The Vine

John 15:5

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

OK. Here Jesus is saying He is the vine, and we are the branches. He is talking to those who follow Him, those who are His own. By vine He's saying HE is our sustenance. He sustains us and supplies us with what we need. A branch does not sustain a vine. What the branch needs is brought up from the vine. (I highly recommend reading verses 1-8 for a better understanding, and to read it in it's context.) The Father is the one who prunes the branches in order that they would bear much fruit. It's really quite wonderful to see this analogy in the physical. When a skilled (for lack of a better or proper word) plant guy severs a branch from another tree or vine, he can graft it into another tree or vine by cutting a place into the vine and strapping the newcomer branch right into it. As it's watered and gets sustenance and sunlight the new branch will grow right into the vine and it will seem as if it was always there. There are folks who do that down here, as we are in an agricultural area (citrus mainly) and many different grapefruits and oranges are grafted together many times. There can be one tree with both naval and juice oranges on it. Or two different types of grapefruit on one tree. Jesus really explains our salvation in such a clear way here. If we are cut away from Him, we will die. We can do NOTHING without Him. Once we've been grafted into the family of God (see John 1:12-13) if we choose to cut ourselves off that vine, which is Jesus, we will wither away, and we will NEVER be happy. Once we've tasted that love, that unsurpassed love.......we can't ever be satisfied with anything less. Now, what does it mean to "abide"? Well I looked up the word in the dictionary and there are several definitions, but here are the one that apply. Abide is defined as, and I quote: "to endure without yielding" and "to accept without objection". To accept what without objection? The leadership of Christ in our lives. Another applicable definition is: "to remain stable or fixed in a state". Stand strong in the knowledge that it is Jesus who supplies all your needs, and sustains you through even the bleakest times. It's very difficult to thank God for the trouble, and kind of silly when you think about it. But we are learning to thank Him that He will lead us through that trouble and work it out for our good, as He promises in Romans 8:28. Have a great day, and a blessed weekend everyone. I will be out of town most of the week, so I may or may not be posting much during next week, but we'll see. TTFN and God bless. :-) Pastor James

Take My Son

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would
often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in
battle while rescuing another soldier.

The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety
when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art."

The young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have
this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the
personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears.

He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who
will bid for this picture?"

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one."

But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"

But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

"We have $10, who will bid $20?"
"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel.
"Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."

"What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a
secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever
bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"
***
God gave His Son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross.
Much like the auctioneer, His message today is:
"The son, the son, who'll take the son?"
Because, you see, whoever takes The Son, gets everything...

John 3:16-21
16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

I don't sent through stuff like this very often at all......but I especially liked this one. Especially since it coincides with what we've been studing. Have a great day and God bless. :-) James

Keep His Commands???

Titus 3:4-7

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Here, we are following up on yesterday's message with more biblical evidence of God's great love for us. Also, I guess I'm reiterating what I said yesterday about it not being about works. Don't get me wrong, good works are paramount in the Christian faith (see James 2:14-26), but they have nothing to do with your salvation. It's my adoration of Christ that compels me to do good to others as He has commanded me to. See, He said that those who love Him, would keep His commands. And if you want to be technical about it, which commands did Jesus say were the most important?

Matthew 22:34-37

Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

And by the way, both of those that Jesus quoted were from the Old Testament. We keep His word, because we love Him. He is merciful and saved us when we didn't deserve it. How then can we be hateful and unforgiving with those who've wronged us? We were grafted in to the vine, to the family of God. Not so much adopted as some may view it, but we were transformed, given a new birth, and a new birthright as children of God through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. We inherited generational diseases from our natural families........IE diabetes, heart disease, and other inherited afflictions. But now that we are born again, we have a NEW inheritance. Don't expect to get cancer just because your father or grandfather had it! That family curse is BROKEN by the blood of Jesus. Speak that out loud even if you are by yourself, and break that curse over your life. You don't have to receive that sickness or disease because through Jesus you have new blood flowing through your veins. He has given you a spiritual and physical blood transfusion. All things are passed away, behold, all things have become new! Right? Believe it, receive it, and speak it. Don't speak negatively about what you may inherit from relatives from the past. Speak positively about what you have received in Christ.......through His shed blood. Don't we read in

Isaiah 53:5

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

There are 39 major types of disease (not sure where I heard that, can't confirm positively) that exist in man. Jesus was struck 39 times by the cat of nine tails. Coincidence? I think not. (But even if there aren't 39 types of disease in man, that doesn't do away with the word of God.) We believe Jesus paid for our salvation, and that's great, but let's also believe for the other things He paid for. If the waiter at the restaurant you were eating at came up to you and said that someone paid your bill......would you then get up and go to pay the bill? No, of course not. In fact, you would tell the cashier, "I was willing to pay the bill, but the waiter told me it had already been paid for." You wouldn't pay it again. So why do we try to pay for what Jesus already paid for? Hehehehe. It sounds kind of silly when you put it into perspective like that. Now I'm not telling you not to go to the doctor, and not to take medicine you're currently taking. God uses that too. But when you KNOW that you've been healed, go to your doctor and let him/her check you out, and VERIFY that you've been healed. Don't let a preacher or a fellow Christian tell you to not take your medicine. Let the Dr tell you that when he confirms your healing. God can, and does still heal people. Even when Jesus healed people He told them to show themselves to the priests. They were the physical and spiritual doctors of His day. Oh my.......I've done it again.....another long post. Hehehe. Hey, get a preacher going, and look out. Have a great day and God bless. :-) James

