Colossians 1:10

"So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, 

bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." 

~ Colossians 1:10

Answers in John 15:1-17

John 15:1-17 is such a beautiful passage (one of my favorites) in which Jesus teaches us about growth. One of my friends sent me the following outline, where he saw Jesus answering his questions about fruit bearing throughout the passage. I hope you enjoy this unique way to read this section of Scripture and are encouraged as you seek to bear fruit and to grow in Christ! Blessings, Christina

1. How do we "bear fruit​"?

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 does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 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. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

​2. How do we abide in Him?​
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

​3. How do we "abide in His love"?​

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

​4. Why should I want to abide?​
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

​5. ​Okay, I I have that settled. Now what is this commandment you're talking about?
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

​6. What does being your friend mean?​
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

​7. How are we your friends and what are we to do now?
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

​"And that's it."

Levi Pierpont - https://levipierpont.wordpress.com

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

Sunshine In the Raindrops

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, 

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 

~ 2 Corinthians 4:6

I was in the kitchen washing dishes the other day when I looked out the window and it struck me that the rain drops looked different. It was easy to see the individual drops and they were sparkling. Then I realized that the sun was shining through the rain. What a wonderful miracle to perceive!

In my life, there is sunshine in the raindrops. My hope and my light are found in Christ, so His radiance, like the sun, is always shining on my life. Times of the rain of difficulty and pain will come and they help me grow, just like the rain helps things grow. But in the midst of the rain, the sun still shines. God is good and He always near, shining on me! He is always my glorious, radiant, wonderful Sunshine.

You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine.

You make me happy, when skies are grey.

You know, Lord, how much I love you.

Oh, please don't take my Sunshine away.

(He never will!) 

I hope you see the sunshine of our the Lord in your raindrops…And don't forget to look for rainbows…

Blessings,

Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

The Rose

“Let the rose,” he said, “be the emblem of modesty, as it resembles the blush which rises to the cheek of a modest girl. But there is another lesson to be learned from the rose. After its beautiful colours have faded, it still retains its fragrance; when its leaves are brown and withered, they are even sweeter than in their fresh and lovely youth. Thus it is, dear Mary, with a true Christian. Thus let it be with you. The cheek of youth will fade, outward beauty will decay, but strive to acquire those graces of the mind which are unfading and imperishable.” ~ James, Mary’s father, in The Basket of Flowers

Ephesians 2:4-5

"But God, being rich in mercy,

 because of the great love with which he loved us, 

even when we were dead in our trespasses, 

made us alive together with Christ

—by grace you have been saved."

~ Ephesians 2:4-5

Photo Credit: Lindsey B.

Boring…or Faithful

Has someone ever asked you if you're a Christian? What's your answer? Most likely, "Yes." Does your voice express excitement or boredom? Are you bored with Jesus? I know that I sometimes am.

You know, part of our problem with finding Christ boring is that we mistake faithfulness for dullness. Think about a newlywed couple. They are so in love and there's lots of feeling and excitement surrounding their new married life. As time goes on, they still love each other, but the love isn't so obvious and overpowering because being married becomes more normal to them. Now, their love is a more faithful, gentle, continuing love. Yes, there will still be times when that overwhelming emotion returns, but from day-to-day, it's a sweet burning ember of love rather than a hot flame.

In our relationship with the Lord, we may start out with lots of feelings and lots of excitement. We see Him with new eyes, love Him because He loves us, and long to know Him more. Then, it changes as it becomes a normal part of life (which it should!). God is faithful all the time, so as we walk with Him, we can walk in this unending love and trust that He will be there for us. Our hearts may not be aflame with passion all the time, but there is a deeper sense of trusting love that responds to His love for us. There still should be times when we are overwhelmed by God and delve more deeply into Him and His love (I love it when this happens!). But we shouldn't expect this to always be the case. Really, if you think about it, the beauty of our relationship with Christ is that it is a continual, faithful relationship, because of all that He has done.

God is so faithful and forever. One of the joys of my heart is knowing that no matter what I'm feeling or what is going on in my life, God is always there, loving me. I love it when I have passion for the Lord and we'll look at cultivating that passion in our next post, but you know, it is so peaceful to rest in God and delight in Him and what He is doing in my life. He is so good.

The Psalmist wrote, "For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness" (Psalm 26:3). Doesn't this sound so restful and continual? I love this picture! Here we see a day-to-day, moment-by-moment walking in the Lord and His faithfulness. This is such a restful, amazing walk. It's sweeter than the beginning flame, where I didn't know much about Him. There is a deeper sense of Christ now that I'm still growing in, but it's wonderful!

