THE BLESSINGS OF ABIDING
Devotional for April 29, 2018 based upon John 15: 1-8

Our Gospel reading for this coming Sunday is part of Jesus’ final words to His disciples on the night when He was betrayed. After supper they must have passed through a vineyard on their way to the Mount of Olives. Jesus stops. The disciples gather around Him. He reaches for a branch and begins, “I am the vine, and My Father is the vinegrower.” Then He begins to talk about grapes and branches. It certainly was not what His friends had expected to hear, especially after having been told that one of them would betray Him. But at this moment Jesus chooses to reveal to them what their Heavenly Father wants for them and how He has been at work in their lives to bring it about. And I believe that Jesus was also thinking about you and me that night. For God is at work in our lives, too, to bring about what He wants to see come from our lives. So let’s look at what He is saying.

Jesus is the vine, the trunk that grows out of the ground and ends in a large gnarl from which the branches grow in either direction along the trellis. The Father is the vinegrower, the keeper of the vineyard who coaxes from the plants the largest, juiciest, and most grapes possible. We are the branches – the focus of the vinegrower’s efforts – because it is the branches that produce the fruit. Here Jesus is distinguishing between four different kinds of branches – those that produce no fruit, some fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. How much fruit do you see in your life today? Are you satisfied with that level of fruit? How can all of us live a life that is more fruitful for God?

First, NO FRUIT. Some Christians live lives that produce nothing of eternal consequence. Jesus describes these people when He says, “Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He removes.” This is a person who is connected to Christ – a branch that is connected to the vine – but is producing no fruit over a period of time. Most Bible translations use words like “he removes” and “he cuts off” to describe what the vinegrower does to that part of the vine. But I have read that the Greek verb can also be translated, “he lifts up.”

The vinegrower leans over to lift up the branch that is trailing down and growing along the ground, because branches do not bear any fruit down there. The leaves on branches that grow along the ground get coated with dirt. When it rains, they get muddy and mildewed. They become sick and unproductive. But they are too precious just to cut off and throw away. So the vinegrower goes through the vineyard with a bucket of water, looking for branches like that. He lifts them up, washes them off, and then wraps them around the trellis or ties them up. Soon they are thriving once again.

For the Christian, sin is like that dirt covering the leaves so that air and light cannot get in. The vinegrower will use even painful measures if necessary to bring us to repentance, because His purpose is to cleanse us and free us of sin so that we can live lives that are productive for Him. God loves you so much that He will take whatever measures He needs to to correct you. He will even bring or allow pain into your life to get your attention and to bring about the needed change. So if you are down in the dirt, do not stay there a minute longer. Thank God for the way He is intervening in your life. It is His love for you that motivates Him to discipline you. And He will raise the stakes if He has to. One day you will look back on your determination to stay in the dirt and wonder why you resisted your Heavenly Father for so long.

Second, SOME FRUIT. What does the Heavenly Father do when the branch looks pretty good – it is covered with leaves – yet it is not producing much fruit? Jesus said, “Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit.”

If your life is bearing some fruit, God will intervene to prune you. Left to itself, a branch will always prefer producing leaves over grapes. So the vinegrower must cut away any unnecessary shoots, no matter how vigorous, because the vine’s purpose is to produce not leaves but grapes.

For the Christian, a vigorous growth of leaves represents all the preoccupations and priorities in our lives which, while not wrong, are keeping us from being more productive for God. Without pruning, we will live up to only a fraction of our potential.

The expert pruner removes what is dead, dying, and not fruit producing so that the sunlight can get to the branches that are bearing fruit. In the same way our Heavenly Father wants to cut away from our lives those things that drain precious time and energy away from that which is truly important. In pruning, God asks you to let go of those things that keep you from your ultimate good. But pruning is cutting, and cutting always hurts.

If you feel that God is pruning you, ask Him to show you what it is that He wants you to let go of, and then trust Him enough to release it completely to Him. You might be looking down the fence line of your life and seeing all your favorite branches being hacked away. You might be saying, “God, I never asked for the shears.” You might be wondering what He will do next. He loves you so much that He will not stop tending your life. What God asks of you may seem difficult and demanding. But the results, if you say yes, will be more than you could have ever asked for.

Third, MORE FRUIT. In mature pruning – the kind of pruning that produces more fruit – God’s shears cut even closer to the core of who we are. In mature pruning, God is not just taking away. Rather He is faithfully at work in our lives to make room for more strength, productivity, and spiritual power. Where does it hurt in your life today? That could be where God’s shears are at work. Pain always comes when shears are snipping. How is God shaping and directing you so that He can strengthen you for the season of abundance that He has in mind for you?

