Key Scripture:

John  15:1b.  …and My Father is the vinedresser.

Key Idea:

A vine must have a husbandman to plant and watch over it, to receive and rejoice in its fruit.
–Murray

Pray for revelation:

Blessed Father, we are Thy husbandry. Oh, that Thou mayest have honor of the work of Thy hands! O my Father, I desire to open my heart to the joy of this wondrous truth: My Father is the Husbandman. Teach me to know and trust Thee, and to see that the same deep interest with which Thou caredst for and delightedst in the Vine, extends to every branch, to me too.
–Murray

Key words:
husbandman, farmer, or vinedresser. Literally a word that means “land worker”. Take your pick on which aggricultural job description to use.

Jesus has declared that he is the vine. A living, growing, living plant. He now declares that his father, God, is the farmer.

A plant grows and can produce fruit, but how did it get there? Somebody had to plant it. The soil the plant is growing in is kept cultivated, and nurtured. It needs a farmer. God’s roll in the universal scheme of things is as high above that of Jesus, as a farmer is above the vine. He keeps the Read More…

Isaiah 9:6-7

9:6. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
9:7. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
–NKJ

Isaiah talks about a king who will come in the future. One that we know as the person of Jesus Christ. He will arrive as a child who is born in the usual way. A gift of joy and pleasure to his parents. He will be a son who is to carry the weight and burden of governmental authority.

He will be the kind of person deserving of the names listed here. I looked up the original words and the list reads like this:

Miraculous, Counselor, Strong, Warrior, Father being Forever, Prince of Peace.

The comma’s (,) separate the individual words of his name.

Read More…

Galatians
1:1 Paul, Apostle. Not sent from men neither via men, contrarywise via Jesus Christ.
And of God Father, of the rousing ones of his, out of death.
 1:2 And the united to me, all brothers of the church of the Galatians.
1:3 Grace to you, and peace sent from God Father. and Lord of ours, Jesus Christ.
– literal

I hope the passage I included isn’t too difficult to understand. Please read it in your favorite Bible version. Let’s look at this introduction to the book of Galatians. It

is a summary of where the authority of a Christian comes from.

Paul, Apostle. Paul is simply telling who wrote this letter.

Not sent from men neither via men. Paul is telling what he is not. His motivations, his mission wasn’t given to him because

some church fathers told him to go out and do. He doesn’t do what he does through the power or authority of any human.

Contrarywise via Jesus Christ. And of God Father, of the rousing one of his, out of death. Paul states where his authority

does come from. It’s not even from his own doing, but he has been sent from Jesus and the Father God. He then further

describes Jesus as the risen one of God’s from death. The word for arisen can also be used as being awakened or aroused, as

from a sleep.

And the united to me, all brothers of the church of the Galatians. Here Paul shifts from where this letter is from, and tells

who it is addressed to. The word for ‘united’ is one that means to be together with, gathered together, united and so on. The

word ‘the’ is actually a plural form and it might be better read as ‘those united’. Paul again restates himself to make

himself clear as to exactly who he is talking about, it is to the brothers of the church of Galatia. The ‘church’ meaning

simply a gathering of believers. Not any building, or governing body, or a corporate body. Where ever any group of believers

gather or meet might be known as ‘ekklesia’, or church.

It isn’t any religious group that can save a sol. It isn’t any denomination or set of corporate rules that we sometimes come

to think of a church, that can save a soul. Those things only define a group of Christians based on what they do in the

ministry of God. The building that we call a church is even less than that. Meetings can be held anywhere.

A body is a living thing that moves around, does things, ideally productive things, and even grows. To stop growing is to

waste away and die. Then the body becomes a corpse. As a member of the body of Christ, How do you fit in? As the body of

Christ moves around and does things, what is your part?

With Christ as the head of the body, we can always look to him for the signals to be on the move. Going and doing, or even

resting when that serves a purpose in the ministry, or service that he wants done.

Without the head, a body is soon dead. If you are finding your part of the body of Christ is dead, get reattached. Reconnect

with Christ, not necessarily a church. I know that sounds bac. What I mean is that you should find a local church to meet

with and be part of. Do it with the purpose of seeking Jesus. He is the source you need to revitalize yourself. If a program,

or class, or some other feature at a congregation puts you into connection with Jesus, then great. Congradulations! You’re

back! There is no church on earth that can provide that spiritual revitalization. It has to come from Jesus.