God told His people, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you" (Jeremiah 31:3b). This continued, everlasting love and faithfulness is a daily, momently phenomenon. God has always loved us and He always will. We don't ever need to doubt that He doesn't love us. He loves faithfully, forever.

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). To be unfaithful would be for God to deny His very self. Even if we are unfaithful (and as sinners, we will be at times), we can know that each day, God is faithful and He always will be.

May we realize fully how faithful Christ is each and every day of our lives. It's not boring to have such a God who is always there, always good, always true, always loving. It's absolutely amazing! This is something that I need to be continually reminded of in my own life. He is true and forever and knowing this is part of the sweetness of a maturing relationship with the Lord. We may not always feel it, but there is freshness and much delight in reflecting upon the continued faithfulness of Jesus Christ. He's not boring. He's faithful.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" 

~ Romans 8:35, 37-39 ~ 

Delighting in our ever-faithful Lord,

Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

Psalm 27:4

"One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: 

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, 

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple."

~ Psalm 27:4

Photo Credit: Lindsey B.

Strengthen

Have you ever had really delicious, specially-made, dark chocolate? And then, have you ever taken a bite out of a cheap dark chocolate bar or had a dark chocolate kiss? Well, I can tell you from experience that the cheap chocolate just doesn't compare to the more expensive, special chocolate. In our walk with the Lord, if we cultivate a hunger for the deep richness Him (like special, dark chocolate), the one who is perfectly pure, right, and true, we won't desire other, lesser things (like cheap dark chocolate) so much. We can cultivate this hunger and fresh desire for God by building things into our lives that strengthen and refresh our walk with Him rather than weaken it and make it dull to us and others.

Scripture

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

~ Hebrews 4:12

God's Word is one of the greatest tools that will increase our hunger for Him and help us see Him in a fresh way. As we spend time in His Word, we get to see, know, and love Him more. Keep Scripture fresh by reading it every day, meditating on passages, doing reading plans, reading from various books, memorizing verses, etc. God stays fresh, new, and alive to us as He reveals Himself to us through His Word.

Prayer

"But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, 

in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness."

~ Psalm 69:13

Spending time just talking with the Lord through prayer strengthens our relationship and walk with Him. As we commune with the Lord and talk to Him like we'd talk to someone in the room, we share our hearts and build closeness with Him. There is such freshness in coming to God each day with something new to tell Him, ask Him, confess to Him, or praise Him about. For me, it's hard to stay focused on praying, so I like to write my prayers in a journal or pray out loud (quietly, though!). Be creative, but just pray. Spend time talking to the Lord and knowing Him more each day as you draw near to Him.

Music

"Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day."

~ Psalm 96:1-2

God has given us the gift of worshipful music to point us to Him and refresh our relationship and walk with Him. There have been so many times when a song has ministered to my heart and reminded me of all that Christ is and has done for me. Just yesterday while I was cleaning at work, the song "Before the Throne of God Above" played on my radio. It was full of truths of which I needed to be reminded. Listen to Christ-exalting music and let it refresh your heart, remind you of all He is, point you to Him, and draw you nearer to Him. (I like to listen to music during my devotion time. It helps keep my focus on God!)

Books/Sermons/Devotionals/Etc.

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 

~ Ephesians 4:11-13

There are so many different books and sermons that have been written or preached about God and Christianity. Some are good, some aren't. Find those good books, sermons, and devotionals that strengthen your faith. Look for books that make you want to spend time with the Lord after you read them and encourage and build you up in your walk with the Lord. (Christian biographies are great for this, too!) Listen to sermons that build up your faith and encourage you to love and serve God more. Study devotionals that teach you and renew your heart and mind. As we seek to know God, we can use the tools of those who have gone before us and studied the Word in order to encourage us and press us nearer to God.

Strong Christians

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11

When I'm around strong Christians, I feel stronger. As I spend time with people who really love and serve Jesus, I want to pursue Him and serve Him more. Through spending time with believers who are faithful to the Lord and seeking after Him, we can be encouraged and learn from each other. We shouldn't be afraid to talk about things of God and pray together. That's one of the greatest joys of walking this path together! We can encourage each other in new ways to love the Lord more, hunger for Him, and see Him more freshly each day.

Service

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 

You are serving the Lord Christ."

