Pride Goes Before Destruction

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, an not your own lips." Proverbs 27:2

There is one thing that will bring destruction in the life of a believer and that is Pride. This kind of pride is the one that does not lift up honor and glory to God, but lifts up our "self's." When we accept Jesus Christ as our LORD, we begin our walk well, our focus, our path is set on God and we are fully committed to Him. Then without a single warning, pride begins to rise up in our hearts which blinds us from all that God wants us to be. All of a sudden we feel like the foremost expert in all areas and believe we know more than He.

Pride comes in many ways shapes and forms. This is why we must remain cautious and be on guard. We must not open the door to it, not even a crack because the enemy will take advantage of the situation and rush right into our hearts and our thoughts making us think that we are better that what God desires. There is nothing wrong with a healthy self-esteem, but God wants us to learn how to handle pride.

I will admit that this is all true. Even now there have been several times that pride has interrupted the work that God has been trying to do. Trying to find within myself the solutions to many problems, the answers to others' problems, thinking that I know it all. Often times in just explaining a great blessing, whether at work, or in my personal life it turned out to be all about me. Pride slides into my life and builds up thoughts of self-promotions, selfish attitude, refusing to listen to advice from others, lack of submission to authority, and bragging, among many others. 

I realize now that I am no more important than those around me. I may feel that I know more, and can do more, but the bottom line is that God uses every single one of us for His glory. As time goes on and even at this very point of my life, I realize that when we sign up to serve God, we need to gain the right perspective which includes a humble and contrite heart. 

God bless,

Fonz

Wrestling with God

This whole weekend was a wonderful weekend and God was speaking loud and clear. There are many things that we keep to ourselves, that we never speak of. We never voice them or much less share them. These feelings or burdens can weigh us down so bad and wear us out as we walk through our daily lives. We pray that they are taken away, however, often times we tend to replay events to see where we might have gone wrong and try and fix problems.

Being a man, I will admit that I am very practical and want to find a solution to every problem. Many times, I play and replay the problem in my head several times over, day and night and try to see what went wrong and how to find some sort of resolution. However, there are times that there is no solution. It's baffling, I know. Yet, the problem is there, being carried as a burden and making us weary.

Today I wrestled with God, yeah, that's right, I wrestled with him and He won. I am thankful that He won. Today, I opened up and said the things that I was scared to say and share, and let Him know what was inside me. I realized that although I had surrendered myself to him 6 years ago and accepted Him as my LORD and Savior, I was still Lording over many areas of my life. I was still in charge of things. Today that all changed, I no longer want to Lord over anything in my life. I want my LORD and Savior to Lord over, my thoughts, my heart and my life. He totally removed that pain, that hurt, and the anxieties that had me in bondage. I can say now that I am free, and experiencing a whole new phase of my life in Christ.

I am thankful to God for everything that He has done in my life, in His perfect plan for me. No matter the sufferings, no matter the afflictions, God is faithful and has shown me how to be content. I no longer have control of my life, all control has been given to My GOD!

God bless,

Fonz

We share in His Vulnerability

"But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are all witnesses." Acts 3:14-15

It's like oil and water, the word "vulnerability" and "God" should not mix right, they are or should be on complete opposites of the spectrum. We know that God has several attributes such as, being all knowing, all powerful, and omniscient, so why would he be vulnerable at all.

What is vulnerability? The dictionary defines vulnerability as, "capable of being physically or emotionally wounded or hurt." This sounds more of a definition that fits us in our daily lives as we live in this world. We are susceptible to being physically hurt each day with something so simple as stubbing a toe, or even a paper cut. Emotionally, we are all vulnerable, we are often let down many times by some of the closest people near and dear to us. That is human nature, that is why the Word says to never place your faith in man.

But did you know that God all knowing, all powerful, and omniscient, decided to make Himself "vulnerable." Many of you may be thinking, "Fonz, what the heck are you talking about, you have gone off the deep end." Well, believe it or not, it is what He did. He opened up and made Himself vulnerable to His creation by willingly putting Himself in a position to be hut by us both physically and emotionally. Now, we can see how a person can do this, maybe by being in a terrible relationship, where there is physical or emotional abuse. Now I guarantee that any person that goes into a relationship or opens up to somebody does not expect this sort of thing. We all go into relationships openly thinking that things will be well and we often times expose ourselves to much and not keep on guard. We expose our weaknesses and then the enemy uses that to hurt us.

