"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. "

        This text was the last words that were recorded of Jesus on earth before He ascended into heaven.  His last words.  If you knew you were going to die, or move far away from family and not see or talk to them for years- maybe your entire lifetime, what would you want to say to them?  Something important, right?  Maybe something valuable, something intimate or something you've wanted to say for years and haven't?  These were Jesus' last words... and they were of great importance, hence the title for this section: "The Great Commission".  Read the text again.  What does making disciples mean?  I believe it means building up others in prayer, teaching them according to God's Word, coming along side of them in encouragment, exhortation and mentoring to deepen their roots in Jesus so that they are able to go and make disciples themselves  .  I have made mistakes in my past- leading others to Christ, and then letting them figure it out on their own.  I tell you the truth that most of them are not rooted in the Word or in a good relationship with Jesus.  As one who makes disciples, we need to stay along side of the new believer to help them connect with the right people, ministries, small groups, church, and most importantly connect with Jesus.  We can be there to teach, answer questions pray etc.  God gave me an illustration that I am excited to share with you today.  

        When you want a tree, you need to plant one.  Some people may plant a seed, a sapling or buy a tree a few years old and plant that.  For my illustration, we are going to look at planting a sapling.  No one plants a sapling wanting it to die, right?  You want it to grow into a strong, mature, beautiful tree.  In order to do that, there are a few things you can do.  The thing I want to focus on is: supporting it.  When a sapling gets to a certain height, you can place a stick or a small piece of lumber next to the tree with a string tied to the trunk of the sapling.  As the tree grows, it's support comes mainly from the lumber, since it's own trunk is too small to hold it straight in strong winds or a storm.  The lumber would stay in place, until the tree has deepened it's roots well in the soil that it may grow straight and stand it's own when the winds get strong.  

        The same is true with discipleship.  The one discipling acts like the piece of lumber.  It is stronger than the young, immature sapling.  It partners with the new believer until they are strong enough and rooted deep enough in their relationship with the Lord and His Word that when a storm hits (life's circumstances), they won't be uprooted, be knocked over or destroyed.  Although the storm may blow 'em left and right, their roots are deep enough, that after the storm passes, they are still rooted in the same patch of soil, and they are standing straight.   One who disciples should continue to do so until that new believer is able to withstand a storm, has begun to produce fruit, and when that person seems to become more independent in their walk with Christ.  Then that person may be able to disciple others.  

        It may seem like a lot of responsibility on one person, but that is our call as believers.  Without discipleship, people come to faith by hearing the gospel, but the seed is scattered on the path, along rocky ground, or among thorns.  We want to plant the seed purposefully, and that requires cultivating the soil and supporting the growth from the seed until it's healthy.  

         Matthew 13:3-8~ "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched.  And since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."  Jesus explains the parable in Matthew 13: 19-23~ "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.  This is what was sown along the path.  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has not root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.  As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it.  He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty and in another thirty."  

        Only Jesus can change lives.  But He does give us the command to make disciples.  I want to make sure I am doing my absolute best in planting good seed on good soil that becomes fruitful.  If you are not currently discipling someone, ask God to reveal who He would like you to come along side of. This discipling relationship isn't daunting, it's rewarding.  It's amazing to watch someone young and immature in their faith, grow into a strong believer.  And since you are the support until they are healthy enough to stand on their own, you get to watch it all firsthand! The great news is:  Jesus said, "I will be with you always, to the end of the age."  You are not discipling on your own, for Jesus is the Great Support of you and them!

~Leanne~

Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver when he chose to lead the chief priests, Pharisees and a mob to Jesus in order that they seize Him  Thirty pieces of silver.  What deeply disturbs and saddens my heart is the fact that Judas felt guilty/conviction about his betrayal and wanted to take it back, but it was too late.  All of sudden, when he was thinking clearly, and maybe his heart was in the right place, he wanted to take back his actions- all of a sudden, thirty pieces of silver meant nothing.  It bothered Judas so much that he hung himself.  

