Introducing our 20 days of praise

You may have seen the Becky Harling book entitled "30 days of Praise" in a bookstore or online -- I haven't read the book, but I was intrigued by the idea.

I decided that this month would be an ideal time to take a break from our studies in John, and refresh ourselves with praise for our God. Since our study blog is posted on weekdays, that gives us twenty days in the month of November for our praise focus.

Another book by Kenneth Smith states that we should: ". . .create the habit of praise! The Bible tells us that praise stops and confuses the enemy ... if the door won't open, praise God in the hallway!"

Join us, won't you?

On this first day of praise, let's start at the beginning:

               In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
               was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were
               made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life,
               and that life was the light of all mankind.    John 1:1-4

Today, on our first day of praise, let's praise the Father, and the Son. Let's spend some time in thought today, reflecting on the mystery of the Trinity.  Praise Him for mercy and grace that had a plan, even in the beginning, to ransom us from our sins. Thank Him for the gift of the Spirit, that indwells us daily.

Our grateful hearts should sing praise when we think of His creating the world and all of the things in it, both large and small. It always amazes me when I hear people talking about things that make "intelligent design" so obvious, and yet they do not attribute this design to God. For example, recently I watched a television report that gave information about a tiny weather system that is created by mushrooms. Yep, you heard me right! The mushrooms have a way of utilizing humidity and air temperature to create a very, very, very small wind current that carries their spores out from under the mushroom and into higher air currents, so that the spores can be distributed. Kinda like a "be fruitful and multiply" system for mushrooms and toadstools!

To me, that just screams, "God made that!" He planned it, He designed it, and it's incredible! But of course, most of the scientists today would simply say that the process was a proof of evolution.

Today as you pray and enjoy a quiet time with God, praise Him for Who He is, and for the Son and the Spirit, and for the incredible love and wisdom that created our world.

Friday Slowdown

I am the Vine, and you are the branches...... enjoy this quiet and beautiful song as we complete our study this week.



Have a restful and blessed weekend.

I'm a branch, you're a branch, conclusion (John 15:1-8)

I'm sure that all of us would like to be fruitful branches. But how does this happen? How can we become even more fruitful in our lives? The answer is by staying connected to the vine.

Let's look at verse 4: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Wowser! Did you see that? In that one verse, the word "remain" is repeated three times! Umm, I kinda think that is important, no?  Again in verse 5, we see the clue repeated, "Apart from me, you can do nothing."
A person who has regular contact with Jesus Christ will produce much fruit in his or her life. That is a promise from Jesus.

How do we keep in regular contact with Him? Ah, you know the answer -- study, prayer, and when you are able, worship with others. That's how you remain in Christ, and He remains in you.

Regular study of His word, not a hurried verse before we charge out the door. Committing verses to memory so that His Spirit can use them to guide us when we need it. Keeping a journal of gems the Spirit shows us in the Word.

Prayer that is thoughtful, measured, and sincere. Again, not a hurried thing, but a true time of reflection, praise, and petitions. A pause during our day when we can hear that still, small voice.

And yes, if we are able, worship with other believers. Christian friends who can hold us accountable and who need our help, too. Praising Him in song - what a wonderful gift singing with others can be! Taking part in the Lord's Supper, and witnessing new believers' step of faith into the baptismal pool.

All of these are important ways to remain in Him. It is He who can strengthen us and empower us.

The story is told of a native from a remote mountain village who had the opportunity to visit a large modern city for the first time. He could not bring much home with him, and he had little money. But he was amazed at the electric lights which he saw everywhere. So he bought a sack full of electric lights bulbs and sockets with switches so he could turn them off and on.
Arriving home he hung the light bulbs in front of his home and on his and his neighbor’s trees. Everyone watched him with curiosity and asked him what he was doing, but he just smiled and said, "Just wait until dark--you’ll see."
When night came he turned on the switches, but nothing happened. No one had told him about electricity. He did not know the light bulbs were useless unless connected to the source of their power.

Jesus tells us, "Apart from me you can do nothing." He provides the electricity, the power we need in our lives to produce fruits of faith.  

So what kind of branch are you? Really, if you think about it, we are all four. We repent of those times we have been throw-away branches. We are thankful that Jesus has forgiven us. Although it is painful, we are thankful that God prunes us. We are thankful that God produces fruits of faith in our lives. And we are thankful, that Jesus remains in us, and we in Him.

Yes, it is true. I'm a branch, and you're a branch, and he is one, and she is one . . . .

I'm a branch, you're a branch, continued (John 15:1-8)

Last time, we talked about the forgiveness that Jesus offers to us. But just because we are forgiven, doesn't mean that God is going to give us an easy-peasy no-problems-here kind of life! Let's dive in!

We also need to talk about the 'pruned' branch. Remember this in verse 2?

                     "...every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be
                     even more fruitful."

One of the jobs of a gardener is to prune the branches on the grapevine. This resonates with me, since it is my job each winter to prune the scuppernong and muscadine vines.  First, the dead branches must be identified and cut off. Those can be a place where bugs and diseases grow. Next, living branches must actually be cut way back -- there's an art to it (which I don't pretend to have mastered) so that you prune back to a node that can grow more healthy branches and hold up clusters of fruit. When you're done, there doesn't seem to be much left of the grapevine.....it seems so drastic.  How can cutting something in this extreme a fashion be necessary?

It's all about the branches reaching their full potential.  Even though the pruned branches look almost dead, months later they will be vibrant with life, covered with leaves, and full of a large crop of grapes. But it would not be possible to have those results, if the gardener does not perform that pruning chore.