As far as God is concerned we just need to look at the Cross to see this vulnerability, this is where His vulnerability becomes more alive to us. We see how Jesus Christ our Savior submits to being beaten viciously, whipped, slapped, spat on and nailed to a cross. Think about how God's heart broke to see this happening to His son. This shows us a picture of God caring enough for us to send His son to us and becoming vulnerable for us. Ephesians 4:30 talks to us about grieving the Spirit. "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

What is grieving? Grieving is anguish, heartache, woe, misery, sadness, sorrow. We can actually grieve the Holy Spirit by living outside of His will for our lives, for when we live outside the will of the Holy Spirit we are living in disobedience. So what will you do? Will you disregard how God opened Himself? Or will it break our heart to think about knowingly hurting Him anymore than we already have? What is your choice.

God bless,

Fonz

He is in Control

"Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man." Genesis 2:22

The first thing we see God's word say after he created Eve is that "He brought her to man." What I noticed is that it does not say that man wandered around on aimlessly until he accidentally ran into her, it says woman made her way to him. We must understand that God plays and active role in bringing both Adam and Eve together.

Here we see the importance of God's providence in the relationship between man and woman. We see that God was working on their behalf to create, prepare and to bring them together. What this shows me is the significance of God's hand was involved in the union of Adam and Eve.

As a single man, I have realized that as I continue my walk with the Lord I must highlight the fact that God is in control of every situation, from where were are, to where we will be, and to whom He will bring into our lives. There is something much greater to a relationship that butterflies in your stomach or weak knees. God has to be the center of any relationship in order for it to be successful. I realize that together with the person whom God brings into my life, you will have a connection that is bigger than yourselves. You will be part of a superior plan, a providential plan that will give you confidence and a greater outlook in your relationship that neither one of you could imagine.

We can also see the other end of this spectrum. If a couple does not see these things and sees their union as something that was given by chance or of their own doing, then the bond of their relationship will only be as strong as they are as individuals. It won't take long before their union grows weak and tiresome. When the couple recognizes that their union is part of something bigger, God's providence, their marriage will be healthy and they will see God's sovereignty as a form of "godly glue" that will keep them from falling apart during the hard times.

So friends, don't lose focus on what God is doing or asking you to do in your life. Like Adam, continue to be obedient and faithful and tend the land. Let God prepare, equip and bring you the person that is right for you. We cannot lose patience and settle for what we think is good, but you should wait on God for he always has the best in store for us.

God bless,

Fonz

He is Always Thinking of Us!

"Many, Or Lord my God are Your wonderful works Which you have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I woud declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered." Psalm 40:5

Many of us will be deeply in love with someone. As you go about your daily activities you just can't help thinking about them. They may be the first thing you think of in the morning and then the last thought you have before you go to sleep. While you eat, drive, work, or even talk, they are the only thing on your mind.

This is an awesome description of how much God loves us and thinks about us. The love that God has for us is so strong that we are always on His mind. The Psalm says that He thinks about so much about us that we cannot count how much he thinks about us. Even at this very moment as I am writing this and at the moment that you are reading this He is thinking about us. There is no way for us to count His thoughts towards us, isn't that amazing! For many of us that is so hard to take in. Many of us face temptations and trials that make us second guess the love and thoughts that God has towards us.

Let's be honest and say that there will be many things that happen in our life that challenge this Psalm, things that me us feel unloved and forgotten. We must realize that truth about God is not based on our how we feel. We must take these truths that are declared by God through his Word. His love and His Word should be the sturdy foundation for us on a daily basis.

My prayer is that the Lord would soften our hearts to receive these this truth about God. The truth that no matter what our situation may be He is thinking about us and we cannot even fathom the number of thoughts towards us. I pray that we would have the opportunity to share this with others.

God bless you all,

Fonz

We all want to be Loved!

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

It is very important to us to know that we are loved. NO ONE, is excluded from this. Everyone from the little kids, to high schoolers, even the top notch CEO's, to the coffee shop employee even the famous. It does not matter in which category you fit in, or what season in life you maybe, or even where you live, all of us want to know that we are loved.

