Tag: Food For Growth

⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ~ John 15:8, 10

God wants something in return from us once we accept His free gift of salvation. How does that work? God doesn’t want to just redeem us and we remain exactly the same; He wants us to change and grow. He wants us to bear fruit that not only brings glory to His Name but grows our relationship with Him and shows others the way to Him.

God is glorified when we bear fruit, and we bear fruit when we have such a close relationship with Jesus that we can ask whatever we wish, and it will be done for us. How is all of this done? We have to abide in Him. Matter of fact, I would venture to say that it is impossible to get our heart’s desire without continuously abiding in Jesus’ love.

If abiding is so important, how do we abide? Jesus told us that if we keep His commandments, we will abide in His love. Jesus was speaking from experience. He kept His Father’s commandments, and He abided in His Father’s love. So, He gave us the same commandment. Therefore, if we want the benefits, we must adhere to the requirements. We can’t expect to reap if we don’t first sow.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Sow Good Seed.

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⁴³ You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. ~ Matthew 5:43-48

There’s a true story of five men who went into the jungle of Ecuador in order to witness to the Waodoni people, who had never heard the good news of Jesus. Each of the five men left behind wives and children. They died at the hands of those they were witnesses to. Their wives and children then came to witness to those same people who had killed them. Those men who killed those five missionaries found Jesus. The son of one of the men became like a son to the man who killed his father. He explained that his father and the other four men didn’t get to enjoy their children or grandchildren, but for the first time in Waodoni history, there are many grandfathers. Those five men willingly gave their lives so that an entire people might hear and accept the good news of Jesus Christ.

How many of us are willing to give our lives to save another? Even more so, how many of us are willing to forgive someone for a small transgression, let alone taking the life of your parent or spouse? Many of us would find this nearly impossible to do, but this is what we are all called to do. We are all called to love. We are all called to forgive. We are all called to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. That is the universal overall call of every single believer.

How many of us miss out on sharing the gospel with someone because they’ve offended us or they’ve mistreated us or someone we love? Turning the other cheek and loving our enemies is one of, if not the hardest, commands we are given to follow. It’s through this that they will know we are followers of Christ. By our love. Our life isn’t our own. We are now a vessel for God to use to save the world. For how can they know if someone doesn’t tell them?

Dear LORD, please forgive me for not sharing Your Gospel the way I should. Soften my heart so that I might love my neighbor as myself and even my enemy. Humble me and fill me with love so that I might turn the other cheek regardless of what is done to me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹³ And He said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” ~ Isaiah 7:13-14

It was because of Ahaz’s rebellion and blatant disbelief that he wouldn’t ask the LORD for a sign. He was putting his hope and trust in idols, not in the Living God. So, he refused to commit himself to God by asking for a sign because if he did, then he would have been obligated to trust God. So, God responded by saying that He Himself would give a sign by sending a deliverer to not only save Israel but will save everyone who will believe, whomsoever will…

Jesus came to be the way for everyone from every nation, every tribe, and every tongue. No one is left out, excluded, or disqualified from the plan of salvation. Whomsoever will, can come and receive through faith the free gift of salvation.

That prophecy came to pass over 700 years after it was made in the God-man Jesus Christ. The promise of Revelation 21 was given to us over 2,000 years ago. And not one of God’s good promises has ever failed, and this one will not either.

So, prepare yourself and your house; Jesus is coming back. Make no mistake, He will come back to get us so that where He is, there we will be also, and there we will be with Him forever and ever.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For His Return.

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¹⁵ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ~ John 15:1

We are the branches, Jesus is the vine, and our Heavenly Father is the vinedresser. What is the role of a vinedresser in the vineyard? First, the vinedresser selects the canes that will grow the branches. Second, he inspects every branch to make sure they are growing properly, and he prunes off any spare or unwanted canes so that the branches can have room to grow and grow vigorously. He doesn’t expect the branch to produce fruit the first day or the first month even, but he does expect them to grow and grow healthy and then, in their season, bear fruit.

Then, he passes through the vineyard again and prunes off all unwanted buds and shoots before the growth spurt leading up to flowering and pollination starts. The vinedresser is always inspecting and always pruning for maximum fruit production. In fact, the whole season is all about pruning for optimum fruit production. He inspects the trunk, which is the vine, and removes any growth that is coming out on it because it is not supposed to be there.

In the parable of the Good Shepherd, Jesus said that if any man does not enter the sheepfold by the door, he is a thief, John chapter 10:1-2. Then, in Matthew 22, He tells the parable of the Wedding Feast. In it, He said that a man came into the wedding without having wedding garments on. When the king came in to inspect the guests, He saw a man there without wedding garments. He asked him how he got in without wedding garments.