Alive in Christ

Galatians 2:20-21

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

Paul is making quite a statement here. He's saying that he is dead! Wow. Are we dead yet? Is that old guy/gal you used to be dead, or is he/she still alive and kicking? Is Christ seated on the throne of our heart, or are we still ruling and reigning from there? One thing is clear in Paul's statement here.......his trust in the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross to forgive his sins. He's not trusting in his own ability to keep this law or that law; which was the case in the old covenant. We are part of a NEW covenant, not sealed with the blood of goats, sheep, or bulls, but sealed with the precious blood of Jesus. Every year the high priest used to have to make atonement for the sins of the people, and for his own sins. He sprinkled the blood of a perfect lamb (one without spot or blemish) on the mercy seat in the holy of holies in the temple. But Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God. Unblemished by sin and perfect in all respects. His blood sealed our salvation once and for all. He doesn't need to die for our sins every year, every 1,000 years, or every 1,000,000,000,000,000 years. Once we receive that free gift of salvation, we are sealed and our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Eeeeeeeeeeee glory! All the sin I committed last year, 10 years ago, 20 years ago......it's all gone. And it's as if it never occurred. There is no record of it written in heaven. As I've mentioned in several of my last posts, there books written about the children of God. The book that records your every tear (Psalm 56:8). The one that records every time you speak about the goodness of God, and His word (Malachi 3:16). And of course, the one we already mentioned......the Lambs Book of Life. There is no Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal, or other sections of heaven. There is only one heaven and it is reserved for the blood bought children of God. Read the biblical descriptions of heaven. The best thing about heaven is, Jesus is there! All the patriarchs of the faith are also there. Imagine talking to King David, Moses, Enoch,.......some may say they're looking forward to punching Adam in the face. Hey now........that sounds like the old man...not the new one. Hehehehehe. If you don't like praise and worship, chances are you won't be happy in heaven. There will definitely be a lot of that there. Also in heaven, there won't be any need for faith. We'll see Jesus face to face, no need for faith then. There won't be any need for hope, our hope is right in front of us. But love, will indeed endure forever (1st Corinthians 13:13). Have a wonderful folks. Keep smiling, Jesus loves you and He's on your side. :-) James

Good stuff

2nd Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

What a wonderful prayer! When dismissing the church from a service, my uncle prays this prayer. It's a wonderful way of saying farewell until we meet again. It pretty much covers all the bases in a short sentence. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Grace in all areas of your life. Physical, spiritual, mental, financial, and in every area may He shed His grace upon you......may you find favor where ever you are, in whatever you are doing. Wow. May the labor of your hands produce much fruit, and prosperity. May the love of God be with you. That love that's never selfish, or self seeking......may that love be with you, in you, and work through you. Eeeeee glory! And may the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. May you hear directly from God concerning all the issues in your life. May you walk in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit without measure that you would see marvelous signs and wonders on a daily basis. So much said in such a small farewell. I sure do pray that everyone receives Jesus, and gets their ticket to heaven paid for by Jesus death on the cross, and sealed by His resurrection. The time is growing short, and I know many will say, "We've heard that for two thousand years." and that's true. But the world ends for someone every single day. How shocked you are when you open up the newspaper and glance at the obituaries only to see a friend of many years who died at too young an age? I guess the older we get, the older that "young age" climbs as well. When I was a teenager, man 25 was OLD. Now that I'm older than that.....hehehehe (37) those dying at 45 and 55 seem really young. We don't have the luxury of going back and asking them if they know Jesus. That opportunity has passed. Do you want to know an alarming statistic? Of those who receive Jesus prior to the age of 18, 90 percent will be Christians their whole lives. Many may stray, but they will come back from their backslidden state to serve the Lord again. Those who don't receive Jesus prior to the age of 18, 90 percent never will. Now of course, God can do anything, and He can blow any statistic right out of the water. But what a sobering thought! We need to reach out to the youth, not look down our noses at them. First and foremost we need to be good role models for them. We need to show them we love them. Not just tell them, but show them. How about sponsoring a Christian youth night at your church, or contacting a Christian band to put on a concert? There are so many things that we can do to reach the youth. Perhaps have someone sing and play the guitar at church (or other venue) and invite the kids to come after their football games on friday night. Sure it'll be a late event, but how much is a soul worth? Priceless, right? We need to quit complaining about the way things are and say, "Here am I Lord, send me!" If you do that, He will answer you, and He will send you. He'll give you ideas, probably better than the ones I mentioned. (A friend of mine told me about the after football game thing.......that was great.) If we strive to reach out to the youth, we can indeed reach them, but we must be willing. And sometimes we must be willing to do things that don't make much sense to us, but will open up a whole avenue of understanding to a teenager. Let the Lord lead you, and as Nike says, "Just do it!" Have a great day folks. Sorry it's been so long in between blogs.....I'll do better. TTFN (ta ta for now) and God bless. :-) James