by Brandalynn Graham Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. (John 15:4-9) So what does abide really mean? What is God asking us to do when He asks us to “abide in Him?”
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Colossians 2:6) As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father (1 John 2:24). He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19). To abide in Jesus means to keep his commandments and to keep his commandments means to love God with all our hearts and souls and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37–39). One way that we display our love for God is through our trust, prayer, and devotion to him. We abide through relationship. Abiding in Christ means allowing His Word to fill our minds, direct our wills, and transform our affections. We abide in an intimate and personal relationship with our savior. We pursue in love. We pray in love. We obey in love. WE ARE CONNECTED to CHRIST . “The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.” (James Hudson Taylor)
“The resources of the Christian life, my friends, are just–Jesus Christ…. the many references to Christ in you, you in Christ, Christ our life, and abiding in Christ are literal, actual, blessed fact, and not figures of speech…Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with–better still, using us as one of the fingers of His hand.” (Charles C. G. Trumbull)
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by Evan Hunt I have always felt that God has had a purpose in my life and this has been on my heart for as long as I can remember. Recently, when reading Hebrews, this particular passage stood out to me. From what I noticed, Hebrews is a book of compare and contrast. The Old Covenant is compared to the New Covenant and the old ways are compared to the new ways. Here in Hebrews 9, the first covenant is described and this is when the sins needed to be atoned for continually. This was an arduous process and the sacrifices “ran out” and thus, the process needed to be repeated. Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lamp stand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. God set the stage here for a new covenant that is perfect. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and is able to save our sins completely and that sacrifice is once and for all for whoever believes in him. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. God has clearly shown that he has had purpose in the biggest ways possible. There are trials and hardships in your life and God is able to turn your circumstances into good in the end. He did this with Joseph in the latter part of Genesis. In Genesis 50, Joseph is talking to his brothers who sold him into slavery…throughout a series of events, Joseph was put in charge of Egypt by Pharaoh and rescued the land from famine. He says to his brothers in Genesis 50:20…”You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” In our human minds it is hard to see but God is using our present circumstances and trouble to achieve for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. God’s purpose through all of this will be clear to us one day. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. by Kyle Lindgren Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. I'm playing in a basketball league and the after my team won our game this past week, a gentleman on the other team said “thanks for taking it easy on us.” Now, I will admit, my team could have played a little harder than we did but holding back will not allow our opponent or his team to get better. One of the guys I coached with in Oklahoma always says “you have to play the best to be the best” and he lives by that. The end goal for him is to win a state championship and he has done it with 3 different schools. You will not be your best until the worst has been exposed. Once that happens, you realize what you need to work on and you start grinding to get better so that next time someone tries to expose your weakness, you will thrive and be prepared to adjust and keep moving. You will not be rattled because you know what to do. * When it comes to refining gold, you have to take out the impurities. In order to get pure gold you refine it by making it extremely hot. Once gold is in liquid form, you can take away all the impurities and put the liquefied gold into a mold to make bars, jewelry, or something else and the end result is beautiful but it took some hard work to get there. Gold – refinement – purification – complete. I don't know about you, but when things start heating up, it is not always enjoyable. Training for a marathon is not my definition of “fun.” Friends of mine will tell you that after they run 20 miles, they are whooped and in pain, but in order to run a marathon, you have to go through a process to build up your endurance. We have to go through trials and make a choice to grow through trials. When you see someone with incredible patience, it was not by accident that they became that way. When you see a professional athlete or musician, they have spent thousands of hours to get to that point. The book “Outliers” makes the case that to be a professional in anything, you need to spend 10,000 hours working on your craft. That's the equivalent of 20 hours per week for 10 years. Buddy Heild from OU is in the NBA right now because of his incredible work ethic. Growing up he lived in the same room with 6 siblings among many other things that helped him acquire his work ethic. It was unreal how much time he spent in the gym and even the announcers for the OU game last night game were talking about his amazing work ethic. Buddy also loves Jesus. I guarantee that through the hardship Buddy endured, it was not always easy to consider it pure joy but in the end, he became a better man for it. He made a choice to grow and because he persevered, it is literally paying off but before he ever made it to the OU and now the NBA, he paid for it in blood, sweat, and tears. After his Junior year at OU he improved his 3 point percent from 35.9% to 45.7% and shot over 300 3s for one of the best years in college history. He wanted to go pro and made other improvements to become the #6 pick in the draft. