now that's different...

You know... I probably knew it already... but to hear it said the way it was said... made it much more clear...

Salvation is about getting God in man.

---Adrian Rogers

Salvation is not about getting man into heaven...
it's about getting God in man...

Now that's different...

"... 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. ..."

John 15:4 ESV

To abide in Jesus... is to have Him in you...

the only way to bear fruit for His Kingdom...

the only way of salvation...

"... If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away

like a branch and withers; and the branches gathered,

thrown into the fire, and burned. ..."

John 15:6 ESV

To argue... convince... reason... a person into believing is not possible... only God... by making the Way through faith... can He enter into a person...

Just think about it...

it's different...

was He glorified today...?

Listening to a teacher... teaching lessons on what he sees as God's school of discipleship... he comes to course 801...

The course he calls The Glory of God... a course that teaches...

At the end of every day, no matter what the loss, no matter what the hurt, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what my failure has been that day, I just ask one thing: Lord were You glorified today? All that matters to me is that You're glorified, because You're the Creator and I'm the creature, and I want to see You glorified and You exalted.

---Michael Wells, Living the Abiding Life

 So I ask... at the close of this day...

Lord... were You glorified today...?

I see where I obeyed easily in some places... others a struggle...

And I also see failure...

A course I need to continue... (or maybe even begin...)

I realize... to only be concerned about His glory... is to be wholly focused on Him...

My failure... and struggles... come from being more self-conscious... than Christ-conscious...

Lord... forgive me for my failures...

and lack of concern... for Your glory... over my comfort...

Thank You for Your patience... and Your teaching...

Grow me... in Your love... and grace... that I may glorify You...

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,

do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

staying malleable...

She said it Sunday... during the sermon... referring to the potter's work on the wheel...

The clay cannot get too dry or it cannot be fashioned...

I think about Him... in the Scripture being discussed...

But now, O Lord, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8 ESV

He is our Potter... we... all of us... works in His hand...

The thought comes... We must stay filled with Living Water to be malleable in His hands... without the Holy Spirit we cannot be transformed...

Without Jesus... who makes the way for the Spirit... there is no transformation... no real healing... no complete restoration...

"...Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 

'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" ---Jesus

John 7:38 ESV

The rivers of Living Water... flowing from within... keep us moist... workable... in the Potter's hand...

The Holy Spirit... provides the counsel... conviction... and capacity... for change...

Without Him... we are simply stiff-necked... 

breaking...

cracking... 

rather than reshaping... under His hand...

Jesus said it Himself...

"... It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. ..."

John 6:63 ESV

Self-help... will-power... useless... when it comes to lasting change...

Only through trust... obedience... and an abiding life in Him... can the Holy Spirit flow... preparing our hearts... souls... lives... to be transformed... wholly redeemed... in the Father's hands...

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, 

give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do not quench the Spirit. 

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything;

hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,

and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1Thessalonians 5:16-24 ESV

a taste of discipleship

Obedience... abiding... self-denial... the three-strand cord... of discipleship...

Obedience... requires abiding... without abiding... resting in Him... we do not know what He wants us to do... and are unable to do it apart from Him...

"I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:5-6 HCSB

Obedience... requires self-denial... at times laying aside fear...

"...I said, 'You are my servant';

I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ..."

Isaiah 41:9b-10 

...at other times... laying down pride...

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James 4:10

Today... a taste of both...

But in the test... and rest... of abiding... I find peace... and joy... at seeing less of me... and more of Him...

"My Father is glorified by this:

that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples. ..."

John 15:8 HCSB

grafting in... the way of abiding...

I read it this morning...

There is no graft without wounding --- the laying bare and opening up of the inner life of the tree to receive the stranger branch.

--- Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

Every graft... requires a wound...

The vine... and the branch... they are grafted together... each wounded...

The Vine... His wound righteous...

The branch... its wounds caused by sin... our own... and others...

Every graft... requires a wound...

He... willingly wounded... to make a place for us... in Him...

The wounds we receive... Satan intends for harm... but Father God... Gardener God... He intends them for good...

Every graft... requires a wound...

From before creation... He knew... every graft... requires a wound...

He knew... sin would enter... and wound...

He knew... the only Way... for union with His creation... was by way... of a wound...

He knew... He would wound His Son... wound Himself... for love of a Bride...

From the roots of Jesse... springs up a Branch... one ready to be prepared... to receive a graft...

"...I lay down my life...

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."