The man could not answer, so the king called the attendants and instructed them to bind the man hand and foot and cast him into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Please understand you may look like one of the wedding guests. You may act like one of the wedding guests. You may go to church every Sunday. You may claim to know Jesus. You may even teach a Sunday school class, but if you don’t truly know Jesus, or better yet, if Jesus doesn’t know you… if you don’t abide in His love… if you don’t bear fruit… You don’t have a chance. You will be thrown out into outer darkness.

Dear LORD, please help me to not just go through the motions but to fully submit myself to You. Help me to have a true desire and yearning for You. Teach me to pant for You like a deer pants for water. For You alone have living water. Please forgive me for all the times I chose the things of the world over You. Thank You for Your never-ending love and Your mercy that’s renewed each and every morning. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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³⁰And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. ³¹Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God. ~ Ezekiel 22:30-31

All God needed to make intercession for His people was one man, one woman, one child, just one person who was willing to take Him at His WORD and say, ‘Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.’ One person to stand and fight. One person to intercede for the rest that the rest might be saved, but He found none.

Today is no different. God is looking for one person to stand in the gap. One person to pray. One person to fully follow Him and spread His Word. God can do mighty things through one willing soul. God changed the entire gentile world with one willing soul, Paul.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be A Willing Soul.

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¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:1-7

Paul talks about a departing from the Truth when he plainly says that the Day of the LORD cannot come unless the rebellion occurs first. That word rebellion is the Greek word apostasia, which signifies a state of apostasy.

The word apostasy means:

An abandoning of what one has believed in, as a faith, cause, or principles.

Webster’s New World Dictionary

Many are departing from the truth and turning to the teachings of demons, to lies, and to the occult. That is why the Church of Laodicea has grown lukewarm. We’ve flung down our weapons. We’ve exited the battlefield. We’ve abandoned the ramparts. We’ve deserted the parapets. We’ve fallen asleep during our watch upon the walls. And We’ve walked away from the cause. We’ve become like mute dogs who do not bark. We would rather offend our God than offend man. What a lukewarm Church we’ve become.

No wonder God has removed His protection by spewing us out of His mouth, as He states in Revelation 3:15-16.

And because We’ve become so lukewarm, God is not willing to hold back the Tribulation any longer. But because of His great love and great mercy, He will cut those days short. It’s because of us that our God is willing to cut those days short. It is because of the great love Jesus has for His Bride, the Church. Our God is a loving and compassionate God.

Dear LORD, thank You for Your mercy and love and compassion upon us, even when it’s our own fault that we are going through trials and tribulations. Please strengthen my mind, body, and soul so that I might stand firmly when Tribulation begins on this earth. Please fill me with Your Word and Your Holy Spirit so that I might grow in You. Teach me to overcome the world. Teach me to stay strong in You regardless of what happens around me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  ~ Matthew 7:12^NIV

We’re taught the Golden Rule from an early age. It’s even taught outside the Church by non-believers. It’s a cliché that is often overused yet is rarely put into practice. It’s very easy to see how people treat us, but it’s often difficult to see how we treat people.

Solomon tells us to cast our bread upon the waters so that in many days it will return to us (Ecclesiastes 11:1). Paul put it this way: what we sow, that we shall also reap (Galatians 6:7). In other words, what you are lacking from other people, do that to them. If you feel that you’re lacking love from your spouse, give them more love. If you feel you’re lacking respect from someone, give them more respect. Do to them exactly what you want them to do to you. And as you do that, place their name before God with your request. Ask God to move in their life and use what you’re doing as a light for them.

It may not change them overnight, but through faith, prayer, and perseverance by the grace of God, they will change. So, stay encouraged and remain diligent. The old saying is true: change always starts with you.

Dear LORD, please help me to be the change I want to see in this world. Help me to treat others how I would like them to treat me. Help me to turn the other cheek and not hold their shortcomings against them as I pray they don’t hold my shortcomings against me. Teach me to be the light in this dark world and strengthen me for the path You have set before me. Please fill me with Your love, mercy, and grace. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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²⁹ Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. ³¹ The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep His commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book. ³² Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. ³³ Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ~ 2 Chronicles 34:29-33

The people of Israel weren’t living according to the Law of the LORD their God. In fact, they had fallen so far away from God that King Josiah had to renew the covenant with the LORD that his fathers had broken. King Josiah didn’t stop there. He didn’t just correct himself. He didn’t cleanse himself. No. King Josiah brought all of his people and had them renew the covenant with the LORD as well.