        This is an illustration of our choice to follow or reject Jesus.  Judas had a choice, and so do we.  Judas chose in a moment to reject Jesus, for thirty pieces of silver.  What do you reject Jesus for?  An ungodly relationship? Popularity?  Fame and fortune?  The freedom to sin without conviction?  What I want us to learn here is this:  When Judas realized his mistake, it was too late.  There will come a day when "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord."  Even if you reject Jesus now, you will bow down to Him as your King when He returns.  If you reject Him now, you will know- like Judas did- that you made a mistake.  But the problem is, Jesus is returning to gather His children together and bring them to heaven with Him.  The ones that rejected Him, will be cast into hell.  At the time He reveals Himself to the world, you can't try to get out of your punishment.  You can't say, "I believe, I believe- now that I see You, and You have proven yourself, I believe!  Jesus has shown us who He is in His word- the Bible.  Jesus didn't stoop to the Pharisees and chief priests when He was on the cross and could have saved Himself as they mocked.  Yes, OF COURSE He could have.  But He was not going to be manipulated by man to please them, when His purpose was to fulfill the Father's plan and please Him.  Jesus doesn't need to show you signs and wonders to prove Himself to you.  You need to take responsibility and know the Jesus you are rejecting by learning about Him in the Word, especially the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  

        What have you or do you reject Jesus for?  For Judas it was thirty pieces of silver.  Thirty pieces of silver that meant nothing to him once he realized his mistake in betraying Jesus.  Whatever you reject Jesus for, will mean nothing when you realize that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the King.  I hope for your eternal sake, that you will realize this before it's too late, before you die or Jesus returns. 

~Leanne~

"My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."  

        I am humbled by this statement Jesus made in His intimacy with God.  Jesus knew His destiny, His purpose.  Jesus came to the earth to bear the sins of the world on the cross.  His purpose was to give freedom through his sacrifice.  Instead of us paying the price for our sin, Jesus received the "cup" from God on the cross so that we would just have to let Jesus have full dominion in our lives instead.  The cup is referring to God's wrath.  All the wrath that would have been poured out on mankind for sin, poured out on Jesus on the cross.  Jesus was perfect.  I am a sinner.  And all my punishment was shown to Jesus.  If you are familiar with the Old Testament, you see the wrath of God displayed to many people who sinned against Him.  Yet, God said, 'That is enough.  Jesus is going to die and pay the price'.  I haven't gone into too much detail about this because the point I want to make in this article is this:  Jesus knew what was coming.  He knew the extent of his persecution.  He knew the magnitude of the pain He was going to bear.  He knew the depth of God's wrath that was coming.  Of course He wasn't fond of the idea- He was human!  What person could say, "Oh yes, God, please- bring it on! I can't wait!" No one.  Yet Jesus knew that the love of the Father was perfect.  And although Jesus didn't want to undergo what was coming {if it be possible, let this cup pass from me...} He also said, "Not as I will, but as you will."  Friends, this is crucial for us!  None of us is going to experience persecution and suffering as Jesus did, yet He was willing to submit to the Father's will.  Jesus could have gotten out of it.  He could have done the signs and wonders that the chief priests wanted Him to earlier in Matthew to prove who He was.  Jesus could have called out to the angels, and they would have come and demolished every single one of the people crucifying Him.  Heck, He could have just thought it and it would have been done- He doesn't need angels.  He could have proved Himself, but that's not His character.  Just like He doesn't need to prove Himself to you and me, He didn't do it to them either.  He is who He says He is, and that needs to be enough.  He knew what was coming, and yet He allowed God's will to be done.  As I said, none of us will ever go through what He did, yet some of us are so quick to run from God's plan because FOR SOME REASON we don't completely trust it!  What would have happened if Jesus didn't submit to God's plan, and fled?  I want you to honestly work that out in your mind.   Whose will are you living under?  Yours?  God's?  If God is perfect and you are not, what makes you think your plan is better than His?  Of course if we were in Jesus' predicament, not knowing the reason for his crucifixion, it would have been devastating, and more than likely you would have questioned God and fled.  But look at the purpose and plan God had!  We have freedom because of this event!  What puny thing compared to this are you struggling with submitting to God's rule and plan instead of yours?  I don't mean to offend you, but WHATEVER you are going through, it IS puny in comparison to Jesus going through what He did.  God's will is always perfect, therefore making it a much better choice for you to surrender to.  Put aside your plan, and let God do what He does best, in directing you, blessing you, and bringing you closer to Him.  Yes, sometimes we need to experience pain in order to receive His full blessing, and I don't always understand why, but I do know- from experience- that EVERY time I have went through suffering, I have been closer to God, grown more in Him and seen Him more clearly because of it.  
        I challenge you to spend some quiet time, right now, with your Father.  What do you need to surrender to Him?  Where are you still trying to hold the reigns?  Are you okay with His will- whatever that looks like? Be honest with Him, and do the best for yourself.  Surrender it all.

