I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John15:5For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John15:5For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
verses 35-36
35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.”
then verses 44-30
44 Then Jesus cried out, “The one who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me. 45 And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears My words and doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects Me and doesn’t accept My sayings has this as his judge:[f] The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a command as to what I should say and what I should speak. 50 I know that His command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
John 3:19 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
19 “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
John 8:12 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Light of the World
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
42 Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.”
Jesus tells them what response is necessary to BECOME SONS OF LIGHT!
Jesus CRIES OUT!
44 Then Jesus cried out, “The one who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me.
45 And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness.
It’s as if the heart of Christ is breaking as He pleads with us to believe!
Continuing from yesterday’s post on hearing, God WANTS us to HEAR!
It is crucial to hear – and then to make a choice.
Joshua 24:15 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
15 But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”
17 But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them,
18 I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not live long in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan.
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,
20 love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful[c] to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
OUR choice is between Life and Death – Blessing and Curse – life and prosperity, death and adversity. OUR Choice effects not only ourselves, but our descendants – it provides a foundation for their choice!
Romans 10:9-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
For more specifics on how to make a choice FOR Life which is the LIGHT of men – Jesus Christ, Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
In honor of Billy Graham who just went home to Jesus today, I am also providing his version of the Plan of salvation
48 The one who rejects Me and doesn’t accept My sayings has this as his judge: The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a command as to what I should say and what I should speak.
50 I know that His command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
We’re back to God speaking – Jesus is His WORD to us. We will not be judged by predestination and election. We will not be judged by who or what we were. We will be judged by the Words that Christ spoke, and I daresay, all of the Words that are contained in the Holy Bible! We will be judged by creation that declares the existence of a creator. We will be judged for whether or not we sought to know him. And, we will be judged by the fact that HE spoke the words, and we chose not to hear, listen, obey or respond. We will be judged on whether we believed or not. There are various quotes in the self help arena. I have no idea of the original author for this one.
Deciding not to decide is a decision in itself.
The thing is, God has made the decision easy for us!
He’s given us the faith!
Ephesians 2:8-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
Hebrews 11 talks of the enormity of this faith! Key verse:
Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links:
Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Thanks for joining me in this journey, In His hands and under His wings, ~Christi Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
M. Christine Wildman
“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest
Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.
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