Beware the foxes

Yes, I 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. (John 15:5,8)

John Calvin said a dog barks when he sees his master attacked. Why would we ever think God wouldn't raise a ruckus when the enemy of our soul even attempts to snatch away one of his own? Those who remain in him can always be assured of his protective oversight in their lives. We have a protected relationship and one that is intended to be quite productive. It is no wonder our enemy wants so badly to get at us! 

To remain indicates a specific state is met and maintained. In other words, we don't move from where are because it is a place specifically designed for us - a place designed for his presence to dwell. If we want to go beyond that protection, we will find ourselves kind of on our own - outside of the place where the best fruit can be developed in our lives. Maybe this is why we haven't produced fruit - we have 'detached' ourselves from the vine long enough that we are drying up.

Some think 'remaining' means you will be 'stuck' doing the same things, in the same way, in the same place. To God, 'remaining' means a vital, growing relationship. We don't remain the same - we are always changing. A branch attached to a tree doesn't remain the same year after year. It lengthens, thickens, grows new leaves, drops old ones, and even produces some type of 'fruit' while attached. It is a 'life-cycle' that is being 'lived out'. God asks his kiddos to 'live out' this spiritual life-cycle close to him.

Much fruit - not just a little here or there, but a bigger and bigger harvest as long as we remain in him. This only happens because we make a place for him in our lives at the center of our lives. The vine produces fruit because it has a good root. The vine is important, but the root is foundational to all growth. "Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!" (Song of Solomon 2:15) There will always be 'little foxes' attempting to disturb that connection between the vine and the root. God's instruction to us is to be alert to their presence, then to catch them before they go to work!

We might not realize just how hard our enemy is working to sever that relationship of connection but be sure that he is there. The foxes aren't easily seen in the vineyard, for they can hide deep within the vines. Sometimes sin hides deep within our hearts - working to destroy the root of grace, freedom, and peace that God plants there. Don't forget to look for the foxes - their presence is never welcome! Just sayin!

Let him at it!

As a parent, we all have those moments when we are less than patient with our children. As caregivers to the elderly, we can experience those similar moments. Regardless of our 'age' in Jesus, he never seems to become impatient with us. God is immensely patient with his children. He gives us space - to make our own choices. He gives us time - to come to our own conclusions. He gives us these things because he knows that in order to have our heart, he must have it yielded willingly - we must 'want to' yield our hearts to him. God is infinitely patient in his waiting for us to turn from our sin - but he will not wait forever. Sometimes, he gives us gentle, but quite firm nudges to cause us to see our sin. When he does, remember that it is out of his immense love for us that he has done so.

You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. (Romans 2:3-4)

We often want to take the "focus" off of us by putting it on someone else - pointing out their faults. It is like we believe that by pointing out the other person's faults, no one will ever see ours, including God! Silly us! In fact, look at what another criticizes in another on a frequent basis and you will usually have a good idea of what the one doing the criticizing is struggling with, too! That includes me! It is not a subtle walk with God that we are called to live out. It is a "radical" life-change. These three words say it all! Radical means getting at the root of things. This word carries the idea of getting at the fundamental stuff - what's really at the core of our being. 

When God goes for the "root", he is expecting something to be extremely different in the end. The "root" of something gives it both the stability and the system for being nurtured. If the "root" is wrong - the fruit will be, as well. Life really focuses us on looking at what is produced. This word carries the idea of growth - the ability to adapt when moved upon by a force greater than ourselves. God focuses on the root because he hopes to affect the fruit. He is concerned with our growth. His desire is that we no longer "adapt" to the world around us, but that we "adapt" to his will, his direction, and his love for us. In so doing, he really is "transplanting" us from infertile, diseased soil into the nutrient rich soil of his grace. There is no better place to take root.

Change signifies us moving (sometimes at a snail's pace) from what we were to what we would become if we were left to our own devices. God is not as concerned about what we have the "ability" to do as in helping us realize that ability in him. His greatest goal is to make our "form" or "nature" just like his son's. To do this, he removes the covering we place over our sin in an attempt to hide it from him and others. In so doing, the exposure allows him to transform what has been hidden into something that can actually be a display of his grace. So, it is to this radical life-change that God calls us. We can probably all agree, it is easier to cover up our sin than it is to face it - but no amount of cover-up will change what is produced in the end. The "cover-up" needs to be over in our lives! It is time to allow the Lord to see the "true" us! He has something divine he desires to produce...so let him at it! Just sayin!

Got a root-problem?

