Getting Through Today

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John 15:5 says, “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.”

In Andrew Murray’s book Absolute Surrender, Murray says that the branch’s only job is to stay connected to the Vine. In other words, the branch doesn’t have to worry with where its nourishment will come from. It doesn’t concern itself with how much fruit it’s producing. It doesn’t even have to fret over what the future will look like. The branch’s only job is to stay connected to the Vine. In Scripture, this state of being connected is also called abiding.

Watchman Nee, in his book Sit, Walk, Stand, describes abiding as sitting in a chair. When you sit, he explains, you have faith the chair will hold you up. Your whole weight is depending on the chair.

I love that picture! It sounds easy. After all, I sit in chairs all the time. But, I confess, spiritually speaking, sitting, abiding, staying connected to the Vine does not come naturally. In this season of my life though, I am learning that this truly is the best way to live.

When I am connected to the Vine, to Jesus Christ alone, when I am abiding in Him, I am not filled with stress, I am filled with Him – His strength, His joy, His love.

So, whatever results happen (or don’t) I’m great with… because it’s all up to Him. If He decides I need lots of strength for what He has for me today? No problem. I’m attached to Him already, so I already have what I need at my disposal.

If He decides it’s time for me to forgive? No problem. His forgiveness is already flowing through me.

Need some love today? No problem. His love is already in me.

See how simple it is? Yet, most of the time, we make it so complicated.

Jesus says in Matthew 10:28, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” He goes on to say in verse 30 of this same chapter, “…For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Let’s choose the easy path today, the less complicated perfect will of our Father and simply stay connected to our Vine, Jesus. Let’s sit in His presence, breathe Him in and de-stress knowing He’s got it all and simply abide as He has called us to knowing that all the branch has to do is stay connected to the Vine. He does the rest.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

** Photo by Kerry Vale Vineyard  “Adopt a Vine”

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Can God be Trusted?

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This week’s blog is a video I made over a year ago, but God kept bringing it to mind once again. What a beautiful reminder to keep us going this year…our God can be trusted.

Can God be Trusted?

Lesson One – Activity Does Not Indicate Life

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I’ve been learning a lot of lessons over the last few months, so I thought I’d begin to share them with you.

Lesson one – Activity does not necessarily indicate life.

Throughout my life I have often assumed that as long as I was active in church, as long as I was checking all my “good girl” boxes, I was living the life meant for me.

Same with churches I’ve been involved with. As long as the calendar is full, everything must be okay, right? I thought that we must be on the right track if we are a church filled with activities and good deeds. I thought that we must be alive in Christ because we were active.

What I’m learning though is that activity and life are not the same. Growth indicates life. Fruit reveals life, not just a flurry of activity.

Think about it, every Saturday I could go into my back yard, pick up a dead branch and shake it around. The branch would be active every Saturday, but it would still be dead. In order for the branch to be alive, it must be attached to the tree. It must have a life source.

In order for me to be alive, I have to be attached to my Life Source as well.

Jesus says in John 15:4-7, “Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 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.  If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.”

I am to remain attached to my Life Source, my Vine, my Jesus. That’s the only way I am truly alive. That’s the only way any ministry is truly alive.

Activity does not equal life.

I pray moving forward that I remember this lesson well. I pray I remember that even when I’m active, if I am not drawing every ounce of strength from my Lord, nothing of worth is taking place. Without a Life Source, everything will be like branches that are dried up and withered that are only good for a very brief flash of light. I don’t know about you, but I am so sick of the small flashes of light. We are called to be reflections of the glory of a God who lights up every inch of heaven, not a flash.

So, let’s ask ourselves, “Am I truly alive in Christ? Am I depending on Him for every resource? Or, am I okay with just being active?”

Lesson One – Activity does not indicate life.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

** Photo by livingprepared.blogspot.com

Strength Through Weakness

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First Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”

A few weeks ago I came across an article that talked about how over the years Christians have misinterpreted First Corinthians 10:13. We have superimposed its teaching over every circumstance of our lives, not just in the area of temptation. For instance, how many times have you heard someone say, “God will not give you more than you can bear?” Is that really what this verse says? Does it say that in every area of your life God will make a way of escape? Does it say that I will be able to endure whatever God places in my path?

In actuality, First Corinthians 10 says that God will never give us more temptation than we can handle. This was a huge “Aha!” moment for me. After all, the Lord has been teaching me for some time that I can do nothing through self, but anything though Him. If I believe that God will never give me more than I can handle, what’s the point in being able to do all things through Christ as Philippians 4:13 says? If God never puts on my back a heavier load than I can carry, why does He bother to say in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest”? So, when people would say, “God will not give you more than you can handle,” things just didn’t connect well for me. My spirit was torn between falling to my knees in full surrender, or “bucking up” and getting the job done. As I realized this verse only addresses temptation, the dots started connecting.

I am actually finding as I walk this journey of the Christian life (or as I crawl depending on the day) that God always gives me more than I can bear. It’s not to prove He can, or make my life miserable, it’s simply to help me realize that I truly can do nothing through self. He gives me more than I can bear to drive me to fellowship with Him. Not the kind of fellowship that’s short little prayers, but the kind of fellowship where I am desperate for His presence in my life. When I die to self and allow Him to live through me, that’s when all things are possible. When I am abiding in Christ, my Source is the vine and has nothing to do with me (the branch). It’s all Him.

Have you ever seen a branch that is able to hold much without its connection to the tree? I haven’t. When a branch is out by its lonesome, all I do is collect it for the burn pile. I would never think to depend on it to hold anything. If I needed to hang something, I would naturally go to a nearby tree where the branch is still attached. In the physical world, we realize that the branch has no strength on its own. We know that it must be attached.

We also need to be remember that sometimes, even when the branch has the appearance of attachment, it can still really not be connected at all. If it’s not linked, it will still have no power to hold anything no matter what it looks like. A strong, living, fully functioning branch is always totally dependent on its life source. It’s not just sitting there. It’s actually drawing its strength from its source. A branch has no strength on its own and neither do we.

Dependence is a full-time job. Can you imagine how strong the branch would be if it only connected to the tree once a week? How about three times a week? How about every day? Its connection to its source is the key to its strength. Its total dependence on its root is the key to its ability to hold any weight.

So it is with us. I’m sorry people, but even if you go to the best church in the whole world, depending on it will not bring automatic dependence on the Lord. Your church will help you stay accountable to that dependence. It will help you remember that God alone is your strength. It will encourage you to worship, but it cannot make you dependent on the Lord. Only you can do that. Only you are able to realize as Paul did in I Corinthians 15:31 that we must die daily. We are not called to stand strong. We are called to die. We are called to be completely and totally dependent on our God.

If you are going through more than you can bear, know that it’s a good thing. God is calling you to be totally and completely dependent on Him. He is reminding you that He wants all of you, all the time. He is calling you to enter into true intimacy with Him and stay there. He is calling you to death so that His resurrection can live through you.

So, let’s remember that in actuality, God always gives us more than we can bear and let’s praise Him for that today. If He didn’t drive us to our knees, we would never get there. I am going to leave you with a verse that sums all this up beautifully. Second Corinthians 12:10 says, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Seeking Hearts Ministries

As a bee searches for pollen, Lord help us to faithfully seek You alone.