John 10:17-18

This was... and is... the Gardener's first... and only plan... to complete His purpose... to increase the circle of His love... by creating... and making the Way... for a grafting in...

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

by his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2:24

(emphasis added)

Therefore... I rejoice in my weakness...

I humble myself before Him... that He might lift me up...

pride...

arrogance...

shame...

guilt...

self-loathing...

hate...

grudges...

vengeance...

unforgiveness...

each scar the wounds... and prevent grafting... abiding... healing... 

Only a fresh... oozing... wound... can be successfully grated in...

In the death of the cross, Christ was wounded, and in His opened wounds a place was prepared where we might be grafted in. And just as one might say to a graft, and does practically say as it is fixed in its place, "Abide here in the wound of the stem that is now to bear you"; so to the believing soul the message comes, "Abide in the wounds of Jesus; there is the place of union, and life, and growth. There you will see how His heart was opened to receive you; how His flesh was rent that the way might be opened for your being made one with Him and having access to all the blessings flowing from His divine nature."

--- Andrew Murray

Face your wounds... embrace them... as He embraced His... they are the Way... to fully abide in Him... for by His wounds... you are healed...

There is a fellowship between Christ's sufferings and your sufferings.

--- Andrew Murray

For even in the beginning... what Satan intended for harm... God intended for good... 

Lord Jesus... Father God... help me to see... what you have allowed... my own sinful choices... those of others' against me... You intend for good... not only mine... but the saving of many others... help me  bring each wound to You... that You might use it... to make me one with You... and be truly whole... 

abiding... yielding... fruit...

What the Word says about... fruit...

Recognizing... the spiritual fruit... of abiding...

The fruit of righteousness will be peace;

The effect of righteousness will be quietness
and confidence forever.

Isaiah 32:27

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

...for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness,

righteousness and truth...

Ephesians 5:9

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually

offer to God a sacrifice of praise 

--- the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Hebrews 13:15

Producing... spiritual fruit...

Blessed is the man 

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked 

or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, 

and on his law he meditates day and night. 

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, 

which yields its fruit in season 

and whose leaf does not wither. 

Whatever he does prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

planted in the house of the Lord,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age,

they will stay fresh and green,

proclaiming, "The Lord is upright;

he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."

Psalm 92:12-15

Sow for yourselves righteousness,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord,

until he comes and showers righteousness on you.

Hosea 10:12

God gets the glory...

"...This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,

showing yourselves to be my disciples. ..."--Jesus

John 15:8

...filled with the fruit of righteousness 

that comes through Jesus Christ

--- to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:11

A prayer... for fruit...

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Colossians 1:9-12

Fruit... love... joy... peace... patience... kindness... goodness... gentleness... faithfulness... self-control... righteousness... truth... praise...

Cultivated... with... discernment... delight... meditation... breaking up unplowed ground...

Glorifying... Him...

Thus by their fruit you will recognize them.

Matthew 7:20

more abiding... branch and vine...

Yesterday's... really...? ...left me with a heart ready... to exercise this truth...

"...I am the vine; you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit,

for apart from me you can do nothing. ..."

John 15:5

ESV

 (emphasis added)

The idea that without branches... the Vine bears no fruit... caused me to pause... marvel... as the author of Abide in Christ... continued...

There is more: as neither vine nor branch is anything without the other, so is neither anything except for the other.

All the vine possesses belongs to the branches. The vine does not gather from the soil its fatness and its sweetness for itself --- all it has is at the disposal of the branches. ... All His fullness and all His riches are for you, believer, for the vine does not live for itself, keeps nothing for itself, but exists only for the branches. All that Jesus is in heaven, He is for us. He has no interest there separate from ours; as our representative He stands before the Father.

And all the branch possesses belongs to the vine. The branch does not exist for itself, but to bear fruit that can proclaim the excellence of the vine. It has no reason for existence except to be of service to the vine.  This is a glorious image of the calling of the believer, and the entireness of his consecration to the service of his Lord. As Jesus gives Himself so wholly over to him, he feels himself urged to be wholly his Lord's. Every power of his being, every moment of his life, every thought and feeling, belong to Jesus, that from Him and for Him he may bring forth fruit. As he realizes what the vine is to the branch, and what the branch is meant to be to the vine, he feels that he has but one thing to think of and to live for, and that is, the will, the glory, the work, the kingdom of his blessed Lord --- the bringing forth of fruit to the glory of His name.

---Andrew Murray

The exercise to develop... the habit to forge... each moment... of every day... in every place... home...  store... work... school... church...

