The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 15:1,
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
I note Jesus says he is the "true vine" not just "the vine." Perhaps I make too much of it, but the implication by the Lord is that there are "untrue" vines. Counterfeits, imitations, the inauthentic, as well as the bogus, fake, false and phony."
Jesus came to die for our sins and draw us to himself (see John 12:32). He is the "true vine." These counterfeits seek to draw us to them. As counterfeits, they cast themselves as sirens to draw us away from the Lord and to themselves. None more obvious in Jesus day than the Pharisees. "Many people, because they had heard that he [Jesus] had performed this sign [raising Lazarus from the dead], went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, 'See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!'" The "getting us nowhere" referred to their agenda to keep people following them. False vines!
And, so it is today! We see "evangelists" on TV making their pitch to get the folks to join their "ministry" and fund their coffers. False vines! We see various denominations promoting the purity of their "flavor", their "brand", their form of worship, their particular doctrinal "distinctive, (whatever it may be), and to get as many as they can to follow them. False vines! We see the world's religions promoting their own theologies and concepts to draw folks to them. False vines! Particularly in Islam where the warlord Muhammad penned fictional writings to keep his fighting men true to the cause (If you have not done so, you really need to get a good translation of the Qu'ran - Oxford has a very good, newer translation - and read about this alleged "religion of peace") False vines!
On the other hand, Jesus Christ came as the "true vine." He is the authentic God sent to draw us to the kingdom of heaven. "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:1-3. The true vine!
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:15-20. The true vine!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
I note Jesus says he is the "true vine" not just "the vine." Perhaps I make too much of it, but the implication by the Lord is that there are "untrue" vines. Counterfeits, imitations, the inauthentic, as well as the bogus, fake, false and phony."
Jesus came to die for our sins and draw us to himself (see John 12:32). He is the "true vine." These counterfeits seek to draw us to them. As counterfeits, they cast themselves as sirens to draw us away from the Lord and to themselves. None more obvious in Jesus day than the Pharisees. "Many people, because they had heard that he [Jesus] had performed this sign [raising Lazarus from the dead], went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, 'See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!'" The "getting us nowhere" referred to their agenda to keep people following them. False vines!
And, so it is today! We see "evangelists" on TV making their pitch to get the folks to join their "ministry" and fund their coffers. False vines! We see various denominations promoting the purity of their "flavor", their "brand", their form of worship, their particular doctrinal "distinctive, (whatever it may be), and to get as many as they can to follow them. False vines! We see the world's religions promoting their own theologies and concepts to draw folks to them. False vines! Particularly in Islam where the warlord Muhammad penned fictional writings to keep his fighting men true to the cause (If you have not done so, you really need to get a good translation of the Qu'ran - Oxford has a very good, newer translation - and read about this alleged "religion of peace") False vines!
On the other hand, Jesus Christ came as the "true vine." He is the authentic God sent to draw us to the kingdom of heaven. "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:1-3. The true vine!
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:15-20. The true vine!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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