One day the temperature is up and the heat index makes even Lompoc feel like a desert spot - those who attended third service on Sunday can verify. We could all see the exposed duct work which will in short time carry nice cooled air to the warm bodies - we could also see the framed area where the windows will be placed (on the north side of the building) but no windows were yet in place on Sunday. It made me think of the things in our life that might appear a certain way but be another. The things that could be and should be functional but are not! The growth and maturity we should be living out and exhibiting. As with the building these things will come in time - but we must not miss the GROWTH steps today that will help us be equipped with what we truly need tomorrow. In the case of the building, the framing in the wall needs to be ready and correct in order to receive the windows, the ducts need to be positioned just right in order for the decorative vents at the end of the line to blow the cooled air to us. The ducts are simply channels for the air to flow through - by themselves they are useless and if all we had were vents screwed into wood or drywall (the appearance of air conditioning or heating) we would have a facade minus reality.
Life is like the temperature and the wind - one day all is well and smooth and the next day things can rise (issues and situations, troubles and difficulties). As with our church, we are seeing changes to our facilities and also to the lives of people who are coming and receiving and growing (especially in those who are getting connected to teams and in Life Transformation Groups). The key is to be connected in the right spot and to the right person the essential step is to assure that we are building into the fabric of our lives today - the things God wants us to have so that when the "winds of change hit" you are ready for them. The time to build is not when the deadlines come but each and ever day - little by little and step by step.
The right person to be connected to is Jesus. It is in abiding in Jesus that we realize our strength and also have the appropriate gifts and "equipment" we need for our lives. John's gospel is a huge help in this regard and allows us to have the words of Jesus. Abiding requires following Jesus' actual teaching (15:7). Knowing what Jesus teaches and intentionally living toward those teachings is part of what it means to abide in him (8:31). Abiding in Jesus also means to abide in his love (15:9). This is where the right "equipment" is placed on our lives. Loving God and loving others prepares us for the winds of Change that come our way. Those who follow Jesus learn a deep sense of his love for them (14:21-24). This awareness of his love keeps us connected to Him when "the winds of change" come. A love for Jesus does not exist without obedience (15:10, 14; 14:21, 23).
Obedience is at one time the means of expressing love for him and the opportunity to experience his love.
As we obey Him - the proper framing is put into place in our lives and the Lord makes His love real to us. (14:23). He does not love us because we obey. He has and always will love us, rather as we obey, we open the windows of blessings that can come to us no other way. Obedience is an expression of our love. The Lord is the source of our life that we must connect with deeply - so much so that He is called the Vine and we are the Branches. The Lord ultimately hopes to find on these branches is love for each other, sacrificial love like that Jesus demonstrates by laying down his own life (15:12-14). ___We bear this fruit as we depend on Jesus, experience his love and obey his instructions. It is not just fruit, but that which remains and no matter the changes in life - it remains because it is born out of love. This love and fruitfulness are born our of a life of prayer in which we ask the Lord for whatever is necessary to fulfill God's redemptive purpose (15:16). We did not choose him any more than branches choose the vine they are on. On the contrary, the vine gave birth to the branches (15:16). Jesus chose these "branches" for the specific purpose of bearing the eternal fruit of God's redemptive love. "This is my command," he tells them, "Love each other" (15:17).What changes? lots of things - what remains the same? God's love for us and the call for us to love others. This love for God and our obedience coupled with the love He wants us to have for others will build our lives and place the windows in the right spots.
Life is like the temperature and the wind - one day all is well and smooth and the next day things can rise (issues and situations, troubles and difficulties). As with our church, we are seeing changes to our facilities and also to the lives of people who are coming and receiving and growing (especially in those who are getting connected to teams and in Life Transformation Groups). The key is to be connected in the right spot and to the right person the essential step is to assure that we are building into the fabric of our lives today - the things God wants us to have so that when the "winds of change hit" you are ready for them. The time to build is not when the deadlines come but each and ever day - little by little and step by step.
The right person to be connected to is Jesus. It is in abiding in Jesus that we realize our strength and also have the appropriate gifts and "equipment" we need for our lives. John's gospel is a huge help in this regard and allows us to have the words of Jesus. Abiding requires following Jesus' actual teaching (15:7). Knowing what Jesus teaches and intentionally living toward those teachings is part of what it means to abide in him (8:31). Abiding in Jesus also means to abide in his love (15:9). This is where the right "equipment" is placed on our lives. Loving God and loving others prepares us for the winds of Change that come our way. Those who follow Jesus learn a deep sense of his love for them (14:21-24). This awareness of his love keeps us connected to Him when "the winds of change" come. A love for Jesus does not exist without obedience (15:10, 14; 14:21, 23).
Obedience is at one time the means of expressing love for him and the opportunity to experience his love.
As we obey Him - the proper framing is put into place in our lives and the Lord makes His love real to us. (14:23). He does not love us because we obey. He has and always will love us, rather as we obey, we open the windows of blessings that can come to us no other way. Obedience is an expression of our love. The Lord is the source of our life that we must connect with deeply - so much so that He is called the Vine and we are the Branches. The Lord ultimately hopes to find on these branches is love for each other, sacrificial love like that Jesus demonstrates by laying down his own life (15:12-14). ___We bear this fruit as we depend on Jesus, experience his love and obey his instructions. It is not just fruit, but that which remains and no matter the changes in life - it remains because it is born out of love. This love and fruitfulness are born our of a life of prayer in which we ask the Lord for whatever is necessary to fulfill God's redemptive purpose (15:16). We did not choose him any more than branches choose the vine they are on. On the contrary, the vine gave birth to the branches (15:16). Jesus chose these "branches" for the specific purpose of bearing the eternal fruit of God's redemptive love. "This is my command," he tells them, "Love each other" (15:17).What changes? lots of things - what remains the same? God's love for us and the call for us to love others. This love for God and our obedience coupled with the love He wants us to have for others will build our lives and place the windows in the right spots.
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