~Leanne~

    "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.  Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'  And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

       "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.   For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothed me, sick and  in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'  Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

        I wanted you to read this text again, as it really strikes deep in my heart and I hope it does yours as well.  This is our call as true believers in Christ- to reflect the love of Jesus by providing the needs of others.  Obviously you should provide first for your own household, but you should make room to provide for the needs of people that God places in your path.  In Leviticus 23:22 it says this: "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner: I am the LORD your God."   Today we can put this into practice by not using up our entire paychecks, but putting some aside to provide for needs that the Lord shows to you.  I know, life is hard, and money doesn't seem to stretch as far as it should- but then think about the people who have less than you do!  Think of how far their money goes.  We are always comparing ourselves and trying to level with the people who are one financial bracket above us instead of realizing how much we do have, and providing for those less fortunate.  This is a very selfless thing to do, so if you have any pride or bad attitude about this, I would encourage you to pray for selflessness.  If your belongings or money mean so much to you that you are not willing to give up some of your extra, or even sacrifice some of your own wants, for the hungry, thirsty, naked- then you might just be a goat that Jesus will separate from His righteous children.  It also could be that you need to pray and ask God to change this part of your heart that is unwilling to sacrifice or give.  In all honesty, I used to be a very selfish person- still can be at times- but God has really pruned me in this area specifically.  I think the turning point for me was my trip to Haiti.  Seeing the joy people has out there with nothing, and seeing how discontent I was with so much.  My heart was chasing after the things of this world that look pleasing to the eye, but they are very displeasing to the heart.  Now I can honestly say that I have sacrificed in a small way things or money when I've seen a need.  And to be even more honest, the giving does a lot more in me than it does to the person who receives it.  

    I'm not saying you need to take a trip to a country like Haiti to prune this part of you out, but that's the way God started His work in me.  Jesus does not want us to hold back when we face a need of somebody we know, especially in our own church family.  But also what a great witness to a nonbeliever when we give up what the world tells us to hold on to so tightly!  Maybe you don't have extra money and aren't comfortable with sacrifice, but what about the umpteen totes of clothes that you have that you hope to one day wear?  Or the umpteen boxes of baby clothes that were given to you that you may never use again?  Maybe you don't have any extra money because you own the latest iphone, have direct tv, own 3 vehicles, a motorcycle, a boat, etc., etc., etc..  I challenge you to ask Jesus, what can I give?  What can I sacrifice in order that I'm able to give?  Who can I provide for?  Our salvation is not based on how many people we provide for, or how much money we give, but the result of a saved heart should be that of love, giving and sacrifice for others.  Do you want to be on Jesus' left or right when He separates the people?  Do you want to be a goat or a sheep?

~Leanne~

 If you knew when Christ would return would that change the way you live?  I often hear from seekers that they aren't "ready" to become Christian, and it pertains with the things that would change in their life if they did.  The sad thing that most of them don't realize is that becoming a Christian isn't a bad thing with no fun attached, it is in fact a life of abundant blessing!  Of course, there is sinful fun that gets pruned out of you, but only because God wants to deliver us from the consequences of the sin.  He knows that in sin, there is pain, mistakes and death.  When a seeker says they aren't ready and will choose to follow God when they're time is right, they aren't considering that it shouldn't be by their watch, but that of the world and it's end.  We don't know the day or hour in which Jesus will return, but I wouldn't want to sit before Him and say, "Jesus, I just wasn't ready yet!  I wanted to indulge in sin a bit longer..."  Of course, following Jesus is a choice, and a choice that should be made in all seriousness and all awareness of the cost of following Him.  

