Remain in me, and I will remain in you

Hello everyone!

Thanks for all your sharing yesterday and for blessing me. Personally, it has been really wonderful seeing God at work throughout the whole week even at cell. And it was also great singing and worshipping the Lord in both English and Mandarin :D

有一位神


一切歌颂赞美


Spirit Touch Your Church


I thank God for showing an object lesson on John 15 as I went about the past week. Sometime during midweek, I had just suddenly felt so tired and weary with ministry that I wanted to give up. I had been holding on and trusting in the Lord for working in everyone and every aspect of cell. And I can see Him work. Frankly, I can see the purpose God has for this cell taking shape but then I was really getting all weary; I asked if I am indeed bearing fruit or if someone else would do a better job. I got so tired I told God I had wanted to call it quits (one more time).

But God sent me people and verses to encourage and also circumstance to make me reflect upon it. He sent me Min Qin to remind me with Jeremiah 29:11 which appeared when I was called back to the Lord after years of backsliding. Do I believe in God's plans for me? Yes! Then, God brought Psalm 1 on Wednesday evening about the tree planted by streams of water and even on Thursday during corporate devotion, reminding me about being staying with the streams of water to be nourished. It seems that I was reminded that, just as trees have seasons, so will my life, but whatever happens, the streams of water is still there to not only sustain me but also nourish me. When I think back, God had been faithful in my ministry and has helped me through.

Then a volunteer came to meet me and we started talking about our spiritual walk. I thank God for bringing a volunteer to come to visit on Thursday and how we talked about our spiritual walk. I thank God for using me to encourage this volunteer and for also using him to show me about remaining in God's word. It was really evident that God used the session because I can tell He is present whenever conversations just flowed and I become amazed at the things I say; things that in the end also blessed me. Though I had not been prepared for the talk, God had helped me share about my own walk and how I had come to see God's word as powerful and also ministering, always at the right time. This young volunteer had shared how he is not part of any church (though he is looking) and how he is inspired by praise and worship music but finds reading the bible rather a chore. He was taught by someone that as long he prays, it will be OK. But I felt a prompting to share with him how I too had struggle to read the bible but over the past 3 years, God had spoken through His word far too many times and soon it became cool to read His word because I had wanted to know what He had to say about certain things in my life and also to get to know Him better. And as I shared, stories of several people like Horatio Spafford, John Newton and Eric Liddell (as portrayed in the movie "Chariots of Fire") came to mind. I personally did not know how blessed he was but I personally was blessed through the words that God had gave me and spoken through my mouth.

Then I shared that earlier on in the week, I was affected when I saw a leader of the Lord, a pastor, reacting in an ungracious manner. I had really been very disappointed by the whole incident. Though I do not know this pastor or work with him, I was frankly affected and decided to write him an email on Monday. I prayed to God that I would type the email with the focus to edify than to vent my anger. I thank God things worked out well and for helping me as I penned the email. Frankly, I had not expected the pastor to respond but he did and emailed to apologise. At the end, I was glad things turned out well and was resolved but most importantly, my disappointment went away because the pastor had humbly acknowledged his mistake. I myself can sometimes be ungracious and this seems to be a reminder that I needed to also remain in God's ways; asking "What Would Jesus Do?" more often to keep myself in check.

I thank God for showing me, before cell started, that what has happened throughout the week, has showed me what it means to "remain in Him" (John 15:4) i.e. to remain in His WILL for me and my ministry and his WORK of reaching out to people, to remain in His WAY from my reflection on the disappointment with the pastor, to remain in His WORD from my reflection on my talk with the young volunteer, to remain in His WORSHIP even through the darkest of moments, remembering His faithfulness, grace, love, hope and promise.

As Jesus said in John 15:4 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.", I thank Joyce for sharing the analogy of the Velcro... that one its own, it proves to be useless but when stuck onto another piece, it can hold things together.

Yes another analogy is that of the "cut-flower Christian" as mentioned in Our Daily Bread:

Cut-Flower Christians

I enjoy buying or receiving a fresh bouquet of cut flowers. After admiring and smelling them, I waste no time getting them into water. Even though fresh and beautiful when I get them, their days are numbered. Because they've been severed from their life-source, they will soon wither and die. I know that one day I will have to throw them away.

Author Lloyd Ogilvie sees in this a picture of the Christian whose spiritual vitality has faded and shriveled. Such a person has become a "cut-flower Christian." Jesus used a similar illustration about a vine and its branches to describe our relationship to Him. Just as a branch can't bear fruit by itself, He explained, we can't bear spiritual fruit unless we abide in Him, the true vine (John 15:4).

If a branch could speak, it wouldn't apologize for its need to depend on the vine for bearing fruit. It would say instead, "For this I was made!" Jesus knew we were made for dependence on Him, our life-source—no apology needed! In fact, such dependence is the only way to avoid becoming a "cut-flower Christian."

Let's embrace His declaration, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). As we depend on Him, we will bear much fruit—and for this we were made. —Joanie Yoder — Joanie Yoder
Closer yet I'd cling, dear Savior,
You're the all-sufficient Vine;
You alone can make me fruitful,
Blessed source of strength divine. —Bosch
Fellowship with Christ is the secret of fruitfulness.

Are you a Velcro on your own? Are you a cut-flower Christian? Are you separated from your life-source? The great thing about God is that it is never too late to turn back... remain in His will, His WORK of reaching out to people, His WAY in our daily living, His WORD to guide us in living and living righteously (Ps 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path), His WORSHIP even through the darkest of moments, remembering His faithfulness, grace, love, hope and promise.