I am the vine

What a beauty. It’s a beautiful image that Christ gives to his disciples in John 15:1-11. He metaphorically speaks of himself as a plant, or more specifically, he says, “I am the vine”. For Christ being the vine means that he is the source of life, fertility and vitality. He is the life source. To remain in Christ is to stay connected to him. We are to be the branches, grafted and secured — not severed and detached — that through Christ we may produce much fruit. If we are detached from Christ the source, it makes sense that we would wither and die if we are apart from Christ, because he is the source, thus when we are apart from him we can do nothing. Again, He is not just a way of life. He is the life.

To put into a more modern day electrical terminology, Jesus is the power supply to whom we (the electronic device) must always be wired. Don’t even think about batteries, for Christ is our battery as well! If we were to ever unplug from Him, our work would be vanity and worthless. We are useful when we remain in Christ.

Therefore: Remain in him! When his words remain in us, when we abide in him and his love, we see that God answers whatever we wish. The conditions are this: 1) We remain in Jesus and 2) His words remain in us. What is subtle about the latter is that when his words remain in us, our mind begins to change and conform to what God wants! That is true beauty, yes, when we become more like Jesus, the pure and holy one of God, and when the Father is glorified by us.

Visualizing the Bible

Bible Visualizations project by Christoph Römhild and Chris Harrison. “Each of the 63,779 cross references found in the Bible is depicted by a single arc – the color corresponds to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect.”

Pretty beautiful, isn’t it? It is amazing how the Bible cross-references itself…

For a large resolution image, go to the original page here.)

Christ, the good

John Piper’s words from God is the Gospel:

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever say, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”

Challies comments on this quotation by Piper:

Too many Christians look to heaven for its benefits to us without understanding that the greatest benefit of all will the presence of Christ. We can long after all the good of heaven without feeling any desire to enjoy its greatest Good. And what a tragedy it is if we focus our attention and our affections on lesser treasures. To be absent from the body is to be present not with grandma or mom or dad, but first and foremost to be present with Christ. This promise should quicken our hearts and be at the forefront of our desires as we long for eternity.

Oh, God. Do I share this love of Christ, so that he is my greatest Good?

John Piper (Text and Context 2008)

As I have been reflecting on remembering the gospel, which I forget often, I found parts of the talk by John Piper, “How I Distinguish Between the Gospel and False Gospels”, very helpful in summing up the different aspects of the gospel. You can find an outline from Desiring God ministries, here. Here is the main passage, and following after are the main points from the talk.

1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

6 Aspects of the Gospel Without Which There Is No Gospel

1. The gospel was planned by God beforehand (verses 3, 4: “according to the scriptures”)

2. The gospel is an objective physical event in history (verses 3-5: “Christ died . . . he was buried . . . he was raised . . . he appeared”).

3. The gospel is an objective accomplishment—the purchase or obtaining of redemption for all who would believe (verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”—the debt was paid)

4. The gospel is an offer to be made to all that what Christ accomplished is free and my be had only by faith in him (verse 2: “by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain.”)

5. The gospel is an application through faith to specific people of what Christ accomplished (verse 2: “and by which you are being saved”).

6. The gospel is an eternal and infinitely happy future destiny (verse 1-3: implied in the word “gospel” and “saved” and “sins born by another”)

Summary

1. Plan
2. Event
3. Accomplishment
4. Offer
5. Application
6. A supremely happy future

Read the rest here…

Articles: Thank God For Work

Articles: Thank God For Work:

“As Americans—and Christians usually aren’t much different—we spend many years and thousands of dollars getting an education, all to prepare us to get a job. Then once we get a job, we spend many years and thousands of more dollars awaiting the soonest time that we can retire! In the meantime—we live for the weekend.

As Christians we should view work differently, because God views work differently. Work is a gift from God and can be a source of meaningful fulfillment—and at the same time, it can make us weary and full of frustration. In what follow I want to sketch a few points about work that I think are important in building a biblical theology of work. “

(Via New Attitude – Blend.)

How should we view work biblically? This article from New Attitude looks at what the bible says.