Several years ago I shared some reflections on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18 in a post titled, “Living to please God”. You can find it here. In this post I focussed on the following four thoughts…
- Live in purity (v3-8)
- Show brotherly love (v9-10)
- Be a good testimony (v11-12)
- Have hope in Christ’s return (v13-18)
This week I have been reflecting on this again. At first I wasn’t sure if I had posted about it before. I found it interesting that I came up with the same four points, but another thought really jumped out at me too.
The phrases found in verses 1 and 10 spoke to me. Verse 1 says, “Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” In verse 10 it says, “we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more“.
The Greek word “Mallon” is used here in both verses for “more”. It means “more, much more, to a greater degree, better or in a greater way”. It is about growing and improving at living right and living to please God.
I just found this really interesting. Paul didn’t want the Thessalonians to be content and feel like they have made it, but he wanted them to keep striving to grow and improve in love and living right.
I think this is a good point for us today too.
God Bless,
Dave
Many people exercise in spring time to lose their winter weight they gained. Some see exercise as a form of torture that must be done to get back in shape.
While others might exercise to lose the weight they have gained over a long period of time and once they are at a good level they stop and go back to normal.
One of the key things I believe that has helped me exercise consistently for over 25 years is I attached many reasons as to why I exercise regularly.
Some are very positive and healthy, while others may seem vain to some, but they still keep me motivated when my body or mind don’t want to hit the gym or go for a ride.
Here are a few of my reasons…
- to keep fit and healthy
- to keep my body fat levels low
- to strengthen my legs after having Rheumatoid Arthritis
- to be a good steward of the body God has given me
- to stay in shape so I look good to my wife
- to be a good example for my kids and to inspire them
- to run around and play sport with my kids (without passing out!)
- to look good when I look in the mirror (that is perhaps a vain one!)
- to give me a burst of endorphins (natures natural happy drugs!)
- to give me a sense or structure and discipline to my life
- to keep me active so I will be fitter and healthier in my latter years
- to have a sense of personal achievement
These are just some of the reasons why I exercise regularly. I believe that if you have more reasons to exercise than just lose weight, you will be more likely to keep it up.
I hope that helps if you have started a fitness program in 2012!
God Bless,
Dave
I am still reflecting on John 15:1-17 and the vines and the branches at the moment. The last few days I have been thinking about the pruning of the Father for fruit in the right places.
In the picture above I am trimming my tomato bushes. I am trimming away the new branches that are wanting to grow at the base of the plant. They are trying to grow where I don’t want them to be.
As I shared a few days ago, branches that grow too close to the ground are prone to fungus and other diseases due to water and soil splashing on them. So I prune them so they grow up higher and in the right place.
For us as Christians our life and ministries can be like this too. We start growing new things and producing fruit in different places. While the fruit is good, it might not be in the place the Gardener wants us to be.
In my own life and walk with God I can look back and see where I was producing fruit, but God prompted me to stop and move on to something else. He pruned my involvement and placed me somewhere else.
At first I have thought this is going well why change? But in time I realised I wasn’t in the best place to produce the best fruit. The secret is to be located on the right place on the Vine to produce the biggest shiniest fruit possible.
As John 15:8 says our role is to produce good fruit that bring glory to God, but the key is do go it in the right place. Are you in the right place on the Vine?
God Bless,
Dave
Today I want to share another reflection on John 15:1-17 – the true vine and the branches. As I reflected on this passage I came up with three thoughts.
1. We need to remain under the Gardener’s care (v1-4)
Verses one and two talk about the Father being the gardener that trims and prunes the branches of the vine. As Christians we are the branches that are connected to the Great Vine of Jesus. Our job is to bear fruit that brings glory to God. We need to remain under the Gardener’s care and allow Him to trim and prune our areas that don’t bring forth fruit.
2. We need to remain attached to the vine (v5-8)
Just as a branch that is cut off from a tree or vine quickly withers and dies in hot sun, so do we as Christians if we lose our connection to Jesus. We remain connected to the vine by believing that Jesus is God’s Son (1 John 4:15), by remembering we are part of His eternal family (John 1:12) and by doing what God says (1 John 3:24).
3. We need to remain in God’s love (v9-17)
As Christians it is vital to stay in God’s love. How do we do this? We keep loving God with all our hearts, minds and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37), we keep obeying His commandments in the Bible (John 15:10) and we keep loving one another as He has loved us (John 15:12). When we make these things a priority, we remain in God’s love.
The Results of Doing this?
The results of remaining under the gardeners care, remaining attached to the vine and remaining in God’s love are that we will bear much fruit (v5), we will walk with God as friends (v14) and our joy may be complete (v11).
God Bless,
Dave
Several weeks ago I started reading and reflecting on John 15:1-17. This is the section where it talks about Jesus being the true vine and we are His branches.
After I read it the first time I went outside to see how my tomato bushes were going. As I looked at them I still had the imagery of John 15 in my mind.
I soon realised that the bushes were overgrown and even though they had produced a good crop of tomatoes, I decided to get out my clippers and give them a trim.
As I trimmed I remembered what the garden experts said to do. They suggest you trim off the low branches as tomatoes don’t like it when the soil splashes up from watering. Apparently it can cause fungus and leave them open to infections.
Once the low branches were cut off the bushes started to look better. I then decided to re-stake them and train the remaining branches along the wire I had set up.
When I had finished I stood back and just looked at my work. It looked much better and they looked ready to produce the next crop of tomatoes.
The funny thing is that when I was packing up my tools I had a profound feeling of being like the Great Gardener (v1). I had cared for and trimmed my tomato bushes so they would be healthier and produce more fruit.
Just as I was the gardener for my fruit, God is the Gardener for us as Christians. He trims off our dead branches that will not produce fruit. He trims off the low branches that may be infected and He trains along the right path.
This simple illustration helped me to further understand John 15 and the vine and the branches metaphor. In the coming days I will some more reflections I have had on John 15.
God Bless,
Dave