Do you ever feel like a yo-yo? Up one day, down the next? Or maybe a slinky? Stretched and falling all the time, regrouping only to fall again all over again? Yup...that can describe a good many of us from time to time - some of us more frequently than others! What gets you going in the morning? I have a Facebook friend who posts continual reminders of her 'need' for coffee - not just a little bit to help her get going, but a WHOLE LOT of coffee! Some of us need more 'motivation' in life than others toward certain things - not just with coffee, but with encouragement, compassion, and even a little correction from time to time. We are just not living as freely as we could be living - bound up by all manner of worries and anxiety-producing troubles. We need balance - to do more than 'bounce back' so we can spring into those same actions all over again!

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? (Galatians 5:16 MSG)

That root of self-interest gets us into more pickles than we'd honestly like to admit. We find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of a muddle because of some way we responded to something we should have left alone in the first place! Why is it we cannot 'leave alone' whatever it is we were reminded to leave alone? It is usually that root of self-interest that gives us the grief, my friends. We cannot steer away because we cannot take our focus off of that thing we aren't supposed to be messed up in. This whole walk of faith is muddled up with a walk directed with a whole lot of 'self-interest' in the middle of it! God doesn't just mysteriously take away all of our 'self-interest' one day, never to be seen or heard from again. He asks us to move away from needing to pay such close attention to it all the time, though! Easier said than done, huh? That voice of 'self-interest' is pretty loud and demanding at times.

We are going to be motivated by something - some internal drive will move us toward or away from whatever it is we are dealing with at the moment. It can be the internal drive of 'self-craving' (self-interest), or it could be the internal drive of the Holy Spirit within us helping us to see that interest as taking us nowhere good. The true way to deal with a root is to dig it up - get is exposed and deal with it. I had some problems with my water main a few years back, resulting in a little bit of trouble for the plumber who was called upon to fix it. The pine tree in the front yard had grown such large roots that it was putting pressure on the pipe, causing micro-fractures in the pipe. While a micro-fracture may not seem like much to you, with all the pressure in a water main, I was losing hundreds and hundreds of gallons of water each month until we realized what the problem was!

Sometimes we don't realize the 'pressure' being placed on us to conform a certain way - all because of some unrecognized root in our lives. The pressure may not seem like much at first, but when the 'pressure' being exerted is greater than the strength of the pipe, the pipe will have a hard time containing the pressure within the walls of that pipe! In our lives, we can only deal with so much conflict within, eventually succumbing to the pressure that exerts the greatest force! The greatest force may not always be the right pressure, though. If that pressure is that of the Holy Spirit, holding our lives together and helping us keep the focus of our lives directed correctly, this is a very good thing. If that pressure is our own self-interest, we get a whole lot different results. We begin to 'leak' where we should be contained!

The self-interests of life can only be dealt with in the same manner as the plumber restored my water main to 'health' once again. He had to deal with the roots that were causing all that external pressure. He had to cut away at those roots until a clear path was exposed for the water main to once again be in alignment and secure. Sometimes the things we allow the Holy Spirit to cut-away from our lives are the very things exerting all the pressure to get us to conform to our own self-interests. We might not like that we had to go through all that effort to find the root problem, expose it for what it truly is doing in our lives, and then get it finally dealt with, but until we do, the free-flow of God's grace and love can be greatly impacted! Just sayin!

The Jungle Book

I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit. Without Me, you will accomplish nothing. Your abundant growth and your faithfulness as My followers will bring glory to the Father. (John 15:5,8 VOICE)

I had the opportunity to spend some time home with mom this week and on one particular afternoon which found her dozing peacefully, I turned on a movie thinking I'd drift off into a peaceful nap time, as well. It was the remake of Jungle Book and I had not yet seen it. Within minutes, although my eyes were drowsy and my mind was exhausted from having to deal with medical issues for mom, I found myself unable to doze. The story just captured my attention and there I was, desperately in need of some rest, but enthralled in the imagery and story before me. As you may know the story, the "man cub" was adopted by a pack of wolves. I am not sure how he developed all his ability to talk with the wolves, tigers, leopards, and birds, but he could. He lived among them and actually was viewed as "one of them" until one day a very old and scarred tiger named Shere Khan came upon the scene to challenge him. Shere Khan was old and bitter, having been left scarred by the burns he received while killing the father of this boy much earlier in the story. He was angry, manipulative, and vindictive - three very common traits of anyone who allows bitterness to take root.