        How about for the believer?  Of course you don't have too worry about making the decision to follow Jesus before He returns, because you've already made the choice.  But how are you living your decision out?  We should, in my opinion, be living out each day as if it's our last: loving people to the best of our ability, taking every opportunity to share the gospel, and also being Jesus' hands and feet in every way we can.  The opportunities for us to obey and serve isn't to secure our salvation, as we know that it is not by our works that we are saved, but by the grace of God.  However, if we don't take the opportunity to reflect Jesus, then who might miss out on hearing or seeing the gospel lived out if we choose to overlook an opportunity or choose to walk away from a situation in which we can serve, love and share the gospel?  Of course God doesn't need us to bring someone to Himself, but He does use us so that we can share in what He is doing, and be blessed also.  Jesus might return in the next hour, and by not taking opportunity placed in our path, we would miss His calling to share the Good News.  

        Since we don't know the day or hour, and unbelievers still exist, we need to act as if we know Jesus is coming soon, to get our hearts in expectation, preparation and obedience to share with the unbelieving in this world before that hour does come and they are without hope.

~Leanne~

Six times Jesus calls the Pharisees and scribes hypocrites.  I hope Jesus doesn't think the same of me!   Why were they considered dishonorable to Jesus?  A few things I want to touch on:

• They didn't practice as they preached.
• They loved to be exalted.
• They were more concerned about what they looked like and did on the outside that their hearts were filthy.

 
    Let's talk about these three items, because I know that all of us in some way resemble a Pharisee in these areas.  They didn't practice what they preached.  How do we do the same?  For me, when a friend faces difficulty, I encourage them to continue to trust God and His plan.  But then what about when times get tough for me?  Oh, I know the thing to do is surrender to Christ and His ways, but you think I do it right away?  Sometimes I question God as to why He allows certain things or I try to pry out of Him another part of His plan. Honestly though, I am glad He keeps the whole plan quiet until the perfect time, otherwise it would be a lot harder to trust Him with the big picture rather than one step at a time.   In what areas do you not act in your life that you encourage others to act in theirs?

    They love to be exalted.  I think the desire to be exalted is a very natural, human thought.  Jesus asks to be different, He asks us to be humble.  The way that I struggle with this, is pointing out something I did, instead of waiting for someone to notice, if they do at all.  My purposes of doing something should not be to receive praise, but rather to glorify God in all I do.  If I do something to bring glory upon myself, it is sin.   How do you exalt yourself?  The one thing I have noticed is when I do exalt myself, Jesus does humble me, just as He says in verse 12.  Being humbled is not a great feeling, but a necessary part of maturing in your walk with Him.  If we don't learn humility, then our pride is too big to let God be in control. 

    They were more concerned about what they looked like and did on the outside that their hearts were filthy.  Just like the Pharisees, we try to clean up our act, without changing our hearts.   We can tidy up the act, but if our hearts aren't cleaned, then our hearts will overflow with some other filth that we will try to clean up.  Our life will continue in a circle of cleaning up the outside, over and over again, while the heart remains unclean.  God would rather us be a mess on the outside, and honestly surrender our hearts to God so He can wash them clean, then us to pretend we are clean and really be a mess.  Remember, God will get glory for hearts being cleaned, and once the hearts are cleaned, the outside becomes cleaner too.  We can make it look like our hearts are in order by tidying up the outside, but it doesn't matter what it looks like.  A person can look clean on the outside, but if they're filthy on the inside, like the Pharisees, then their eternal home will not be heaven.   For me, this is when I had a secret porn addiction.  I was leading worship, on a leadership committee and in a leadership role at a church and I was watching pornography.  Sure, I looked really clean on the outside, but I was a disaster on the inside.  If any of you know me personally, I am not typically a person to work on tidying up the outside while keeping the inside a mess.  I really do try my best at giving Jesus my all- and allowing Him to clean my heart up.  I do as He asks even when it's humbling and uncomfortable, and even though I may be a mess on the outside, I know that my outward appearance will change once my inside is properly cleaned.   How does your heart look?  How do you appear?  Transparency is a great testimony to what God is doing in you. People see the mess, but they also see God clean it up.  I encourage you to be different than the Pharisees. 