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” Jesus was mocked for not taking himself off the cross. He could have done it but for our sake, chose not to. Because of his sacrifice, we can spend eternity in Heaven. In order for Jesus to be the Savior, he had to die on a cross. Like Jesus, we have to go through things to be great. We have to be willing endure the hardships of life without giving up even when we feel like doing so. We have to persevere. We have to consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds and when we do, we will become mature and complete. Without the cross there's only condemnation by Larry Hernandez “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” “Without Holiness” The Bible teaches us that without sanctification, or holiness, no one will see the Lord. What does this mean for us? Does it mean, "I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't cuss, I don't look a porn, and I don't associate with those who do"? This is spoken tongue-in-cheek, of course, but in reality, in many circles one can pass for being a Christian, or at least a very devout person, simply by the absence of obvious vices or faults. Is that what holiness is all about? I know in beginning of my Christian walk 6 years ago, that's what i focused on, and even now can struggle with wanting to only control my sin. But only for the purpose of myself to avoid consequences. It is true that our path to holiness starts by ridding ourselves of evil deeds and influences, but that is just a start. From an eternal perspective, the reason we flee immorality and the deeds of the flesh is those things keep us from pursuing God. In the end, holiness is more about who we pursue than what we leave behind. We should be seeking a relationship with Jesus Christ. The true meaning of sanctification is that we set ourselves apart for him. (Psalm 4:3 Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.) The athlete is not concerned about weakness, but rather perfecting his strength so he can be victorious. Likewise, the soldier is not concerned about avoiding cowardice, because he is constantly preparing himself for battle. True holiness is not about looking backward, but about moving forward. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -Matthew 6:33 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:1-2 by Steven Nguyen “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” -1 Samuel 7:12 Well Happy New Year team! I know that there will be many blogs and sermons about starting the new year off well in regards to Bible reading and having a vibrant prayer life. My hope for our time together is for us to be in introspection within ourselves as we look back on the past year. Yesterday I spent some time at White Rock lake just getting alone with the Lord and reflecting on all that the Lord has done within my life this past year. This past year has been filled with trying times, heartbreak, transitions and a period of waiting in which I desire for the Lord to end quickly. Yet through it all, I can look back and see the Lord’s purposes and though the circumstances were not ideal, I would change nothing understanding what the Lord has produced in my life as far as intimacy with Him and godliness. In 1 Samuel 7, we see the nation of Israel repent of their sin, get rid of their idols and seek the Lord. As Samuel was offering a sacrifice before the Lord, the Philistines attacked. The Lord thundered a mighty sound against the Philistines and were defeated by Israel (1 Sam. 7:10). To remember the victory, Samuel took a stone, placed it in the ground and named it Ebenezer which means “stone of help.” From then on, whenever an Israelite saw the stone they would be reminded of how the Lord had protected them and defeated the Philistines. Now today, Ebenezer’s I believe could be moments in which you journal, worship songs that remind you of a time where the Lord had ministered to you, tangible gifts or items that remind you of a certain period of time. Looking back helps us to see and remind us that God is faithful and He is able as we go forward. So, before we start on our New Year resolutions of back squatting 500lbs, getting glorious biceps, keeping our cars clean for a date, diet plans and workout routines… Or that may just be me? I want us to consider these questions:
I pray that in the midst of an unseen future, that we as the people of God would keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus understanding that God is sovereign (Psalm 135:6), He holds and measures the universe in His hand (Isa. 40:12), that our days are numbered (Job 14:5) and that God loves you (John 3:16-17). As Moses was preparing for death and for Joshua to secede him in leading Israel to the promised land, Moses tells Joshua before all of Israel and states, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” “Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer.” –Jonathan Edwards |
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