Fourth, MUCH FRUIT. I see Jesus leaning forward and placing His fingers at the point where the trunk divides into branches. “Abide in Me, as I abide in you,” He says. And then, directing His disciples’ attention to the branch that is swelling with the promise of a great harvest, He adds, “Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.”

He points to the place where trunk meets branches. That is where the abiding happens. That is the connecting point, through which the life-giving nutrients flow. Many times Jesus uses the word “abide.” You can feel His passion. He is about to leave His friends. And yet He is saying, “We must stay together.”

Abiding is all about the most important relationship in your life. It is not primarily about how well you know the Bible or how many church committees you are on or even how many good things you do. Rather it is about how much you long for and thirst for a relationship with God. Abiding means wanting and having more of God in your life. More of God in your activities, thoughts, and desires. It means enjoying His company.

So what season of life are you in? If you are in the SEASON OF DISCIPLINE, the Vinegrower is kneeling down beside you, reaching down to intervene in your life. He wants to lift you up and bring you back to fruitfulness. He does not see you as a chronic loser, but as a precious branch that is only one choice away from a better life.

If you are in the SEASON OF PRUNING, the Vinegrower is standing beside you, wielding some rather serious-looking shears. His face conveys delight and anticipation as He carefully and purposefully snips away unwanted, unproductive shoots. He is impressed with your energy and promise.

If you are in the SEASON OF ABIDING, the Vinegrower is learning against a nearby trellis, looking at you with great pleasure, satisfaction, and joy. The huge clusters of grapes that are crowding your branch are exactly what He had in mind for you since you first sprouted from the vine.

Know for sure that God will always be at work in your life. He can use you no matter what season you are in. His plans for you are unique and suited specifically for you. It’s never too late to begin bearing fruit. He wants you to participate in the joy of an abundant harvest.

What Jesus said to His friends that night in the vineyard, He is also saying to you “so that (His) joy may be in you, and so that your joy may be complete.”

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

“Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Then I said, “It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” (Psalm 77:9-10)

Our perspective changes, but God does not change. We see things the way we see them, often influenced by our circumstances. God is good and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. There are times when He does not give grace. There are times when He is angry.  We change, but God does not, so look to Him Who has shown Himself to be changeless and not as you feel He is.

Lord, I am fickle and often behave as a small child. Guide me, O Lord, through the winsome and feeble feelings of this world to hold fast to You, for You are my rock and fortress. Lead me away from being guided by my feelings that I may be led by the truth that Your Word is forever. Help me now and always Lord to be guided by the truth of eternity and walk in Your ways.

Lord Jesus, You encountered all manner of people who were here, there and all over the place.  You call to each of us to humbly come with You wherever You lead. Guide me in the Holy Spirit, Lord, that I would walk with You, my Savior. You are unchanging, but I must change to be conformed to Your image. Lead me as I must go that I may learn to faithfully follow wherever You lead. Amen.

“Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever?” (Psalm 77:7-8)

There are seasons when the people rebel more and the Lord steps back to allow them the recompense of their rebellion. Know that the Lord is kind and gracious, but that He also is perfect and will urge those who come to Him through faith to be perfect as He is perfect. His promise is forever and the temporary circumstances of this world will not last. Turn to the Lord who is forever.

Lord, bad seasons come and I wonder where You are, as if I should receive only goodness. The world is filled with wicked people who do wickedness. My eyes only have to look out to see. Help me live into the life You have promised knowing that these things will come and that eternity is with You and not here. Your goodness is forever, but the evil of this world is only temporary.

Help me, Lord Jesus, for through Your life and death, You showed just how wicked the world can be and yet You persevered. Help me to come into Your everlasting presence and see more clearly Your hand of salvation upon all who believe. Guide me by the Holy Spirit to live simply in the truth which has always been true and reject the false which has always been false and produces wickedness. Amen.

“I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, and my spirit ponders:” (Psalm 77:5-6)

Do you take time to reflect on the life the Lord has given you? As the years go by, the character of who we are is shaped and, if we are honest, we see many places where the hand of the Lord has been there to keep us on the path we are on. Does your spirit ponder? Do you meditate on the Lord’s guidance in your life? Do you truly look to the Lord at all times, knowing He is there?

Lord, the world is so busy that I often forget to take time to ponder and meditate. Guide me, O Lord, that I may see Your guidance and know that You have always been there alongside me. Lead me to know Your presence that I may learn to praise You always for the good that You do and the hope You have given. Slow down the noise in my ears and increase Your Word in my heart.

