Long before he [God] laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Affirmation
In the first part of the verse, the apostle John says we really are God's children. Imagine all that goes with that. God loves us not only like we love our own kids, but even more. A parent's love for their children is tough to explain, but it involves yearning for nothing but success and happiness for them. Now imagine a perfect love, which only God is capable of producing. Take the moment when you felt love the most, and magnify it. That's the warm embrace we are walking in through life all the time!
A promise
"...when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is." What an amazing promise that is. Imagine the day we will see Jesus for who he really is, without our preconceived notions, or stereotypes that we (after all we're only human) have acquired through life. What will that day be like? What will we do or say? When will that day be?
A challenge
"...all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure." For me this is when reality sets in. Personally a challenge like this can be very depressing if I just consider the statement. John doesn't ask us to strive to be pure, or try to be pure. He says everyone who believes this WILL keep themselves pure. Does that mean, the second a stray sinful thought enters our heads we have failed? And does failing then mean we don't really believe after all?
This kind of thinking is a very slippery slope and I don't mind admitting, I spend most of my life sliding down that slope on my butt, and crawling back up.
This challenge has to be taken into context with the rest of the bible, and the analogy as God as our father. To be pure for Christ we need His help!. We are not without sin, and God knows it. But we can strive to deepen our faith, to let Christ hold the reigns on our life!
If we were really pure "just as Christ is", would we even need God? Wouldn't Jesus' sacrifice have been a waste?
If this verse says one thing to me, it says God loves us like a parent, and one day we will see just how deep that love is. It's so deep that we cannot imagine a love that perfect. If we try to take every step with Christ, we can learn more and help others learn as well.
Is there anything better than that?
Greg Vandermeulen
(cc)
6In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
What sticks out to me in this passage?
"In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him"
In all your ways know Him
In all your ways recognize Him.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
What does it mean to know, recognize, and acknowledge Him in every circumstance and person? I believe it takes a trained eye. An eye that sees things as they really are.
A couple of my uncles are big into NASCAR. To me it looks like the same thing for hours: cars driving in a circle or is it a figure-eight? Boring. My aunt used to think the same thing until she started seeing all the intricate work and strategies that are at work. Her eye became trained to see what was really going on which opened a whole new world of excitement in NASCAR for her.
On my drive to work, I see the same hawk sitting on the same post looking for mice. Its eye is trained to know & recognize these lil' creatures.
You know those weird hologram pictures that were popular years ago? The ones that just look like a series of patterns, but when you cross your eyes and stare at them they become these 3-dimensional pictures? It took me awhile to train my eye to be able to conquer these art pieces, but once I was able to, it opened a whole new hologram-world for me!
One of my prayers this past summer was to see circumstances and people for who and what they really are through knowing and recognizing Him. It was eye-opening! As different people came to mind, I would ask "Jesus how do you see Susie?" I learned that my human eyes tend to see things as very ordinary rather than infused with His delight and purpose.
And so today as buy fresh honey from the guy down the street, I will ask Jesus how he sees this man. AND to you, the reader, I will ask: who is the one person/circumstance you can ask this about today?
Posted by Andrea Bergman
John 15 5-7 (NIV) says:
"I am the vine you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers such branches are thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you."
Life is crazy. Sometimes it can become a competition to see who is busiest and most involved. Ever since I was healed I have felt like I am feasting at a banqueting table, I want to taste and savor every morsel of life, I don't want to miss a moment and indeed want to make up for time lost. Jesus challenges me with the words from Psalm 46 "Be still and know that I am God." He is found in the stillness of each day I know if I sit in that stillness Jesus will speak from his heart to mine. The above passage from John reminds me that my priority each day is to remain in him. I'm a passionate person, I feel joy and pain with equal intensity. Today, Jesus nudges me and tells me that He is constant and unchanging. As humans our emotions may be up or down but Jesus stays constant and true never changing in his desire to love us and speak truth into our lives. There is nothing I can do to gain/achieve a divine relationship with Jesus; I need only to remain in him.
Bev
Hands On Blog Entry – 10/6/08
Scripture passage – John 15:5-7
What do you want to highlight Jesus?
Verse 5 (The Message) – "Separated, you can't produce a thing."
How does this apply to my life Jesus?
It's quite simple. When you're separated from Me, you'll know it quickly. Your motives change and bad fruit emerges. Instead of living a life permeated with love and unity, your ego quickly takes over and makes it all about you. You choose power over servanthood and the elevation of your own ego over humility. Remember, the kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit – not those who think they've got it all figured out.
What do you want to say to me today?
Live out of who you know you are. The true self – who you are at the core of your being – is connected to Me. It's your choice to live out of that place or a place of separation.
You know that you've been created as a spiritual being that is connected to the source of all life. You know that I've called you good – just as you are this very moment! You know that you have nothing to prove. It is in this place of knowing who you really are – and living out of that knowledge – that brings you to a place of abundance.
Out of this place, God releases us, inspires us, and moves us into connectedness with OTHERS. This connection is vital to LIFE and incorporates others already in our life (family, friends, co-workers, neighbors), AND also others that we are not personally in relationship with yet, in a more global sense. Throughout this month we will be challenged to really get our hands on Connection to the Source, and to Others, both across the street and around the world!!
Be sure to check back regularly for updated posts.
Check out our resources page and take the Hands On Connectedness Challenge.
Posted by Ted Enns-Dyck
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