John 17: 3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. “

Thus ends one of the debates of man since creation. 

What is eternal life?

Jesus declares it is not going to church…following a religion…trying hard to be good or righteous.  It is to know GOD and Jesus Christ whom he sent.

How do you get to know God?  How do you get to know anyone?

•  Spend time with them.
•  Do things with them.
•  LISTEN  to them. 
•  Committing to the relationship.
•  Talk with other who know them.
•  Read their love letters.

Pick one from the above list and start today.

For Heaven's Sake

John 16: 27 “for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

You will gain the attention and affection of a parent based on how you treat their child.

Treat a child with love and tenderness and a parent will build a relationship with you.  Make a child unhappy or feel unsafe and you will bring wrath upon yourself.

The primary question God will ask people at the end of their life will be this, “How did you treat my Son?’

With undying devotion and affection or casual indifference and neglect?

SO, love, honor and do not ignore Jesus…for heaven’s sake.

Quit Trying so Hard

John 15: 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.”

We say we believe Scripture to be true, but we really do not believe the last part of this verse.

In American, the land of self-sufficiency and individuality, we believe we can do almost everything without Jesus.  Yet, Jesus assures us that we can do nothing that last or matters apart from Him.

North of Covington, Louisiana is a vineyard that hosts wine tastings and Jazz concerts.  One time, when my wife and I were driving around, we discovered the location  and drove onto the property.  It was beautiful...peaceful...relaxing.

Know what I noticed?  I barely heard any sound. I did not hear the branches saying, “Make a grape…make a grape”.

You see, a branch has one simple responsibility…to abide on the vine.  To draw nourishment…life…purpose from the vine. The vine will supply all the branch needs to be productive…as long as it stay hooked in.

Jesus will grow our lives into what He wants us to be when we abide.

Get aside with Him today.  Just believe and receive.

Simple Love

John 14: 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

Does it get much simpler?

Jesus does not measure love for Him in church membership or attendance but in keeping His words.

How can you do that if you do not know His word?  If your only exposure to the Word is a couple of SUNDAYS A MONTH HAVING A PREACHER OR PRIEST DECLARE IT TO YOU, YOU ARE MALNOURISHED. That would be like someone else eating your food for you and spitting it out in a plate for you to eat.  Not very inviting or nourishing.

You need to get into the Word on your own.  The purpose of reading and studying the Word is to get to know Jesus better, live like Him and meet Him each day.  To read Scripture and not meet Jesus is like going to a restaurant to eat the menu and not the meal.

Read John chapter 14 today and ask 2 questions.  Lord, what do you want me to do based on what I read?  Then ask Him to do for you based on what you read.

Time for a Check Up

John 13: 35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In the last 12 years my family and I have attended about 10 churches form various denominations.  Some Baptist, Pentecostal, AG, Lutheran, Non-denominations charismatic, non-denominational Bible teaching, Methodist and even a Baptist church who changed their name to look more non-denominational.

Each has traditions and expression of their faith they consider unique and probably even biblical.

Know what Jesus said is the sign of His disciples?  Love for one another?

A disciple is more than just an occasional attender, a one time baptized or confirmed convert.  A disciple is one who patterns their life after their teacher.  They commit their life to study the way and words of those they follow.

Jesus says the end product, the lifestyle of His disciples will be love.

Based on this, how are you doing as a disciple?

Amie F on Spirtual Growth at OA

I Know He Watches Me

John 12 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Why do we get caught up in wanting to have others speak well of us.?  Why do we fear others opinions and our reputation in their eyes?

Simply put…the fear of man. I think a more detailed answer would be vision and time perspective.

We only see about an hour into the future.  If we would live in light of eternity many of our selfish problems would diminish if not disappear.

Another way to say this is that we live for the wrong audience.  Our only audience should be that we know God has His loving watch over us and He delights in us.  He offers grace, mercy, forgiveness and future with Him.

Seek more that we live for the glory of God than glory from man.