Lord Jesus, You know all of the frailties that get in the way of our lives and how easily we are distracted. Guide me now and always to walk humbly with You knowing that only in You is there hope and a future. Let me see more clearly each day the many ways in which You have been there that I may see more and more Your promises fulfilled and that the world lies to me. Amen

“When I remember God, then I am disturbed; when I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.” (Psalm 77:3-4)

How often do you go through life with the Lord as an add-on? Is He in the center of your life, or an afterthought except in times of trouble? The Lord is the One who holds all things in His hands. It is He who is there in every time of need. Look closely and you will see that it is the Lord who has been there in every hour of need. The Lord alone will never leave you nor forsake you.

Lord, You are there, but often like an ungrateful child I go about my day as if You were not. Hold my eyelids open to see the light You have caused to shine in me that I may know that it is You who guides all things. Lead me through the troubled waters of this age that I may keep my eyes upon You. Help me now and always to simply hold fast to the truth that You alone are God.

Lord Jesus, You purposefully walked amongst us that we may see the light and follow where You lead. Yet, like sheep in a field without a shepherd, I wander aimlessly sometimes. Guide me, O Lord, to walk with You always. Lift me up when I am down and guide me according to Your purposes that I may never look anywhere but to You in, through and for all things. Amen.

“My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; my voice rises to God, and He will hear me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted.” (Psalm 77:1-2)

The Lord hears every cry from the heart. He knows what will happen. Come to the Lord, lift up your voice and know that He hears you. In times of trouble, come to the Lord. In times that are good, give Him praise. In all things, place the Lord in the center, for He is the One who holds all things together. Know that it is the Lord who goes before You and that He who knows watches over you.

Lord, I sometimes feel alone, but these are only feelings. Guide me, O Lord, to walk with You knowing that You know the days of my life as a book that is already written. Help me now and always and in all seasons to lift my eyes up to You, for You are the help of all people. Lead me into Your presence and guide my heart to know that only in You is there life and joy.

Lord Jesus, You demonstrated to us how to pray without ceasing and to come before the Father’s presence. You have told us that a sparrow does not fall to the ground that the Father does not know about. Turn my life around that I would live into the promise You give by grace and know from the inside out that in every time, You are there and have plans for whatever may come. Amen.

“Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared. He will cut off the spirit of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.” (Psalm 76:11-12)

The Lord is good and the Sovereign God of all. Those in this world who hold positions of power are there only by the grace of God. All power and authority belongs to Him. Come then into His presence and give your offerings, for all you give was really His first. He graciously supplies that we may have abundance and calls us to share what He first gave to us.

Lord, help me see the truth that You are God. You ask us to come into Your loving presence and live according to Your will. Lead me, O Lord, away from the things of this world and help me see in You the hope You alone can give. Guide me according to Your purpose to live according to Your law that I might grow in the righteousness You give through grace. You alone are to be feared.

Lord Jesus, You who has all authority and power, have come humbly that we may follow where You lead. Guide me, O Lord, according to Your will that I would forever hold fast to Your goodness, grace and mercy. Help me now and always to see in You the hope of salvation and to humbly submit as You submitted for the glory of the Father. Guide me today into the Father’s will. Amen.

“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago.” (Acts 3:19-21)

Can Marie Antoinette be relevant to you?

You know Marie Antoinette, the infamous queen of France beheaded during the even more infamous “reign of terror.”  Marie had a laundry list of sins to her name, and the French people largely hated her.  Stripped of honor and wealth, her husband executed, her friends murdered, and her children taken from her, she had good reason to be afraid, ashamed, and bitter as she approached the guillotine.

Yet I just recently read her last letter, written to a friend after her condemnation.  It shines with a strange contentment as well as a clear confession of faith in Jesus Christ.  “I sincerely implore pardon of God for all the faults which I may have committed during my life,” she wrote.  “I trust that, in His goodness, He will mercifully accept my last prayers . . . to receive my soul into His mercy . . . . I pardon all my enemies the evils that they have done me.”   Eyewitnesses say that she approached her death with the same sort of serenity.

Marie Antoinette, who may seem to have nothing to do with you, knew what St. Peter described: times of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord to those who repent.  There’s freedom in being the wrong one, especially when you’re loved by the Wronged One.  Risen, He is present to you and for you, having taken away the sins of the world.

LET US PRAY:  Forgive me, Lord.  Forgive even my poor repentance.  For even as You have pardoned countless souls besides me, I trust that You have pardoned me, shedding Your own blood for my sake.  Buried in those wounds, I confess Your mercy.  Give me Your saving help again, and teach me to find the greatest joy in Your greatness alone; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever.  Amen

Pr. Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“When God arose to judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. For the wrath of man shall praise You; with a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.” (Psalm 76:9-10)

What is it in sinful man that things have to come the hard way? We bring it upon our selves and then give God the blame for the harshness that we have brought on our selves. God does arise to judgement and it comes through what He has already established. Ultimately, God takes it all on Himself and we see the wrath of all sin hanging on the cross with Jesus. There He takes our punishment for what we have done.

