Strength in Christ

Jesus is the vine, our efforts are not a vine. We are the branches on Jesus’s vine¹John 15.

When we concentrate our efforts on keeping our designs in place, we can lose sight of His calling. The things we need healing from are healed by Him²Mark 2. People will fail us, but Christ will not³1 John 3. Hope in Christ, not the world. People build organizations but there is already a Kingdom and we must seek it with all our heart⁴Matthew 6. In that chapter Christ also tells us how to pray and that we can’t be double minded but following Him with single purpose.

Recently I was praying that I would find friend in Christ. Over the years, I have not seen many born again believers. Many profess to follow Him, but they only trust Him in word and in the company of members of a church, not in the power of His Word⁵2 Timothy 3. Each man wants and follows his own way and is satisfied when the powers of this world nod their head in approval⁶Proverbs 14:12. The approval of men means nothing⁷Galatians 1:10 and the people of the world serve their own father⁸John 8.

Since 2014, I was under a renewed conviction to follow GOD at the expense of myself. I must decrease and He increase⁹John 3. I am coming out of Babylon¹⁰Revelation 18. Babylon are the ways of this world. I don’t want my plans to bring my earthly prosperity but His plans to bring eternal prosperity¹¹Jeremiah 29.

It is uplifting to be reminded of this, but the doctrines of men twist scripture and convince people we will have more of Babylon¹²Colossians 2. Babylon is dead. The world is dead without Christ¹³John 11. There is nothing in it save our work for Christ to fulfill the great commission¹⁴Mark 16.

The Lords appointed times¹⁵Jeremiah 8 and feast days¹⁶Exodus 12 such as Passover and observing the sabbath¹⁷Exodus 20 are things commanded of by Him, they are a shadow of the things to come¹⁸Hebrews 8. In them we start to understand His will and who we are as His people.

The churches of this World have their commandments and special days, many of those days have roots in darkness and history of being a part of rebellion¹⁹Jeremiah 10. The Lord tells us how to celebrate and remember Him. When Moses went up to the mountain and Arron made the golden calf and worshipped it, in “honor of the Lord”, it was an abomination that profaned the name of the Lord²⁰Exodus 32. We are not to mix the Holy and the profane²¹Ezekiel 22.

When Jesus ate the corn and fed the disciples on the sabbath, He said he was Lord of the sabbath²²Matthew 12. Not because He can remove it. He mentioned that David asked the priest and the priest gave them to eat. How much more was Christ the high priest and authority to feed His disciples. The pharisees made the sabbath a mockery. If we love GOD we follow His commandments in love. Following His commandments is to love the Father²³John 14.

The first step is to seek the Kingdom of GOD²⁴Matthew 6. That means reading and praying on scripture. Meditating on His Word. Following Christ by keeping His commandments. He keeps us and fills us. Through living water, The Word, we have life through Him and through that we can keep His commandments²⁵John 1.

We must be in His Word reading scripture, praying Christ He taught and our eyes towards Him. He is the strength²⁶Philippians 4. Christ knows what each person needs and only those who ask can receive. To Him it will be given. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” – Revelation 3:20.

Let it be where we can be one in prayer.