As the story went on, the boy finds himself fleeing to save his life - at least that is what he thought he'd do by escaping the "nearness" to such a bitter and angry opponent. The trouble is that no matter how much we think we distance ourselves from bitter people, they have a way of finding us! They have some kind of "bitterness radar" that just helps them hone in on our location and they do so because they think they are going to destroy our lives through their bitterness. The real potential of them doing this is pretty minimal, though, because it is hard for one who is rooted well to produce the same fruit as one who has his or her roots deeply embedded in the soil of bitterness. It isn't so much that they cannot wreak havoc in our lives by their bitter shenanigans and hurtful deeds, it is that they cannot change where it is we find our rooting! That place of rooting is what will determine the fruit we bear even faced with the awfulness of the bitterness and anger around us.

In case you haven't seen or read The Jungle Book, I will not spoil the plot or give you the ending, but know this - it is a good story for all of us to consider for it speaks to several values we might do well to consider:

- Family is not so much determined by birth as much as it is determined by nurture. Those wolves nurtured the young boy, helping him to always remember the value of others - the power of the "pack", so to speak. The relationship he formed with those other members of the pack was so important - constantly remembering we were not to pursue our own devices, but be mindful of the needs and feelings of others around us.

- There is a place and time for new experiences. The young boy made new friends as he fled for his life, some which thought they could manipulate him to get him to do as they wished. Yet, in the end, they discovered they valued each other - not because of what they could "get" from one another, but because together they were better than when they stood alone. 

- The fruit we bear is directly related to the root we cultivate. There is no changing the fruit until we change the root! Just sayin!

Let's get to the root of the matter

Jesus leads us into a place of radical grace where we are able to celebrate the hope of experiencing God’s glory.  And that’s not all. We also celebrate in seasons of suffering because we know that when we suffer we develop endurance, which shapes our characters. When our characters are refined, we learn what it means to hope and anticipate God’s goodness. And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love. (Romans 5:2-5 VOICE)

Radical grace - what a visual image comes to mind when I think of grace this way.  Grace is unmerited - it is undeserved and unearned.  It is a gift, given freely, not under some sense of compulsion.  Radical grace is that which is totally opposite of what the present condition is that exists within someone's life. In other words, when God extends radical grace, he is saying you and I are getting something so totally and completely opposite of what it is we should be getting. My favorite part of this passage is when Paul reminds us that we will learn what it means to hope and anticipate God's goodness.  Receiving radical grace actually puts us smack-dab in the center of what can only be described as God's goodness.  William Shakespeare said, "We know what we are, but know not what we may be."  As God's radical grace pulls us closer to him, we begin to hope in what he sees in us even when we don't see it ourselves.  We begin to think maybe there is something deep within that he values - even when all our actions and attitudes seem to be those which aren't "measuring up" at the moment.

All of life is a process of being refined - moved from one state into another, until what once was a "mixture" of good and bad, holy and dishonorable, beautiful and kind of ugly begin to be separated, allowing that which doesn't reflect who he is to be skimmed away.  We don't find our way into the "refining fire" on our own, nor do we find ourselves enduring it alone.  We have both his presence and the company of others to help us see our way through the process.  Look at where this passage begins - with Jesus leading us right into the place of being refined - made new through the radical grace he gives.  Most of us think of "radical" as something describing the intensity or gravity of an issue or subject. In this case, when Paul describes grace as "radical" he is really telling us that grace isn't just about setting things right at the moment, it is about getting at the root of the issue at hand until the root is changed, allowing the character which is produced to more closely and perfectly resemble Christ!

Peace comes through radical grace - changing the "root" of our trust from deeply rooted in what we can accomplish.  We move from trusting our own ability to overcome or "act right" - we begin to see our actions stem from a changed heart (mind, will and emotions). Hope stems from having experienced something just enough that we want or yearn for a lot more of what it is we have experienced.  Anticipation is based on both the sense of peace we have as a result of this change which has begun within us and the hope that there is more of the same available to us when we turn to the source of grace.  I don't know how many of us actually "celebrate" God's grace in our lives, but even when the root is still young and growing, grace is to be celebrated - reveled in, enjoyed, allowing it to bring pleasure into our lives.  We might not see the full transformation, what we can hope and anticipate what is about to be brought forth because where "radical grace" begins, "radical character" is just around the corner. Character with a "new root" - not the same old us, but the us that only grace can see and love can foster!  Just sayin!