This is something that God our creator planted in us, there is a hunger for love in each one of us. The question is, "Why?" Well, He wants us to seek the love that he has for us. The love that God offers us is a fully satisfying, perfect and unconditional love(Pause, Please re-read that last line). Wow, that is an amazing form of love that he offers. Why is it that in our nature we always have a tendency to find someone to love, but they may not offer the same type of love back.

See God demonstrates this love to us everyday. He loves us unconditionally, with a love like no other. But we turn our back on it. Many times it is because people don't want to be challenged, they don't want to grow, they don't want to change. Many people want to live day by day how they want to live. Many love their independence, love their free will and chose to go and live life on their own, trying and striving daily to find that euphoria of love. Men and women live promiscuous lives because their relationships get old, its all physical, its all for the thrill, yet they end up empty inside because they do not feel that love they are searching and hop from person to person trying to fill that void.

Many people just do not like the challenge of what it is to be in a relationship and work through rough spots. Many just like the honey moon phase of a relationship, the butterflies, the googly eyes, the drug like euphoria it produces, then it becomes real. Then the honey moon phase is over and it becomes real. The euphoria wares away and like a drug addict they need that feeling and they hop on to the next thing that will bring them that feeling.

Now lets talk about what it is like to know God's love. How do we know he truly loves us. Simple. It is the Cross, where God proved his love for us in sending his only son to cleanse us from our sins. It was not our sins that put Christ on the Cross, it was His love that put him on the cross. Talk about a sacrifice, someone died for me. Someone, loves me so much, someone has a whole-hearted love for me, and unconditional love, a patient love, a love that keeps no wrongs and they died for me. What greater love is there.

Many of us will come to know this love, we will accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior so that we may know salvation, but then for many, that initial feeling, that euphoria wares away for many, then they try and find love else where. Like a junkie looking for their next fix they are on the prowl for that feeling again looking for it in all the wrong places, they want to find an easy love, a love that will not challenge them as much as God's love will challenge them. They want something that they will not have to work hard at and can have control over. When in fact the love that God puts before them is exactly what they need to challenge them, to mature them, to know what love really is. But unfortunately more often than not the world will chose their wants, over their needs.

Next time many of you are seeking a true love, look at the Cross. Love and only a true love, would ever do something like that. God gave you something real, something historic that will settle the issue of His love for us. I challenge you that the next time you feel unloved, look at the Cross, next time you feel doubt or disappointment, look at the Cross. Next time you blow it and the enemy whispers "he doesn't want you anymore, look at the Cross. That is a true and fulfilling LOVE.

God bless,

Fonz

We have a Creative God!

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

The creation story in the Bible teaches us much about God and ourselves. First, we learn about God: he is creative; as the Creator he is distinct from his creation; he is eternal and in control of the world. We also learn about ourselves: since God chose to create us, we are valuable in his eyes; we are very important to him.

I would like to take a look at our lives now. Let us take a closer and deeper look at God's creative mark in areas of our lives that we may not expect to see them in. Joseph is a great example of God's creative work and mark. For many years Joseph lived tragedy, slavery and false accusations and was even imprisoned. However, we see how Joseph's hardships shaped him, molded him and helped him rise to power to save his family.

Now look at our lives. How many times have we had tragedy strike us, we are walking in our path and all of a sudden, Wham! we get hit with unexpected circumstances, some chapters of our story are confusing and painful. Does this sound familiar to any of you? I am sure that it does to many and I can definitely relate to these things now as they have been magnified in my life. However, we must understand that we belong to a creative God and he is creative enough to turn our darkness into your most glorious moment.

I have seen God's creativity in my life during these times. I have been blessed to see those beautiful strokes on his canvas. He has surrounded me with great people that have blessed me and can bless as well. He has allowed me to share my faith more with strangers and allowed me to minister openly to groups of people. Last night after a mens Bible study, my good friend gave me a ride and said."Fonz, I believe God brings people into my life to shake me up and better myself and you are one of them." I was speechless and I was thankful to God and was blessed that I could be a blessing to this person even through these tough times. We need to see how creative God is that he can turn every episode in our lives to something that will work for us.

Look for God's creativity and mark in your life. When you are going through hard times and dark moments, look for his beautiful brush strokes, look for his mark. You may be surprised at the masterpiece that is being created on a daily basis.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God...Romans 8:28

God bless,

Fonz

Always Be "PRAYpared"!!

