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For my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. John 10:29
In the previous verse Jesus teaches that as our Good Shepherd we are safe in his hands. Now, as he continues His teaching about being our Good Shepherd he gives us further assurance of our security in Him.
We are not only safe because of Jesus power and strength, as our savior, we are safe because we are also in the Father’s hands and He is ‘more powerful than anyone else’. It’s easy here to miss a vital truth. Jesus says ‘no one’ not ‘nothing’.
We struggle with doubt. We struggle with fear. We struggle with anger. We are hurt by the church and hurt by those who don’t believe. But those are all actions from our main enemy, Satan. He will send anything in our way to pull us away from the Father and his eternal promises.
When we are in His hands, none of the tactics of Satan or his evil cohorts can pull us away. You are doubly protected, doubly loved, doubly cared for. Even when we stray away, He knows where we are and seeks us out. There is no reason to fear when the Father is near.
For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 2 Corinthians 4:17
I recently went through some pretty significant health issues that I’m still in the process of recovering from. I’m so thankful for the medical personnel that tended to me and continue to tend to me through this ordeal.
One of the things I find humorous is how calm and almost nonchalant my surgeon was about the surgery. In a calm manner he told us what he would do, what the expectations were, what the risks were and what I could expect in the future. All this was said in a calm, factual manner, yet in our minds it was huge! Why? Because this was something totally out of our control and would be life-changing.
When I read the above verse my first inclination would be to say to the Apostle Paul, “What do you mean this present struggle is small? My life is in the balance here!” But we look in the temporal, Paul was looking with an eternal perspective.
Whether we live to be 100 or die young, our earthly lives are a blip on the screen, a tiny dot on the horizon. Yet the glory we receive on the other end when we see Jesus will make all the social unrest, the political divisions and the unanswered prayers seem insignificant.
An eternal perspective, based on our faith in Jesus, allows us to have peace and security in a troubled world because the best is yet to come and far exceeds anything we can imagine.
Focus on the eternal.
Value all the experiences you go through in life.
Rest in his promise of the glory we have ahead of us in eternity with Him!
He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. John 15:2
Sometimes we read scripture with a glass-half-full philosophy. For example, John 15 is one of the most intimate passages in all of the gospels. In Jesus final hours, he shares with his disciples his love. “I’m the vine.” “I call you friends” “I love you, love as you’ve seen me love time and again”.
Read through this passage with the glass-FULL (or overflowing) philosophy. Read it with the theme of unconditional love and mercy and grace.
Ironically, some get caught up in the ‘pruning’, the ‘cutting away’, the ‘casting in the fire.’ What if we look at this passage in positive, loving, graceful eyes. This cutting isn’t an act of anger or punishment, but an act of love.
The Father, the master gardener knows exactly what we need to rise above the muck and mire of life. The Master Gardener knows which things to take away so we can flourish. The Master Gardener wants his vines to be healthy, vibrant, effective. Healthy branches can fight off disease better. Healthy branches are able to receive all the benefits of a vine that continually sends vital nutrients into it.
Pruning? Yes, it will happen. Cutting away? Yes, it may seem painful to us at the time. Draw closer to Christ and His teaching, ask Him to help you abide in Him. Let ‘Him who began this good work in you complete it.’ Remember that everything the Master Gardener does in his vineyard is for our good. Trust the Master Gardener to care for you. He knows exactly what you need in this hour of struggle.
We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 1 Thessalonians 1:4
There are few things we can know for sure. We watch the weather forecast in hopes of ‘knowing’ what the weather will be like, and sometimes the meteorologists are actually right!
You may read the business section to see how your IRA or retirement account is doing. You may study prophecy to see what is going to happen in the future. The reality is, there just aren’t many guarantees in life!
Some of us lament over the past. Some are dissatisfied with today. Some are full of anxiety over tomorrow. Sometimes it’s refreshing to focus on the things we know. Especially since the things we know will carry us through the unknown.
Sometimes the things we know get lost in the distractions of the things we aren’t sure about or are fearful. So here is your reminder for today. It’s set in stone. It’s as secure as a mountain. It’s withstood the storms of time. It’s weathered every attack throughout history. Ready?
God chose you. He didn’t choose you for your looks, your spotless past, your strength, your financial stability or your ability to be of any value to him at all! He chose you because he loves you with a love you can never return, never be worthy of and never run from. You are loved. Live in the strength of that truth!
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. John 15:8
Imagine having the craving for an apple, seeing an apple tree, and then, in your excitement going up to grab an apple only to find Brussel sprouts hanging from the branches!
What a huge disappointment! Of course, nothing like that could happen, right? After all Apple trees only produce apples. Orange trees only produce oranges and brussels sprouts? Well, that’s another story.
In John chapter 15 Jesus tells us that he is the vine, and we are the branches. The branches are worthless without the vine. The branch does not strive to produce fruit. The fruit comes naturally as a result of the work of the vine.
Jesus says that when we produce fruit, it brings glory to the father. Think of glory here as being joy. The father takes great joy and seeing us produce fruit. But the father is also the one that causes the fruit to form. Our job is just to show the fruit that he’s given us.
So don’t get tired. Don’t get weary. Don’t give up on the good works you do. Don’t give up on the love that you show. Others may not see, or acknowledge your efforts, but God does. It’s these things that gives the father great joy as he produces fruit in your life.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 