Think of it this way. If you’re hungry, you go to the kitchen. Hey, that’s where I normally expect to find food. Sometimes my

kitchen is empty. No food, and nothing but empty dishes. That’s like a church where the spark of Jesus has gone out. Don’t

abandon the church though. More food can be delivered. All it takes is asking for it. Yeah, I know, it takes money to go to

the grocery store and buy the nurishment you need. In the spiritual world that price has already been paid. Jesus died and

was raised. All that’s left is calling in your order. You don’t even have to leave to get it. Groceries are on the way so get

that kitchen tuned up and ready.

Any true authority, or source of strength and confidence always comes from Jesus. Not that men, or our man made institutions

are not important. They are the channel of how he works, just not the source.

And the well wishes that Paul had for the Galatians is what I offer to wrap up today.
Grace to you, and peace sent from God Father. and Lord of ours, Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Often I have examined the nature of God and his character, and the importance of following his ways. Today I take a quick look at where humans fit into the picture.

We have a world that is full of life and resources. It was created for us, not by us. In the scheme of things, humans were not the first living things to be created, but the last. All other life forms that are contained in our world though, are ours to rule over as we please.

God, actually Elohyim or most high god, had just finished creating and making the world  a complete, finished off place. He says, “Let’s make man…” The word to make, as it is used here means something like ‘please to make. ‘ God made man, and it was pleasing to him.

God made humans ‘in our image after our likeness.’ Both the words image and likeness could be translated by some of the same words. Resemblance, image, or likeness. The difference is the first word means an intangible similarity, a spiritual nature, or the mannerisms. The second word refers to a physical form or appearance.

Why did God make man? Amazingly, humans were not necessarily made with the purpose of worshipping God. He didn’t say, ‘Lets make man so he will worship, honor, and obey me. To recognize me as lord and master, and always do my commands. God desires those things, but he wants it to be a decision. We have the choice to do those things.

We have been created and place in earth to be rulers over it. We are to be masters of all the other living life forms within the earth, fish, birds, animals, and as a catch all category, all the things that go creepy crawling in it. We are given the earth itself and the resources in it. We can rule, and trample, or do whatever we want. Ideally the thing to do is to take care of it to enjoy it for as long as possible. Read the passage all the way through verse 30. There isn’t anything in our created universe that we are kept from doing or owning, or ruling over.

We have the priveledge to do what we want, but just because you have the ability to do something, doesn’t mean you should do that thing. We need to be responsible, even restrained at times in how we use our natural resources.

Take good care of the world that God created for us to rule over and use.

James 4:11-12.

 4:11.  Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
 4:12.  There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Leave the Judging to God.

In any situation with a group of people, of any size, there needs to be some kind of round rules. When rules are in place, a rule will eventually be broken. Anybody can raise a complaint, but somebody will have to hold the place of judge, make a decision, and administer a punishment. That’s the way laws work.

Let’s not talk about religious things for a moment. In our civic laws we have one that involves stop signs. When that rule is not followed, someone reports it. A policeman writes a ticket. The ticket is your summons to see a judge. The judge determines guilt and assigns a punishment.

I think that most often Christians are acting as the policemen in the situation. We are out on the streets, we see things happen, and have to use enough judgement to recognize an infraction of the law. We rush to the offender and get on their case about the deed that was done. We issue the ticket for that person to appear in God’s court.

The problem is that people misunderstand us Christians. They see the policeman as the judge. They don’t recognize the real authority of the real judge, God. They think the ticket is the actual punishment. It carries no weight because they feel no gilt over it. Still, if you’ve ever got a ticket, it is still an infraction of the law. Ignorance of law is no excuse. Your case still goes on the books. Your court date still rolls around. Now your judgement is assured, a warrant is issued and there is no avoiding the judge or your punishment. Try standing in the courtroom and facing the judge, and telling him that you never gave his authority over you any credit. Try to explain how his law doesn’t apply to you for whatever reason that you can rationalize. You just might find yourself angry and still rationalizing over it as your walet is emptied of the full amount of the fine, or sitting in a jail cell for a little while.

In the big picture of things, only God is judge. As Christians we are not to take the law into our own hands. We should never be the ones to declare the punishment. We have no authority to send someone off to their doom. We can identify an infraction. We can try to warn people from making a mistake. We should send out encouraging words to motivate people to make the right decisions. That’s all we can do.

