abiding in Jesus

John 15

John 15:1
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser."

The Father is intimately involved in our being pruned so as to bear fruit.
He does not toss us into the world and say "go bear fruit!" and hope it works, nor expect us to scrounge up the ability to bear fruit on our own. He Himself is the pruner, the shaper of the branches.

John 15:4
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

The life of the vine must course through the branch for it to stay alive and to bear fruit.

John 15:7
"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

If Jesus' life becomes my life, and His Words become my thoughts, then I will wish what He wishes, and my prayers will be ones that God delights to answer.

Without the vine, the branch dies; it has no source of life and nutrition apart from connection to the vine.  So Christ is the source of ongoing life and spiritual sustenance to the Christian.  You cannot expect to grow in your Christian life or to mature or to develop in grace without a living, ongoing, connection to the Vine, to Christ.

This pictures for us a life of constantly seeing, loving, and submitting to Christ, knowing Him in an increasingly intimate way, and reveling in the benefits of His work for us.

John 15:8
"By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

A true disciple becomes like his Master. You become more like those with whom you spend the most time. If we are to become like Christ, we must make it a priority to spend TIME with Him. Relationships do not "maintain"; they either grow or dwindle.

John 15:9-10
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."

Love. Abiding in Jesus' love speaks of an ongoing relationship with Him, which He says will consist of obeying what He commands you.

John 15:11-12
"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

And obeying Jesus' commands is the path to true joy.
One of His primary commands to us is to love our Christian brethren sacrificially. For each of them is also bought by Christ, loved by the Father, and connected to the same Vine as I am.

parent the child you are entrusted with

This was a great quote: 

"When you choose to have a child, you do not order-up a baby. You sign-up to parent the child you're entrusted with - the one you have, the one who is counting on you. If you only want to parent the perfect baby you want to have, you have no business becoming a parent. ... I needed a reminder that my son needed me, and I had an open invitation to cherish him exactly as he is, right now, tomorrow, and ever after. No matter what happens."

(from this post: All of us, son, love all of you)

Endurance

Endurance.  It is commanded and commended in the Bible.

It is not just something we might need, but rather something we are called to do.

It is perseverance. Patience. Waiting and not giving up. Keeping the faith despite opposition. Holding fast to Jesus when persecuted.  Lasting through trouble and hardship without giving up or falling away. Continuing to the end even through difficulties.

I thought of this especially in light of the current trend in universities for students to demand never to be offended or "hurt" by something someone might say or do that bothers them.  In contrast, the Bible says these things:

2Timothy 2:3 - "You therefore must endure hardship [share suffering] as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

Matthew 24:13 - "But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Revelation 13:7-10 - "Also [the beast] was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints."

Revelation 14:12 - "Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus."

Hebrews 12:1-3 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

Hebrews 6:15 - "And so, after [Abraham] had patiently endured [waited], he obtained the promise."

Hebrews 10:35-36 - "Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised."

Mark 4:17 - "And they [seed sown on rocky ground] have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away."

1 Corinthians 4:10,12-13 - "We are fools for Christ's sake ... we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things."

1 Corinthians 13:7, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

2 Timothy 2:10,12 - "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. ... if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us..."

2 Timothy 4:5 - "As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

1 Peter 2:19-21 - "For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."

Amazing hesed love!

Romans 8

It is astounding!

My God has bound himself to me, in hesed love - so much that he not only commits to die for me to save me from my sin, but he goes further and adopts me into his family! 

He knows me - before anything in me; he foreknows, he purposes (with purposes that shall not fail nor be thwarted), he justifies, he glorifies.

He chooses. He plans. He saves. He brings Home.

How can I not live in amazed joy, regardless of circumstances? "This God - his way is perfect..." And none of his purposes can be thwarted. No circumstance can man his love has been taken away from those whom he has committed himself to; rather, everything at every moment has to be subservient to His purpose: to make us like Jesus, and to bring us safely Home.

Who can be in a safer place, than one to whom the God of the Universe, the Lord of the Ages, has bound Himself?  Every event says to that person, "I love you, child, and this will synergize into joy for you!"

Worthy!

King of kings

Lord of ages

Lamb who was slain

Ruler of time

Almighty, all-seeing, all-knowing

You are worthy of all my moments

Worthy of all my praise

   all my thoughts

   all my words

   all that I am 

   all that I have

It all belongs to You who made me

You who rule over all of me

Who made me for Yourself

Who redeemed me for Yourself

That I might live

   no longer for myself

   but for You who lived and died and rose again for me

That I might display Your glory to the world

That I might proclaim the praises (excellencies) of Him

Who called me out of darkness 

   into His marvelous light!

(Revelation 4-5. 2Cor.5:15. 1Pet.1:9.)

The LORD is my helper

Out of my distress I called on the LORD;

   the LORD answered me and set me free.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.

   What can man do to me?

The LORD is on my side as my helper...

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
   but the LORD helped me.
The LORD is my strength and my song;
   he has become my salvation.

(Psalms 118:5-7, 13-14)

Rejoice in the LORD

Though the fig tree should not blossom,

   nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
   and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
   and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.

(Habakkuk 3:17-19)