God the Gardener

 

    God is the creator of all life.  He cares about everything He created.  However, if it does not bare fruit, then he will cut it off.  Anyone can claim to be a Christian, but if you do not live the Christian life, then you will be cut off from eternal peace and glory with God.    

    The people that care cut off will be discarded and burn for eternity.  The soul is eternal.  It feels more intensely than your body.  It will not be consumed by the flames.  Instead the soul will endure eternal agony with no relief.  The day of judgement is when the pruning happens and once it happens, it will not be reversed.

    If you are a true Christian, then you are saved by the grace of God through faith and following Jesus.  Your salvation is what sustains you in life.  If provides blessings, but that does not mean you will not face trails and tribulations.  Endure for now because the reward in Heaven is eternal.  It will not be taken away.

    To follow Jesus is to become more like God in how you think and face the world.  It does not make you a god.  It does not make you better than anyone else.  It makes you blessed and opens your eyes to the truth, so you do not live like a carnal Christian or worse a non Christian with no hope.

    God has made it clear to all who want to know how to have salvation.  If you don't want to know, then you can't complain about the consequences.  In reality, only God and you know the true status of your salvation.  People will speculate and judge, but God is the only one that matters.  

    If you have questions about your salvation or how you are living as a Christian, then test yourself.  Do not go easy on yourself.  It is better to know who you are in Christ now rather than face judgment later.  When you understand that your salvation is real and eternal, then you can really start to grow and live free now.  All you have to do is seek a connection and a true relationship with God. 

Matthew 7:21-23, John 15:1-17, Romans 8:26-30, & 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Remain in Jesus

 

    If you want confidence, self-assurance, and an inner calm to be able to handle all things in life, then you need to remain in Jesus.  What does it mean to remain in Jesus?  It means that you are prayerfully in God's Word and that you try to apply it to your daily life.  You ask questions and look for meaning in life in how it applies to your relationship with Jesus.

    If you remain in Jesus it is determined by the person you are and how you prioritize your life.  Jesus showed us how to love through his gift of salvation.  He loves you so much that God wants a personal relationship with you.  He does not look down on you.  He wants to be with you in every aspect of life.

    To remain in Jesus produces fruit in your life.  You see that through answered prayers, your influence in the lives of those around you, and a strong value set up around God's values.  You understand what true love is and feel loved.  You are transformed into a strong person that walks confidently in life.  You choose to be obedient as an act of love.  

    When you abide in Jesus, doing the right things becomes the natural response.  You learn how to love other people the way Jesus loves people.  It is about building relationships and having fellowship.  The love you hold enables you to worship God at any time.  You discover that you have complete joy even when you are not happy.  It resides deep in your soul.

    If you want to feel complete in life, then you need to abide in Jesus.  It is the only way to hold onto inner peace.  It is your choice on how you approach God and how close you will be with Him, but the closer you are the better your life is.  If you are a Christian, then you need to live out your faith.  Appearances will not get you anywhere.  Faith is the only way.

John 15:5-17 & 1 John 2:24-25

Jesus is the Vine

 

    Jesus is the life giving source which makes him the vine in the garden parable.  He is the source of life by what he did: life, death, resurrection, and ascension.  While we wait for his return, we have true hope because we know the truth.

    One way that Jesus is the vine of life to us today are his teachings.  He teaches us how to live a truly transparent life of a believer and follower.  He is not physically here on earth, but we are able to abide in him by using the Bible.  He shows us that what we do in life does not define who we are.  He defines who we are and our worth.

    Christianity is more than a title or declaration.  It is about how we live everyday of our lives.  It reveals who we are and how we have changed from the person we once were.  It is the central aspect of our lives.

    Jesus shows us the value of all life.  He reveals the importance of marriage and family.  He is personal enough to show you your beauty, worth, and love.  To be a part of his family means that you have to put away selfishness.  Life if not all about you.

    In marriage it is not about the wedding.  The wedding it one day.  It is about building a life with Jesus in the center of the relationship.  It is about becoming true partners: no lies, secrets, or singlemindedness.  Marriage is a commitment.  You chose your spouse, so honor them.  It is a contract between you, your spouse, and God to take care of each other and put away foolishness.  

    In marriage, you are connected for life in a holy, loving, and abiding union.  Marriage and family are serious and life changing.  Do not enter into it lightly.  It unites you to God in a new way.  It shows you how life is not all about you and that you are not alone.  If it is done God's way, then it is a blessing.  

Psalm 1, Matthew 26:50-54, & John 15:1-17

The True Vine

 

    Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light.  He is the true vine that connects people (the fruit) to the root system (Holy Spirit).  We are all tended to by the gardener(God).  Without Jesus the fruit would wither and die.  They would be crushed by the weeds, the wild, and the elements.  He is the connection.

    God is the master gardener.  He tends to his crops.  He takes care of those that are His.  He protects them.  He separates them from the world.  His fruit are His disciples.  We are the people that choose to follow Him and try to be like Jesus.

    The garden scene is common.  Who cannot relate to food.  Everyone understands the basics of how we get food.  A gardener understands the work that goes into making fruit grow and become tasty.  Disciples understand that you have to invest time and effort into your relationship with God to grow, become productive, and thrive.

    The true vine grabs your attention to understand God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  It is a simplified way to understand their relationship that is beyond human comprehension.  It may be beyond us, but that does not mean that we can't understand the concept.

    We need to connect with Jesus.  We don't need a nation, race, or religion to define who we are.  We need to see ourselves through God's perspective.  The perspective is out there.  It makes people uncomfortable.  It shattered the Jewish culture and changed it forever to include anyone who wants to follow Jesus.

