SPIRITUAL RESPONSIBILITY IN YEAR 2000

To sum up our spiritual responsibility for the new millennium is to take seriously the following words of our Lord and Savior from the book of John:

JN 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

JN 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Now this is a very familiar passage of Scripture for many of us. But this month, let's take a closer look at it in order to understand exactly what the Lord is teaches us here.

As I looked at this passage in preparation of this month's issue, I looked up the relationship between the Gardener, the Vine and the branches and what is means to "abide in Christ." With the help of the Lord, I will attempt to share with you what was given to me.

Simply put, the Gardener of course is the Almighty God who declares that: He cuts off every branch in [Him] that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

There is no question as to God's role in this relationship. He will judge the fruitfulness of the life of the believer and if he/she is not bearing fruit he/she is cut off, thrown away and withers and subsequently thrown into the fire and burned. God is also responsible for the fruitful believer. He will prune him/her so that him/her will bear more fruit. A good illustration of this is that of a natural gardener. In a garden when branches are dead and are no longer bearing fruit or flowers, they are cut off so that it does not contaminate the rest of the plant. Just as the plant that is blooming nicely need pruning in order to generate even more fruit or flowers in the future. This is a picture of how God remains in charge of our spiritual growth just as a natural gardener is responsible for the continued growth, life and health of his garden.

The relationship between the Gardener Whom we have already discovered is God and the True Vine Who is Jesus Christ is one that works together to represent Christ as the life and word of God which is the means through which the Gardener works.

Therefore the words of Jesus are these: You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. Simply put, the believer has no fruitfulness apart from his union and fellowship with Christ and His Word. Otherwise, apart from Christ he is useless and can do nothing [of any spiritual value].

The relationship between the Vine and the branches brings us to the theme of this month's Newsletter, "abiding in Christ".

In order to become spiritually responsible and mature in the faith, we must abide in Christ.

So as a child with ears to hear, I understand "abiding in Christ" to mean just what it says. In order for a branch to survive, it gets its sustenance and power for fruit bearing from the vine. If it is severed from the vine, it dies. Just as Christians are to be intrinsically and organically connected to Christ because this is where we get our sustenance and power to live fruitful lives for the Lord. Apart from Christ, we will die.

It is just that simple, or is it ....?

SPIRITUAL PURPOSE

There is always a lot of talk about the purpose of man, purpose of life and God's purpose for mankind. But the Bible makes it very clear that our primary purpose in life is to glorify God. I do not believe any spirit-filled Christian would disagree with that.

This point is also revealed in our Scripture as the result of our spiritual responsibility to "abide in Christ" ... This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. God is honored and glorified by the life we live. Or at least, it should be that way.

Looking again at the next few verses of our Scripture, we will see how God is glorified in our lives.

JN 15:9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

Jesus gives several key points in this passage to help us handle the spiritual responsibility for our lives.

• The Father loved Jesus and Jesus loves us. In order to remain in His love we are to obey His commands which can be summed up in 1 command: To love God with all your heart, mind and soul and to love one another as He loves us.



• We obey God because we love Him. Just as Jesus obeyed the Father because He loved Him. 1John2:3-6 leaves us no room to argue this point. It reads: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

• Love and obedience go together as the old saying goes; "like a hand and glove." Jesus' sacrificial death is a picture of His obedience to the Father out of His love for God and for us. Should we ever look for an example of how we ought to love one another, Jesus says, love each other as I have loved you. His love for us cost Him his life. There is no greater love than this. Many times, we (myself included) are so self-absorbed that we refuse to even sacrifice forgiveness of another in fear of losing self-esteem or pride, no less lay down our lives for another.

• Finally, if a man abides in Christ, His words will remain in him and will live in his heart. David knew something about this when he said, "Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." Plainly, the only way the Word of God will live in our hearts is if we live in His Word, giving it priority in our lives. There is no way to live the Christian life apart from the Word of God. It is the Word that saves, the Word that sustains and the Word that will deliver us. Hearing it once on Sunday is not quite making it a priority in your life. I heard a minister compare physical feeding with spiritual feeding of the Word. He said, we couldn't survive by eating Sunday dinner once a week, so why is it that we feel we can survive by feeding on God's Word once a week.