"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you."
Psalm 20:1

The very first section of this Psalm is very powerful and should bring insight to our Christian life. Many times in the Bible we see Jesus talk about trials and tribulations. Christianity does not shy away from the reality of this. It is good that the Bible mentions this because many people are under the misconception that life will be perfect and there will be no more trials but that is not so. There will still be many trials and suffering that we will go through along the way, but it is good to be "PRAYpared" to meet these troubles head on.

"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble." As much as we don't want to think about it, there will be trouble in this life and running into this trouble is something that we cannot hide from. As much as we don't want to hear it, it does not matter how and what you do to try and avoid it, it will come. When I moved here to Arizona to start a Spanish speaking ministry, I thought I was prepared. I prayed for wisdom and knowledge and provision from the Lord. As soon as I got here I was welcomed with open arms from the church, the Lord provided a job and a home. I thought I was set and gave thanks to God.  Wow, this is easy, God is Good!

In the span of two months, so many things have changed, so many troubles have come my way, the emotion of being away from my family, my home, my friends started setting in and creeping up on me. The feeling of loneliness and anxiety started creeping up. The priorities in my heart were slightly swayed and before I knew it I lost focus on why I was really here. These are things that I had not "PRAYpared" for. Trouble and trials and suffering came. So this Psalm really spoke to me today as I read it.

These series of events that have happened to me in the past two months have allowed me to see and recognize and appreciate God's help. These events have changed me in a wonderful way and see how dependent I need to be on my God. These events have been a fuel that has been feeding the fire in my heart to serve God in all the capacities and faculties that he has provided me with. It has been a hard lesson learned, a trial by fire, but I have realized that we should be motivated to prepare for these times of trouble because they are coming. There is not better way to strengthen and protect yourself than through God's provision. We must understand that trouble is here and trouble is real, but so is prayer and the promise that the Lord will answer us. Always be "PRAYpared!"


God bless,

Fonz

My Eyes Are Opening, I Can See!

"Consider and hear me, O LORD my God;
Elingthen my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say,
"I have prevailed against him";
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation 
I will sing to the LORD
Beause He has dealt boutnifully with me." 
~Psalm 13:3-6

Very often we let the way we see things through our eyes determine the way we will respond to them. Here is a story that might help clarify what I mean:

There are two shoe salesmen who were sent out to scout the prospects of selling their product in a distant land. upon arriving, they found that nobody wore shoes. The one salesman telegraphed his headquarters that it would be a useless venture; "Don't waste your time, nobody even wears shoes over here!" His colleague, however, had a more optimistic outlook; "You'll never believe it! Everybody needs shoes, and there's absolutely no competition!"

These were two guys in the same business and they both see things through a different lens or different perspective.

In Psalm 13 written by David, we are not sure what exactly is going on in his life at this point in time, however by reading the whole Psalm, we can see that things may not be that great for him at this point. There are things in his life that are distressing him, but notice that half way through the Psalm, he prays to God; "Enlighten (illuminate, to light up) my eyes." After this prayer we see that the second half of the Psalm changes to one of rejoicing in God's mercy and salvation. What happened?

Well, what happened to David is something that really speaks volumes to me. As I read this Psalm this morning, it helped me see (enlightened) with my own eyes. It helped me see my situation in a different perspective. Sure things have been discouraging around me, new town, new people, new ministry, and on top of that the Lord stretching me and working on me, wow, I can't believe that I have not crawled into the fetal position with my thumb in my mouth and pack up and go.

It is because God has allowed me to see all these discouraging things in a different perspective. Instead of whining about my air conditioner, or relationships, or being alone away from family and friends. I see that these things God has used to grow me in significant ways. It has shown me that up until now I have been able to withstand the heat, not the Arizona heat, but the heat that comes during the refining process. Even though there have been times of doubt and concern, God has been my rock to lean on. I can see and feel the Lord shaping me and molding me and preparing me for his work. It allows me to relate to even more people and to be able to be an example to other people in what I am willing to do because of my faith in Jesus Christ. One of the most important things is that it has allowed me to see how much it costs to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and to carry my cross. It has cost me the comforts of home, it has cost me being around my friends back home, it has cost me material wealth along with financial wealth to move here. It has cost me to doubt, it has cost me much anxiousness. But thanks be to God that I am still here for his purpose, again I say, "His Purpose!"