~Leanne~

 "Love your neighbor as yourself," sounds easier said than done.  "I love my neighbor!" you say.  Okay, that's great- but what about the people you see on a regular basis that you aren't so fond of?  Consider also those to be your neighbors.  What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?  Well for one thing, treating them as you would want to be treated.  But it goes so much farther than that.   How many of us would do something for ourselves- but not for another person?  Those are the things you should do for your neighbor.  Things unordinary.  Love them.  Show the love of Jesus through your actions.  Remember the people Jesus spent His time with while on earth- tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners, the outcasts- people you wouldn't exclaim, "I love my neighbor!" about.  It was Jesus' action of love toward the unpopular that showed the true love of Christ.  Anybody can love the popular, rich, funny, good-looking, intellectual.  But it's the choice to love those who wouldn't naturally be in our friend circle or on our guest list.  We tend to view these people as unworthy of our attention, care or conversation.  But again, it was these people that Jesus reached out to and that he calls us to reach out to.  The key part about this verse isn't the "neighbor" but rather "love as yourself".  Jesus isn't asking us to be friendly to our neighbors, but to love them as ourselves. What does that mean for you?  For me, it was taking a homeless man for lunch.

        Actually I'll back up a bit, because it first started with me joining him on the sidewalk.  I worked at a salon in downtown MooseJaw and there was this guy who would sit on a bench and play old hymns on his guitar and sing along.  Usually I would walk on the other side of the street to get to my favorite lunch spot, Nit's Thai Cuisine.  But the Lord started a work on my heart, and I started walking by him.  I never dropped change into his guitar case, but one day I sat with him and sung along.  You should have seen the looks of astonishment.  I was a hairdresser, on a lunch break- so I was dawled up and lookin' my best, sitting beside an older, slobby man who had no teeth and wore the same outfit most days.  I spent a few lunch hours with Lawrence.  At times, it was hard, to not be embarassed or feel uncomfortable.  But this guy was singing hymns to God and I was gonna judge him because of what social status he had?  There was a day when I cried to Joey (we were dating and in college at the time), because I knew the Lord was doing a work in me by spending my time with Lawrence, and it was a good work that he did.  There was a day when the Lord pressed me even further, and one day as I was passing by Lawrence to go Nit's Thai Cuisine, I asked if he would join me.  That was an interesting lunch (and a long one for a guy who had no teeth!).  We didn't have much to talk about, it was definitely awkward, but I truly loved this guy, and it was a love that had been given to me from my Father.

        By this story, I'm not saying I have it together, because today, I would probably be challenged by the same insecurity of putting my reputation on the line to spend with a man like Lawrence, but I was loving him, like I love myself. Honestly, I enjoyed it. It even brings tears to my eyes now, because I know that my fear of people's persecution was greater at that time than my desire to love another human being.  God changed my heart and uprooted some of that fear, and planted seeds of a love that I never had before.

        If there is someone that has been placed on your heart, I would encourage you to ask God to show you and teach you how to love that person.  It might be uncomfortable at first, but you will be pruned on the inside for His work and displaying His love.  It's worth it.  

~Leanne~

 In the first part of this chapter, we are introduced to what we know today as "Palm Sunday".   The picture is this:  Jesus, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.  With each step the donkey takes, the branches underfoot are snapping.  The entourage of people surrounding Jesus' entry shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"  The crowd worshiping Him, and knowing of His greatness, laid branches from the nearby trees so that the donkeys hooves would not touch the dirt road leading into the city.  They laid "a red carpet" so to speak.  People who were watching this crowd enter their city were wondering, "Who is this?"  