Lord, is it that You do not bring retribution upon us, but step back and do not stop what is coming because of what we have done? You get blamed when things go bad and are harsh, yet You are not praised when we are provided for and are given all we need. Lord, help me see through the wickedness of this age to see that You are always good, gracious and merciful.

Lord Jesus, You have come to bear the wrath of sin as You were girded with it on the cross. You did this for our sakes. Open my eyes to see the truth of what You have done and the truth of what we have done. Guide me away from the wickedness of this world and into Your glorious light of life and truth. Help me now and always to see what is right and true and to walk with You. Amen.

REFLECTIONS ON THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM
Devotional for Good Shepherd Sunday, April 22, 2018

What do you think David had in mind when he wrote the Twenty-Third Psalm, the psalm for Good Shepherd Sunday? Can you even imagine having such a gift with language and such a close relationship with God that you could write something like that? Later in life, when David was reflecting back on what he had written, what kinds of thoughts and feelings do you think might and must have been going through his mind? Maybe something like this –

“The Lord is my shepherd”

In David’s day, as well as at the time of the birth of Jesus, being a shepherd was an occupation that was looked down on. When Samuel, who had come to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be king, asked whether all the sons were present, Jesse replied, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep” (1 Samuel 16: 11). Later, when David went to visit his older brothers who were in the army, his oldest brother Eliab asked him, “Why have you come here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness?” (1 Samuel 17: 28)

David took an occupation that was looked down on and gave it dignity and value by using that image to describe his relationship with God. Reminds me of what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “So whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10: 31).

“He restores my soul”

There were many reasons why David’s soul needed to be restored. After his sin with Bathsheba the prophet Nathan had told him, “The sword shall never depart from your house” (2 Samuel 12: 10), which turned out to be painfully true. Son Amnon raped daughter Tamar, whereupon son Absalom murdered Amnon. After stealing the hearts of the people, Absalom stole the kingdom from his father, publicly humiliated his father, and eventually met his death after his short-lived rebellion.

David experienced unimaginable sorrow, as the prophet Nathan had said he would. But still, God called him a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13: 14). His soul was also restored in the birth by Bathsheba of Solomon, who would build the Temple that David had wanted to build and would be the ancestor of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus.

“Your rod and your staff – they comfort me”

David was confronted by a wise woman from Tekoa for refusing to reconcile with his son Absalom. He also was confronted by the prophet Nathan regarding his sin with Bathsheba. “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12: 7) Realizing the greatness of his sin, David experienced the greatness of God’s mercy and wrote a most powerful psalm of repentance. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51: 1).

“You spread a table before me in the presence of my enemies”

David spent many of his younger years fleeing from Saul, who, because he saw him as a threat to the throne, wanted to kill him. Whatever was happening in David’s life when he wrote Psalm 22 also shows how many enemies he had. This is a psalm which Jesus prayed from the cross, beginning with the lament, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (verse 1) Verses such as “All who see me mock me” (verse 7), “They stare and gloat over me” (verse 17), and “They divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots” (verse 18) also show the remarkably close parallels between the experiences of David and Jesus.

“My cup overflows”

David had wanted to buy from Araunah the Jebusite a threshing floor where he would erect an altar to the Lord, but Araunah wanted to give it to him at no cost. David replied, “I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24: 24). First Chronicles 29 records the enormity of David’s gift towards the project of building the Temple. How much David must have rejoiced over the resources God had given him so that he would be able to make such a large contribution and in doing so also inspire other leaders of Israel to give significantly. The Bible tells us that the people rejoiced over the generosity of the king.

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life”

The prophet Nathan, who later would confront David over his great sin, earlier in David’s life comforted David with the promise that after his death, his son would build the Temple that David had wanted to build, and his house, kingdom, and throne would be established forever (2 Samuel 7: 16). It would not all end with David.

“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”

For days David had prayed that God would spare the life of the child that was born out of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, but on the seventh day the child died. At that point David rose from the ground, washed himself, changed his clothes, went into the house of the Lord and worshipped, and then went home and went on with his life. When asked why he had responded in that way David replied, “Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12: 23). Normally people go through death only in one direction. David was saying, “Someday I too will die and will go to where my son is. But he will never return to where I am.”

The Twenty-Third Psalm has given comfort, strength, encouragement, and hope to millions of people for three thousand years. I believe it also did the same for the one who wrote it – the shepherd who became king. Could he have written a psalm of such depth, insight, and beauty if it did not speak so powerfully to his own life? How does the Twenty-Third Psalm, the Psalm for Good Shepherd, speak to you and your life?

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE