Apart From Me

My pastor recently preached a very powerful message encouraging us to stay connected with Jesus. If you boil down the Christian walk, it all comes down to that very simple concept. In John 15:5 Jesus 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."

Today do you find yourself disconnected from the vine? Do you have a shallow prayer life? Are you reading the word of God? Do you think about Jesus, God and heavenly things often during your day? Without doing these kinds of things we become disconnected from the vine. And Jesus tells us that apart from him we can do nothing. Notice that I didn’t ask if you're going to church, or doing ministry work. I think we can still fake our way through those without truly being connected to the vine. No, I’m talking about real time with Jesus. If you’re struggling in this area, it might make sense to schedule time with Jesus. Pray, read the word, seek God’s face, and do these things often. Because when we do, we can bear much fruit, and if we don’t we can do nothing.

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Jesus 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.” Being a follower of Christ isn’t just something we tell people we are. It isn’t something we only live out on Sundays or when it is convenient. It isn’t something we do half-heartedly. AND it isn’t something we can do without being connected to the vine. I’ve tried doing things in my own strength, and even if I’m trying to do something for the kingdom and am disconnected to Jesus it has always ended in epic failure. So I encourage you to make sure that you are connected to the vine, because apart from Jesus you can do nothing.

Grow Up

If you are like me, when you were young, you couldn’t wait to be an adult so that you could experience all of the privileges of being an adult. You could stay up late, drive yourself places, and spend your money the way you want. But with age also comes responsibility and an expectation that you will begin to act more mature, and put away childish ways. The same can be said when we grow in our faith. Paul reminds the church in first Corinthians 13:11:

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."

You see, when we become believers, our goal should be to grow in the Lord, to not remain as children. Do you know people who, by age, are considered adults, but by their actions still act like a child? It shouldn’t be that way for believers and our faith walk. Spiritually speaking, we should no longer talk, think or reason like we used to. We should become more and more mature in our faith, which means our goal should be to become more and more like Jesus. If you’ve been a believer for a long period of time, but still act like a child in the faith, I’d encourage you to take note of this portion of scripture.

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The goal of every believer should be to grow in the faith, to become more and more like Jesus. When we were young in the faith, spiritually speaking, we may have acted like a child. But as we grow, we should put childish things behind us. It should be evident to those around us that we are maturing… conforming into the likeness of Christ.

Secret Thoughts

I have to admit, I’m one of those people who talks to himself. Yes, out loud and yes, I’ve even been known to do it in public. Maybe I have some kind of disorder, or maybe I like to hear my thoughts even if by accident someone else hears them too. You are probably not like me and like to keep your thoughts silent. But whether you say them aloud or keep them in your head, the Spirit living inside of you knows all of your thoughts - even the secret ones. First Corinthians 2 verse 11 reminds us:

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."

So the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts and the Spirit living inside of us knows our thoughts. If you haven’t figured it out yet, there is no way to keep anything secret from God. He knows our hearts, probably because he knows our thoughts. People can hear our words and they can read our body language but they can’t read our minds. But when it comes to the Spirit, there is no such thing as a secret thought.

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Remember, when it comes to God, there is no such thing as a secret thought. He knows everything about us - the good, the bad and yes even the things we want to hide from him. All the more reason for us to live out in the open. When we do, there is no need for secrets. And if we have no secrets, we have no reason to lie - either to man, to God, or even to ourselves.

Not Alone

Do you ever feel alone in your despair? Feeling like whatever you’re going through you’re struggling alone. Even if there are people all around you, you feel like you’re on an island, and that God is nowhere to be found; that he isn’t answering your prayers, nor does he care what you’re going through? If you are in that place I want to encourage you to hold on. Would it surprise you that David, and even Jesus felt that way at one point? David writes in Psalm 22 verses 1 and 2:

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent."

Jesus used those same first few words while he was on the cross. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” David said, “why are you so far from the words of my groaning.” But God tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us. In your darkest hour, it may feel like you are alone and it may seem like God isn’t there, that he doesn’t care and that he isn’t answering your prayer. But we have to remember what he said - that he will never leave us nor forsake us. And the bible also reminds us that God is not a man that he would lie, so we know that his words are true. Just know that God loves you, he hears you and his ways are higher than our ways. At some point in each of our lives we find ourselves in that place. But the key is to persevere, and through it all, to trust God.

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When you feel like God has left you and that you’re facing life’s problems alone, I believe that is the most important time to trust Him. In that moment, you may feel the most vulnerable and you may feel like giving up. You may even feel like you want to curse God and blame him for abandoning you. But the truth is that even though we may not feel God, it would do us well to have faith in him. Remember what Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hang in there brothers and sisters and have faith.

No Turning Back

If you are a believer, you might attest that there are times in your life where you find you’re on a spiritual high, and other times where it seems you are losing every spiritual battle. I encourage you to take advantage of the high times, to press into God like never before. Spend more time with God, be more sensitive to the Spirit, encourage others, and allow God to take your walk to the next level. But if you are in one of those low times, don’t let the world or the sin that entangles you pull you away from Christ. In fact, it is during those times where we need the most encouragement. Hebrews reminds us in Chapter 3 verses 12 and 13:

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness."

These verses are actually referring to what the Israelites did in the desert, but we too need to make sure that when we find ourselves in our own spiritual desert that we heed these words. I like how it encourages that “none of us be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness”. Because you know sin is deceitful. It is a lie. It is false. We think we are getting something we want, when in actuality, we are hurting ourselves and our relationship with God. But if you find yourself on a spiritual high, I hope you are able to do what this scripture suggests - to encourage other believers who are struggling.

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We need to guard our hearts. Hebrews tells us that we shouldn’t have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from God. But that we should find encouragement in one another so that we will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. You see, we need each other. We need to lean on each other, encourage each other, and we need to do it, as long as it is called, “today”.