In summary, our spiritual responsibility is to love and obey God and in order to obey Him we must know what He has to say by feasting upon His Word.

If I could get one point across this year to everyone I know and love -- it would be to make God and His Word the focus of your life. You would never regret it and only benefit from it.

Spiritual Appetizer

Taste and see that the Lord, He is good. Psalm 34:8

I have been writing the George's Angels Newsletter for 2 years now. And not to long ago, I asked the Lord the purpose of this ministry and how it fit into His plan and purpose for my life. For a long time now, I had no clear direction on it, only that I wrote what I felt led to write and share with others. But, I suppose I wanted a more specific and focused point for the ministry, so I prayed about it and this is what I discovered.

I do not consider myself to be a Bible teacher, preacher or evangelist, in the professional sense of these words. I truly believe the primary purpose of my ministry is one of "wetting the appetite for the Word of God" in the lives of others. I hope to encourage the readers to taste and see what good things the Lord has to say to them and to discover His great love for them.

I find the following words of Paul to the Colossians to be the passion of my heart for you:

My purpose is that you may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that you may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that you may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. Colossians 2:2

Our Part/God Part

All of this talk about our responsibility can be misunderstood and I do not want to be the cause of any confusion over the Word of God.

I am referring to the doctrine of salvation. We are told that our salvation is not of our own work but a gift of God by his Grace through our faith. This is true. Nothing we can do to in our own strength can bring about salvation or spiritual growth. Both are works of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.

However, we need to draw the line between our part and God's part. We have a responsibility and a privilege to work "out" our salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil. 2:12-16). Bottom line, we have to do our part and depend on God to do His part.

Indeed, we are responsible to work "out" our salvation not work for our salvation. David Jeremiah in his book "The Joy of Responsibility" gives us a clear description of this. He says, " we are to seriously and soberly approach our Christian growth by working out what God has worked into us". The way to do that is to take individual responsibility and assume personal discipline for making the most of opportunities to receive from God the full potential of who you are and what you have in Christ.

The most wonderful thing about being a Christian is that God gives us all that we need to live as Christians. We are to diligently work in cooperation with God as He works in our lives. We do this by responding to His word and submitting to His Will and His ways. As we discovered above, the bottom line is to love and obey God.

We must remember God will not do for us what we should be doing ourselves.

We can count on God to do His part, can He count on us to do ours?

PHP 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, ... continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for IT IS GOD who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

PHP 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ

Another important lesson here regarding our responsibility is that we are to be different from the world, we are to shine like stars in the universe as we apply the Word to our lives. How is your light shining?

Your Christian Duty

Lately the Lord has been dealing with me in the area of my duties as a Christian. Sometimes I want to do things my way and have them done in my time. Now I know none of you have this problem. But I struggle with letting God be God, especially concerning things I want to see done.

It is at these times that the Lord gently and sometimes, sternly, reminds me that I am the clay and He is the Potter.

Just recently I attended a church anniversary celebration and the sermon was taken from Luke 9:23 where Jesus clearly gives 3 criteria for being His disciple. Needless to say, I was convicted and found that I needed to do a lot more work in the surrendering and submitting department.

Make no mistake about it, God will continue to work in our hearts and lives until He has molded us and made us into the image of His Son. This is a lifetime procedure with lifestyle progression toward spiritual maturity.

Join me in standing on the following Scripture for the new millennium:

LK 9:23 Then he [Jesus] said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Luke 9:23-27

CALL TO SAVATION

I am sure by now that you are feeling the need to begin your road to spiritual growth. Know that there can be no spiritual growth without the spiritual rebirth. You must be born again in order that God can begin to work in your life to mold you into what He wants you to be.

Won't you invite the Lord into your heart today, be saved and start to grow.

Start by admitting that you need the Lord Jesus to save you from yourself and a life of sin which will lead to death.

If you would repent of your sin, confess and trust Jesus as lord and Savior, you will be saved from your sins. For whoever call on the name of the Lord shall be saved Romans 10:13. You will need to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead Romans 10:9,10. You can do it NOW!! - Just bow your head and say: Lord, I am a guilty, lost, helpless sinner. I believe You suffered on the cross for my sins and died in my place to pay the penalty for my sins, and that You rose again. I call on You to forgive my sins and give me eternal life. Then stand on His promise, "He that hath the Son hath life," and when you have the opportunity confess Him before men as your Lord.