It wasn’t enough for King Josiah to be following God. It wasn’t enough for even just the Levites and priests to be renewed and restored to the covenant of the LORD. King Josiah understood that all of the land was under him, from the greatest to the least. All the people were under him, and if they were under him, their blood would be required at his hand. So, often, we’re put in a place of leadership that we take for granted. It doesn’t have to be over many people. It doesn’t even have to look like a place of leadership. It simply means that there are people who look to you to guide them in their lives. It could be as large as a body of souls that come to hear you preach and teach every Sunday. And it could be as small as one single soul looking up to you.

Each of us has at least one person looking to us for help, guidance, and advice. What we do to help that one or many will affect our eternity. Just as God warned Ezekiel that remaining silent when he saw someone in sin would place their blood on his head, so is it for us. We each have a purpose—a universal purpose to win souls. That’s not just the preacher’s job; that’s each and every Christian’s job. We’re to spread God’s Word. We’re to be the light in the darkness. Christ is to live through each of us.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for any time that I’ve fallen down on shepherding the people you have given to me. Please help me to stand firmly and confidently as King Josiah did. Help me not to overlook even the smallest influence I might have in someone’s life. Please help me to always be a light pointing others back to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ~ Romans 12:1

A common prayer in the Church is, “Use me, LORD,” but I don’t think we fully understand what this prayer means. See, God is willing to use anyone who is willing to be used. And often, we’ll be very quick to raise our hand and scream yes, I’m willing to be used. Then, we go back to our everyday lives. This isn’t what God wants. God wants a willing heart. What does that mean? King David wasn’t a perfect man by any means of the word, but he had a heart for God.

Yes, King David made many mistakes, but he always gave God His all. Not just coming to church on Sunday and maybe even raising a hand during worship. No. David gave his all, and when he was shamed by his wife, he said he would become even more undignified than that. When God dwelt in a tent, and he dwelt in a palace, he sought out a place for God’s house. He wanted desperately to build God a dwelling place, but he couldn’t. Did that stop David from giving something to God, though? No. David went and bought the ground that the future Temple would be built on. Not only did he buy it, he bought it at full price even when the owner told him he’d give it to him for free. Why didn’t David just take the land for free? Because he refused to give God an offering that cost him nothing.

Today, the Church can’t even give God more than 5 minutes before they fall asleep for the night. We can’t even make it all the way through His Word one time. We know about celebrities, cars, motorcycles, movies, video games, athletes, businessmen, etc., but we don’t know the first thing about God. Yet we pray, “Use me, LORD. Use me.” How can we pray a prayer like that and act as if we don’t even care about God? I can only imagine that’s like sending your father a letter to call you but keeping your phone off the hook so that the call can’t go through. It must feel devastating to God knowing that you gave mankind everything. You didn’t hold anything back, not even yourself, and mankind can’t even give you an hour of their day.

Dear LORD, help me to not pray empty words that sound good, but to always pray what my heart will back up. I don’t want to live my life as if You don’t matter. Please, Jesus, be the center of my life. Be the foundation on which I build my life. Help me not to be distracted by the things of this world; instead, help me to be focused on You and You alone. Please, God, don’t give up on me, though You have every right to. Please forgive me for treating You with no reverence or regard. And please help me to never do it again. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to Him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” ~ John 21:15-17

Three times, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. At the third time, Peter’s heart broke because of the question. I want you to remember that just three days prior, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus. And at that third time, Jesus looked directly at Peter. Jesus is now giving Peter the chance to make things right, but it wasn’t enough for Peter to have just said that he loved Jesus. Jesus gave him three things to do to prove that he loved Him. Today, we’re in the same boat as Peter.

We’ve just fallen down. We’ve relapsed. We gave into temptation again. We took a bite of that forbidden fruit. Now, Christ is holding out His hand, asking, ‘Do you love me?’ Of course, we tell Him yes. Of course, we believe that we do as well, but just as Peter had things to do in order to prove his love for Christ, so do we. We have to follow His commands. Yes, we will make mistakes. Yes, we will fall down. Yes, we will give into temptation, but we have to get on our knees, beg for forgiveness, and walk away from our failure. We have to walk away from where we’ve just messed up. It’s not enough to just say that we love Jesus; we have to live for Him. Our actions have to say that we love Jesus as well as our words.

Dear LORD, please help my actions to say that I love You. Help me to never offer You empty words that have no meaning. Help me to always live my life for You. Help me to always put Your ways and Your kingdom first above all else. Teach me to truly follow You and love You the way that You deserve. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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