pruning

This is Jesus speaking here, talking to His disciples, as they walked along toward the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before Jesus was killed.

I doubt if He was being vague or obtuse - He was trying to say a lot to them before He was arrested.


I grew up on a small farm in southwest Ohio in the '50's & '60's.

We had a grape arbor on the east side of the back yard - probably 25' long, with 2 rows of grapevines - some read, some white.

What Jesus says here about grapevines is all true - I saw my mother do the kind of pruning Jesus suggests, for exactly the same reasons He describes.



John 15

1 "I am the true grapevine, 

and my Father is the gardener.

2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, 

and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

4 Remain in me, 

and I will remain in you. 

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, 

and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.



  5 "Yes, I am the vine; 

you are the branches. 

Those who remain in me, 

and I in them, 

will produce much fruit. 

For apart from me you can do nothing.

6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. 

Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.

7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, 

you may ask for anything you want, 

and it will be granted!

8 When you produce much fruit, 

you are my true disciples. 

This brings great glory to my Father.



  9 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. 

Remain in my love.

10 When you obey my commandments, 

you remain in my love, 

just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love.

11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 

Yes, your joy will overflow!

12 This is my commandment: 

Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

14 You are my friends 

if you do what I command.

15 I no longer call you slaves, 

because a master doesn't confide in his slaves. 

Now you are my friends, 

since I have told you everything the Father told me.


16 You didn't choose me. 

I chose you. 

I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, 

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, 

using my name.

17 This is my command: 

Love each other.

one way

This is Jesus talking to His disciples the night before He was killed.

I doubt if He was mincing words or being obtuse.

He was trying to give them as much information as He could, because He knew He would be dead soon.

I would think that would make any of us in similar situations to speak in a pretty straightforward manner.

I would think the Son of God would feel an even more keen sense of urgency.

In this passage, Jesus talks about Himself & His role in connecting us to God the Father.


So much for the argument "all paths/faiths lead to God"



John 14

1 "Don't let your hearts be troubled. 

Trust in God, 

and trust also in me.

2 There is more than enough room in my Father's home. 

If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?

3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, 

so that you will always be with me where I am.

4 And you know the way to where I am going."



  5 "No, we don't know, Lord," Thomas said. 

"We have no idea where you are going, 

so how can we know the way?"



  6 Jesus told him, 

"I am the way, 

the truth, 

and the life. 

No one can come to the Father except through me.

7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. 

From now on, you do know him and have seen him!"



  8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."



  9 Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, 

and yet you still don't know who I am? 

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! 

So why are you asking me to show him to you?

10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? 

The words I speak are not my own, 

but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.

11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. 

Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.



  12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, 

and even greater works, 

because I am going to be with the Father.

13 You can ask for anything in my name, 

and I will do it, 

so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, 

and I will do it!

we should be ashamed

So now I am giving you a new commandment:

Love one another.

Just as I have love you,

you should love each other.

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

John 13:34-35



This is Jesus speaking to His disciples the night before He was killed.


We should all be ashamed.


Loving one another is NOT what we are known for.


We've gone whoring for political power & "religious freedom".


Unfortunately, those of us who need to realize this the most are the very ones who are farthest from being & doing that.


And I don't know what it would take to bring loving as our main characteristic...


probably something catastrophic. 

2018 verses revisted

I need to remind myself of the verses I feel God has given me to hang on to during 2018

I didn't get these all at once, but accrued them over period of weeks prior to the start of 2018 or at the beginning.

Anybody see a thread here, a theme or general feeling? 



If you cling to your life, 
you will lose it;
but if you give up your life for me,
you will find it.
Matthew 10:39 (NLT, 1st ed.)


Then Jesus said,
Come to me,
all you who are weary
& carry heavy burdens.
& I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (NLT, 1st ed.)


No matter what happens,
always be thankful;
for this is God's will for you who follow Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT, 1st ed.)


Don't be afraid
or discouraged,
for the Lord is the one who goes before you.
He will be with you.
He will neither fail you
or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT, 1st ed.)


Don't throw away this confident trust in the Lord,
no matter what happens.
Remember the great reward it brings you.
Patient endurance is what you need now,
so you will continue to do God's will.
Then you will receive all that He has promised.
Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT, 1st ed.)


So take a new grip with your tired hands
& stand firm on you shakey legs,
Mark out a straight path for your feet
so that those who are weak & lame will not fall
but become strong.
Hebrews 12:12-13 (NLT, 1st ed.)


Be glad for all God is planning for you.
Be patient in trouble & always be prayerful.
Romans 12:12 (NLT, 1st ed.)


So don't get tired of doing what is good.
Don't get discouraged & give up,
for we will reap a harvest of blessing
at the appropriate time.
Galatians 6:9 (NLT, 1st ed.)


For God is not unfair.
He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him
& how you have shown your love to him by caring fot other Christians,
as you still do.
Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts,
in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.
Then you will not become spiritually dull & indifferent.
Instead,
you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises
because of their faith & patience.
Hebrews 6:10-12 (NLT, 1st ed.)

come

The Jesus said,

"Come to me,

all you who are weary

& carry heavy burdens,

& I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28



Anybody reading this weary?

