Why Do We Fight Him?

Our whole lives as Christians can be a constant tug of war between our flesh and the Holy Spirit. Some of us live our whole lives without a total surrender to the One who loves us, the One who gave everything He had so that we might have LIFE - and yet we refuse this life, true life, by not giving all of ourselves to Him.

John 10:10 (NLT) "The thief's purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."

If your hands are already full, how can you accept a gift? Imagine that you are holding onto 2 rotten apples, one in each hand. Then a close friend comes along with 2 ripe apples, nice and red and juicy and crisp - 2 perfect apples. (I am making myself hungry here!) You look at those apples, and you know they are good. You know they would be much better for you than the rotten ones you have in your hands. Your friend desperately wants to give you his apples, but even though you want to do it, you can't accept the perfect apples he is offering you because you are still holding onto the rotten ones. You don't have room in your hands to have all the apples - you have to put down the rotten ones before you can accept the perfect apples.

Ok, I know that using apples is a little different, but I'm pretty sure that you get the picture. I know I do!

We hold on to our pride - we want to be in control of our lives, of our dreams, our goals, our relationships, our decisions, our whole lives. Jesus offers us LIFE, and we look at Him and we know that what He has for us is so much better than what we are holding onto, but we don't let go, so we cannot accept what He is offering us.

The great thing about Jesus is that His patience does not end - because His love for us doesn't end either! As long as we have breath, His offer of LIFE will not expire. Christians, as soon as you let go, you will be free to accept what He has to offer you! A rich and satisfying LIFE!!

We need to let go...learn to live our lives not with a closed fist, but with open hands. Open hands don't hold onto anything in this life; not possessions, not people, not dreams, and not even burdens or offences. Open hands. It gives God full freedom to do what He has always wanted to do in your life - give you LIFE!

Living To Die

My eyes were recently opened to how many things in creation demonstrate the things of God, year after year, season after season. There are many, but today I would like to focus on one: seeds.

Every year, in the spring (most people plant on May 24) farmers and gardeners plant seeds of all kinds - vegetables, fruit, flowers and many other plants. Most of these come in seed form, and the seeds have to be planted a few inches under the ground. After a few weeks, with the right care and conditions, the planter will see a green shoot come up through the ground and before he knows it, there will be a thriving, growing plant.

Isn't it amazing that God created this process to mimic what we go through in life? Think about it...let's look at a tomato plant for example. A tomato seed has the potential to grow into a plant that will yield many tomatoes, all through the season. However, if it does not go into the ground and die, nothing good will ever happen to it. It will get old, stale and maybe even moldy, depending on where it is being stored. A seed that doesn't get planted is a waste - even though it has to die to truly live, it is always worth it!

This is what Jesus wants from us - all of us! Dying to self may be painful and hard to do, but just like the tomato seed, without dying, we will never discover what true life really is.
John 12:23-25 - "Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
I Corinthians 15:36-37 - "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else."

After the seed dies and starts growing, it doesn't stop there. Imagine of a farmer only looked after the seed until it came up and then stopped there - weeds, bugs and the elements would stop the plant from growing more. It's not enough for the seed to die - it still has to be cared for and protected so that the conditions will be perfect for bearing fruit.

Jesus will never stop taking care of us. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, no matter what. He will be there when we go through the darkness of death and when we discover the light of true life.