    It is your connection with Jesus that makes you worthy.  He made his sacrifice for your benefit and to make you clean.  He paid the price for your sins, so that you can be fed and fulfilled without being broken.  A life with Jesus is a life full of faithful promises.

Psalm 1, John 15:1-17, & Revelations 21:3-7

Destroy Doubt

 

    Jesus is God.  He is God in the son format.  He is God in a human body.  He did choose to die because he could have stopped it.  He could have stopped it because he is all powerful, but he held back almost all his power to live among people.  He rose himself from the dead to show people who he really is for 40 more days.  Then he ascended to Heaven in his human body, still alive.

    You may have doubts about these facts.  You may have doubts about how he lived his life.  You may have doubts about many aspects of the truth that comes from the Bible.  That is okay as long as you are willing to work through them.  Are you open to something different than what you understand?  You have to be to destroy doubt.

    Jesus can't be denied.  You can deny him until you die, but one day you will face him.  What will your excuse be on why you chose not to believe?  There are so many witnesses that did not know each other that encountered Jesus.  That encounter became their testimony and people like Luke went and sought them out to record their testimony for the Bible.

    People who sought the truth and listened to God are the people who wrote the Bible.  It was written by several different people over a span of 2,000 years more or less, but it was God breathed (inspired).  If you can allow yourself to believe in the truth about Jesus, then you can face him in death with a clear conscience.  The reality is that He is the only way to salvation.  How you get there will vary, but He is the only way.

    Some of the biggest persecutors of followers of Jesus became believers.  Saul became Paul after his conversion.  It still happens today.  People who hate everything about Jesus encounter him and become Christians.  They didn't want it, but once you meet him, you can't deny who he is.  They are not meeting him face to face, but he reaches out to them where they are.  He is trying to do the same with you too.

    Jesus' resurrection is all encompassing power.  It started with the earth responded like an earthquake.  The dead began to rise for a while.  Faith came alive in a new way.  All the blockers that kept people away from God were removed.  It became a lot easier to have a real relationship with God.  The truth was released, so that we can live free now and face Jesus as part of the family later.

Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 27:50-54, Hebrew 11:1-3, & James 1:2-8

Jesus Defeated Death

 

    When Jesus died on that cross death was defeated.  Death did not come to take Jesus.  Instead, Jesus gave up his own life to defeat death.  He chose his own last breath to free all of us from the invisible bounds to death.

    We know that Jesus defeated death because moments after his last breath, people that were dead start to rise.  It was not like the horror movies.  They were not zombies looking to eat brains.  They came back to life to live a real life a little longer.  The part that people sometimes seem to miss is that it was only followers of Jesus that rose from the dead.  Everyone else was already facing their eternity.

    Resurrection is power.  Jesus rose himself from death just like he entered death.  It was not a subtle way of showing just how powerful he is, but some people still seemed to find a way to ignore it.  His resurrection gives hope.  If you are true Christian, then you understand that once you die, that you will enter eternity with him.  We don't know all the details and there is a lot of mystery, but we don't have to be afraid of the change.

    The reality is that Jesus is the only way to have eternal peace.  He is the only way to escape eternal death.  His life, death, and resurrection made it possible.  Eternal resurrection is our eternal fruit for having a relationship with God.  Our resurrection is be physical and spiritual one day.  That can be trusted.

    If you follow Jesus and have a real relationship with him, then you are no longer bound to your sin.  This means that death no longer has a claim on your soul.  You can face the rest of your life with a little less weight or distractions.  You can claim your salvation and live in freedom from eternal death.  If you choose not to follow Jesus, then you will follow death to your eternal home: lake of fire.

Matthew 27:50-53, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, 1 John 1:5-7, & Revelations 20:11-15

Jesus Relationship

 

    The relationship you with Jesus defines our life.  It is the most important relationship that you can have.  He died for you, but he didn't stay dead.  He rose up and defeated death in that moment.  He enabled us to defeat everything that tries to destroy us.  He removed the fear of death, so when you do face it you know you will rise up somewhere better.

    Jesus gives you direct access to God.  When He left earth (alive), he also left a gift to all who choose to follow him.  He left the Holy Spirit to reside in all true Christians.  The Holy Spirit is your intimate guide that will never lead you astray.

    When Jesus died, the curtain tore from top to bottom in the Synagogue.  The curtain kept people out of the most holy place that was only for God and a select few at certain times.  The curtain was 80 ft tall and very heavy.  Only God could have done that.  It was His way of saying what kept you away is now open for anyone to enter.

    When Jesus died, the earth shook.  It has never shaken for anyone before or since.  It was like the earth understood the momentous occasion more than God's people.  When the earth shook the doors to heaven opened through supernatural power.

    Jesus was the final and last blood offering that God would ever acknowledge.  It has no meaning if people continue to do them.  His blood is the only pure blood that ever existed.  That is why Christianity is not a title, but a lifestyle of sacrificing your sinful nature to follow Jesus.  He makes who you are crystal clear if you look at yourself through his blood.

    When you choose faith over what is natural, you are changed.  You are brought close to Jesus in a real way.  It is not emotion, but a fact.  It brings big feelings, but that is a human response to something wonderful happening to you.  

    Jesus is the new High Priest.  He is the one that will take your confessions and forgive your sins.  You can have confidence in that relationship because he never lets you down.  He can be trusted to clean your heart and soul to accept the Holy Spirit into purity.  He is the hope that you do not have to doubt as true if you walk in faith.

Matthew 27:50-53, Romans 8:9-11, Ephesians 2:14-16, & Hebrew 10:19-25