The Vine and the Branches

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:1-4

Branches display the beautiful leaves and lovely blossoms of the vine. The blossoms then mature into the wonderful fruit of the vine. However, the branch cannot do anything of itself; the branch is totally dependent upon the vine. If the branch is dislodged from the vine, it withers and dies. The branch can only produce when it is connected to and nourished by the vine.

Branches that do not produce are removed, while fruit-bearing branches are pruned (or cleaned) to help them keep producing. The part of the branch that is no longer useful is taken away so that the branch can be revived. In the same way, God purifies all Christians so they may be more useful. He does this by taking away that which hinders our usefulness.

What hinders your usefulness? Relinquish those things today. Fully surrender yourself to the working of the vine so that you may be the bearer of beautiful fruit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a

Merciful God, I surrender fully to You. Mold me and make me after Your will. I pray the fruit of the Spirit be manifest in me for Your honor and Your glory. Amen.

God Bless!

How Do We Honor God?

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14

If you read Isaiah 58 you will find the people were being chastised because their worship was not sincere—they were going through the motions of worship. We honor God by obeying Him; in word, in actions, in attitude, etc.

Paul, in Ephesians 5:1, writes, we are to, “be imitators of God…and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We are not to be deceived—for God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient (v. 6).

Christ is the light of the world and we are to live as children of the light (v. 8); honoring God, as imitators of Him; obedient to Him. Simply going through the motions, acting as the “Great Pretender” will get you nothing but the wrath of God. On the other hand, honoring God through obedience will bring blessing. Note the order here is obedience first; then blessing!

(Remember: “be imitators of God”, denotes action!)

God Bless!

Victory in Jesus

No weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the LORD. Isaiah 54:17

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:16, 17, 20

Our pastor is fond of saying, “Folks, I’ve seen the end of the book and we win.” It’s true for we have victory in Jesus.

How about you? Are you on the winning team? You can be and Jesus wants you to be. Surrender your life to Him today. Repent of your sin today in heartfelt prayer. Confess your need for the Savior and ask Him to come into your life. Celebrate victory in Jesus.

God Bless!

Righteousness Through Faith

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. Romans 3:21-22

The law made man aware of his sin. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, a man is convicted of sin and drawn to the Father through the Son. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him”, John 6:44a.

How does the Father draw men to Him? He does this through the work of the Holy Spirit. In telling His disciples of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment”, John 16:8b.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to guide men to the truth of God, convicting them of their sin and their need of the Savior. Acceptance of the truth of God, response to the conviction of sin and the realization of their need for a Savior, brings men to salvation in Christ Jesus—righteousness through faith to all who believe. Adrian Rodgers said, “The law says you must earn salvation, while the Gospel says salvation is a gift.”

Have you received the gift of salvation? If not, do so today. Stop; pray—repent of your sin and confess your need for a Savior. Ask Jesus to come into your life; He’s waiting for you.

God Bless!

Taste and See

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8

Eden=God's perfect world.
Sin=mankind's fall.
Jesus Christ=redemption.

The entire theme of the Bible is redemption and restoration. In the Old Testament, Jesus Christ is predicted; in the Gospels, He is revealed; in the Acts, He is preached; in the epistles, He is explained; in the Revelation, He is expected. AMEN!

God seeks an intimate, personal, loving relationship with you. He is calling your name; are you listening; are you answering His call? Taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

God Bless!

The Purposeful Hand of God

"This is what the LORD says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you
and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me", Isaiah 45:1-5,NIV

God uses those who do not know Him to accomplish His purpose. The above text references Cyrus (the Persian; mentioned in the Old Testament books of 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Isaiah, and Daniel). Even though Judah would be taken into captivity they would be preserved and the walls of Jerusalem and the temple would be rebuilt under the order of Cyrus.

In Isaiah 46:9-10, God declares that He is a God like no other for He knows everything from the beginning of time to the end of time and He says in verse 10: “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

The children of Israel, while they have suffered greatly (e.g., WWII), they will never be completely annihilated; there will always be a remnant. God, the Creator, has declared it and so shall it be; His word always stands.

God’s perfect purpose is always accomplished in His perfect timing. God’s revelation “will certainly come and will not delay” and “the righteous will live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:3-4). Amen.

God Bless!

God the Father

Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
Punish him with the rod
and save his soul from death.
My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad; Proverbs 23:13-15

As parents, in our eagerness to provide our children with all the best we sometimes forget character is built; not bestowed. How differently we teach our own children compared to how God teaches us as His children. However, as parents, we are certainly able to realize more fully the heartache God feels when we disobey Him.

Praise God for His love, His mercy, and His grace!

God Bless!