passover and inaugurating the first Lord's Supper with His disciples. Jesus had conversed with the disciples following the meal, but eventually brought the conversation to a close and led them out into the night and proceeded towards the Garden of Gethsemane. Along the way He came to a beautiful grapevine.
A vine held great significance for the disciples, for the Jewish people had always seen themselves as the vine. Jesus wanted to correct this misconception, and so as He stood before that moolight-bathed vine with its clusters of grapes hanging upon it, He said, "I am the True Vine." The disciples thought they were the vine, but Jesus, using an illustration from nature as He had done on so many occasions, asserted that He was actually the True Vine and His Father was the Husbandman. "Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away" John 15:2.
The last time we considered this subject, we discussed the purpose of the branch, discovering that the branch's one purpose is bearing fruit. The vine supports the branch in this matter, and the branch is there as a vehicle through which the fruit is borne. Fruit-bearing is the branch's purpose!
We also discussed that it is in the area of fruit-bearing that problems exist, and that the only way the branch can bear fruit is by abiding in the vine. The branch cannot bear fruit by making any effort. The branch naturally bears the fruit as long as it does one thing; abides in the vine. It doesn't have to expend energy and effort, saying, "Well, I think I ought to have a cluster of grapes at this point." Nor does it say such a thing at some later point. It just naturally bears the fruit.
I would like to continue this thought tomorrow because it is so profound and simple at the same time, it needs a lot of thought and contemplation, so please understand that I am so thrilled to have found this little booklet and this profound explanation of John 15: 1-8. I just want to make sure everyone who reads these blogs have time to consider what it is saying. I never heard it explained like this before and I want to make sure I know what its saying and understand how it affects my life. So see you tomorrow for sure. Grandma Joan
John 15: 1-8 "I am the True Vine and My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that bears fruit He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, an cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall he be My disciples".
Jesus spoke these words after having celebrated the Passover and inaugurating the first Lord's Supper with His disciples. Jesus had conversed with the disciples following the meal, but eventually brought the conversation to a close and led them out into the night and proceeded towards the Garden of Gethsemane. Along the way He came to a beautiful grapevine.
A vine held great significance for the disciples, for the Jewish people had always seen themselves as the vine. Jesus wanted to correct this misconception, and so as He stood before that moolight-bathed vine with its clusters of grapes hanging upon it, He said, "I am the True Vine." The disciples thought they were the vine, but Jesus, using an illustration from nature as He had done on so many occasions, asserted that He was actually the True Vine and His Father was the Husbandman. "Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away" John 15:2.
The last time we considered this subject, we discussed the purpose of the branch, discovering that the branch's one purpose is bearing fruit. The vine supports the branch in this matter, and the branch is there as a vehicle through which the fruit is borne. Fruit-bearing is the branch's purpose!
We also discussed that it is in the area of fruit-bearing that problems exist, and that the only way the branch can bear fruit is by abiding in the vine. The branch cannot bear fruit by making any effort. The branch naturally bears the fruit as long as it does one thing; abides in the vine. It doesn't have to expend energy and effort, saying, "Well, I think I ought to have a cluster of grapes at this point." Nor does it say such a thing at some later point. It just naturally bears the fruit.
I would like to continue this thought tomorrow because it is so profound and simple at the same time, it needs a lot of thought and contemplation, so please understand that I am so thrilled to have found this little booklet and this profound explanation of John 15: 1-8. I just want to make sure everyone who reads these blogs have time to consider what it is saying. I never heard it explained like this before and I want to make sure I know what its saying and understand how it affects my life. So see you tomorrow for sure. Grandma Joan
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