"REMAIN IN ME"

“I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (emphasis mine).  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.”  John 15:5-9 (NIV)

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.  ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty.  ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty.  ‘And in this place I will grant peace (emphasis mine),’ declares the LORD Almighty.”  Haggai 2:6-9 (NIV)

I knew God had a blog for me Sunday during church.  Saturday morning, He brought me to the verses in Haggai.  I wasn’t quite sure what it all meant and thought about it quite a bit.  Sunday, my pastor was preaching on Acts 8:26-40.  As it seems at our church, the message ends up on being obedient to the Spirit.  When Pastor B veered off the scheduled text and onto John 15, the Holy Spirit revealed the connection between the two segments of Scripture.  The basis of both is obedience, following the lead of the Holy Spirit.  It’s all about God and His timing.  Nothing is random.  There are no coincidences.  I used to think that praying at all times, (Ephesians 6:18 & Philippians 4:6) was not achievable for us “regular” Jesus followers.  As usual, that thought is completely wrong.  It’s certainly not God telling me I don’t or can’t measure up.  Jesus Himself gives us the key to this kingdom treasure.  “Remain in me”.  Yes, it’s that simple.  Maintaining a prayerful attitude or approach to each day is not difficult.  At its base level it is nothing more than focusing on God, being patient, and waiting on Him.  “I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait on Him.’” Lamentations 3:24 

God pulled me from a pit.  He washed me clean.  He carried me.  When He set me down, all He said was “wait.”  When He tells me to take a step, I do; otherwise, here I stand, watching my Daddy God prepare the way.  My way is not His way.  If I’ve done nothing else, I’ve proven my way is all kinds of wrong.  I messed up my life.  God is restoring and redeeming it.  His way is best.  He truly has given me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  Mind you, I am far from perfect at being patient or waiting on God.  However, it’s beautiful how God blesses obedience.  My life is so rich with laughter, love, and peace.  The call to remain in Christ is not hard or overwhelming, especially when I know it is absolute truth.  I can do nothing apart from my Jesus who saved me.  Yet, in Him, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13).  “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.  Amen.”  1 Timothy 1:17

Metal Bench

Metal Bench

September 10, 2011

So there I sat, another school year started, another sports season started.  It’s Cross Country season.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  I was literally baking sitting on a metal bleachers while the XC invitational went on.  No shade in sight.  Just completely shocked & awed by God.  The previous night, my mom & I went to my brother’s house.  I had been tasked with teaching my 6 year old nephew how to tie his shoes.  He did great, even though he didn’t think so.  He & mom went out to play.  I was left in the house with my brother & sister-in-law.  We were joking about how exciting our lives are when my brother suddenly became light headed and couldn’t breathe.  We called 9-1-1.  He was taken to the ER where he was admitted & stayed in the hospital for a few a days.  Blood clots were found in his lungs from the knee surgery he had a couple weeks before.  He could have died.  He should have died.  After contacting my family, my boyfriend & best friend, we hung out at the hospital for several hours.  My best friend contacted another friend, who agreed to pray, but also had a prayer request.  My sister contacted her prayer team, as did my sister-in-law & her family.  At the XC invite I ran into another friend who had a prayer request.  Between all the praying for my brother and two other women, I was lead to start the book for the next Monday night Bible study.  I sat there, not only baking on a metal bench, but in a bucket of tears, praying, reading, just taking in the past few hours, days, weeks.  I’m so awe-struck at how God has placed all kinds of beautiful people around me.  He is being so obviously intentional about making sure our paths not only meet but are interwoven.  Oh how He loves me, loves us all.  I may not know the whole plan or see the whole picture.  But that doesn’t really matter.  He does.  He’s in control & knows what He’s doing.  At that beautiful moment, another perfect moment, I didn’t even care, still don’t.  That’s a rarity for me.  God’s got me in the palm of His hand.  That’s all that matters.  That’s all I need to know.  Praise Jesus for His healing hands, His comfort & His peace.