Remaining

"Yes, I (Jesus) am the Vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing... If you abide (remain) in Me, and My words abide (remain) in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide (remain) in My love." John 15:5 & 7-9 (Italicized emphasis mine)

I have at times wondered about this scripture. Ever practical, I've asked:  "Lord how does one abide/REMAIN in Your love?" Then I see where in that same chapter, down in verse 10 Jesus says: "When you obey Me you remain in my love." Then the thought: 'So Lord, are You saying if we disobey that You no longer love us?' 

And then He reminds me of the story of the prodigal son- The son chose to leave home. HE chose to not remain in his Fathers love. He ran away from it. He did his own thing and did not do the things that pleased his Father.  But his Father never stopped loving him. He never stopped looking for him. He never stopped longing for him to come home. 

So although the son decided to not remain in his Fathers love, the Fathers love never wavered. It remained right there, waiting for the son to return to it. And when the son finally came to his senses in the pig pen, he wisely returned home to the loving embrace of his Father. And there he found his Daddy...standing at the gate, waiting, watching for him, longing for His dear child to come home. 

And I have a feeling that after that, the son had no problem remaining in his Fathers love. Because he found that there's just no better place to be.

The E String

When tuning a guitar you find the exact pitch for the top string- the E string- and tune the other strings according to the accuracy of that E string. If the standard of the E string is off, the rest of the strings will also be off and the sound will be chaotic and not nice to listen to. (Trust me there's nothing worse to listen to than an untuned guitar! 😜) It's the same with truth. If we have no absolute standard for truth, everything in our lives will be out of balance and out of tune. Just as 2+2 will forever and always = 4, whether or not we like it, agree with it, feel like it or find it culturally relevant, Gods word will always be our standard; the unchanging, solid, timeless, absolute measurement for truth. Lord knows, my feelings change minute by minute and my perspective has not always proven to be correct. There must be a standard that is bigger than me, stronger than me, wiser than me, more loving than me and transcending culture and time. Because if it's all relying on my own understanding, then my foundation will not remain solid when life gets shaky and seasons change. If it's all up to me to tune the strings without a standard to go by, then my sound will be confusing and my message will be muddled. Our lives are meant to be a beautiful song based on the unchanging, solid standard of that top string. Gods truth is our E-string.

Golden Rule Day

Examining my own heart today and I had couple of thoughts I’d like to share on this Inauguration Day…

Those of us who are urging for prayer and respect for our new President and his supporters and backing it up by quoting the scriptures about respecting authority and praying for our leaders, can we honestly say we did this when Obama was our President?

And to those of us who are ridiculing and rejecting our current President and his supporters, how did we feel when President Obama was likewise rejected and denounced yet not prayed for?

And to those whom this doesn’t apply, good for you. I honestly cannot say it doesn't apply to me (but I will not share on which side of the two extremes I have fallen.)

Understand, I’m not talking about disagreeing with a president, opposing his policies or standing up for our beliefs and convictions respectfully which is healthy and a privilege we share as Americans. But can we just be honest and admit we don’t always practice what we preach when it comes to respecting and praying for authority- especially when we don't like who's in authority? We tend to point out loudly when those we disagree with are breaking the rules but we justify it when we do it ourselves.

Truth is truth. It doesn't change and it is no respecter of persons or political party.

If the Bible says pray for and respect your leaders, it meant Obama, and it means Trump.

Like it or not.

So can we have a moment of humility and just admit today that we sometimes are hypocrites (hanging my head and raising my hand here). Can we not shame those saying what we have said ourselves when the shoe was on the other foot? And beginning with this Inauguration Day, can we agree to go forward from here and attempt to adhere to the Golden Rule, and do unto others as we’d have them do unto us? 

We don't have to agree. We do have to respect and pray. 

So whether we are celebrating and thankful or are angry and grieving, let us not be critical of those who are saying exactly what we were saying 8 years ago today. 

Let's make today- Golden Rule Day.

The End.