        The Jews were waiting for a king to come.  They weren't sure who, but they probably painted a picture of what this king would be.  For the people to be worshiping Jesus as they were, portrayed Him to be the "king" they were told would come.  But a king riding in on a donkey, with a foal near it's side?  They expected this "messiah" to save them from the hand of their enemies, to be strong, courageous, with sword!  But this King, rode into Jerusalem humbly on a donkey.  Not quite a picture of royalty.  But everything Jesus did was purposeful.  He didn't ride in on a great white horse for a reason.  He was being an example.  He did not come to be served, but to serve.  People couldn't put faith in his mighty valor.  People couldn't put faith in his exceptional royal image.  People couldn't put faith in his bold fighting ability.  People needed to trust that He was who He said He was.  People needed to have faith in things hoped for, things unseen.  Jesus was a man when he was entering Jerusalem.  He was not wearing a crown of gold and precious gems.  He isn't wearing armor either.  He was just a man- yet He claimed He was the Son of God.  He drove out demons.  He made a fig tree wither.  He walked on water.  He made blind men see, deaf men hear, and mute men speak.  Although He wasn't the king they were waiting for, He was the King that they needed.  And instead of being the flashy, proud, indignant "king", He was the humble, serving, loving King.  There were definitely skeptics, just as there are today.  But those who put their faith in Him as their King, and followed Him, could live in His freedom and saving grace.  

        Living in freedom and in His grace is one of the many substantial gifts from God for following His Son.  Having faith in something we can't see, but choose to submit to, is not a decision to be made lightly.  It will change your life.  As we grow in our relationship with Him, our faith in who He is grows as well.  Our knowledge and understanding of His great attributes becomes clearer and more attainable at the personal level.  Let me explain: When we mourn, we learn He is the Great Comforter.  When we are sick, we learn He is the Great Healer.  When we sin, we learn He is the Great Redeemer.  When we are struggling financially, we learn He is the Great Provider.  This list goes on and on.  God is so beyond anything we could ever grasp that He is everything.  He calls Himself, "I AM".  It's perfect, because it completes who He is.  As I was saying, the more we learn about Him, the more we can trust Him, the more our faith develops.  When our faith develops, it's usually through the hard times that we learn to just trust God and not our circumstances, and our faith usually multiplies, because God reveals more of His character to us.   When our faith deepens, we learn to ask God for things only faith in Him could ask for.  We know that what we ask for aligns with His will because we have surrendered our plans to His.   This is what I believe Jesus' point was in verses 21-22~ "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.  And whatever you ask for in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." Do you have this kind of faith that Jesus was talking about?  Are you completely surrendered to Jesus in every  area of your life?  What things would God do in you and through you if you just had enough faith?  For encouragement, read Hebrews 11- the "faith" chapter.

        Now I ask you to be bold and kneel before God and ask Him, "Where is my faith lacking?  What area of my life is not completely surrendered to You?"  God will answer.  Your job? To take action!


~Leanne~

  I love Jesus.   I especially love when He teaches things that are completely against how the world practices and preaches things.  You always hear the world promoting greatness and success.  Jesus does the opposite.  He says, "So the last will be first, and the first last."  He also says, "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave..."   Jesus who was the Greatest, came to serve not to be served.  This is the example we must follow as believers.  But how do we become a servant?  A verse that I always remind myself of because of my selfish nature is this:

Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 

            I really think that to be a servant, means to think of yourself as a humble servant.  Have the mindset of 'How can I serve this person today?' not, 'How can they serve me today?'  I know that sounds silly, and most of us don't ponder how we can be served in a day, but our selfish nature demands that others do just that!  When we see a way in which we could serve someone, often we bolt out the door with a rhyme or reason for needing to leave.  Maybe you don't relate.  Honestly, this is my nature.  I am not a great servant.  I think God has definitely done a heart change in me the last few years and I am much more willing to serve today than I would have a few years ago, but it's not about the action of serving, but rather the condition of the heart.  I know, I know, I always talk about the heart!  But that's because that's the heart of the matter!  {no pun intended!}  Jesus doesn't care about our actions, if our hearts are not truly in it.  Remember what He said about the Pharisees? 

Matthew 15:7-9

[Jesus speaking] "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

            The Pharisees honored God with what they said, but their hearts were not surrendered to Him.  We can say all we want.  We can do all we want.  But if our hearts do not belong fully to Jesus, then what we say and what we do is meaningless.  

            So, where is your heart at?  Do you have the heart of a servant?  Do you see yourself as better than others?  James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  Let us then be humble before God and others.  Let us not conform to the world with "bettering ourselves" but rather,  serve other people to better them.  How can you serve someone today?  What attitudes do you need to change?  


~Leanne~                        

"Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven."

