JESUS SPEAKING

            He also spoke this parable:  “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down, why does it use up the ground?  But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down” (Luke 13: 6-9.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                A parable is story used to illustrate some important truth.  The Lord’s parables contained characters and settings that corresponded to actual settings and characters during the time that he spoke them.  In this parable the vineyard owner represents God.  The ‘vineyard’ represents the whole earth which God created, and the tree represents the nation of Israel which God divinely planted in the midst of all of the other nations.  Jesus Christ represents the ‘keeper of the vineyard.’  He was God’s final attempt to produce goodness in the hearts of the Jewish people (so that they would not need to be removed and replaced.)  For four years he interceded for the Jews, hoping that they would turn and be fruitful; but they repaid his love with hatred; for kindness he was given crucifixion.  With their rejection of Christ came God’s rejection of them.  The nation of Israel was replaced as God’s representatives to the world on the day of Pentecost when Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to everyone who believed.  On that day the words Christ had previously spoken to a gentile woman came true; ‘She said to him, “You Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”  Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father […]The hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”’   Today, the new temple is the body of believers; a building composed of living stones.  The new people are all those who have received God’s Spirit and have become fruitful (Note:  Despite God’s replacement, it is clear that God has not totally cast them away.  In the coming kingdom there will be a remnant of Jews who have placed their faith in Christ; these Jews will rule and reign over the ‘Body of Christ.’)

                The human body is a wonderfully designed machine composed of many different organs, each with a different function; yet by far the most important is the heart.  It’s so essential to life that heart dysfunction is the number one cause of death in the United States.  Since 1967 it has become possible to take out a dead heart and replace it with a fully functioning one.  Many people have been saved because they were willing to part with something that no longer produced what it was intended to produce; life.

                The products of a correctly functioning believer are kindness, love, compassion, peace, respect, generosity, friendship, outreach, selfless action, patience and truth (to name a few.)  If these things are not visible in your life, then your heart may need to be replaced.  The only person who can take your dying heart and replace it with a living heart is Jesus Christ.  Ask him to make the change in your life, and he will do a miracle.  Let go of your old life and grasp on to your new life (eternal life); let his Spirit flow in to you, and you will produce an abundance of fruit.

                “Lord we desperately want to be productive for You.  We want to see others come to You and be healed.  We ask that You not forsake us, but that you give us new hearts filled with Your Spirit; and nourish us so we can produce much fruit for You.  We can’t do it on our own Lord, we need You; we need a miracle; we need a work of Your hands to be the men and women You have called us to be.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask we ask all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

JESUS SPEAKING

                And he looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and he saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So he said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had” (Luke 21: 1-4.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                The heart is the deepest part of every human being.  Truth resides in the heart; but the heart is so deeply buried that it’s difficult to see it’s contents (most don’t even know what is in their own hearts.)  In Jeremiah we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  Who can understand it?”  Only God can truly see the heart.  God is not fooled by appearances.  Jesus watched many wealthy people approach the offering box and give large sums of money.  He saw a widow woman give two mites (one penny.)  Those who couldn’t see the truth would have honored the large donors; but Jesus was looking at their hearts.  The wealthy donors had used up the first part of their riches on themselves, and God received His share from their leftovers.  The woman however, gave from what she needed to live.  She chose to honor God rather than feed herself.  The Lord came first in her life, and for that Jesus honored her. 

                This past Christmas, while sitting around the kitchen table, my wonderful niece Jaden asked me why I talked about God so much.  To help her understand, I pulled a plate in front of me; the plate had a main dish on it, and near the edge of the plate was a smaller portion (the side dish.)  I said, pointing to the main course, “In life most people put the cares of living in the center of their plates, and they make God ‘the side dish.’  But God doesn’t want to be the side dish; He wants to be ‘the main course.’  Do you understand that?”  “Yes,” she replied.  In this scripture, we see a bunch of wealthy men who had filled their vaults full of worldly wealth, and what they didn’t consume or covet, they gave to God.  Because God was secondary in their hearts, He got their leftovers.  The widow woman however was concerned first with pleasing God, and second with pleasing herself; in her heart, God was the ‘main course.’

