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
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