~ Colossians 3:23-24

Taking the time to serve the Lord strengthens our faith. When we are looking ways to serve God by seeking to serve and love the people in our lives, fulfill needs, help, and come alongside them, there is a fresh joy that comes from the Lord. If we are stagnant, like the Red Sea, only taking in God's love and truth and never sharing it with anyone, our faith will grow dull, boring, and mediocere. But when we are sharing the truth and love of Christ with the people around us, there is a flowing joy and beauty that comes from within our hearts. We are sharing Christ and as we share Him, we grow stronger and we are refreshed in our walk with Him.

Life

"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

~ John 10:10b

Christianity isn't just a "closet" thing. It's a life thing! We live out our faith each day in our words, actions, relationships, etc. By walking with the Lord through life and experiencing life with and in Him, our faith will be strengthened and refreshed. As we are pursuing Christ in everything, by His grace, and desiring to walk each moment with Him, there is such sweetness and beauty and renewal as we live life in our precious Lord.


There are so many things that can strengthen our walk with God and keep Him fresh before our eyes. Let's limit the “weakeners” and fill our lives to the brim with the things that point us to God and refresh our hearts. There is so much joy and beauty when we have a strong, vibrant walk with Jesus! Join me and let's seek together to be stronger in God and to know Him more each day!

Blessings,
Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

Revelation 21:5-7

"And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” 

Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 

And he said to me,“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 

The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son." ~ Revelation 21:5-7

Weakeners

There are certain things that strengthen us and certain things that weaken us. Right now I'm learning how to play the organ. It's easy for me to be a "weak" organist by not practicing often, failing to strengthen my arms and legs for the task, and just doing the same things over and over again, making me quickly bored with the organ. Did you know that it can be similar in our relationship with the Lord? There are things in our lives that can either strengthen and refresh our relationship with God, or weaken and dull our relationship with Him.

During His life on earth, Jesus told a parable about four types of people in the parable of the sower: the unsaved (Mark 4:15), the wishy-washy Christians (Mark 4:17), the worldly Christian (Mark 4:18-19), and the fruitful Christian (Mark 4:20). Let's look at the verses describing the worldly Christian: "And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19). At Sunday school recently, my teacher asked us which type of soil we are. You know, I would have to say that many times, this soil describes me more than the good, fruit-bearing soil. The "cares of the world" and "desires for other things" can choke God's Word and His power in my life. I'm not as fruitful as I could be because I'm caught up with the things of this life. Let's look at what some of these things could be.

• Media can distract us and dull our walk with the Lord. We can get caught up with movies, internet, social media, emails blogs, music, cell phones, texting, etc. that we spend a lot of our time and money on media and then, we we do sit down to read the Bible or pray, our minds are so full of media that it's hard to concentrate and focus. 

• While people are important in our relationship with God (as we'll look at later), they can also be a distraction from Him. Whether it's family, friends, acquaintances, (guys!) etc. it is easy to let relationships with people become more important to us than our relationship with the Lord. The stimulation of an actual person can sometimes lessen our desire to be with God because we can't physically see or touch Him. 

• Getting caught up with books and focusing more on reading than the Lord, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, Christian books, etc. can be something that pulls us away from Him. When we would rather read a book, even about God, than read His Word, books are weakening instead of strengthening our love and relationship with Him. 

• What about money? Also in that verse Jesus talked about "the deceitfulness of riches". Into this category could fall work, finances, worry about money, etc. When we are so caught up with money and greed, we can easily lose sight of the provision of the Lord and our love of money can lesson our love for God. 

• We have such busy lives. Running from one activity to the next, there is always somewhere to be, something to do, and someone to meet. This busyness can easy weaken our love for God. For one, we're so busy that we find it hard to carve out time with Him and second, because we are so "over-stimulated" by always doing things, it's hard to rest in the wonder of the presence and love of Christ. 

You'll notice that things I mentioned above aren't bad in and of themselves. Still, any of them can easily distract us from the Lord and weaken our relationship with Him. Even from these things, many of which are good, we may need to take a break and set aside or lesson our intake in order to make room for the things in our lives that strengthen and refresh our walk with the Lord. (We'll look more at what some of those things are in our next post.) Our God always needs to be first, as He said, "you shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3).