                Today, God is not fooled by large sums of money; he’s not fooled by crosses around the neck, or bumper stickers that say, “Jesus Saves.”  He’s not fooled by weekly church attendance either.  The world can be easily fooled, but God sees straight in to the heart.  In the heart, God is either the ‘main course,’ or the’ side dish.’  ‘If He’s not first he’s last.’  What is God to you?  Does He get the first of your time, or what’s leftover?  Does He hear prayers from you throughout the day, or only in the last few minutes before you go to bed?  Does God receive the first of your finances, or just the surplus?  Put God first in your life, and withhold nothing from Him; the world may take no notice; they will throw no parades in your honor or name any buildings after you; but the Lord, who sees your heart, will honor you; the one true and living God is watching, and He will write your name in the book of life and raise you up in the last day.

                “Lord Heavenly Father we come before You and lift You up.  You are an awesome and mighty God.  We love You Father, and we love Your Son.  Help us to make You the center of our lives.  Give us genuine hearts; hearts that are submitted to You; hearts that are wholly sacrificed for You.  May we see with Your eyes lord, and not be deceived as the world is deceived.  We love You Father, we praise You and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.  

JESUS SPEAKING

               On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 

Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”  

               His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”  Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 

               Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 

 

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Jesus has always had the ability transform ordinary things in to extraordinary things.  While attending a wedding feast in Cana, he was approached by his mother who requested that he turn water in to wine.  Mary’s concern was warranted; Jewish weddings incorporated wine in to many of the marriage ceremonies; running out was an extremely bad sign.  As part of his provision he commanded that the water pots be filled to the brim (the water pots were probably partially filled with water because the guests who entered the home had likely used some of the water to wash their hands (as was the mosaic custom.))  Without a word, the water was transformed in to wine.  Water had long been seen as the only means of cleansing (symbolized by the water pots); transforming the water in to wine symbolized a new way to be cleansed.  The new cleansing was internal; a purity in the heart, not a purity merely of the hands.  The wine was a symbol of Christ’s blood, shed on the cross for the sins of the heart.  The servants then brought the wine to the master of the ceremony; he was amazed that the new wine was superior to the old wine.  This was a picture of God’s plan for creation.  Before Christ arrived, God had made provision for sins by way of animal sacrifice.  Under the old covenant, the people were focused solely on right action; they were focused on outward obedience.  Yet, the root of sin was the heart; God’s method of inward forgiveness was provided by the blood of Jesus Christ.  The more excellent method, much like the best wine, had come near the end.  Today, we who have tasted the blood of Christ are under a new covenant.  We understand why all of the animal sacrifices and rituals prior to the cross were unable to truly make us clean.

                I went through a treatment center to recover from drug addiction and alcoholism.  When I first got sober, much of my behavior was outwardly changed.  I began to be honest; I stopped using drugs; I got a job, and I began to exercise.  After about a year and a half though, I realized that nothing had truly changed; my outsides were different, but my insides were still sick.  Then I had an experience with Jesus Christ, and my heart began to change.  I no longer did the right thing out of obligation, but out of love.  God had produced a transformation that I was incapable of making myself.  I had entered in to the new covenant; I was alive for the first time.  Unless my heart had been changed, I would have definitely gone back to abusing drugs.  Sadly, I have seen many who have gone on for years, miserable, believing that because they haven’t had a drop of alcohol, they are living life.  But they never accepted Jesus Christ, and so their hearts remained in darkness; many who have refused Christ have returned to using drugs (the outward change alone was insufficient.)

                There are many things we can change through effort and careful observance of our own behavior.  Still, the one thing that truly needs to be changed is the heart; only God can make that change.  Just as Jesus turned the water in to wine, he can also turn an unloving person in to a person filled with compassion and mercy.  He can take ordinary people, and make them in to extraordinary people; but he can’t change what he’s not allowed to touch.  Let’s hand our hearts over to him, that we may experience the miracle of true transformation.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we know that You saved the best for last.  We have tasted of Your Son, and he is good.  We ask that by his blood You would make our hearts completely clean.  Cleanse us Lord, and make us like new.  Fill us with love, compassion, mercy, faithfulness, and hope.  Father, we love You, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.