Gospel — Jesus is calling…

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:9–12)

The Gospel is simple yet so profound and so different than human thinking that it makes no sense without the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith to understand it and believe it. Think of it; God became a man. How sci-fi that sounds. And that man was sinless, meaning He didn’t do anything according to His own will but always spoke and acted as instructed by His Father in heaven. And His Father in heaven told Him to take our place and die for our sins, which He did, again saying “Not my will but Thine be done.”

We occasionally have a parent who offers to take the punishment or pay the fine for their offspring who has committed a crime, but that is infinitely small compared to what Jesus did that day on a cross just outside Jerusalem. 

This is how Isaiah describes sin:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Consider the population even at this moment and how each person, including Christians, makes decisions  without consulting God. Then multiply that by all the people that ever lived. That is an awful lot of sin. And pain, guilt. And all children are born with this sinful way of life. The entire human race is at odds with our Creator — unless we accept Jesus and His sacrifice as our salvation. 

Further, no one can do the will of the Father without Him. That sin-nature is unable to yield without the power of the Holy Spirit who comes to live in believers. It is as Jesus said:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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 15:1–5)

Yet even as we need Him, He blesses us just as the OT prophet says:

No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17)

For this incredible truth, the Lord calls to everyone with this invitation:

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:6–9)

Yes, it is simple, but the Gospel is profound and beyond understanding to human thoughts. For this reason…

Lord Jesus, I continue to pray that You will have mercy on all who have not yet heard Your call and given their lives to You. Speak to the hearts of unsaved family and friends, to all men and women who are lost without faith in You. Do a mighty work of redemption before You come again and before it is too late.

Resting in His goodness…

The doorbell rang just after I got up. It was our community gardener with questions about pruning our Russian Olive tree. He had done some research but wanted to know what shape we wanted. I said we were more interested in the health of the tree than a certain shape. After some discussion, it was decided to take out dead branches and those that were growing in an odd direction or were tangled with other branches.

After coming back in the house, I began to worship and sang one song with the line, “All my life You have been faithful” and reflected on the goodness of God. He promised to shape me into the image of His Son and has faithfully used even the most difficult things to prune my attitudes and actions. He also used that conversation with the gardener to remind me of His words:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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 15:1–5)

While this olive tree has produced olives, not all of the branches are productive. I think about the obvious that God has cut out of my life, things that not only were fruitless but ugly and harmful to others. He works on those things with a sharp pruning knife.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12–13)

Yet He does not stop at the obvious. He wants every ‘branch’ clean and productive. I’ve attitudes like being resentful, or unjust, or judgmental, or self-pity that others might not see if I keep my mouth shut, but He knows my inner thoughts and how to prune them too.
While His ‘Sword’ is sharp and goes after all that I might try to hide, it is for my good. He saved me so I would bear fruit and only the activity of the Holy Spirit makes that happen. The Spirit reveals what prevents it and deals with it.

Yet all of life is not ‘under the knife’ for He is not only my Gardener but much more. His great care and faithfulness includes this:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)

PRAY: Lord, I didn’t expect a tree pruner to start my day, but I do expect that You will be with me and put Your pruning tools to work wherever my life needs something cut out. This is not always fun, but it does shape and form me, leading me in Your ways of righteousness, and for that I am grateful. You also feed and comfort me. Surely I can sing that all of my life You have been faithful — and I can rest in Your amazing goodness!

 

His pruning knife usually hurts...

We once lived in California in a rented house with fruit trees in the yard. Born and raised in a colder climate, we knew nothing about caring for fruit trees. Thankfully, the rental came with a gardener. He cut the grass, removed the weeds, and pruned the trees.

Actually, I did have a chokecherry tree in my farm yard, but after a couple of years without seeing any berries, I took out library books and discovered the reason: it needed severe pruning. One book said to trim it so a good-sized bird could fly through the branches. I did. It seemed mean, but the next year this tree was loaded with fruit.

Jesus tells how my life is like that tree. Without pruning, fruit will be absent — and He is not talking about berries.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23)

Each item on this list is further defined in the NT showing how they go beyond normal human capacity. When I read 1 Corinthians 13, I know that I cannot love like that without the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the same with joy. Human happiness depends on circumstances but the joy of the Lord is present even during severe trials.

Besides this list, qualities such as humility, modesty, truthfulness, and purity or any other trait that appears in my life that would not normally be characteristic of me may also be a fruit produced by the Spirit in my attitudes and actions. I am aware of the difference between His work and what my old nature is like. Without Jesus, I am not patient, have little self-control, and pride is a constant problem. Without Him, I cannot be like Him. He says:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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 15:1–5)

The pruning part I don’t like. It often catches me by surprise and takes no account of my desire or prayers to make it stop. God knows what hinders me and keeps at me with the knife of His Word and the circumstances of life until that branch is finally history.

