08/03/09

Good Monday Mornin!

A couple of weekends ago Beverly and I went riding with friends down at Dauset Trails. As we rode along I started noticing that someone that had ridden before us had started breaking small branches off of trees here and there. And where they had broke them they had left them connected, but the leaves had turned brown and died because the relationship to the main tree had been ruptured. As I looked at them over and over as we rode along, I though about Jesus’ words in John 15:5-8. . .

“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 picked up, 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. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

One of the hardest things that a Christian will ever do is to stay connected to Jesus. Jesus is the true source of life and we have to be willing to trust in that and to stay connected or we will wither. I wish that there were some formula that I could give that would keep each and every one of us connected to Jesus, but the truth is there isn’t one. It is like any other relationship we have to work at it. But here are some pointers. . .

1.                           Talk to Him. As I have said repeatedly we cannot go against the Jesus’ will if we are in communication with Him. It is almost impossible to blatantly walk in sin or against God’s will if we are talking to Him. When things cross through our lives that we know go against His principles and laws, we have to talk to Him about them and He will bring light on that matter.

2.                           Stay in the Bible in some capacity. I try my best to have one at arms reach most of the time. When Scriptures hit my head I can go look them up and also look at the context of them. This is usually the most effective way that God speaks to me.

3.                           Stay in church. The Bible does not call the church the Body of Christ for nothing! The Church is the way Christ is personified on earth. It is how He touches us with His hands, and loves us with His heart. But the church is made up of broken people just like you and they are not always going to be perfect like Jesus, therefore you have to be on your guard not to let Satan come in and lie to you.

These three little things are not all there is to the spiritual life, nor is there some formula that will insure that you will always be on track. They are essential to any relationship that you would have. But I can promise you this, unless you are trying to stay connected to The Vine, you will wither. And be careful because as you wither life gets harder and harder, and sin creeps closer and closer until one day you wake up and life is a mess.

I love you all! Have a great week.

 Pastor Jason Lyle

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Hebrews 10:39