Radical Life Change

Radical - of or going to the root or origin of something.  If you haven't really thought about what "radical change" is, you might be a little surprised to find out it is change which goes after the "root" or "origin" of something in order to so totally change what has become "traditional".  If a business wants to "re-invent" themselves because they have been losing customers to some other big name chain with a newer look, what do they do?  They go through some "radical change" to make us believe this is the store we want to be shopping at instead of the other guy's.  J.C. Penney did just that - they changed up the lines they carried, took out a whole bunch of their stock, remodeled the interiors of the stores to be more "hip", and then they lost business!  Most of us who shopped at Penney's did so for a reason - the consistency of finding the lines we liked, which fit us well, at a reasonable price range.  In over a year, I haven't been able to find anything there I could really use - and it used to be the one place I could find all my career wear! What happened?  They thought they had to "change" their "core" in order to draw business back into their store.  In reality, their "core" was pretty good, they probably just needed to make some subtle changes to attract the crowd of shoppers they were aiming at drawing in, but without sacrificing the loyalty of those who looked to them for their "core" purchases.  Sometimes I think we do the same thing when God asks us to begin to change in a particular area. We think he wants some big "revamp" of everything, so we set about to go through a major "redo", all the while forgetting about the "core values" he has already worked out in our lives.  

You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.  (Romans 2:3-4 MSG)

When God goes after the "root" of our lives, it isn't always to "pluck it up"!  In fact, sometimes he just needs to "stimulate" it a little in order to get it on track with growth as it should be.  We cannot sacrifice the "core values" - in other words, we don't throw the baby out with the bath water!  Sure, God wants us to be affected deeply, changing where change is needed, and developing a keener awareness of what it is he desires of us, but he doesn't want us to neglect or forget the values he has already worked into our lives.  I think this is a common issue for many of us - we see there is a new focus and we forget about the "old" in order to pay attention to the "new".  What happens to the old?  It gets neglected.  What happens when something is neglected?  It begins to no longer be the "practiced" behavior.

Some roots need a little "plucking".  It is like when Penney's might realize a particular line of clothing or household goods is no longer selling.  They might want to either consider "restyling" those clothes to stay in fashion, or just drop the line totally.  Sometimes, a simple "restyle" is all that is needed - because the "basics" are there - they just need a little attention.  At other times, the styles have moved on and it is time to retire the line - like polyester jumpsuits!  The basic black dress or skirt will never go out of style, but they may "restyle" it with a different hem line, or perhaps a new cut to the neckline in order to keep it "new".  One gets at the root in order to eliminate the line, while the other simply allows the root to be stimulated to produce a new line.  

Lest we think God is interested in "restyling" our lives, let me explain.  God wants radical life change - plain and simple.  As he makes change in our lives, he doesn't go about plucking up that change and then growing another.  He keeps the changes we have made and then "adds" changes by stimulating us at the "root" of our being (the core) in order to bring about even more growth. We have to be aware of which one of these God is doing - plucking up or stimulating the roots.  When we know clearly he is after the removal of something from the "roots up", then we let go of it.  When we see he is just "digging around those roots" a little, we can be assured what he sees is good at the core, we just need a little help to bring the best growth forth.

Paul is presenting this idea of radical life change - core change.  Core change often requires the expertise we don't possess on our own.  We need God taking us by the hand and "leading" us into this change, otherwise our "best" change may just be a flop (kind of like the changes Penney's made to their stores).  The ideas we have for change aren't "bad", they just aren't God's ideal for our lives - we need his "ideal", not just our "best".  It is heartwarming to me to realize God is leading us through this change.  He doesn't expect us to dig around those roots on our own - nor does he expect us to know which ones need to be totally plucked up.  He takes us by the hand.  This suggest a certain degree of intimacy and caring, doesn't it.  He is going to get "deep into" our core and he wants us to know how much he cares about what it is he is doing.

When we take the hand of another, we are usually doing it because we want to express something in that connection, isn't it?  We don't do it with everyone.  If we just walked up to every stranger in the mall and reached out to take their hand, we'd soon see some pretty radical behavior from them, wouldn't we?  They'd pull back, even scream in surprise.  Why?  We don't have relationship with them and we have no right to hold their hands!  Now, if they were drowning in the lake, they might just crave that connection, but not when they are minding their own business window shopping at the mall!  God doesn't just march right up to us and take us by the hand, telling us he is taking us to the place of change.  First he establishes relationship with us, then he begins to connect with us frequently enough to allow us to develop a trust relationship with him.

Taking the hand of one we trust is much easier, isn't it?  We might just crave these times of "hand leading", because the show how much we are really loved.  You see, when God takes us by the hand, it isn't because he is angry with us, it is because he cares so much for us that he doesn't want to see us continue to embrace stuff in our lives which is doing us harm.  His hand-holding is not just casual - it is purposeful.  He leads, we follow.  He squeezes tight, we know he is at work.  He pulls back, we know it is time to stop.  His touch is our means for radical life change.  Just sayin!