When things around me seemed very dim and painful, God was able to move my focus on something encouraging...HIM. The Lord has answered prayers and like David, has given me a new perspective on my faith in my Lord and Savior. Thank God for his Mercy and my heart is thankful for his salvation and I shall sing to my LORD!

God bless you all,

Fonz

Maturing Process

Judges 2:1-5

Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall bethorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’” So it was, when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

So this morning the Lord gave me an opportunity to do a Bible study with a good friend while we were working out. He had just started the book of Judges and we went over it and this part really ministered to my heart.

Before God ever call us to obedience or confronts our sin, He reminds us of His great love and faithfulness to us. The only way to obey God is by walking in His love, and abiding in His covenant (promise) with us. Here we see the Lord speaking to the people of Israel and reminding them of His great love and faithfulness towards them. In the past month, God has had to remind me of His love and faithfulness several times. Why is that? Because my heart was not in the right place, other things were occupying the God shaped void in my heart. There were things that became idols in my life that changed my priorities on things. So even though I messed up in putting idols before him, He did not forsake me. God confronted me in love and it the stinging was unbearable, but there is never any good reason for our disobedience.

Being a Christian is definitely a growing process and a trying one for that matter. In the past couple of months of being alone and away from my family and friends. God has done an amazing amount of things in my life. Some seemingly bad, but now I see the goodness that has come out from them. There are many times that I wish that God would just give me the maturity that I need instantaneously, which I know he can with his sovereignty, but my maturity has come from a partnership with Him in my growing process. This is a very important thing that we seek, because our partnership with Him shows that our heart is where His heart is; that we are truly growing closer to him.

Since July 8th, I went to church and felt so convicted by God. There was a guest Pastor there and His message, being from the Lord, made me just open up and week and wail. God's word really struck me and it struck hard and there was a sense of revival in me after that, a fresh start, a peace, a sense of surrender and repentance from my heart.  Joel 2:13 says, "So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness." I wept and wept, what can I say I am an overly emotional guy, but that's besides the point. But there, after that moment, I have seen a maturing process of the likes that I have never experienced. I am so surprised as to the way that I have acted after this and how I still worship God and count it joy that He has put me in this situation. It has opened up many doors to minister and I have been able to see the Lord bear fruit not only in me, but in those people that I have had the opportunity to minister to. 

My partnership with God is  growing stronger day by day and my faith is getting stronger and stronger. I am thankful to my God for showing these things to me and being able to share these things with you. I hope that many of you that read this get encouraged, that no matter how bad things may seem, God works all things together for good.

God bless you all,

Fonz

Tend the Land and Keep it!

"Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." Genesis 2:15

God put Adam in a beautiful paradise that no one had ever seen yet, he was the only man. But we see in Genesis 2:9,that the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. God provided beautiful sights and provision for Adam to sustain himself from the ground that Adam was to tend and keep.

As I look around in my new home, I see nothing but mountains and rocks and dessert. For a while there, I thought nothing of this place, it no way compares to being at home with actual lawns and trees in a front yard, rather than rocks and cactus in front yards. For a long time I was blinded to the beauty that this place does offer. I lost sight of God's creation, not fully taking in the mountains, and terrain. I completely forgot what the Bible saying that God created the earth and said "it is good." Really, rocks, heat, mountains, dessert and that is good? Yes, indeed it is. God does not make mistakes and his creation is definitely not a mistake. We often forget that everything that surrounds us is from God to us, to tend to it and keep it. Through it he sustains us and lets us admire the beauty of His creation.

Now I realize that this is where God has brought me. This is the land that He has called me to tend and to keep. This is where He has brought me to work. I must now tend the ground. I must pray for the area, pray that the Lord would soften the land (hearts). That what He will plant here (His Word), would fall on good soil and continue to grow (spiritually). That the harvest be a bountiful one and that the fruit (people accepting Jesus Christ as Lord) would grow and be pleasant to His sight. The the food (the Word) that is feed to land (people's hearts) would sustain them even through these dessert like conditions.

I have never done an ounce of landscaping work, but since being here I have had my fair share and now I appreciate and see what it truly means to tend and work the land. I have to be obedient to my Lord and no matter how extreme the heat (afflictions, trials) gets. I must be faithful and obedient and do the work I am called to do.