This is what God does to us. He prunes us. He cuts into our lives, and He removes things that we might not want removed. He changes things around, and takes some things away. It often feels so drastic, so extreme, so unnecessary. And many times while the Master Gardener is pruning, we are asking, "Why are You doing this to me, God?"

And if we will listen, we will hear His gentle answer: He wants us to reach our full potential as Christians. He prunes for our good. He wants us to produce as many fruits of faith as possible.  Perhaps we are going through that pruning process right now. We all experience this in our lives, and when it happens, we must trust that God is in control. That He knows what He is doing.

Our goal is that we become a fruitful branch. In verse 8, Jesus tells us, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." The faithful Christian is one whose life is filled with "fruit." First of all, the fruits include faithful obedience to God. It's doing what God wants, even when the rest of the world is doing something different.  Fruits include the way that we treat other people; and that is our family, our work peers, our friends, and even total strangers. When we are around these people, we need to ask ourselves "how can I serve them? How can I show God's love to this person?"
And even more importantly, "How can I witness about Jesus to them?"
"This is to my Father's glory," Jesus said, "that you bear much fruit."

What are you listening to today?

Isn't it wonderful that in the midst of creating all of the universe, and all of the intricate things that He designed, God created music?
He created music to be holy and pleasing unto Him. He created it to be worship and praise unto Him. And that includes what we put in our ears.
Have you considered lately what you've been listening to? What is piped into your mind as you place those earbuds in your ears?
I truly believe that as long as we are listening to music that glorifies God, and music that tells us to keep God in our hearts and remember to praise Him, then it doesn't matter what type we are listening to. But that's just my humble opinion. (Grin)

So, I will be careful and not listen to anything that would pull my mind away from my Father and Savior, or away from the path that He wants me to walk.

              Sing unto Him, sing psalms to Him, talk of all His wondrous works!
              I Chronicles 16:9

So, what are you listening to, today?

John 15:1-8 I'm a branch, you're a branch . . .

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Here in the Southland, we love our grapes. You thought it was just the Napa Valley and such? Au contraire! Our vines are abundant and cherished; muscadines and scuppernongs are strange sounding names to those who are uninitiated, but many a southern girl or boy has fond memories of a late summer plucking of grapes from the vines. The heady scent of the ripe grapes is something that we never forget, and we love the taste of the thick-skinned fruits, as well. Moms and grandmoms cook pots of jelly on the stove, and some entrepreneurs make wine.

In Jesus' day, the vineyards were even more familiar and important. Grapes and olives were both cultivated on vines, and were a mainstay of the diet and of the economy. Children joined their parents in working the vineyards, and pruning was a skill that was much sought-after. After the pruning was complete, the vineyard needed cleaning up, and the discarded and pruned branches were gathered and burned.  Jesus knew that His hearers would understand His words when He spoke this way.

He was using this as a picture to describe to people their relationship to Him, and to God the Father. It's a simple picture He is painting; He pictures Himself as the main vine of the vineyard, and we are the branches that grow off of Him. God the Father is the gardener, and there are different types of branches in the vineyard.

The first one is the "throw-away" branch. We can see in verse 2 that "He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit." And in verse 6, "If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned." When the gardener is walking through the vineyard with his tools in hand, and he sees branches that have never borne fruit, he cuts them off and throws them into a pile. Eventually that pile is burned.  Jesus is painting a picture of people at one time were faithful Christians. Their lives reflected the relationship that they had with Jesus. But then something may have happened in their lives, and they stop producing fruits of faith, and stop obeying God. They stop living and talking like their faith is important to them, and instead they walk and talk just like the rest of the unbelieving world.

Why does this happen? The answer is in verse 6: "If anyone does not remain in me..."  Jesus tells us that we must continue to have contact with Him, through His Word, and through His Spirit -- or we can fall away from Him and stop producing fruit. We're no longer a witness for Him.

Years ago, we watched as a child received a present -- a toy that had been wished for. Big smiles all around as we watched the toy move and the child was delighted. In moments, though, the toy had stopped moving, and all was not well! Why? Someone had placed weak, used batteries in the toy, and it wasn't able to keep moving along.

Too often, this is what happens to some of us as Christians. We break down in the middle of our lives, and stop producing fruits of faith. We start living like unbelievers. How does this happen? We have neglected the source of our strength -- the things that are needed to keep our faith alive, and keep the relationship with Jesus fresh and alive.  We must not neglect the Word, and our study of the Bible, and our prayer life. If we do, our lives will not produce fruit for Him.

Of course, there are those who have never accepted His gift of salvation. They are not connected to the Vine, and they have not received His forgiveness and His new life.  How good it is that everyone can go to Christ, repent of our sins, and receive His forgiveness; we Christians can ask forgiveness for our neglect of that special relationship that keeps us producing fruit. Non-believers can ask for forgiveness and begin a new life in Him.

Forgiveness, and life in the Vine, is there for the asking!

Friday slowdown

Join me in contemplation today . . . are we growing? Are we showing the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives?





The fruit of the Spirit is love for our sharing,
It's joy in the gospel that we have from you.
It's peace that we live out with courage and daring;
It's patience, for we know that we have sinned, too.
It's kindness in all things and generous giving;
Its faithfulness seeking to follow your way.
It's gentleness, Lord, and it's self-controlled living;
Now make us more fruitful in these things, we pray.
Carolyn Gillette