Got some rotting fruit?

Quite some time ago, as I was considering a big move with my career, I faced the fear of not being ready for the next step, but also the overwhelming excitement about the possibilities that come with change.  I was a fairly new nurse at the time, not really sure of myself on so many accounts.  To take a huge step toward a position of leadership was almost one of the scariest things I did.  That day, a good friend gave me some advice which has stuck with me on so very many future decisions.  I'd like to share that advice with you today. She said, "Green is growing, ripe is rotting."  Now, at first, this may not seem like a very "profound" truth, but I have often thought on this, mulling over decisions I have made throughout my career, in my home, with my family, and in all kinds of relationships using this simple "rule of thumb". Keep yourself in a place of being just a little greener than you may like and you won't risk the potential of losing contact with that which will continue to produce life within!  I live in a region where citrus grows better than most other fruit.  That green orange is on the tree a long, long time before it ever sets its color to resemble an orange.  All through that long season of growth, the orange is actually quite green.  It isn't that it isn't growing, it is just not "ripening".  As soon as it begins to turn its full color, it actually is beginning to "separate" from that which has been giving it the potential for growth - the branch.

It’s certainly possible to say, “Other branches were pruned so that I could be grafted in!” Well and good. But they were pruned because they were deadwood, no longer connected by belief and commitment to the root. The only reason you’re on the tree is because your graft “took” when you believed, and because you’re connected to that belief-nurturing root. So don’t get cocky and strut your branch. Be humbly mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and green.  (Romans 11:19-20 MSG)

The orange tree has the ability to produce life in the form of fruit over and over again, not because of its branches, but because of its root.  Some of us view fruit as the "end all" - but hear the wisdom of my friend - fruit eventually rots if it is your main focus!  The process of seeing fruit grow is a good thing, but just admiring the fruit is not the purpose of the fruit - it is used to further other growth.  It isn't until the fruit is actually plucked and eaten that it serves its purpose.  Staying on the branch will eventually stunt the growth of any other fruit just beckoning to get out!  The fruit God brings in our lives is a matter of growth - sometimes deeper down than we might see on the surface. The growth isn't the end result - it is the use of that growth - putting it into practical use - that is the purpose of the fruit.  

Notice what my friend said, "Green is growing."  Green signifies a connection with that which produces growth.  "Ripe is rotting."  Ripe fruit actually begins the process of "separation" - for it is only in separating from the tree that the orange serves to bring its juices and richness of healing power into the lives of the one who will partake of it.  Because I live in this citrus region, I also see a whole lot of citrus just laying around on the ground - rotting.  You see, it hung around on the tree way too long, eventually falling to the ground. What is the shame is that it stayed on the tree so long - eventually beginning the process of "rotting" right where it hung.  Some of us are guilty of allowing the fruit which is born in our lives to just "hang around", almost content just to note we have fruit, but not really recognizing the potential that fruit has if it is actually put to into use in our own lives and those we touch.  

Green is growing - maybe not outwardly showing the evidence of fruit at first, but the place where fruit was once attached becomes the place where the next fruit has the potential of growing from, as well.  So, "spent" fruit - that which actually gets put into use in our lives - is really making more room for new growth to begin.  As the new growth begins to bud in the place of connection, it doesn't seem like much at first.  It is small, hard, and kind of bitter at first.  Most new growth is just like the tiny "citrus" on the tree - small at first, even bitter to the taste.  But...as long as the connection to the tree's life-giving root continues, the potential for the bitterness to develop the sweet juices of mature growth is there.  

The tiny green citrus is pretty well-attached to the tree at first.  Try to pluck it from its connection and you will have to tug pretty hard to get it loose.  Why? It knows it must maintain that connection in order to realize its growth.  As the fruit begins to "set" on the tree, the "connection" is not as "tight".  Sure, it is connected, but it easier for the fruit to begin to be plucked from the tree, so it might be given in service to the needs of those for which the fruit was produced in the first place!  The tree doesn't suffer from the fruit being plucked when it is ripe - it actually begins to "ramp up" to bring forth new fruit in its place!

We might not think much about the fruit God produces in our lives, but when we begin to recognize it is not just so we can have it on "display" in our lives, but so it can begin to "serve" the needs of others, we don't hesitate to put our fruit to use!  Anything not put to use is just going to rot!  Just sayin!