More Than Just a Stick

John 15:5 - "I am the Vine, you are the branches.  If any man abides in me, and I in him, he will yield much fruit.  Apart from me, you can do nothing."

When a branch is cut-off or broken from the tree, it becomes nothing more than a lifeless stick. If left on the ground for too long, it simply rots away and becomes compost.  Such is true for man.  Apart from the Vine, we are devoid of life; without purpose or meaning.  However, unlike the tree branch, man has an inert determination to achieve and succeed in much despite being removed from anything resembling true life.

A branch, when severed from the tree, can still be used to become something that seems to be of great significance.  It can be shaven, shaped, tempered, and sealed and become many things. It may become drumsticks banging away in the hands of a highly praised and adored rock star or become the baseball bat of a hall of fame player who is on the heals of the all-time hits record.  Given the size of the branch, it could even be used to become a support beam of a magnificently beautiful million dollar home.  If any of these possibilities is true for the branch, it may think to itself, "I've made it.  I've become something of significance.   I have finally found my purpose!"  This proclamation may seem true for a season.  But one day when the rock star plays his drums too hard, that drumstick will break in half.  When the hall of famer hits the right fastball, that bat will splinter into pieces.  When the next category 4 hurricane makes landfall, that house will become nothing more than a heap of wooden debris.

When the breaking points come in life, and they will, our achievements will do little to comfort us.  Our successes will be nothing more than a chasing of the wind.  They too will be devoid of life, purpose and meaning.  When the illusion of significance passes, the man who lived apart from the Vine will realize that the school they chose to attend, the job they worked so hard at, the home they lived in, the toys they owned, and the relationships they held will not be enough to sustain them and bring them peace or joy.

True purpose comes through knowing Christ and being identified with Him in every facet of your existence.  Through Christ we have been give freedom to succeed and achieve and to discover purpose and meaning but it is only when you allow the life of Christ to be the ruling factor in all that you hope for.  God wants for you the same thing you want for yourself - to be completely fulfilled in this life and the next.  But apart from the real life, the life given through trust in Jesus, you will never find fulfillment.  Even if you do become that highly coveted drumstick or sports collector's baseball bat or all important support-beam, without Christ at the center of it all, you would have been just as well off left lying in a field rotting and becoming compost.

This world has nothing to offer you of any true value or significance.  True life is found in Christ.  Remain connected to Him, place your confidence in the promise of His words, and you will yield much fruit in this life. God loves you and wants to give you a future filled with hope, love, and joy.  All you have to do is abide in Him.

Incomprehensible Grace

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word "incomprehensible" as - 1) difficult or impossible to understand.

In the book "The Exchange", Joel Engle asks the questions, "If the wages of sin really is death (Romans 3:23) then why are we still here?  Why are sinners not punished by a holy God as they are in the justice system of modern society?"

Then he answers by saying, "...the proper punishment for our sins wasn't overlooked or ignored. Instead, incredibly, He paid it Himself.  In the legal system of most civilized societies, the offender pays the price, but in the infinite wisdom of God, the Offended has already paid the price."

God's wisdom and subsequent grace is beyond our ability to understand.  The justice system established by His grace is more sovereign than any justice system that the most intelligent of our forefathers could have ever come up with, even with today's research and knowledge.  1 Cor 1:25 says, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."

Our idea of sovereignty and justice is locking away those who commit crime.  Those who are a threat to our way of life are incarcerated or put on probation and forced to pay heavy fines so that they learn their lesson.  "You do the crime, you do the time". That's the best we could come up with.  This is our idea of justice.  It is, for the most part, graceless.  

Incomprehensible grace simply trusts the criminal not to commit crime again. Incomprehensible grace forgives AND forgets the hurt caused by betrayal.  But this grace comes at a great price. It includes not only being the victim of an offense, but then as the victim being willing to suffer the punishment that is deserved by the offender.  

The American Heritage Dictionary also defines the word "incomprehensible" as - 2) impossible to know.  Thank God that nothing could be further from the truth.  This is why God sent His only Son to the Cross; so that through the payment of Christ's life, we can know the Father. 2 Cor 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  So even if we can't wrap our minds completely around understanding His perfect grace, we have peace in knowing the One who's grace is sufficient for all things.

Whose Grace is Sufficient for You?

Mini-sermon I did at my church Sunday July 6, 2008.

Faith Comes by Hearing

Faith Comes by Hearing - Hosanna

Pretty cool ministry. For some reason, at first I wasn't impressed that these guys have translated the New Testament into 329 different languages...but when I started reading the language names and realized I'd never even heard of 98% of them, my jaw dropped onto my mouse pad.

There are a lot of people in a lot of places from a lot of backgrounds that need to hear the Word of God. This is just 1 example of how 1 ministry is trying to accomplish that.

