TRAIT ONE: Walking with Jesus

JOE BROWN

I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. JOHN 15:5, NLT

THERE'S A DIFFERENCE, in our world today, between calling yourself a Christian and being connected to Christ. As a young Christian I memorized John 14:21:

Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. (NLT)

At the time, I viewed this verse as a threat: If I really love God, I reasoned, I'd better obey Him. Otherwise He won't reveal Himself to me. He won't love me.

One day I was struck with an epiphany: This passage is not a threat; it's a promise!

One chapter after Jesus made this statement to His disciples, He offered them an analogy: Jesus is a vine; they (and we) are branches. The relationship between the two is organic. "If I love God," the logic goes, "I will obey Him, because He is filling me with new life and a new nature" (2 Corinthians 5:17). It's a done deal!

The life-giving power that flows out of Jesus, our Vine, flows into us, His branches. As we face the challenges and victories of life, we have Christ's strength, wisdom, and courage available to us "on demand." If we stay connected to Him, we can rely on Him to nourish and strengthen us by His love (obedience is not required for that love!). We even bear fruit. Only when we cut ourselves off from the Vine do obedience and fruit bearing become a struggle.

In John 14:23, Jesus reinforces the organic dynamic of our new nature: "All who love me will do what I say" (NLT). In Christ, the Father and the Son have moved into our hearts, taking up residence in our lives. Not only that, but the Father sends the Holy Spirit to teach and remind us of everything He has told us (verse 26). We may slip up in our obedience in the short term, but in the long run we can't help but obey because we have been possessed by the triune God; we draw our life direct from the Vine!

• Do you truly believe that God loves you regardless of what you do? Do you trust God enough to believe that you don't need to earn His love?

Spending Time with Jesus

MARTHA LAWRY

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." LUKE 10:41-42

WE ALL LIKE TO HAVE our circumstances under control. How many times do we try to make things play out the way we want them to, or to assert our own will over seeking God?

This is demonstrated by Martha, who opened her home to Jesus, only to quickly busy herself with preparations for a meal. Meanwhile her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He had to say.

"Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Martha wanted to put dinner on the table, regardless of whether the goal of her guest was to eat. The text tells us that she was "distracted by all the preparations." Her plea, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?" and her subsequent order, "Tell her to help me!" show that while she had made Jesus her guest, she was preoccupied with everything but Jesus.

Mary, by contrast, was focused on Jesus: She humbly sat, "listening to what he said." Mary and Martha and Jesus were all in the same place, but only Mary was with Jesus (see Luke 10:39-40).

When we try to grasp control of a situation, like Martha, we sacrifice our connection to God and His purposes. God's plans are superior to ours, and they include meaningful, consistent connections between us and Him. This connection is the "one thing" that is needed. Jesus wants us, like Mary, to spend time with Him and to seek Him and surrender to His superior plans.

• What is one situation you will likely face today that could distract you from your connection to God? How can you properly prioritize your time with God today?

• Where on your daily calendar could you intentionally book an appointment with Jesus? What time and place can you spend regular, uninterrupted time with Him?

Knowing and Hearing from God

JOHN STARKE

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. JOHN 16:13

A HEAVY GRAYNESS had settled over my life. It was like daily walking through a cloud. This wasn't how I pictured my life! I'd envisioned success, confidence, and impact for God's kingdom, but getting out of the dark became all I could think about.

Then one day, as I spent time praying and reading God's Word, His Spirit brought a question to my mind. "If you never stop feeling like this, is knowing and following Me enough for you? Am I enough for you?" In other words, if I boiled away all my "spiritual" and "reasonable" motives, was I really just interested in feeling better? Or did I just want Him?

The Spirit guided me into truth as I read Hosea 6:1-2:

Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us ...
that we may live before him. (ESV)

Hosea calls Israel to openly acknowledge that their circumstances — fully orchestrated by God — are really painful. But he urges them to not stop there: Israel is to look beyond the scenery toward God's heart.

God unveils His intentions powerfully. He is willing to let us experience struggles and inconveniences as ways of knowing Him more deeply — "that we may live before him."

There are still days I live in the haze. But as I talk with God about what's going on and give Him the opportunity to speak truth back to me, He shows me that simply resolving my inconveniences is fool's gold compared to relating intimately with and following Him.

• Make a list of the hard things in your life right now. Tell God about them. Then, instead of focusing solely on "getting better," ask Him how He wants you to know Him better through them.

• Since growing a healthy relationship involves two-way communication, spend some time growing your relationship by talking to God as you would a friend and letting Him talk back to you through His Spirit and His Word. What is He saying to you through His Spirit of truth?