Skip to main content

 


When Jesus Christ makes this statement, “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) it is incredibly freeing. We all, in varying degrees, seem to have swallowed and metabolized the lie that there is actually something we can do, must do to effect God’s salvation in our lives.

Think about this. Scripture states that we were dead in our sins, essentially alienated from God. If we are now alive, it is because we have received a new life, a new heart and spirit from God. What is dead has no capacity to change itself to any degree. Salvation is of the Lord, or it is not salvation at all. Knowledge of “self” never redeemed or transformed anyone. If we want to know who we are, we need to seek the one Who created us, and rely on His Word provided to us by the Holy Spirit that we might turn from self and turn to God alone.

To know and believe that life-change, healing, and the redemption of any and all aspects of our humanity is absolutely dependent upon Jesus living His life within us in the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit is humbling. But then, to acknowledge that He is God and we are not, sets us free to rely on the One Who never fails rather than stupidly relying on our consistently fallible selves.

To make your “home” in Jesus Christ, to know that your life flows from Him or not at all; to know that when you surrender to Him, believing Him for salvation, He comes and makes His permanent residence and home in you, is the beginning of living in true freedom.

It is the life-sap flowing from the Vine into the branches that causes fruit to be produce. The branch does not strain and groan, it receives, and the fruit it bears looks like the the Vine. The love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, meekness and self-control are the fruit of the Holy Spirit, not the fruit of human effort. The fruit of the Life and Love of Jesus Christ looks like this: (1 Cor. 13:4-7) “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

The fruit of the Life of Jesus borne in His followers is His own infinite love; identified because it is His Life and Love. It is joyful, peaceful, patience, good, gentle, meek and self-controlled; is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

The freedom to trust Him and to no longer live under any illusion that we can do anything to affect His salvation to any degree of true and lasting life-change releases us from bondage. He has promised that having begun a good work in us, He will bring it to completion. As Martin Luther penned in his memorable hymn, “If we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing…for God has will His strength to triumph through us.”

We are free to trust Him and Him alone…the One Who can never fail to finish what He has begun.

 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  PRAYER Jesus Christ NEVER taught on what we call "unanswered prayer." James wrote that a divided loyalty between trusting the Lord God for life and at the same time relying on the world's systems to get what you want will result in you not getting anything from God you may have prayed about. God will never reinforce the unbelief that flows from divided loyalty. THAT is not unanswered prayer. That is God saying, "No." to your request. God saying, "No." to your requests is not unanswered prayer. It is His grace. His "No" is just what I would want if I knew what He knows. The Lord also answers with, "Not now; not yet." because we are not yet prepared to receive what we think we need. God works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. If I am praying for something God wants to do in me and the Holy Spirit is working in me preparing me to receive what God has in store, His "Not yet." is NOT unanswered prayer. As we see...
Post a Comment
Read more
 HEBREWS 10:1-2, 10-18 "The sacrifices under that system ( the Old Covenant) were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.   If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.   For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.  Under the Old Covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.   But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.   There He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet.   For by that one offering He forever m...
Post a Comment
Read more
  From Oswald Chambers today: "If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness. What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!”...
Post a Comment
Read more