His mercy is such that sometimes I don’t notice the knife. When I was a new Christian, I yelled at my kids way too much. I asked God to help me, and for a few months life went on, and then I noticed I wasn’t doing it anymore. That was painless pruning. Other barren branches take longer and have been removed through difficulties and painful methods. Yet in them, I’m learning. Thankfully.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

PRAY: Last night was a trial. I ate something earlier in the week that turned my digestive tract into a mine field. I don’t recall asking You to help me lose weight, but You know I wanted that. So You did it, not like I would have wanted. Greater measure of self-control would have been nicer than this shortcut. I know most people would write this off as food-poisoning and dismiss it, but You have been showing me that You are totally involved in my life and have reasons I may not see. As my mom always said, I’m learning that “I must need it or I would not be getting it.” For that, I thank You and am glad that all things work together for my good, to shape and prune me so I am more like You.

God lives in His people

Ever since reading an older book called “God’s Part and Our Part” I’ve been trying to figure this out. I’ve noticed that most preachers and Christian books stress one or the other, usually our part. This gives me the feeling of having a human hand raised with a strong and shaking finger pointed at me. It raises guilt too, for no matter how hard I try, my part seems to elude me or gets blurry.

We have moved many times and attended many churches. One year, we were in three different places and attended three different churches — with three different denominations. They had two things in common: the focus of the messages was on what God does and has done for His people, and the services were growing to the point that we had to get there early to find a place to sit.

Since then, I’ve thought that my relationship with God was not like two unequally yoked critters trying to pull a load, but more like a hand in a glove. The ideal is a completely yielded glove, but in this case, the glove has a mind of its own and resists the hand. Yet the more I trust and submit to His desire, the more I am like the hand and the more that glove looks and behaves like the Lord wants me to. The emphasis is on God's part, not mine.

What does this say about obedience? Just this: I cannot do anything apart from the ‘doing’ that my Savior wants and initiates. The glove might comfort others, or help with a project, or even write a blog, but it is really the hand that is making it move. Jesus illustrated it with this:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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 15:1–5)

Without His hand, the glove can do nothing in the same way that a chopped off vine cannot produce fruit. Yet His hand is always there because Jesus lives in me. The worst is that I can try to function by ignoring Him, but that cannot succeed because He never leaves me. He may allow my wandering until I realize His overpowering presence. Eventually His hand will have its way because ‘doing nothing’ is a very sad and unfulfilling way to live. Like the prodigal eating pig food, I always run home, even though ‘home’ never left me.

The abiding presence of Jesus is vital to living for Him. The world, the flesh, and certainly the devil would like me to forget what He said: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” and “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Instead of thinking He is not there, He continually reminds me that He is with me and provides all I need to live for Him.

One more lesson is this: the presence of the hand in the glove is most evident when the glove moves with it. The more I respond to Him, the more I realize His love and power. He even uses my lack of response to teach me the importance of letting Him rule my life. I’m useless without Him.

That said, I am also “in Christ” yet that does not make me the hand and Him the glove. Being ‘in Him’ requires a different description!

PRAY: Lord, Your hand is never raised shaking a stern finger at me because Your hand is part of who I am, and I am not just one of the fingers. The way I live when in harmony with You is how others see You — the hand in the glove. I realize also that I’m not a fancy glove or anything special, but…

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

 

Part of God’s Vineyard

 

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei is quoted: “The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.”

I don’t know if this man read the Bible but these words remind me of the words of Christ. He called Himself the VINE and the Bible speaks of how God shines on His people to bring them to maturity.

In the OT, the vine is a source of fruit as well as wine and is used metaphorically as a symbol of life and fertility. Each person living under his own vine pictured to the nation’s prosperity and stability but those who turn away from God are connected with pagans: “For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter.” (Deuteronomy 32:32)

Sometimes God’s judgment is called the destruction or withering of vines as when the prophet foretold how a curse would destroy the earth: “The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled.” (Isaiah 24:7–8) and “All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.” (Isaiah 34:4)

These references point ahead to the NT statement made by Jesus. He said in John 15:1–5.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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.”

As the vine was to Israel, Jesus is the ultimate vine, our source of life and spiritual growth. In order to retain true life and bear the fruit of the Spirit, I must remain attached to Him, drawing my spiritual nourishment and strength from Him, which is the only way my spiritual life can prosper and the only way I can be like Him.

This metaphor is used for other things such as a faithful wife in the OT and the last days in the NT when an angel is told to use his sickle in the vine of the earth. “So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” (Revelation 14:18-19) The idea of a vine is both a comforting hope and an image of judgment.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The words of Jesus are most helpful to me. The metaphor of Him as the Vine is strongly built on the use of this metaphor in the OT. Certainly in Him is life and fruitfulness. He is the source of joy and apart from Him I certainly have nothing and can do nothing. When His Spirit fills, He gives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Without Him, I care nothing about others, am unhappy and anxious, impatient and rude, selfish and disloyal, harsh and without any self-control. In my heart, the contrast is sharp, never mind what others might see. I’m so very thankful that He shines in my life to bring these good things to fruition and maturity — and that He would do that even if He had nothing else to do. I know for certain that apart from Him, I can do nothing of eternal value. What a wonder and what a blessing to be united to Jesus, the True Vine.