The other day I had to go to one of our (LifeBUILDERS) properties to let someone in, we are in the process of renovating a house. Growing up the fence of this house were the prettiest purple flowers I ever seen! I walked over to take a moment to "smell the roses" if you will! I begin to pull some of the weeds surrounding the flowers and I realized I accidentally pulled the branch that was connected to the flowers ;( I was bummed!! I went back just a few short hours later to lock up and the flowers were completely wilted and almost dead - already!!!
I had a very vivid - real life picture of John 15, especially verse 5 - I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
Apart from Him we can do absolutely NOTHING! What was amazing to me is that these flowers that were once so beautiful, vibrant and full of life were completely lifeless, wilted and almost dead - within moments of being disconnected from the vine!
So it is with us, the moment we allow sin and things that are unpleasing to the Lord we disconnected ourselves from the vine. The moment we do that - we are no longer abiding or living in Him. How quick and easy it can be at times to skimp on our devotion time or listen to this person gossip or allow offense to build up. Those things suck the life out of us and soon, if not quick to repent, we find our self lifeless, drained, sapped of the vibrant life God infuses to us while we are connected to Him and drawing from His Spirit in our secret place.
BUT GOD!! He is a God of RESTORATION and He does make ALL THINGS NEW!! Been feeling a little disconnected!? Time to repent and reconnect, He is the Master Gardener and is waiting with open arms to prune you back into shape!
Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. John 15:2
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Complain and curse God or draw closer and conform to His will...
We pray it often... Oh Lord, I just want you, I just want to know you more, Your ALL I NEED. We even qoute the verses like 1 Corinthians 2:2 -For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified and Philippians 3:10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death. And it's great to pray that and wonderful to qoute such verses, dont get me wrong I'm not minimizing those things. But is He REALLY ALL we want, does He truly satisfy our every longing? In the deep recesses or our hearts are we yearning for MORE? Something more than "JUST JESUS" to fill those empty voids we have inside of us... A relationship, money, power, prestige, you name it. What do you crave more than the presence and satisfaction of the true and living God Himself?
As I was meditating on this the other morning, I heard that still small voice - "If I were to strip you of EVERTHING and EVERYONE would I be enough... Would I TRULY be ALL you want and ALL you need?" We bark our lists of demands off to God and heep our pride and arrogance before Him as if He is our genie in a bottle and when He doesnt answer when we want Him to we distance ourselves from Him with our pity party, woe is me attitude. As if we are hurting or punishing Him; we are only hurting ourselves.
These words began to ring in my spirit as well...
"When things aren't going your way, when your prayers have gone unanswered, when theres no money in the bank and you feel as if everything is crashing in on you - will you complain and curse God or will you draw closer and conform to His will?" In the words of Joyce Meyer "Complain and remain or praised and be raised!"
Though the fig tree doesn’t bloom and there’s no produce on the vine; though the olive crop withers, and the fields don’t provide food; though the sheep is cut off from the pen, and there is no cattle in the stalls; I will rejoice in the LORD. I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance. Habakkuk 3:17-18(CEB)
As I was meditating on this the other morning, I heard that still small voice - "If I were to strip you of EVERTHING and EVERYONE would I be enough... Would I TRULY be ALL you want and ALL you need?" We bark our lists of demands off to God and heep our pride and arrogance before Him as if He is our genie in a bottle and when He doesnt answer when we want Him to we distance ourselves from Him with our pity party, woe is me attitude. As if we are hurting or punishing Him; we are only hurting ourselves.
These words began to ring in my spirit as well...
"When things aren't going your way, when your prayers have gone unanswered, when theres no money in the bank and you feel as if everything is crashing in on you - will you complain and curse God or will you draw closer and conform to His will?" In the words of Joyce Meyer "Complain and remain or praised and be raised!"
Though the fig tree doesn’t bloom and there’s no produce on the vine; though the olive crop withers, and the fields don’t provide food; though the sheep is cut off from the pen, and there is no cattle in the stalls; I will rejoice in the LORD. I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance. Habakkuk 3:17-18(CEB)
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