Tag: Gospel

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My Father, the Gardener

Today’s Reading: John 15:1-16:33

“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.

John 15:1
God’s Role

This is the last of the “I AM” statements in the book of John, and a bit unique to the rest of the statements. Jesus not only identifies Himself in the statement but He also identifies the Father, saying “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener”. While Jesus has mentioned the Father in some of his other “I AM” statements or their explanations He was mentioned in connection to Jesus and who He was. However, by introducing the Father as the gardener who prunes the branches – we now see not only what role He plays in the life and ministry of Christ – but also in the life and ministry of His followers.

 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. 

John 15:2

Needless to say, God plays many roles in the lives of His people but oh the beauty of the gardener. Tending to our tender roots, watching over us and eager for us to grow healthy and strong. He prunes us so we will grow more fruit and He protects us from those branches that are bearing no fruit by taking them away. Because of the “Gardener”, I am able to stay attached to The True Vine, who keeps me from dying. I cannot survive apart from Him. He says when I remain in Him – a word He used often in this teaching – and He remains in me then I will bear much fruit. The fruit is dependent on a living thriving relationship where both parties are involved. He goes on to say that the Father or the gardener, as He is pictured here, is honored when we bear much fruit and show that we are His disciples.

As I read through this passage I’ve been reminded of my love of ferns and it hit me – I am their gardener. Not only are they a beautiful display of my favorite color but they are a soft and inviting foliage for any setting. I put ferns out from early spring to late fall every year. On the back porch they fill a variety of containers and can be seen from inside the home, enjoyed on the porch, or by the pool. On the front porch they hang from hooks, grace tables, line the steps and add beauty to old crocks. As their gardener they depend on me to water them, feed them, and on the front porch they especially need me to keep the birds from nesting in them, the beetles from eating them, and the sun from scorching them. Throughout the season I may have to cut away the occasional fronds that have turned brown or played host to a rogue beetle or two. It hurts me just a bit to do this but I know they will be better because of it. I love watching them grow and I delight in their personalities greatly affected by the amount of light and temperatures. I rotate them often giving them equal time to share in the sun and shade. I realize, as I type this, that they sound like a lot of care or work but they bring me joy and add beauty to our home. To borrow a line from Jesus about the Father, I am honored when they bear more and more beauty reflecting the love and care they have been given.

Symbolism and Application

The symbolism for me is this – Just like my ferns are a beautiful display of my favorite color, we are to be a beautiful display of Jesus, God’s only begotten Son. We are to be an attractive reminder of Him- the One of whom God said, “I am well pleased”. We are to surrender to the “gardener’s” pruning and remain in the vine, so that we can bear much fruit and show that we are His. In this way we honor the Father. Much like a home adorned with beautiful ferns, our lips should flow with the message of Christ and our lives are to be adorned with the fruit of His Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control should define the landscape of our lives – the chief of which is LOVE. For “they will know we are Christians by our love”.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

I do not own the rights to this chorus but borrowed it from https://wordtoworship.com/song/14526

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Spoiler Alert …

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Today we’re reading John 1:12-22, and the SOAP passage is John 1:22

After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.

John 1:22

The End Before the Beginning

Both of my daughters love to read, however, one of them is known to – and even enjoys starting in the back of the book just to see how it ends. It drives me crazy, I don’t want to know the ending I want to follow along from the beginning and imagine along the way where or how it will end. For Abi though it somehow makes the journey a bit better when she knows where she’s going and exactly what is going to happen at the end of the destination. She’s not a surprise me kind of girl. As I began to write the outtake of this passage this quirky little habit of hers came to mind as I reflected on the oddness of John’s spoiler alert, not only that Jesus died but that He had been raised from the dead. WHAT? Didn’t we just ‘see’ Him as He was traveling through Galilee meeting disciples turning water into wine? Yes, we did, but John has a point to make throughout his Gospel that causes him to take a different approach than the other three. Instead of sharing these details at the end of Jesus’ ministry he shares them right up front and let’s the listener/reader know the end almost before the beginning. Why such a spoiler alert? Simply put, it is a way of letting the people know who He is and giving them proof all along the way that confirms what they’ve already been told and deepens the roots of their faith.

