Where the Life Is
Jim
that "man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word [every thing]
that proceeds from the mouth of YHWH." (Deut 8:3, Matt 4:4)
And the Lord Jesus also told us that if we continue in HIS Word, then we
will truly be HIS disciples. (John 8:31) There can be a difference, as to
whose disciples we actually become.
We are instructed to abide/live/remain in the true vine, which is Jesus
Himself, and to have His own words abiding/living/remaining in us. It's
made clear in John 15:1-7 that we have no real life, and can therefore bear
no fruit, if we do not, each one, draw all our life and understanding from
Jesus Himself.
The Church of God has already experimented with this principle, putting it
to the test. We see what happened to those who tried to draw all their
understanding and life from Rome. Many centuries of darkness.
And since that time, we've seen what happens when we try to draw all our
life and understanding from smaller "denominational" headquarters. More
darkness.
Even in our own time, we still see people trying to draw all their life and
joy from individual men who each claim to be "God's man of the hour"
(several dozens of these guys are on TV & radio). And while some of these
men may be deceived and ignorant, others are deliberately misleading the
people of God. And in all cases, the people of God are wrong to flock after
a man. Yet we keep doing it.
We are to live by every word of God, everything He gives us to understand
and follow. We are to continue on in the words and teaching of Jesus, if we
truly desire to be His disciples, and not merely wandering and scattered
sheep. And we are to live/remain/stay in Christ Himself, drawing all our
life and understanding from Him, if we want to be truly alive and
fruit-bearing.
It seems so simple.
But the pattern is there, from the Garden where Adam and Eve went wrong, all
the way to the present day. Two troublesome kinds of people keep
emerging -- those who want to lead others in their own way, and those who
want to find a leader, apparently any leader, who will take them back into
Egypt.
And the folks who want to hang on, and keep going with God, always seem to
be the minority, the remnant. Like little Judah/Benjamin against all the
ten tribes who embraced golden calves and Baal. Or even Josh and Caleb, who
stood out against, not only the other spies, but apparently all the people.
But there are still many that we know nothing about. Folks who refuse to
bow the knee to Baal. Faithful men and women of God who are following Jesus
Himself. They can be found most anywhere, among every "Christian" group.
I've listened while well-meaning pastors complained about them in private --
how two or three of them are always meeting for prayer, and they take the
Lord so seriously. They just don't fit into the mold that makes their
"church" run like a well-oiled machine.
And of course, I just laugh. Because God has scattered his seed well.
Jim