Did You Know?
- 65% of Bible-believing Christians have never read the entire New Testament (www.chronologicalbiblestorying.com).
- 43% of American adults function at or below basic literacy levels – making them incapable of meaningful Bible reading (www.ccclib.org)
- In a survey of more than 500 pastors, 47% cited “lack of time” as the main reason more Christians don’t read the Bible (Phone survey, Hosanna, 1996).
- 58% of the U.S. adult population will never read another book after high school (www.oralbible.com Aug 2007).
- 42% of U.S. university graduates never read another book (www.oralbible.com Aug 2007).
- Over 50% of teens in America believe that Jesus may have committed sins (www.barna.org)
- Many Americans are biblically illiterate!

YOU'VE GOT THE TIME!

Forgiveness vs. Repentance (or) THE SHORTEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN!

As mature Christians, we no longer need to ask forgiveness from God.  How can we ask for that which we already have?  We have already received justification through Christ.  However, we must continually confess forgiveness through the act of repentance as His Spirit lives in us and reveals to us those areas of our lives that must be forsaken in order to live consistently with the forgiven life that we have been gifted.

Yet still, not forsaken through works or self-effort, but rather through consideration (Romans 6:11) and acceptance that we have already been set free from that old way of life (John 8:36).  The new life being evidenced in us through His Spirit revealing to us the inconsistency - the process of sanctification.

"He is Holy - You be Holy."  (1 Peter 1:16)

Praise Him in Our Suffering

Fair to say that I am not the only Christian who has to endure suffering. Whether it's suffering the stress of a full-time job or suffering the self-sacrifice of stewarding a beautiful family or helping in part-time ministry; suffering has become a regular part of my Christian walk. In all my suffering, I never fail to lament...just ask my wife! And I can also say that I never forget to praise God after the storms of life have pass through. But one thing I am guilty of is failing to praise God during my suffering.

At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Mark 15:33-34

As Christ hung on a Cross, clinging to physical life, His spirit remained strong as he cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" This moment in history has always been portrayed as a moment of spiritual weakness, but I believe that closer examination of PSALMS 22 paints a different picture. This chapter of song, written to the tune of a praise chorus, reveals the ending moments of crucifixion as Christ praising His Father in an act of spiritual strength for his people, not an act of lamenting or questioning our Lord with a spirit of abandonment.

It was a reminder to all those who witnessed his death that all that had taken place was for the fulfillment of prophecy and for the glory of the Father. It was a reminder that in the midst of this terrible suffering, God was completing his plan to forever establish his Kingdom in us and through us so that we could forever have perfect fellowship with Him.

We need to remember that the suffering and persecution we endure in this life, as Christians walking out our faith, should be of no surprise to us. Christ said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:18-20)

We need to learn to embrace our suffering and then follow-up that acceptance of revelation with application by praising during our times of suffering. Remember that a dying world is watching and even they can lament in tough times. But the world will stop and recognize a different spirit that dwells in he that offers up praise when death is eminent. When all that we hold dear has turned into ash. "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." (2 Cor 4:10-12)

We know that we serve a god who will allow us to experience brokenness with a purpose. We are persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down at times, but never destroyed. Christ praised God at his death because he knew that death was not the destination. Because of his suffering and his death we became the benefactors of eternal life. We must likewise learn to praise during the tough times because we must share in His suffering and death so that we can also share in His life.

The Apple Trees

From the book THE EXCHANGE by Joel Engle.

Imagine you are walking through an apple orchard in early spring. The delicate fragrance of the apple blossom perfumes the cool morning air. The floral scent is enough to trigger memory; you clearly recall the sweet chomp of the red delicious.

Suddenly, you stop. In the heightened sensory moment, your ears grow very sensitive. They probe for any sound. What do they hear? Total silence.

An apple (or any kind of fruit) tree is one of the most marvelous mysteries in the world. No one can quite fathom the exquisite perfection of photosynthesis; soil, sunlight, water, and temperatures flow together into a wondrous harmony of creation. The results of this splendid fusion is that the blossoms on the tree slowly morph into apples.

Incredibly, despite the great industry going on in those trees, they do it all effortlessly and silently. They don't work at it or have any form of apple anxiety. It is simply their nature to produce apples.

Apples happen naturally. Now, imagine another apple orchard. As you walk into it, you hear a low mumbling hum. At first, you wonder if insects are swarming the orchard. But as you stop near a particular apple tree, you hear a very distinct grunting. What? You move your head close to the branches. The grunting sound is coming from the tree itself! Yes, the apple tree is panting, then bearing down, and finally emitting a long agonizing growl.

You see, these are "Christian" apple trees. They've been taught that bearing apples is almost impossible, requires great straining, and is a "skill" which can easily be lost.

Christian culture (especially in America) has created an outrageous, dangerous lie about what life with Jesus is like.

Just as apple trees don't try to "have an apple", those who follow Christ aren't meant to will themselves to "live a Christian life." The main reason? No one can do it. Yes, you read that correctly. No one can live the Christian life.

One of the best kept secrets of the true Christian life as that Jesus actually lives His life through us; He does it all. He is the fullness of life and that superior life surges through our heart, our relationships, our attitudes, and our behaviors. That higher quality of life makes all things new. He doesn't just require something; He also provides what He requires.