The Benefit of Remembering

“His disciples remembered that He (Jesus) had said this.” Of all the lines in this 11 verse passage, I believe this is my favorite. It seems to me that it is the key to our believing and finding hope in the difficult times of life. To have the Word planted in us and then see it coming alive around us not only deepens the roots of our faith but it heightens our senses to His work and presence in and around us. It’s a great example of why it’s important and beneficial to follow God’s instructions to teach the Scriptures diligently to our children and talk about them when we are at home or when we walk along the road, or lie down and get up, 1 and perhaps why Solomon wrote the words of Proverbs 4:20-22, telling his son not to lose sight of His words but to let them penetrate his heart, emphasizing that they were life to those who find them and healing to their whole body. God’s Word is important, it is valuable beyond measure and it is meant to be remembered. So important is ‘remembering’ to the deepening of our faith that God gave us His Spirit to teach us and to remind us of everything Jesus said (John 14:26).

They Believed

Note what happens after they remembered … “they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.” We have to be careful to understand they had already believed in Jesus and had chosen to follow Him as disciples – but what they had believed was now solidified with more proof. Their confidence in who Jesus was – was being strengthened – and yet again, the roots of their faith were growing deeper.

Have you believed in Jesus? Have you trusted that He is who He says He is – the Son of God, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world? I plead with you to keep reading, keep listening, and remember what you have seen and heard about Him. – I would love to know if you have believed – so that I can send you a small gift and a tool to help you grow in your new life of faith. Email me at mryelnb@aol.com

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved – For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Acts 16:31 and John 3:16

Today

The benefits of ‘remembering’ are still the same today. Whether we memorize Scripture, remember verses from our childhood, have them on notecards, read the Scriptures daily, or the Spirit reminds us of one – the benefit of being familiar with God’s Word is great comfort in times of stress and strife, it is courage for our fears, peace that guards our hears and minds as we live in Christ Jesus. it is a lamp to guide us in our decisions and a light that illuminates God’s will and way. It is protection when we are tempted and strength when we are weak. It’s benefits are actually countless and invaluable to our faith. So, we must do well at following Solomon’s words of wisdom and not allow ourselves to lose sight of God’s Word, what He has done or said , but rather let it penetrate our hearts and minds – for, as the Proverb says, His words will bring life to those who find them and healing to our whole body, and they will help us not sin against Him. We would be wise to keep our minds on Him the giver of “perfect peace”, on His Word, His accomplishments, and His mission so that our faith roots grow deeper, our trust is strengthened and we are able to share the message with others.

Thanksgiving

Father, thank you for the richness of Your Word – the promises and the fulfillments. The hope and the confidence we gain from it is priceless. It is the power to save and the strength to continue. Help us to fix our eyes on You – to remember the battle is over and the victory is won!

Me from the Inside Out –

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Jesus – The Word and The Creator

Grab your favorite Bible and read John 1:1-18; SOAP: John 1:1-4

In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.

John 1:1-4

John was born and sent by God to be the one who prepared the way for “the Lord”, the Messiah to come, (Luke 1:1-25 and 67-80). While Jesus was not yet with John, we find John introducing Him in the very first verse of John’s Gospel. He doesn’t introduce Him as a baby in a manger or a name at the end of a long line of genealogy – but he boldly proclaims Him as “the Word” … as One being with God in the very beginning – we’re talking Genesis 1:1 beginning – before creation was spoken into being beginning. John not only says that Jesus was with God in the beginning but he introduces Him … as being God and as being used by God in the creation of everything – “Nothing was created except through Him.” The other word John uses to describe Jesus is life – “life that brought light to everyone”. The importance of that last statement, “brought light to everyone”, is made clear in verse 5 where we are told that His light shines in the “darkness” but the darkness does not overcome it. Jesus will explain this part of Himself later in John 8. For now just let John’s description settle over you for a moment – Jesus, the very word of God … with God in the beginning … God Himself … Life and Light. The One, who though He was God, came and took on flesh to offer us the hope of eternal security wasn’t dreamed up when all else failed – He was there in the beginning.