There are also definitely "bad", sinful, evil things that have no place in our lives that can fall into any of these categories, as well as categories of their own. If we are living in sin, our relationship with God is going to be dull. We need to run from sin, confess it, and turn away from it, finding victory in Christ. As we turn away from sin and turn to God, we will be refreshed, renewed, and healed in wonderful ways: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

What weakens your love for God? What makes Christ dull to you? Along with me, examine your heart and your life so that you can be a faithful single woman, anxious only about the things of the Lord and not the things of this world:

"And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, 

how to be holy in body and spirit." ~ 1 Corinthians 7:34  

Learning more and more about Christ's freshness,

Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

~ Jeremiah 17:7-8

Photo Credit: Alyssa H.

Is Christ Dull?

Have you ever felt like Jesus has just always been there in your life and always will be? You probably like being a Christian (usually!) but at times, doesn't it seem like Christ is dull? There have been seasons in my life when walking with Christ hasn't been new and fresh, but rather, old and stale.

At a young age, I embraced Christ and His salvation, so I can't really remember much of my life apart from being a Christian. When I was about fifteen, God really began to work in my heart and draw me into a closer relationship with Him. Everything was fresh and new. I loved spending time in prayer and the Word, communing with the Lord and celebrating Him and His love. 

After a couple of years, the novelty of spending time with Jesus wore off. He wasn't so new or amazing as He once seemed to me. Time with Him became a chore instead of a joy. I wondered if there was supposed to be more to the Christian life than just trying to be good and doing devotions. (There is so much more, my friends! We have a very real, living God!)

This past year (2014) has been one of the busiest years of my life. It was so much fun to be immersed in full-time classes at Moody Distance Learning, working two jobs, serving at church, doing ministry projects, spending time with people and more. Throughout this time, in the midst of everything, it was easy to put God on the shelf. He became just one part of my busy life, rather than the overarching reason and joy of my life. 

Looking back over the years of walking with the Lord, while I started out excited about Jesus and my relationship with Him, slowly, the joy and novelty of Christ wore away. Other things were newer and became more exciting to me. When the new year (2015) approached, I began to pray for and desire renewed joy in God. I wanted Christ to become real to me in a fresh way so that I could walk again in the absolute joy and closeness that can come only from Him.

Through different things, including a couple trials and realizing my weakness and need for Him, God made Himself real and new to me in many wonderful ways! Now, as I open my Bible, I open it with fresh eyes. I pray with fresh prayers to my God. And I'm learning to live out this freshness in my day-to-day life. Like the Psalmist, it seems to me that,

"He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. 

Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord."

 ~ Psalm 40:3

Has your relationship with God become dull to you? Maybe you've been a Christian for as long as you remember and you feel like you are just going through the motions instead of living out a vibrant walk with Him. Or maybe you are a newer believer, but already, the first excitement and thrill of being a Christian has left. In our next post, we'll dig deeper into the things that can lessen our hunger for God, but for now, look at these beautiful verses with me:

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

Every morning, Christ can be new to us. His mercies are new, His love is forever, and His faithfulness will never come to an end. This is amazing! There is newness and freshness is our God beyond what we could even begin to understand!

It's my hope that you will join with me and the Psalmist, and "Sing to him a new song" (Psalm 33:3). Walking in the freshness of Christ is pure delight! I'm still on this journey of pursuing Christ and knowing Him more freshly each day. Join me! Let's ask together for the Lord to make Himself more real to us, to renew our desire for Him, and to be fresh to us each and every day! 

Growing in the freshness of Jesus,

Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

1 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 

~ 1 Corinthians 5:17

A Fresh Fragrance

Spring is finally coming with warm sun rays, melting snow, and the fresh smell of all things new. I had my window opened yesterday to let in the Spring breeze. Later in the day, my little sister walked into my bedroom. "I like your room the best. It smells like Spring."

She made me smile. And it also made me think. The rest of the rooms in the house are stuffy in comparison to the freshness of mine. Windows have been closed for a long time (since winter in Michigan tends to last quite awhile!) and everything smells like it has been closed up for months. But my room, because the window was open, smells fresh and new.

When people walk into my life, do they smell the freshness and beauty of Christ's newness in me? Or is it a stale perfume that greets them? If my life in Christ has become dull to me, without the vibrant life that comes through growing in the love and knowledge of Jesus, than people will not be drawn to His fragrance in me, because it has been made stuffy and old. On the other hand, when I am delighting in Christ and in knowing Him more in His fullness and beauty each day, there is newness and life in me, like a sweet, fresh perfume spread to everyone in my life.

Paul wrote,

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, 

and through us spreads the fragrance of Him everywhere." 

~ 2 Corinthians 2:14 ~

What an awesome privilege we have been given to be vessels of God's fragrance! Let's spread His sweetness to everyone we meet! 

Blessings,

Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!