The Lord Jesus has instructed us all on how to live, love, and treat others. Even those who have hate for us. We are to follow His example in our lives. We are to remember His Words and instructions. We are to live His commandments. Our daily goal is to keep Him in mind as we go through our day. After all, He never leaves our side and is always available to those who love Him. When times are rough, or our problems seem overwhelming, just call on His name. Put your trust in God above all your problems. John says to give Him all your problems because He cares for you. The Lord will care for you in all circumstances. He can remove the problems, or see you through. Remember, Her allowed Daniel to be placed with the lions, but He did not allow the lions to harm him.
I love to read the four Gospels. In them we have the “RED LETTERS”. The actual Words from God’s own lips as presented by His Son Jesus Christ. I find that each time I read them, they are alive and meaningful. I learn more at every reading, something I did not realize before. For example,
John 15:1 - I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15:4 - 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 15:5 - 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.
Jesus was explaining the relationship between Himself and God the Father, as well as our relationship to both. He imparted to His followers that He does nothing of Himself, only what the Father has told Him to say or do. The wonders He performed were from God, and not Himself. The wonders His disciples would perform are from the power of God through the Holy Spirit. Because without the Lord, they could do nothing. We are told to spread the Gospel in all the world. That is not the calling of all people. But we are not left alone on this, His word and guidance through the Holy Spirit leads us.
Not everyone is to be a missionary. We are, as a church, the body of Christ. Just as our human body has different parts, we all have different callings. Some are called to teach, preach, and to lead in various ways. Some have the gift of speech and can bring any congregation to the height of joy by the way they present the Word. Others are the ones who receive this Word and tell their friends, family and anyone who wants to hear, about Jesus. Others live the word in their daily lives. We all serve in different ways. But at least we all serve. We are the branches and we do bear fruit. Gloriously we have the feeling inside us, and our lives should show this. We can all testify to His great love by the way we live our lives. We live in the path of truth and love as did Jesus Christ our savior and Lord.
Our God is God. There is no other like Him. The God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and all Israel and the saints. The same God who through His love, mercy and grace has allowed us all to be counted as His children. Heirs together with Christ our Lord in heaven. We have been saved by the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been washed clean from sin by His blood. We as believers, have been set free from the guilt of our past and have a righteousness blessed by God Himself. Nothing of our own doing has brought this, but only by the grace of God. This belief, this simple act of belief is what is required of us.
Since we have grace, we must lead others to this simple salvation. We are not required to follow rites and rituals to be saved. Salvation is assured through belief in Jesus. We share the gospel truth in many ways, through speech and more effectively, through example.
John 3:18, He who believes in Him is not condemned,..
John 3:17, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn, but that the world through Him might be saved.
And we all know John3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
These words are the base, the foundation of our faith. We must believe in the word of God. We must trust in His word. We must live in faith in the word of God Himself. Our old lives really don’t matter. The old life has been cast away. Whatever we have done in the past is passed away having been saved by Christ. We are born again, a new creation free from the old sin. That doesn’t mean we won’t sin again, but we can be assured God is quick to forgive. When we fail, we are to be quick to repent and then thank God for our forgiveness. We don’t need to concern ourselves with the thought that we might not be forgiven. Trust in God for all things. He does after all love each of us. God wants us to bring everything to Him, that we make Him the most important part of our lives. His love is shown on the cross. The miracles and wonders were only to show the power of God. We must love the Lord our God as He loves us. As scripture says, our God is of the Spirit, we must realize that we are to worship Him in the spirit. So that requires us to love all His people, no matter what they have done to us. After all, none of us are perfect. None of us came to Christ at birth. This was a choice we made in life. Some people make this early on, others take a little longer, and still others need to hear the Word. But at any time, someone could turn from sinful, hate filled ways to the love and forgiveness of Jesus our savior. We must learn patience and understanding, as we were once in a low place as well.
I remember having this taught to me and I thought the preacher was talking only to me. I was the one that could see others faults while minimizing my own. But, the Lord opened my eyes as He did to so many before me. I now concern myself with how much I love my Lord and savior. I have come to a place where all I need to be concerned with, is my living what I preach. It is not as hard as I thought it would be. I can look back and realize what a mess I was. I still have to spend a lot of time on my knees asking forgiveness and giving thanks for it, but I can see where I want to go.
My goal is to stand before Christ and be rewarded for what I have done for Him. I know there will be a large crowd standing with me and Jesus will say we did well. He will say that He knows me and I am in the book of life. He will accept me into Heaven. Praise God for His mercy and grace.
So I am happy to be the branch. I am not concerned about the vine dresser. I will bear fruit as the Lord commands. I pray that you all find that thing the Lord has for you. There is comfort and pleasure in doing what pleases God. The peace of mind cannot be described by me. My hope is that each person will be blessed by God and as the Lord says, “Your cup runneth over”. Those blessings that run over will fall upon those around you. Just keep living the Word. Keep reading His word and pray for understanding. The Holy Spirit will show you the truth. Remember that we are called to lead others to the salvation given by grace from God Almighty. This is for all who would want it, free and available all the time. The best example is the thief on the cross. He had no time but the time with Christ on the cross and he was saved.
May the peace of God be with you,
AMEN