Picture self... as a fruitless branch... empty...

Ask the Vine... What fruit do You want to bear here... in this place... through me...?

I tried it yesterday... preparing for the 6th grade Bible class... the 30 minutes of controlled (?) chaos... tired of struggling... unsure how to get a message through... desiring to impart a passion for His Word... I emptied myself... surrendered... to the Vine... What fruit do You want to bear...?

I don't know exactly what the fruit was called... I'm not sure it has a name this side of heaven... but a plan came together... inter-action took place... moments of teaching... were scattered...

The victory... from my perspective... was what was planted in me... the patient... calm... trust... in not what I did... but in what He does...

Freedom to serve... through listening... obeying... and releasing the results... to Him...

Freedom in.. abiding...

really...?

This morning... in the margin... I wrote... Really?

An idea... presented as a truth... regarding abiding...

"...I am the vine; you are the branches. 

Whoever abides in me and I in him, 

he it is that bears much fruit, 

for apart from me you can do nothing. ..."

John 15:5

ESV

(emphasis added)

Now this... I knew... and accepted... about abiding... 

but when the author... says...

Without the branch the vine can also do nothing. A vine without branches can bear no fruit. No less indispensable than the vine to the branch, is the branch to the vine. Such is the wonderful condescension of the grace of Jesus, that just as His people are dependent on Him, He has made Himself dependent on them. Without His disciples He cannot dispense His blessing to the world;  He cannot offer sinners the grapes of the heavenly Canaan. Marvel not! It is His own appointment; and this is the high honor to which He has called His redeemed ones, that as indispensable as He is to them in heaven, that from Him their fruit may be found, so indispensable are they to Him on earth, that through them His fruit may be found. Believers, meditate on this, until your soul bows to worship in the presence of the mystery of the perfect union between Christ and the believer.                                                                                      --- Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (emphasis added)

Without the branch the vine can also do nothing... REALLY...?

So I meditate... and invite you to do the same...

This truth... it hits hard.... just like the fact that we... Believers... are the light... THE ONLY LIGHT... in a dark world...

A great responsibility... a reason to go low... before Him... to empty self... and allow Him space... for His Life... to flow... His Light... to shine... through...

I have been crucified with Christ

and I no longer live,

but Christ lives in me...

Galatians 2:20

Lord... help me to accept my death...

that You might live through me...

that You might be seen... instead of me...

that I might bear fruit... for Your glory...

clinging... to... abiding...

The desire... of the Old Testament psalmist... for a soul that clings to Him... is fulfilled in the New Testament invitation of Jesus...

Abide in me...

This morning... God continues building on yesterday's study... cling... by having me pick up a compilation... a collection of works... on prayer by Andrew Murray... one book amid many... one bought several months ago... only the first few paragraphs read...

Today... the time to read... the first two chapters... centered on Christ's invitation to abide... a word that echoes the heart of cling... only to a greater... and deeper... degree...

The psalmist... with the clinging soul... cried out...

O God, you are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you,

my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

A clinging soul... the result of a desire to be near... with... the One who satisfies...

But clinging... is one distinct entity... affixed... to another...

a vine... on a wall...

a Muppet... on Jude Law...

a soul... on God...

The invitation to abide... its picture... as seen in Jesus's words... is one... as part... of another...

"...I am the vine; you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit,

for apart from me you can do nothing. ..."

John 15:5

ESV

A branch... an offshoot from a vine... lives with the vine... by the power... of the vine... they are essentially one... a branch cut off... dies... but the branch attached... not only lives... but grows... and bears fruit... just as the vine...

Different than the clinging vine on a wall... no life shared... no thirst fulfilled... only support... upholding...

My soul clings to the you;

your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 63:8

The clinging is good... but the abiding... is better...

The psalmist... his soul still thirsty... even in the clinging...

It is in the abiding... through the work of Jesus... His crucifixion... and resurrection... where we can receive the Spirit... the same life giving force... that connected Him to the Father... and us to Him...

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,

streams of living water flow from within him."

John 7:37-38

The same lesson taught... to the woman at the well... the one with a thirst...

"Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again,

but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.

Indeed, the water I give him will become in him 

a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4:13-14

Abide... an option unavailable to the psalmist... the privilege... and pleasure... we as Believers... have in Jesus... 

... it is only the abiding that can really satisfy the thirsty soul and give to drink of the rivers of pleasure that are at His right hand. --- Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

Lord... teach me... to cling... and... abide... fully...