Now you are a new creation and must begin to grow in the knowledge and understanding of the Bible and your walk with Christ. First, be baptized and join a Bible teaching and believing Church where you can study the Bible and present yourself approved workman before God and not be ashamed when He returns. Begin to share your faith with others, giving witness to how Jesus has changed your life. See you in Heaven where we will meet the other saints that have go gone on before us.

Kid's Corner

This month's Kid's Corner is done a little differently. Instead of articles submitted from our children, I am submitting 2 articles to be read to our children. One for the teens and one for children. Please sure these with the children. (Articles are taken from an excerpt from Campus Life Magazine)

I Don't Like Myself

I've been struggling a lot with my self-esteem. Frankly, I don't have a very high one, and I find myself depending on what people think of me. I don't want to be a really proud person, but I also need better self-esteem. How can I find it?

Here's a really simple answer for a great question: You'll find your proper self-image in a solid understanding of the love of God. Am I saying it's easy to overcome an inferiority complex? Can you learn to feel good about yourself in 10 simple lessons? The answer is an emphatic NO. God never promised us a life free from struggles.

But I have some great news for you. You can establish your own identity and learn to really like yourself. And better yet, building a healthy self-image is not all your responsibility.

The God who created this world cares deeply about who you are and who you are becoming. This is the way I figure it: To build a healthy self-image in you, God must do his part and you must do yours. God's already done his part. He created you, loves you, forgives you, accepts you, and values you. He's given you unique gifts and talents.

Let's expand on these things God has done for you. God created you, so he knows you fully and loves you. Through Jesus Christ, he forgives you and accepts you as his child. He values your relationship with him enough to sacrifice his only Son for you, so you can have an abundant life on earth and an eternal relationship with God. He's gifted you with abilities that will benefit his kingdom and make you a healthy, joyful person. I've heard it said this way: "God don't sponsor no flops." So you see, helping you learn to like yourself is at the very core of what God wants to do in you and through you.

That's God's part in this picture. Your part is simply to respond to what God has already done for you. You need to accept this incredible love of God in your life and serve his kingdom. All your problems won't go away, but the core of your self-image will be much stronger.

BIBLE TRIVIA!

(Taken from Children Devotional Bible Webpage)

Who am I?

ROUND 1

Clue 1 Jesus hung out at my house.

Clue 2 I had big bucks!

Clue 3 I was always picked last for basketball.

Clue 4 I climbed a tree to see Jesus

Find the answer in Luke 19:1-10

ROUND 2

Clue 1 I was Vice President of Egypt. Clue 2 I was thrown in the slammer for nothin! Clue 3 My brothers put me on sale. Clue 4 I had a coat of many colors

Find the answer in Genesis 37-45

Round 3

Clue 1I babysat sheep.

Clue 2 I wrote a lot of hit music.

Clue 3 I became head honcho in Israel.

Clue 4 I beat up a big guy with a rock.

Find the answer in 1 Samuel 17

Round 4

Clue 1 God asked me to go right, I went left.

Clue 2 I preached to a city I hated.

Clue 3 I got tossed into the sea.

Clue 4 I was dinner for a fish!

Find the answer in Jonah 1-4

ANGEL NEWS

Our family website has been blessed by God to serve His people over the internet.

One Woman asked for prayer for direction and salvation for her son, within a week he called to tell her he had rededicated his life to the Lord.

Another woman asked for prayer for healing for a very sick husband. She eventually reported that he came through surgery and was on the road to recovery.

A man is continuing to seek prayer for a kidney transplant. He has written the website to thank us for our prayers and kindness in regularly following up with him.

I have made numerous contacts with people from the USA, Mexico to India. We have several on-line ministries that link up to our website.

The month of November I was featured on Global Christian Network "Friend of the Week". We continue to get numerous prayer requests, testimonies and praise reports. They are too numerous to list, but from time to time I will give progress reports to let you know how good God is and how He continues to faithfully bless the work of this ministry.

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