So, I began searching out some agricultural terms tonight based on a verse from the Proverb of the day - Proverbs 12:11 "Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense." The word "work" there is translated as "till" in the King James Version. I first looked at this word "till" which basically means to prepare the ground for receivign seed - plowing, breaking up, overturning, removing weeds, etc. Then, I was thinking about Jesus' use of and the Bible's use of the imagery of vines and vineyards to illustrate principles of the kingdom of God. After some semi-interesting reads on vineyards, grapes and wine,
I decided to narrow my search and typed in "God's Vineyard" and came across a message by Ray Stedman (don't worry if you have never heard of him, though you may want to check out some of his stuff after reading this message). The message I read was bascially Ray preaching through Jesus' discourse to the disciples after the Last Supper in John 15 about abiding in the vine. The take home message for me personally was that bearing fruit is about more than leading others to Christ; its not even mostly about leading people to Christ. It is about becoming more like Christ in character. The emphasis is on being, not doing. Jesus said, "You will be witnesses of Me". not do witnessing for Me. No matter how many years you've been walking with the Lord, the call to abide in Him and He in you (the message of John 15) remains essential and foundational. I've included below a link to the complete message. This is simple, straightforward, and edifying gospel truth. Enjoy!
http://www.pbc.org/files/messages/6023/3126.html
2 comments:
Really good word! It reminds me of an excellent concept Joelle and I read in "Parenting by the Book" by John Rosemond. Basically, the book is about living out of the God-given role and letting that drive how you interact and train your kids. The end result, when done properly, is a low-stress, almost relaxed, parenting method... acting on the authority you have as a parent.
It really makes sense... living out of who we are in the roles God has given us. Not worrying about "what do I need to do?" but instead concentrating on who we are in Christ and deepening our relationship with Him; then living with confidence out of it.
Anyway, just finished up some work, time for bed. Blessings bro, miss ya!
chris
Did a word study huh? That encourages me.
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