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John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

In our passage today we are introduced to John the Baptist. This isn’t the first reference to John in the Scriptures. As Matthew shares in 3:3, Isaiah proclaimed John would come. Matthew affirms the prophecy with his own introduction of John by introducing him not only as one living in the Judean wilderness but as one proclaiming the message of Jesus. Matthew also paints a picture of John for us by describing his preaching style, the way he dressed, what he ate, and how the people were attracted to him, but even better, how they responded to his message by repentance and turning to God.

People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

Matthew 3:5-6

However, the words that really captured my attention today are found in verses 8 and 9, where John addresses the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come to “watch” the baptism. He calls them out – demanding them to prove with their lives that they have repented and turned to God. He warns them not to think they are safe simply because they are descendants of Abraham.

8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 9 Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 

Matthew 3:8-8

This is the true message of the Gospel and of the Savior John was preaching, and we would do well to heed the warning. Our salvation isn’t based on whether or not our parents are Christians or if we go to church … Nor does it matter if we attended a Christian school or can recite Bible verses from Genesis to Revelation, and have read through the Bible every year of our life. It isn’t based on our good deeds, bad deeds, or our knowledge of who God is. Salvation is based on faith alone in Christ alone. God’s Word says that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and not by our own efforts or works (Ephesians 2:8-9). No matter how hard or long we try we will never be good enough to earn salvation. Only God, by His grace and His mercy through Christ, can give us our salvation. It is a gift freely given to all who place their faith in Christ Jesus, the only “begotten”, sinless Son of God who died in our place – so that we could become the sons and daughters of God.

May we be careful not to place our hope and faith in what we know, or do, or for that matter what we don’t do – but rather in Jesus alone, the one who came, not to condemn the world but in order to save the world.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:17
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Friendship: Week 1, Thursday — How Friendship Displays the Gospel

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READ: JOHN 13:35 AND 2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-20; SOAP: JOHN 13:35

John 13:35 New Living Translation

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

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 New Living Translation

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

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Intently

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Today’s Reading

Jesus, knowing Nicodemus was both a Jew and a Pharisee, wanted him to know the most important truth – that knowing and/or acknowledging He was from God would not gain Him the kingdom of God. Christ wanted Nicodemus to know that his position in life nor anything he could do, nor any knowledge he attested to could gain him access to the Kingdom of God. He made it clear that only by God giving him life through His Spirit – would he be allowed to enjoy such a privilege. The words Nicodemus spoke were true -Jesus was from God. However, Christ knew his heart and didn’t settle for the “right words” neither did He ignore the words, but instead addressed them by delivering the truly life-changing message of the Gospel.

There is, I believe, a secondary lesson here for believers as well – James’ words that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17) seems fittingly applied – perhaps, even more rightly applied – to knowledge. We cannot just know what God’s Word says and affect change. We must live according to what His Word says, and can only hope to truly do this by the power of His Spirit in us. Think of the disciples – the Gospels teach us that they walked with Jesus, studied under Him, and served with Him for three years – however, the real, lasting, and distinctive change came only after they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8 and 2:1 and following). Christ, Himself, said it was better for Him to go away so that they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). He is Christ’s power in us. It is only through His presence that we are able to be the light and salt and spread the hope of eternal life to those who may know the right words but not the true and living God.

So, here’s my encouragement for today – Let’s live and love like Jesus, who listened intently and spoke boldly. Let’s not be satisfied with merely knowing God but let’s seek a relationship with Him and walk according to the Spirit. When we do this, people will see that we, as Nicodemus said about Jesus, are from God. Then, we – like Jesus – will have the opportunity to give an answer for the hope that is within us.