A grapevine usually does not grab one’s attention, except when its branches are laden with lush clusters of fruit; it is the fruit that is the main attraction to the vine! However it is the function of the vine to provide the vital sap to the branches producing the fruit. In John 15:1-8 Jesus likens […]
No less than seven times in John’s gospel did Jesus identify Himself as “I am”, I see these powerful statements linking Him with God the Father who in Exodus 3:14 indentified Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM”. As “God manifest in the flesh” 1 Timothy 3:16, Jesus is everything God the Father […]
“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” In Isaiah 60:1-3 God issues a statement that should bring a message of immediate hope and comfort to the people of Israel, as well as giving prophetic insight into the future, as these verses will be fulfilled in […]
In Isaiah 55:1-3 God gives a special invitation: Water in the Bible speaks of life, wine represents gladness and joy, milk symbolizes nourishment, and bread that which strengthens, (cf. Psalm 104:15; 1 Peter 2:2; Revelation 21:6.) These verses in Isaiah give a clear invitation to separate from the past; to Israel at that time from […]
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1. A refuge is a shelter, a place of protection, a fortress, and a place of hope. The message here in Psalm 46 1-7 is that even when the earth and all that is in it are in turmoil, in God there […]
“But the fruit of the Spirit is…self-control” Galatians 5:22-23. This fruit has to do especially with sexual activity, but as we learn from other Scriptures like Colossians 3:5-10, it encompasses every area of our life! The Apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest…I myself should […]
Taking the fruit of the Spirit one step farther we hear Isaiah the Prophet speaking of a day when God’s rule of righteousness on the earth will bring “peace…quietness and assurance forever” 32:17. While this verse of Scripture is applied to the millennial reign of Christ and the eternal kingdom, it actually began as a […]
The next fruit of the Spirit that we come to is peace. The dictionary has numerous definitions for peace, probably the first one to come to our natural mind is “freedom from war or civil strife” which is very difficult to obtain, and probably impossible to maintain, when our human hearts are out of alignment […]