Anybody carrying heavy burdens?

Anybody desperate?

Anybody clueless?

Anybody in an impossible place?

Anybody...?


The God of the universes says...

"Come..."


Let that sink in...


The One who made the whole universe, & keeps it running,

who is holy,

omnipotent,

the very essence of love...


He says to you & me the same thing...


"Come..."



So, why don't we?

good shepherd

This is Jesus talking here.

This is all I got this morning...



John 10

1 "I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!
2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. 
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.
5 They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice."


  6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn't understand what he meant,
7 so he explained it to them: 
"I tell you the truth, 
I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. 
But the true sheep did not listen to them.
9 Yes, I am the gate. 
Those who come in through me will be saved. 
They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.
10 The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. 
My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.

  11 "I am the good shepherd. 
The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. 
He will abandon the sheep because they don't belong to him and he isn't their shepherd. 
And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.
13 The hired hand runs away because he's working only for the money and doesn't really care about the sheep.

  14 "I am the good shepherd; 
I know my own sheep, 
and they know me,
15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. 
So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. 
I must bring them also. 
They will listen to my voice, 
and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
 
 17 "The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again.
18 No one can take my life from me. 
I sacrifice it voluntarily. 
For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. 
For this is what my Father has commanded."

C

This was the psalm I read yesterday...



Psalm 100

1 Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth!

2   Worship the LORD with gladness.


  Come before him, singing with joy.


3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God!


  He made us, 

and we are his.


  We are his people, 

the sheep of his pasture.



4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;


  go into his courts with praise.


  Give thanks to him and praise his name.


5 For the LORD is good.


  His unfailing love continues forever,


  and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

events prior to the Lord's 2nd coming

All I know is what Paul wrote in his second letter to the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica.



2 Thessalonians 2

1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.

2 Don't be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. 

Don't believe them, 

even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.

3 Don't be fooled by what they say. 

For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.

4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. 

He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.


  5 Don't you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?


6 And you know what is holding him back, 

for he can be revealed only when his time comes.

7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, 

and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.

8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, 

but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth 

and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.


  9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.

10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, 

because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.

11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, 

and they will believe these lies.

12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

5:18

1 Thessalonians 5:18


No matter what happens,
always be thankful,
for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
(NLT, 1st ed.)


In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (KJ21)


Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. (Amplified, classic)


Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus. (ERV)


give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (ESV)


Be thankful, whatever the circumstances may be. If you follow this advice you will be working out the will of God expressed to you in Jesus Christ. (J B Phillips)


thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. (The Message)


give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (NIV)


give thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. (This is God’s will for all of you in Jesus the Anointed.) (The Voice)



Sometimes, words fail me.

This verse started sticking in my thinking & spirit since December 23, 2009.

Every time I read it, it feels like God pokes me in the eye with it.

Most of the time since that morning it's been hard to live out.

And yet, He still pokes me with it.

Maybe because I'm not thankful, no matter what happens?

Or are there other lessons to be learned?

Sometimes it's hard to keep from being mad or resentful at the things that happen.

Sometimes it's just as hard to be thankful when nothing happens.

And sometimes being clueless about the whole thing is the most maddening part.

And yet, I keep on...

what is, is...

Jesus replied,
"I am the bread of life.
No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again.
Those who believe in me will never thirst."

John 6:35



You realize Jesus didn't mean actual, literal hunger & thirst?

He was talking about those hungers, longings, thirstings, wishes, desires...

iow, He was talking about that hole in our psyche that comes when we disconnect from God through sinning, & then try to maintain some sort of reasonable life on our own, under our own steam.


He said that hole will go away if we reconnect to God by connecting through Him.


It was a stupendously radical concept back then.

It still is.


And it still is exactly what happens.

oh my...

"This should be your ambition:

to live a quiet life,

minding your own business.

As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live..."

Paul, writing in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12a (NLT, 1st ed.)



oh my...

we have SO lost our way...

we've spent too much time & effort whoring after political power & "religious liberty"

on the way...

4John 4

3 At the end of the two days, Jesus went on to Galilee.

44 He himself had said that a prophet is not honored in his own hometown.

45 Yet the Galileans welcomed him, 

for they had been in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration and had seen everything he did there.



  46 As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. 

There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick.

47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.
  

48 Jesus asked, "Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?"



  49 The official pleaded, "Lord, please come now before my little boy dies."



  50 Then Jesus told him, 

"Go back home. Your son will live!" 

And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.


  51 While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well.

52 He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, 

"Yesterday afternoon at one o'clock his fever suddenly disappeared!"

53 Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, "Your son will live." 

And he and his entire household believed in Jesus.

54 This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea.



Sometimes, we have to simply believe what Jesus may say to us, 

because sometimes the miracle(s) we seek won't happen until we move forward in faith.


Just sayin'...