Show Yourself

"If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples"- John 15:7-8 (NIV).

This made me think of the passing of a dear saint. Her friend’s glowing description was fruit she was still bearing. Wouldn't we all like to hear those same accolades one day? Many times, people think of "fruit" as things we purposely go and do, but it's more than serving food to the shut-ins and money dropped in the bell-ringers' coffer in front of the local store. Fruit is produced throughout every day living: our attitudes, our words, our actions, our motives...how we are perceived by those God has placed around us. The blessings of God are evident in the lives of Jesus' disciples and people want to be around them. They recognize His disciples and want what the fruit bearer has...a deeper relationship with God. Our lives should be magnetic, attracting people to Jesus. A recluse cannot attain this. We have to be "in" the world, like Jesus was, yet "separated" in the way we live our lives. Jesus didn't say we would just bear fruit, He said we would bear "much" fruit. Our fruit glorifies God, so remain in the vine (Jesus) and let His Word enable and enrich the branch (you) (John 15:5). Show yourself to be Jesus' disciple.  

The Gift of Words

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"- Acts 20:35 (NIV).

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:10). We always think of "giving" as money and/or time, but many times the gift is in our words. Not all "giving" is within our Divinely given gifts, but words, aptly chosen and dispensed, can be healing, inspiring, comforting, encouraging, leading, correcting, instructing, and loving, to mention a few, and is a powerful gift we all possess. People are shaped by the words we speak, for good and for bad. Do you remember a time when words spoken to you made a difference? There are many different gifts, but we all have the gift of words, and Jesus said it is a blessing when we use our gifts appropriately. Gifting our words can be hard work at times: the rebellious child, the friend with the crisis, the awkward or ignored neighbor, the angry loved one...the list goes on. If words were not that important, God wouldn't have had an entire book written about them: James. And when we have moments where we are in need of words, there's no better place to find them than in the Word, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said. 

Spiritual versus Physical Eyesight

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, Who is the Image of God"- 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV).

Spiritual eyesight is quite different from physical eyesight. God gave all humans spiritual eyes, but those who don't know, believe, or trust in God are blinded to the truth. They are spiritually blind. Steven Sanchez says, "Tragically, the eyes of many Christians don't see very well either. Often our spiritual vision is blinded by the glare of what our physical eyes see." We start seeing the wealthy, fruitful lives of the sinful, non-believers. We become discouraged and downcast as we see how the world loves them. We are in conflict, because we know this is not the way the world should be. If we allow our physical eyes to blindfold our spiritual eyes, from lack of use, they become desensitized to spiritual realities...blinded by the god of this age. King David lamented all these thoughts in Psalm 73. His conclusion to God was, "Surely You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!" (v. 13). Strengthen your spiritual eyes to dominate your physical eyes by focusing on His coming kingdom.

Thankful

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever"- Psalm 107:1 (NIV).

Thursday is often referred to as Thankful Thursday. It's no wonder that Thanksgiving is on a Thursday. Being thankful during our mountain top days is easy, but those valley days can be anorexic in thankfulness. Believe it or not, we have things to be thankful for in the valleys of our lives. It is, after all, the valleys that make us aware of our need for a Savior and our chance to see His power demonstrated and His merciful provision to get us through the trying times. Once we ascend to the mountain top again, we can easily look back and see God's handiwork in getting us there. We won't be able to stay there long; there will be another valley to traverse, but after each victorious trip we become stronger in faith and trust God more. God is truly good; His love never ceases and His mercy is without end. Be thankful for and during your mountain top experiences and for your valley lows. They are the Divine process making you into who you are to become.  

Be Unkillable

"...but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-whatever they do prospers"- Psalm 1:2-3 (NIV).

Our daughter and son-in-law gifted us with Canna bulbs and told us they had to get into the ground ASAP. My husband and I obediently planted them, then said a little prayer over them, because we've not been very successful with plants lately, even though we've watered faithfully. We Facetimed my brother later that night. He told us you couldn't kill or get rid of Cannas if you tried. He even used a rotter tiller to get his Canna bulbs up, laid out sod grass, and they still came up. They are an unkillable plant. Unlike us, God is the Master Gardener. Not only does He create the plant, but also the soil, the sunshine, the water, the fruit, and the seasons. Christians are an analogy of one of God's well-tended plants. He gives us all the necessary elements to thrive, and thrive we will, if we are obedient. Disobedience brings the leaf and fruit nibblers affecting our spiritual growth; our "leaf" withers and there is no progress in our faith. We should pray to be more of a "Canna" in the spiritual garden: Unkillable. Delighting in God's law is the same as anything else we delight in; we give our time and attention, our resources and strength, to the things we delight in. It should be the same when we're delighting in God.

Good Measure Running Over

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you"- Luke 6:38 (NIV).

My husband has a special job when I'm baking our chocolate pumpkin cake. He measures out the half cup of chocolate pieces. My cooking style is very mechanical; if the recipe calls for a cup of flour, I measure out a level cup and add it to the bowl, as with all the other ingredients. My husband cooks "by the seat of his pants." A handful of this, two shakes of that and throw it in the pan. In other words, his generous half cup of chocolate pieces is running over the sides...but I don't fuss any longer. For some reason the cake tastes better with his "good measure." Scripture says we should be generous, too, giving more "by the seat of our pants," instead of only giving the exact amount. It all boils down to trusting God and His promises. I'll admit that I have begun to copy my husband's "measure" when he's unavailable to perform the task. I'm learning to live "by the seat of my pants" and keep my good measure running over.