Thought that came like an arrow:

I was reading on Tuesday morning about John 14 and as I am reading this sentence flies through my mind. (Does that ever happen to you?) It’s like God breaking in to speak. It’s a glimmer of goodness to your heart, light to your understanding, hope to your soul.

Humility is to confess what is true, not what you want.

Wind Caught Whispers

Confessing what is true is humility because it requires you to let go of what you want and grab hold of what is truth regardless of what we may think, experience, or understand. Humility is the way we admit that we don’t know and that someone else does know. God knows. The Word of God knows. Humility accepts that. Humility gets The Everlasting God is higher than I.

Something I came across this week that was highlighted by the Lord:

²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1:27-31

In light of what the Spirit said above that humility is to confess what is true, not what I want. What I want to say is that – God chose me, chose us, even though sinful, we are worthy of love, and He wants us. But that is not how the scripture says it. It says He chose the foolish, weak, lowly and despised, so that we would have no reason to boast except in Jesus who became wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption for us. That is why all glory is to the Lord and not to me or you.

The goodness of God when He speak on scripture:

I’ve been reading in the Book of John. It is so rich!

⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

John 15:5-6

I’ve read this before. It is really easy to make the jump to I am a branch, therefore, if I don’t produce fruit, I am thrown away and burned. And we could even leap as far as, “I am going to hell.” But I don’t think that is in line with who our God is. So, we have to define some things first.

This is Jesus speaking to us. He says, I am the Vine; and you are the branches. Earlier in this chapter in verse 1, He says, I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. We are getting a metaphor to help us understand who Jesus is and who God the Father is. It is a metaphor of a Gardener tending a vine. It’s a garden picture. When the gardener comes to tend the vine. He is looking at the branches for health. He’s picking anything off that is dying, decaying, and withering. After the picking and removing. Gardeners will gather up the branches and use them for fire. Nothing wasted.

The word ABIDE means to remain connected to.

Anything that causes a branch to be disconnected from the vine then is a problem. Let’s look at 3 common grape vine issues:

Fungal spores often hide out in old organic material and usually impact foliage with surface-level symptoms.

Emotional, Character, and Intellectual superficiality – sometimes we just never let people in or deal with the real things under the surface. We can end up living a double life and have issue with integrity. We may even talk a good game, we can speak Christianese, but we don’t really ever sit very long with the scripture to find the deeper things behind what is being said.

Bacterial diseases are much more serious as they can spread quickly because of how contagious they are and can impact soil if the planting has been there too long. This is often an issue with large crops.

Sometimes we don’t move when we are supposed to move. That may not be to leave your church for another church. But it may mean, not staying in the same place of serving that you started with 10 years ago. Maybe you are to stay but have you sensed the Lord been nudging you to move and into growth, but you just stay still. Spiritual stagnation is a real thing. We can become complacent and just go through the motions. It’s easy and comfortable because we can do it like a robot. This can also be the issue if we just come to church week after week but never build relationships past the Sunday morning service. Being anonymous in a big group too long we start to feel isolated and lonely which can make it harder to reach out. Sometimes we just need to shake it up and try something new. Get closer, invite others in. It can be easy to live in a rut, resist change, and walk about without relationship, purpose, or vision.

Viral grape vine diseases can pass between vines through pests, or the use of previously infected plants. Viruses are tricky because symptoms depend on the grape variety and weather conditions, along with the fact that some grape vines are simply asymptomatic even in the presence of a virus.

Not dealing with issues, problems, and struggles is a big deal. We all have them but sometimes we act like we are doing fine but when pressure and problems surface we find out what we are made of. We can end up enabling each other rather than healing. If we don’t address our flaws and work on our issues, we can walk in and create an environment where hypocrisy thrives. In this kind of environment, we handle things in a very toxic manner, all while creating a toxic environment inside of our churches – one person at a time. Without accountability or self-awareness, we stagnate and never find true transformation.

Now, when I read these verses, instead of thinking about “God is just gonna cut me off!?” if I don’t produce. I think now, how like a gardener, He is about cultivating a healthy plant overall. Those who stay close to Jesus and are watching out for these “fungal, bacterial, and virus” issues will have greater potential to produce fruit.

What is that fruit? It is Christlike character! Let’s talk about that fire part:

A fire is an energy transfer. Wood, sticks, and branches are ignited. This provides heat and energy for something/someone else. Right? So, in essence, when we aren’t doing well and are dealing with all these “fungal, bacterial, and virus” issues that we are not taking care of. Our burn – can transfer heat for someone else’s capacity. Our burn – may be a catalyst for another’s wellness. It really is all depending on how we handle this abiding in Christ. Will we remain close and let God do His work and pruning or will we disconnect, wither, and be removed?

What I think is awesome, is that for some time a vine that has been cut back, branches removed, will be dormant, wound out and exposed until healed over. But then it can and often does grow back stronger and better than before. The key is always humility for when some branches are being cut back, others are thriving. That space is easy for jealousy and anger to plant their gross little bugs. Remember that in someone’s loss it may be your gain but if not for God’s grace we would all be in the same situation.

Came across this post from a few years ago in my FB memories:

So, remember to stay humble. We all walk through cycles of fruitfulness and burning of branches. But will we trust the Gardener? That’s the question!

Thanks for Listening,

Starla