M
Matt777
Guest
Beloved brothers and sisters I write this to you because the Lord has really put it on my heart to bring encouragement to you all. So often in our lives we look in the mirror and we see failure and all manner of shortcoming. So often even the "good" things we do are tainted by pride and selfishness. Every breath we breathe and every beat of our hearts are gifts from God, yet we do not use every moment of our lives to his glory. Oh, how fallen are we! How wretched it is to be confined to sinful flesh! And yet, we know that we are children of God, that we are forgiven by the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The lives we live are NOT ours. They are his, we are his...he IS our life.
Do you remember how you were before you were saved? There is only one reason you are not like that now; grace. Remember the last time you fell into sin, and God let go for a little bit? What happened? You saw the depravity that still dwells in you. Why are you back? Grace. Are you victorious over sins that once held you captive? Why? Grace. You pray and read the word, why? Grace. You wake up in the morning, why? Grace. It is ALL of grace!
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
- John 15:4-5
There is no room for boasting, there is no room for pride, even our victories are but graces of a most gracious God, who is our true vine. We are but branches, and we are able to bear fruit to the glory of God, only as he works through us. Apart from him we can do nothing. Following from this most essential of truths, what is the real task of a Christian?
To abide in Christ. Our only task, from which absolutely everything else with follow, is simply to abide in him; the true vine from whom comes our fruit. If we are born again, if we are Children of the living God, then we are partakers of a divinely ordained and eternal relationship of love, by the grace of our heavenly Father. We MUST recognize that in ourselves, apart from the grace of God, there dwells no good thing. All of our pride is cast away by the realization that from HIM comes our fruit, and on our own we can do nothing. We MUST abide in Christ, the true vine, this is our task, this is what we must do day to day, moment to moment, until we take our last breath and depart to be with the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, pray. Pray, pray, pray, pray, and then pray some more. Cast ALL of your cares and concerns to the Lord. Let us learn to trust him with a child-like faith and obedience. Let us not worry about these miniscule things of the world that so often distract us and hold us back. Remember the words of the Lord;
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!"
- Matthew 6:25-30
I just pray that we may all learn to more and more die to self, and to trust in him who gives us life and sustains us. Brothers and sisters do not put off prayer, do not worry about what to pray about, just come to the Father as a dear child and let the Spirit pray through you. Abide in Christ, as branches in the true vine, that God may be glorified in the fruit he will prune you to bear.
Blessings in Christ
Do you remember how you were before you were saved? There is only one reason you are not like that now; grace. Remember the last time you fell into sin, and God let go for a little bit? What happened? You saw the depravity that still dwells in you. Why are you back? Grace. Are you victorious over sins that once held you captive? Why? Grace. You pray and read the word, why? Grace. You wake up in the morning, why? Grace. It is ALL of grace!
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
- John 15:4-5
There is no room for boasting, there is no room for pride, even our victories are but graces of a most gracious God, who is our true vine. We are but branches, and we are able to bear fruit to the glory of God, only as he works through us. Apart from him we can do nothing. Following from this most essential of truths, what is the real task of a Christian?
To abide in Christ. Our only task, from which absolutely everything else with follow, is simply to abide in him; the true vine from whom comes our fruit. If we are born again, if we are Children of the living God, then we are partakers of a divinely ordained and eternal relationship of love, by the grace of our heavenly Father. We MUST recognize that in ourselves, apart from the grace of God, there dwells no good thing. All of our pride is cast away by the realization that from HIM comes our fruit, and on our own we can do nothing. We MUST abide in Christ, the true vine, this is our task, this is what we must do day to day, moment to moment, until we take our last breath and depart to be with the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, pray. Pray, pray, pray, pray, and then pray some more. Cast ALL of your cares and concerns to the Lord. Let us learn to trust him with a child-like faith and obedience. Let us not worry about these miniscule things of the world that so often distract us and hold us back. Remember the words of the Lord;
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!"
- Matthew 6:25-30
I just pray that we may all learn to more and more die to self, and to trust in him who gives us life and sustains us. Brothers and sisters do not put off prayer, do not worry about what to pray about, just come to the Father as a dear child and let the Spirit pray through you. Abide in Christ, as branches in the true vine, that God may be glorified in the fruit he will prune you to bear.
Blessings in Christ