The fruit that God produces in us is not for our own use. He is the vine and we are the branches used to produce fruit that others can use.
They will pick what they need. Sometimes sweet. Sometimes sour. Or maybe just kind of in between. Maybe even bitter fruit at times.
The point being, that people will find what they need from us. At different times, we may be useful to one type of person. At another time, someone else may find a thing from us they can use. We just don’t know.
“And it was the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.” (Luke 23:49)
The sixth hour would have been high noon. This is the pivotal point of all history. Right here during these 3 hours. Everything before and everything after has its focus on that moment.
Upon that cruel post, the Son of God suffered the agonies of all the sins of all men and women who ever had and ever would live. He became “sin for us”. He took all the penalties of all our sin upon Himself.
God took our punishment so that we would not have to face His holiness on our own. That means ALL of it. Not just a little bit, a partial bit, 99.999%. 100% of the wrath of God poured out upon Christ in that moment.
As Christians, we tend to avoid the hard stuff. We are mostly engaged in pain management. I confess to this. Life is hard. And there comes a time when it can be hard on a regular basis. And this pain is not easily managed. Sometimes not at all.
Most Christians live in a romanticized fantasy of what the Christian life should be. When I first became a Christian, I saw this new life portrayed in Christian films, magazines, radio and books. It was all very beautiful, fashionable, bright and comfortable.
There was a time that I thought about going to seminary. To a very beautiful place that I saw in the Christian magazines that would allow me to grow in Biblical truth and become a pastor or whatever God had for me. That future was so bright I had to wear shades.
But life takes funny turns.
“Practical Tips” on How to Rise from the Dead
One of the problems I often face in prayer is that I am concerned with saying the right thing. That I am providing all the information God needs to know. Not forgetting any crucial point. And being careful not to mess up in the way and manner I ask for stuff.
I worry that I will not cover all the details properly. That something vital will be left out.
Recently, I was watching an old episode from the X-Files. Actually one of my favorite ones. It was about a genie, like the one from Aladdin’s lamp. The genie would grant 3 wishes. But you had to be careful. The manifestation of a wish could be disastrous. It was about not providing enough information, not asking in a very specific way. You needed to be really careful or things could go very badly. REALLY BAD.
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” (Acts 17: 27, 28)
This is quite a statement. It is not what you would expect about the world in general. We are led to believe that God is distant from all but the really good people.
This is speaking of God’s desire to be there to help us. Of His constant care over each soul that He has created. It does not necessarily mean that we have chosen to be close to Him. That is a separate issue which involves our individual decisions.
The above verse is saying that God is expectant for us to trust Him. That He longs for that. That He wants each of us to know His fellowship, love and peace. He does not sit above us waiting for us to mess up so that He can send a lightning bolt up our wazoo.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We are living in a world where most men and women follow their own religious codes. Many are very moral people. Some are religious. Others are more secular.
Many of the secular folks believe that their morality, without Christ, can stand on its own before God. That their actions are what count; not their religious observances or doctrines.
Within many mainstream “Christian” denominations, many believe that God is just like an old grandfather that loves them and accepts all but the most evil characters. Others believe God is very demanding and must be appeased by a life of dedicated religious works.
“For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10)
Whoa! That really does not fit the modern goal-setting mentality of Evangelical and Fundamental churches today. We are goal obsessed. We are results oriented.
Christian leaders have been seduced by the dream of large ministries. Bible churches today, seem to have no resistance to the Church Growth movement’s emphasis on secular-marketing philosophy and strategy. We have become moths drawn to the light.
Where are we told to build big things? To go for big goals? To build a big church or outreach? To build huge arenas and call them churches?
Please, call them something else; just not a church.
Nothing is more important to the Christian than the Word of God. It is the one thing that he can physically hold in his hands that is eternal and sure. There is no tradition, philosophy, creed or catechism that can replace the word by word revelation of God to man.
It is by His Word that all things were created. He spoke and it was done. And it is by His Word that all things will be judged. No authority exists on earth or heaven that exceeds or is even equal to His Word.
Jesus Christ is The Word. His incarnation was the written words of God expressed in physical form. This was the eternal GodHead perfectly revealing Himself in the Son. The “express image of His person”. (Hebrews 1:3)
ABOVE even His Name
Years ago, I took a college course in how to recognize false cults and religions. While studying, it became apparent that false religions are generally born out of errors concerning the character of God, the Word of God, or the nature of Salvation. All of this based on the Bible alone as the final authority.
A great percentage of those false teachings deal with some aspect of the Person, character and work of Jesus Christ specifically.
The Bible places Jesus Christ at the center of our faith. He is to be the main focus. The Father and the Holy Spirit have ordained this order. That “Christ may be all in all”.
The Mediator
Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. There is no Other in Heaven or earth that we can go to. No one else that we should revere, adore, worship and commune with. We must go to Him alone. Period.
Eternal Approach 
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