Tethered

John 15:4-8
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up, and they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples.


Jesus tells us that He is the VINE, and believers are like vines attached to Him. I like that image-- the thought of being directly tied to Him is a happy one. When I am not living in this reality, I can become confused. I forget what (or, more accurately, WHO) I am truly attached to. It's easy to forget. If I am not prayerful and careful, I start to get "attached" to worldly things.....things like money and houses and popularity and savings accounts and degrees and career titles and jeans sizes and....all those silly things that human beings look to to get their value and worth as a person. But, nothing from that list bears "fruit."

The "fruit" God promises is: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). Money can't buy love or joy. Popularity doesn't provide peace. Being CEO doesn't mean you are truly good, or gentle. A PhD doesn't give you faith. Being a size 4 doesn't bring humility. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, there is no such thing as self-control. No, the only way to be able to experience--as well as give away-- real FRUIT is through Jesus. Those nine things are what we all desperately want to be. We are searching for them, starving for them. They are worth more than the wealthiest human being could afford to purchase. They are everlasting. Once Jesus gives them to you, nobody else can take them from you. When we interject these things into the lives of others, we glorify God.




"In theory, Christians know the truth that our Lord is emphasizing here [John 15:4-8], but very often we simply don’t believe it in a practical way. We really don’t believe that apart from Him we can do nothing. The message that we constantly hear from the human potential advocates and motivational speakers is that we have much more power within us than we know, and that by digging deep within ourselves and drawing upon our own hidden strengths, we can do great things. This is not what our Lord teaches us concerning the bearing of spiritual fruit. He instructs us that we can do nothing apart from a vital union with Him, in which we constantly draw from His life, His strength, His truth."
~Bob Deffinbaugh

Sometimes I like to close my eyes and envision a big, sturdy stake being hammered deeply into a massive hunk of granite. And that stake has a braided thick cord firmly attached to it-- a carbon-fiber rope, if you will. And then, when I look to the end of that cord, there I see me. Hurricane winds come, but I cannot be loosed from my stake. I am tethered to The Rock, my Savior, my Jesus. And, as that old Ray Boltz song proclaims, "the anchor holds." In my mind, this visual illustrates security and peace. The two things that are ellusive to me when I am tethered to anything other than Jesus. Why would we do such an absurd thing? We try, even after Jesus has grafted us into Himself, to splice ourselves into some crazy scrub brush.....some stinky overgrown weed! Why do we turn to other things to give us worth and security? Are we so dull? Yes. I have done it, and I'd be willing to bet that you have, too. It's puzzling, but it seems we were created to be yoked with something, enslaved, tethered. We are never truly "free agents," so to speak. We are enslaved/yoked/tethered either to sin, or to God. It's just how we are made, and there is no in-between.


Lately, I have been meditating on the fact that I am forever, irreversibly, TETHERED to Jesus. I seem to keep coming back to that word: tethered. So, I googled the definition of the word, and this is what I came up with:
   

• A tether is a cord that anchors something movable to a reference point which may be fixed or moving.
• Confined or restricted with a rope, chain or cord.  
• Tethering is the use of a mobile device (such as a mobile phone) to supply Internet access for another device which is otherwise unconnected, using the mobile device as a modem. This can be done through Bluetooth wireless technology or cables (such as USB). The connection of a personal computer to a mobile phone so as to obtain wireless Internet access from the PC. 
• To tie with a rope or light chain; "tether horses"
• A leash; restraint used to control an animal or hold it in place.
• Biological cells which form bonds with a substrate and are at the same time subject to a flow can form long thin membrane cylinders called "tethers," which connect the adherent area to the main body of the cell. Under physiological conditions, neutrophil tethers can extend to several micrometers.
• A rope, cable, etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement.
• The limit of one's abilities, resources, etc.
• The cardinal number three in an old counting system used in Teesdale and Swaledale. (Variant of tethera) 
• A cord that is used to keep two things attached to each other, such as an astronaut to a spaceship.
• Binding of the spinal cord to surrounding tissue.
• Braided Kevlar double strap bolted to the wheel on one end and to the chassis of an automobile on the other to keep the wheel attached to the chassis in case of an accident.

