A Christ Follower: The Journey

The Vineyard: A Short Detour. " I am the vine   you are the branches. If you abide in me, and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing." Jesus      Before we begin our journey backwards through the Sermon on the Mount, and before we go out in to the yard to walk on the stepping stones for this part of rock-solid living, we need to go to another piece of property. Of course Jesus parabolic house has to have a vineyard. What is really interesting is what Jesus says about himself. He calls himself "The Vine.” He also calls us something: He calls us “the branches;" therefore, there is a life connection between the Son of God and us. Maintaining that connection, intentionally, is important, if we will bear fruit.      One of the dangers of following a teaching is that of the teaching becoming legalistic or regulatory.   As a matter of fact, I think that a lot of people give up on even tryin...

To Hear or Not Hear?   That Is The Question. The one who hears my words and obeys them is the one who has a life that will stand up to the storms that beat against and challenge our lives. Jesus      Hearing, and applying what is heard, seems to be extremely important, if we are going to experience rock-solid living in this quicksand world. Whether or not we are victorious and overcome our wounds, injuries, abuse trauma or sin is related to how we hear Jesus. How we hear Jesus is so important that he taught a parable about it, and then he went the extra mile to explain the parable to be sure we would get it. How we hear Jesus will greatly impact whether or not we will put into practice what we hear: THERE ARE 4 WAYS TO HEAR GOD… OR NOT.   Jesus Based On Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23      Back in the day, when Jesus was teaching among humanity, He made it clear that He wanted rock solid living to be a part of daily living....

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash!   Jesus                                                                   Storms        Storms seem to come into ever...

If you believe in something, there is a good chance you will move toward creating, recreating or simply making it happen.  An ancient wisdom writer once said, "As a man thinks in his heart so is he."  I suppose, if the writer were more modern that one would say, " If its dominating your gut, you won't be in a rut, but you will live it out there for everyone to see?"   Now why am I telling y'all this?  I am telling y'all this because I want to tell y'all this; however, there is a bit more motivating my scribal articulation.  I am telling y'all this because I have been struggling, since serving in the U.S. Military, with some anxiety issues... they actually caused or contributed to yours truly having 3 heart attacks.  Needless to say, those years of service impacted my brain.  And not only did they do so, but ... in time... God taught me how to develop ways, founded on Biblical Spirituality, that calmed down that hurricane in my head and has ...

  Matthew 24:35-44   35  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. The Day  When He Returns  Unknown 36  “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.   42  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43  But understand this: If the owner of the house ha...

The Steadfast love of the LORD NEVER ceases.  HIS mercies NEVER come to an end.  They are NEW every morning.  Great is YOUR FAITHFULNESS... O LORD .  Lamentations 3:23-24   I have read these verses "a million times" it could be said, but in reality taking time to really hear the truth of them takes some meditation and reflection. And we are talking about some serious stuff here.  Even so, I don't think mere words will do them justice.   STEADFAST LOVE: God's love for you is sturdy.  It stays in place... like an anchor for your soul...that will not let you go... that will heal you so that you will be eternally alive and whole.    NEVER Ceases: God's love was here before you were you. His love for you is here while you are here being you, and long after you have ended this journey on planet earth... well... let's just say God's love will still keep on keeping on.   NEVER END.  God's desire to NOT give you what y...

SAINTS        These past few days, two former Popes were declared as Saints.  They met the requirements of the beatification process of becoming Saints, and so they are officially declared "Saints" by the Vatican and the powers that be who reside there in; however, this world wide news got me to thinking about the Bible perspective of what constitutes a person being a Saint.        I do know that "While we were (notice past tense) yet sinners Christ died for us." (See Romans 5:8.)  I also know that Paul did not write his letters to the "sinners" in Ephesus or elsewhere.  He wrote to the "Saints."  I am sure a whole lot of them did not feel very saintly, but they were declared as such. Besides, we don't walk by feelings.  We walk by faith in what God says.  Saint is the name for all  Christ Followers,  meaning "holy ones" (which is the rendering in some modern versions—see NLT...