Is it possible that you, a Christian, are putting yourself into the position as judge? Stop it. You will know you are if you accost a sinner, and say harsh words, evil words against that person. Our words, even harsh, or strong ones, have no authority to condemn that person. We shouldn’t even tell them that ‘God’ll get you for that.’ God just might, but not until that final day. God’s grace and mercy is new each day.

God loves us before we loved him. He loved us when we were still sinners. Once we turn to a godly lifestyle, we start seeing how unnatractive and shameful sin really is. When we see that sin in another we get an idea of how offensive sin is to ‘god. Still, god loved us, even when we once had that exact same, shameful look of sin about us that we may be seeing in the person we might be judging… Oops, I mean observing as a police officer.  God’s mercy is new each day. He gave us a chance. Show mercy and grace to that person.

Sadly, the guilty person might mistake the policeman as the heavy. He might mistake the warning of the crime as the end judgement. All you can do is to understand your position. Leave any condemnation in the hands of God.

If you were a police officer, and somebody gave you a hard time about being a judge, or argue why you don’t leave them alone as they robbed a house, or ran that stop sign, what would you do or say? That’s the kind of reaction we should have. Sometimes it might require explaining how the legal system works, sometimes it takes a little reasoning, sometimes there’s not much that can be done. No matter what, stand your ground. a policeman who looks the other way and let crime take place has no place on his job.

Acts 5:31
“Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
–NKJ

The great thing about Jesus is that no matter what we might think about him, God thinks highly of him. The Jewish leaders of the day thought so little of him that they put him to death and rejected him. God lifts him up and exalts for him. Exalt, being a word that just means to cheer for, or to say encouraging things about something or someone. Scriptures record how God will send the Messiah, how he will be rejected and held in low account. It is that very person who is also placed in full authority of all the earth and of anything in heaven.

Jesus is named as prince. The government will rest on his shoulders. It would be a wise decision for everybody, including our governmental leaders to follow his ways, his morals, and ethics. Not that anybody has to do these things right now, but a time is foretold where everybody in heaven and earth will bow to him and recognize his authority. Right now we are all spiritually blind. We have the choice to do and believe what we like. That spiritual blindness won’t last though.

In those days, people put Jesus to death. Today there are many who still would like him, and his memory put to death. There are those who still reject him. All through the Bible though, Jesus is refered to as savior. His name means Yah Saves, or God Saves. It’s a salvation that isn’t only for those who believe, but even for those who don’t, won’t, and never will. The offer for salvation is there for anybody who wants to choose to take hold of it.

Jesus is the new covenant of God to humans. He is God’s gift that goes beyond who could take part in the old covenant, and includes every other person in the entire world. Jesus is a gift that opens the door to anybody who is looking for a way to God.

That day is coming where all people will for sure recognize God and Jesus for exactly who the Bible says they are. For some people it will be too late by then. For those who can recognize him now, there will be forgiveness. Remmission of sins, a washing away of impurities and shortcomings. Forgiveness of those shameful deeds or even thoughts, for any doubt we have ever had.

Will there be a part for those who are now unbelievers? Will there be a place for them in an eternal spiritual kingdom? In a word, no. What will happen to them? Where will they go? Where ever God wants them to be, but not in his kingdom. As believers we are sanctified, set apart, to enjoy what is in the next life in a place with no sorrow, no tears, only joy in God’s presence.

Will there be sorrow, tears, and agony in eternity? Yes, but not where God is. Realize now that what the Bible teaches about God and his love, and his plan for us to be part of his kingdom are real. Choose now to be a part of it.

Background Passage 
John 14:12-14; 15:9-17; 16:23-26 
Focal Verses    
John 14:12-14; 15:14-16; 16:23-26

What This Lesson Is About
This lesson examines that praying in Jesus’ name means seeking what glorifies God, participating in Jesus’ work, and enjoying immediate access to God.

Why This Lesson Is Important
Ali Baba, the fictional Arabian character, uttered the words “Open, Sesame” to gain entrance to a cave filled with treasure. Some adults think of the words “in Jesus’ name” as a type of “open sesame” that adds a magical potency to their prayers. Many are simply unsure what praying in Jesus’ name means. This lesson will examine what it means to pray in His name.

How This Lesson Can Impact Your Life
This lesson will help you understand what praying in Jesus’ name means and commit to pray in His name.