Pretty interesting definitions there. The first in this list is very powerful to me: "A tether is a cord that anchors something movable to a reference point which may be fixed or moving." I am the "something movable," and The Lord is both FIXED and yet constantly MOVING. The only way to keep in step with Him is to be yoked to Him. That's my goal each and every day.

Galatians 5:1
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

A Chance To Die

Amy Carmichael is someone that I have been reading about, thanks to Seth's 5th grade assignments. (Who learns more, the homeschool mom, or the student?!) Have you heard of her? If not, do a google search and read about her life as a missionary. It's an amazing story. At one point early in her missionary endeavors, she expressed a lament of some sort to an older/wiser missionary. His response to her was "See in it a chance to die."   .....huh? hhmmm.....

Is this how I respond when things don't go as "they should" go in my life? Do I actually look at disappointments as opportunities to become more selfless?

Jesus himself told us: "If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must leave self behind." Matthew 16:24
And: "You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life. You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your cross and come follow me."  Luke 14:26-27

Honestly, these teachings are too deep for us to grasp. We have a very shallow understanding of these truths. I know I do, anyway. As I seek to put FIRST His Kingdom in all that I say, do, long for, and believe, I readily see that I do not yet fully understand.

At a Beth Moore conference years ago, out of all she said (and she said many wonderful things!), the thing that sticks with me the most has always been this: "God told me long ago that He had a lot that He wanted to do through me. But, at that time He told me, 'But you aren't yet dead." Of course, I am paraphrasing her and I am sure I have not put it as eloquently as she did. But that is the message in a nutshell. So- I suppose that I am not yet dead, either.

Dying is a painful process. Yet I know that anything that Jesus has ever killed off in me, anything He has ever ripped out by the roots-- none of it is anything that I have ever missed. They are always things that I didn't want to be part of me anyway, but had no vision or ability to remove them from myself. When a Scuptor carves a form out of marble, he does not give any thought to the chunks and shards that hit the floor. No, he is focused instead on the form he is shaping and the image that is emerging from the mass. And so it is-- God chips away at us and forms us to look more and more like His Son. We aren't left feeling any loss.

So, really we ought to be able to embrace the opportunities to die to self. For if we were perfected already, if we didn't need chipped away at in a major fashion, if we didn't need radical surgery, and a complete heart transplant-- we would not need Jesus. If we were fine in and of ourselves, as ourselves, He wouldn't have needed to die. Don't fight it. Allow the Lord to chip away. He is very skilled, and tender. When it's really painful, know that He is busy doing some of His best, most necessary work. You won't be sorry.

Don't know a thing....

As much as we love our children, we all need a little time away now and then. Knowing this, when my sister asked if I could help watch her two boys while she and her husband took a four day trip to Florida, I said I would. Now, this is no small undertaking-- I have three children of my own, I homeschool one of them, and I was in the middle of two painting projects (mural artwork is my other part-time job). But, my mother was going to help with a couple of days too, so I knew I could swing my share. The story got a little more interesting when, two days before they were set to leave, my youngest nephew vomited. He was fine by the next day, so we figured that it would be alright for me to keep them after that.
Not so much. By the time my two days of keeping them were up, my little girl and I were both calling RALPH. I am a really big baby about this stuff, I hate being sick!  I was sick for days! And, then my son got sick. Two days later, my other son got sick. This thing, whatever it was, was vicious! The worst part: Thanksgiving is the next day. I had planned on being at my Grandma Nannies with the other forty-some members of my family for a nice big dinner. Now, we would have to stay home. I'd be lying if I didn't admit this: I couldn't help but think how unfair it all was. I mean, there I was, trying to do a nice, selfless thing for my sister, and this is what I get?  It reminded me of the time that I volunteered to take an elderly lady from our church to her doctor appointment, and while I was helping her out to my car, her 76 year old neighbor rammed into it in the parking lot outside their duplex. And then yelled and YELLED at me for parking too close to her driveway. Yeah, that was a nice day....
As I prayed about this whole mess I was in, only one word kept coming back to me: SACRIFICE. I felt God saying: I am teaching you about sacrifice. We all have needs of varying kinds, and at different (often unexpected) times. As the BODY of Christ, we know that we are supposed to serve one another. Sometimes we do so, and all goes well. Everything works out, and we may even get a nice "Thank You" note in the mail. Other times, it may be horribly inconvenient timing, our least favorite task, or cause us to have to give up something that we really wanted for ourselves. In those types of situations, should we just say "no?"