God bless,

Fonz

dust of the ground

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

Wow, we are all made from dust. There is nothing chemically different about us, just our features and skin color, but we are all made from dust. Our body is merely a dead and empty vessel until God gives us his "breath of life". In the same manner when he takes away his breath, our bodies again shall return to dust.

One of the things that I have struggled many times is self worth. Trying to justify my self-worth through my achievements and abilities and recognition from others. Who doesn't? But God has made me realize through his Word, that my "self-worth" comes from Him alone. In other instances I am on the opposite side of the spectrum and feel "worthless". I think to myself, "Am I really good enough" at anything?

In reality, it is God who gives us our "worth", it does not come from our achievements, our success in marriage, life, friendships or work. It comes from our mighty God of the universe. We must not measure ourselves by our abilities, after all someone had to give us those talents and abilities, someone "ordained our days". Never go by what you think, people think of you either. One thing that I have learned is that I struggle and get anxious when I let the things of the world into my heart and determine my self-worth. I need to value life just as my Creator values life.

God bless,

Fonz

What is your Purpose?

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness" Titus 1:1

In one verse, Paul gives us insight in his reason for living. He is a bondservant (one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men). His obedience to Christ led him to a life time work of sharing the gospel. 

How would you describe your purpose in life? To what things are you devoted to?

Think an reflect upon these things. Are we doing what God has purposed in our lives or what we have purposed in our lives and letting God be the clean up crew for our decisions. I will never forget when Pastor Dennis Norman gave a sermon asking if we have ever sought the Lord for our purpose. When I finally did, the Lord spoke loud and clear. Now I am not saying that I am perfect and have been totally obedient, however, as the years went by the "I's" have slowly been diminishing and obedience has grown. Many times it goes against my logic, but after all He is Lord and is in control of everything, all we have to do is simply rest in Him, recognize that we are a branch and Christ is the vine, and God is the vinedresser. Serve the Lord, be obedient and you will be amazed at His work. It is all worth it!

God bless,

Fonz
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The Vine

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." John 15:1-4

These verses are powerful verses and can teach us several things.

1. Absolute dependence on the Lord.
The branch has absolutely nothing to offer and depends on the vine for every thing.The vine has to do the work to send its nourishment to the branches in order to produce fruit. In our lives we must have absolute dependence on God in order for us to enjoy the fruit.

2. Deep Restfulness
The branches have not a care in the world. Each branch simply rests on the vine. When seasons change it does not worry because the vine will produce the nourishment so the branches can bear fruit. When the heat goes up, it trusts that the vine will provide it moisture. It simply rests in the Lord. We on the other hand try to depend so much on Christ, but we worry about that absolute dependence. It is hard for us to surrender in his deep restfulness when we are used to depending on our Self's to do the work.

3. Much Fruitfulness
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser", Here we see how God watches over the relationship between Jesus Christ and the us the branches. It is only through the power of God through Jesus Christ that we bear fruit.

4. Close Communion
Just like the branches on the vine, we must abide in Christ during every season and every minute of every day. As we see the branches on the vine every day throughout the year, so too our relationship with Jesus Christ should be something that is every day. We must have time or make time to spend with the Lord on a daily basis so that we may gain that sweet nutrient, the Word, so that we may continue to grow and bear much fruit.

5. Absolute Surrender
The branches of a grapevine cannot one day say, "This season I will bear peaches or oranges." The branch is utterly and entirely given up to the vine. The vine can give as much or as little fruit as it chooses. The branch is simply at the disposal of the vine and the vine can do with it what it likes. This is probably the most difficult areas, and it was for me as well. We must not what Christ did in this world. When Christ was ministering, He always stated that he was about his Father's business. Christ was here to do nothing else but seek his Father's pleasure. So what do we need to do? We need to be about the business of Christ and surrender completely to seek the pleasure of Christ.

So as you can see there is much more in these 4 verses than we think or may have seen applicable in our lives. We must humble ourselves before Christ and realize that we are nothing but branches. Even if you consider yourself a weak fruit bearing branch that is distant from Jesus, not living the way you should, remember what he said,"I am the Vine". He will receive you and nourish you back to health, he will strengthen you. He will fill you with His Holy Spirit. Remember, he became man surrendered all to die for our sins and gave himself entirely to us. Let us come and surrender ourselves entirely to be his.