Authentic

"The branch cannot bear fruit of itself." Jn 15:4 The Church needs to learn this lesson. All Christian work flows from relationship. No relationship, no fruit. It is that simple. Jesus said, "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Mt 7:22-23
Not all things which look Christian are Christian. It is not what we do which makes us Christian but what we are. Doing can never take the place of being but you cannot be without doing. jfs

Church????

If Church is a place instead of a people then marriage must be a house instead of a relationship. jfs

1Pe 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Eph 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
(NKJV)

One Way

Don't live life looking in the rear view mirror, life is a one way street, you are not going back. Fix your eyes on Jesus, it's what's up front that matters most. jfs

Using Suffering

I talked with a pastor friend today and he is discouraged. I told him I understand, I was a pastor for 39 years. Mondays were not always good days for me. Sheep are not always faithful, and at times they act like goats. What I learned from the disappointments of life is that in all of them there is opportunity to draw closer to Jesus our Lord. He too had some down moments and that is why “He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities.” For example, when we feel the sting of the rejection of friends, we are feeling what He felt as He stumbled down the street with a cross on His back. Suffering serves us when it helps us draw near to our Lord. Knowing about Jesus and knowing Him are two different things. Don’t let your sorrows go to waste and rejoice that you have not been nailed to a cross. Jfs

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

Nothing is true because I say it is, and nothing is untrue because I say it is. We don't make truth, we only embrace it. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life." It is the most important truth we will ever encounter. "Who was Jesus" deserves a personal inquiry. He is the truth who can change our lives. Truth in the person of Jesus Christ is our hope. jfs

Joh 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4 "And where I go you know, and the way you know."
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
(NKJV)

God is the answer!

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Psa. 25:1-5

Is it worth it?

Recently on the way to a Church service I asked Mary if all the travel and the weariness of the journey was worth it. I love home, my yard, birds, sitting on my deck with a cup of coffee. I have moments when I wonder if it is all for nothing - then I remember that Jesus left His Home and came to our yard. I wonder as He walked the dusty streets of Jerusalem if He ever questioned if it was worth it? When I arrived a few minutes early for the Church service a dear sister told me how much the service the day before had blessed and changed her life. It was the answer I was looking for; I told her if she was the only person there I would have come just for her. My heart says if Jesus would die for one I should be willing to live for one. I pray the Master will lead me to one on our next trip. Pray for us. It is not always easy to get seventy-one years moving. jfs
P.S. Jesus didn't reach for crowds, He reached for ones.