I don't watch Dr. Phil, but I have seen a clip or two where he talks about setting personal "boundaries." There is some truth to this, no doubt. Of course, in our culture, you won't have to look very far to find someone or something to encourage you in the "ME FIRST" philosophy. I am not saying that it's never ok to say "no." I am not saying you should always say "yes" to every request. What I am saying is, pray. If we pray about each obligation before we commit, we can know for sure that we are making the right choices. There may be times when you want to say "yes" to some need, and it's not God's will for you at all, because unbeknownst to you, He has someone else He wants to do it. There may be times when He leads you to take something on, and like my Thanksgiving, you have no idea what it's going to cost you. But, He does know and it's a refining process He wants you to go through. I keep asking God to make me more and more into who He wants. So I should not be shocked at trials and sufferings and sacrifices. These are His tools. Sacrifice, not selfishness, is His m.o.
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Phillipians 2:5-8 
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

So, we may sit around and feel sorry for ourselves (a sneaky form of pride, self-pity!) and say that things in life are not fair. Praise GOD that this is true!!! I praise God that life is not fair! For it was far from "fair" that God sent is baby boy, one He dearly loved, down here to be tortured and to die. It's not fair that He, so perfect, would bleed and hang for all my selfishness and sin. From the majority, He never gets that "Thank You" note, either. He came because we desperately need Him. It wasn't comfortable or convenient to leave heaven's peace for this place, don't forget. It cost Him a great deal, but Jesus came anyway and He didn't grumble on the way to the cross. Can you conceive it???? I cannot! He put on human flesh and He came. I don't know a thing about sacrifice. I'll go ahead and speak for all of us: we don't know a thing about sacrifice. I publicly want to thank God right now that He decided to use this Thanksgiving to teach me a little more about what Jesus did for me! It's way more important than a turkey. Hopefully, one more tiny facet of me has been conformed to His image. If so, calling RALPH was worth it!

Phillipians 2:9-11 
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

SOLO CHRISTOS!

Endurance Ministries: Borrowed Donkeys

Endurance Ministries: Borrowed Donkeys: "I wonder about the future. Ok, so I worry. God is curing me of worry though. I repent of it often and He turns me back to keeping my eyes on..."

Borrowed Donkeys

I wonder about the future. Ok, so I worry. God is curing me of worry though. I repent of it often and He turns me back to keeping my eyes on His greatness. His great provision. His great faithfulness. His great unfailing love. His great plans to give me a future and a hope. Hope that is sure. Yes, let God tell the truth, and every man be a liar…..God keeps His promises, and He has promised to take care of me! He has promised me that I am His, and He takes great care of His stuff. He has proven Himself o’er and o’er! He has done miracles in my life, and I choose to dwell on all He has done, and continues to do, instead of the future “unknown.” No matter what that unknown turns out to be, God is there. He never leaves me. Oh, I am so grateful for that!

As I ponder my fears, I see that they are most times tied to “stuff,” lack of “stuff,” and the potential loss of “stuff.” (STUFF—-> House, job, security, college funds for my kids, retirement $$$) Then Jesus brought to my mind that He didn’t have “stuff.” He did not own a home. He did not get a paycheck. He did not save for retirement. When He needed transportation, he walked…..or borrowed a boat or a donkey. When He needed a place to hang with His friends, he borrowed the Upper Room. He did not have the Dave Ramsey “emergency” fund or 6 mos of salary saved up in a bank. Matter of fact, Jesus said not to store up stuff for yourself here on earth, where it can be taken or destroyed. He tells me to set my sights on something different, just like He did. He was constantly concerned with The Kingdom, and in Matt. 6:33 He tells me to do that too. Put God, all His ways of doing and being, put that first, and God will meet all my practical needs. Geesh, all the time God meets needs I don’t even know I have!

My question is: what does this practically look like? How do I, on a day by day basis, put His Kingdom first? My sister Jill told me once (I was still in FL and I was freaking out over stuff) “Just be about what Jesus is about. People. Love. Truth. Service. He was never about stuff.” That is perhaps the best practical explanation I’ve ever heard. Very wise bit of advice that my baby sis gave me, off the cuff. It has stuck with me. I think of it often. I want to live like that, for real.