All of us need encouragement. We need somebody to believe in us. To reassure and reinforce us. To help us pick up the pieces and go on. To fuel our flame of determination as we face the odds against us.
One of Jesus’ most vivid metaphors is of a vine and branches found in John 15:1–11. Pastor Chuck Swindoll unfolds the symbolism of the Father as the vinedresser, Jesus as the sustaining vine, and believers as the branches.
Like the branch of a grapevine should bear grapes, a believer should bear the fruit of a Christlike character.
The garden in Scripture is a touchstone for numerous motifs and a picture of a richly nourished life. Next to heaven, it is the preeminent image of human longing.
Joy Is a Choice
I have told you these things
so that you will be filled with my joy.
Yes, your joy will overflow!
(John 15:11)
God is no distant deity but a constant reality, a very present help whenever needs occur. So? So live like it. And laugh like it! Paul did. While he lived, he drained every drop of joy out of every day that passed. How do I know? This little letter to the Philippians says so.
We have come to the fourth and final mental picture—a productive vine—another vivid analogy preserved for us in the Word of God. In fact, this one comes to us from the lips of Jesus as He left His disciples words of encouragement just before He was crucified. They have been recorded for us in the 15th chapter of John, a chapter that centres attention on three vital relationships the Christian must maintain.
When you accept Christ as your Saviour you have someone who is always your advocate; always in your corner. And when you forgive those who hurt you, you model Christ. And you become a little more like Him.
We live in a world where the majority is heading the wrong way. As Christians we swim upstream, against the flow who are moving away from God.
Acceptance means you don’t make people jump through hoops—you take them as they are.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” He set the ultimate example of love when He died on the cross to pay for our sins and have eternal fellowship with us. Jesus is our bridge over troubled water.
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