Spiritual Lineage

Have you ever considered your spiritual family lineage? I’m sure you know who led you to Christ. Was it your parents, a pastor, a friend? Who led them to the Lord? Could you trace it all the way back to Peter, James, John, or Thaddeus?

I’d never thought about tracing it to the disciples until I read John 17:20 this morning, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their (Jesus’ disciples) word;”  Those who are now following Jesus have been influenced to follow Him because of one of the 12 disciples. They followed Him. They obeyed Him by taking the Good News to all of the world. And then their disciples shared…and on and on until we heard the Good News that Jesus came to save us from sin!

Father, thank You for Your disciples who have been faithful through the ages—until I heard and followed. Help me to faithfully be sharing the gospel with others.  In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Abiding

So many times, we think we can live off of past spiritual victories and fruitfulness. We can’t. We might be able to for a few days—but it’s not sustainable. John 15 teaches us there must be a constant abiding for fruit to appear. Imagine cutting a branch off of a grapevine—there ain’t gonna be no grapes popping up!  It dies. The same thing happens to us. We may feel twinges of guilt in the beginning, knowing we’re not abiding in Christ. And we’ll still speak of the things of God. But soon…it becomes evident, even to those around us, that something is dead inside of us. There’s no fruit. And when there’s no fruit, we live like we’re dead, we speak death, and our spirits shrivel up and appear lifeless. There’s no hope. Others can come and do spiritual CPR, but it takes ABIDING in Jesus for new life to appear. What is abiding? It’s a daily choice. Jesus said it’s His words abiding in us. We have to be in the Word. We have to be listening to His voice and obeying what He says. We have to be attached to Him…constantly. And soon, new fruit will appear. New love for Jesus will be evident to those around us. And if we’re abiding in Christ, we can ask for whatever we desire. JOY will spring up—and that joy will be full! Love for others will cascade out of our “very alive hearts” when we are abiding in Christ because we’re connected to His great love.   

Don’t try to live off of past victories. It won’t last. It can’t. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Get out of the dead branch pile and begin abiding in Jesus…today. 

Let Truth be Your Backbone

Years ago, Andy & I began to learn how powerful truth is.  To know the truth, you have to be in God’s Word. It IS truth! Knowing the truth sets us FREE!  But also…when you believe the truth, speak the truth, pray the truth, and walk in truth, it is powerful. It builds your confidence. Before knowing and understanding this, we would cower when confronted.  But once we started walking in truth, it gave us a backbone!  There’s confidence—because you KNOW the truth and can’t be manipulated or bamboozled. Truth also exposes sin. God wants us strengthened by the truth. Pursue truth! You won’t regret it.

The Paradox

There was quite a paradox which existed in Jesus’ life. In John 6, Jesus went away alone to avoid being crowned king by the people. And then in John 7, we see him avoiding an area to keep from being killed. He lived a life of tension—he was loved or hated, wanted or despised. In fact, he says he chose the 12 disciples and one was a devil. He did life with the enemy. 

Right now, I can think of a dozen situations, in the lives of people I love, who are living in this kind of tension. They’re doing life with an enemy. It’s hard!!  Every day, a monkey wrench is thrown into the middle of their lives. They live with hatred. And yet they are deeply loved by the Father. 

What can we learn from Jesus who lived this first?

1. He knew Who loved him most—His Father. 

2. He kept his focus on eternity. 

3. He came to do ONLY the will of his Father. 

4. He lived out his purpose. He said he laid his life down on his own—man wasn’t in control. 

5. He didn’t listen to man—either the ones who loved him or those who hated him. 

Jesus told us this world would be full of this tension between good and evil. We CAN live in this darkness and be victorious! We just have to drown out every voice—but the Father’s. 

Stand

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13. 

Sometimes we get so caught up in the descriptive terms of our spiritual armor (ex: HELMET of salvation), that we overlook what it actually represents. If we were to take out the descriptive terms, this is the armor God says we need for our earthly battle:

•Truth

•Righteousness

•Preparation to share the Good News

•Faith

•Salvation—Jesus, who embodies salvation

•Spirit of God

•Spoken word of God

•Don’t forget to add prayer and supplication—and to speak boldly of the gospel!

We’re to put the whole armor on. If we only have a portion of it, we’re open to attack and being badly wounded by the enemy. After we put it on, we’re to withstand the enemy. To withstand means to resist, oppose, take a firm stand against. This is an offensive and defensive stance.

You put this armor on with deliberate action and choice. You step into it. You pick it up. Practically speaking, you choose to follow Jesus, you live by truth and in righteousness (or right living), you read the Word daily, you train to share your faith, you walk by faith, you listen to and obey the Spirit, you pray your heart out—alone and with others. You mature and grow…it takes a lifetime to become a warrior of renown! But every single increment of growth counts. 

What is the evil day? It’s the day of annoyances, hardships, and pressing. It’s a time that is full of peril to the Christian faith. A day in which the enemy is trying to take out the steadfast and hurt their influence. It’s flat-out wicked! 

But…stand. When you’ve put on God’s armor and you’ve learned to walk this way, STAND. You have established yourself. You have sustained authority. Your footing is fixed. 

STAND.