        There are many that would get angry at this verse, and it's because you are rich or your goal in life is to be rich.  Regardless of your feelings toward this passage, it remains truth.  Looking back at the story of the young ruler... the man asked Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life.  As christians we know it is nothing you do. {Ephesians 2:8-9~ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. -NIV-} He followed all the laws of the Old Testament, yet Jesus said it wasn't enough.  Jesus exhorted him to sell all his possessions and give the income to the poor, then follow Him.  Why?  Jesus knew that his identity wasn't in Him, it was in the things he had and his wealth.   Jesus knew this man's heart did not belong to Him, but rather his actions were just to look holy on the outside.  You can't serve two masters.  It's either Jesus or money.   It's either Jesus or your job.  It's either Jesus or your family. That's why in verse 29 it says, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life."  Jesus is not asking you to leave your family, your job, your home or your country for the heck of it.  But if any of those cause you to worship them before Him, or if any of them hinder your relationship with the Father, then He is commanding you to leave them behind.  

        Where is your treasure?  What does your heart long for?  Money or Jesus?  If you can identify with this verse and feel conviction, respond to it.  Jesus also said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  If your identity and security is in wealth, God can change that- but you have to be willing to give up your possessions.  Anything that hinders your walk with Jesus, anything that is too important to you that you wouldn't want to give up, are the very things that you should.  There is possibility that you can enter the kingdom of heaven, but you have to submit your entire being, everything you have, every one of your plans, for His plan and purpose for your life.  So I ask you:  Where is your identity found?  What do you treasure?  What is your security in?  Are you like the rich young ruler?  If so, will you respond differently than he did?

~Leanne~

 "For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

            Does Jesus actually mean that if my faith was deep enough I could literally move a mountain?  Honestly, I'm not sure!  Obviously in my human mind it seems impossible, but then again, with God all things are possible!  My point here isn't to figure out if we can or cannot move a mountain with enough faith, but rather to challenge you on thedepth of your faith.     Jesus in this statement, was still implying that with faith things are possible.  In the Bible, faith is what brought miraculous healing,  what parted the Red Sea, what allowed the ark to be built!  The Bible is full of men and women of faith.  It would be a great study in your personal time.  Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."  Is God pleased with your faith?  Has God asked you to anything by faith?  Did you obey?  

            The Lord has asked me to do a few things in faith.  Here are a couple examples:

1. This website.  If you read Why the Site? [/why-the-site.html], you will understand the purpose for which I started this 10 1/2 months ago.   It first started off as me using a free Google site that I just used as a personal site, not sharing with anyone.  Then it was laid on my heart the purpose for which God asked me to go public, and that was to share Jesus and how He prunes me.  The faith came when I had set up the site and had posted my first blog (which has been permanently deleted accidently).  The moment when I had all my Facebook friends- all three hundred some- invited to see my blog.  The moment of faith- and the moment I received much opposition from the evil one- was when I clicked on "Send".   This was a big deal for me.  In high school I was very insecure.  I cared a lot of what people in high school thought of me.   It was my identity.   And all of a sudden, what God was asking me to do was of way more importance than what any of them would think of me.  I'm sure many of them think I'm a fool, but I know the King, and to reject Him is a lot more foolish.  
2. Go off birth control.  Joey and I had been married almost 4 years and God laid it upon our hearts for me to get off birth control.  I had been on it several years and it was a measure of security I had placed my trust in.  Joey and I at the time had thought about having children, but had decided we weren't sure if we wanted any at that time or at all.  The burden from God was so heavy, that we knew it was something serious God wanted us to obey.  So we did.  We prayed and surrendered our plan for our lives to Him.  By faith, we were trusting that God's plan was better than our plan.  And it was.  I got pregnant almost a year after we stopped using birth control.  We now have two precious little ones:   Oskar, 2 and Mischa, 7months. 
3. Moving to Barronett.  Two and a half years ago, we moved to Barronett, WI.  We started feeling stirred to move north (from Fond du Lac, WI) about a year or two before we moved.  We had our own reasons why we thought it might be a good idea, but God knew there was a much bigger plan.  It was hard to move.  On one hand we were excited to start in a new place (of 100 people, by the way!)  but it really hard on the other- we were leaving family, good friends, our favorite city that we've lived, a nice house, conveniences, comforts, our church- lots.  But the leading to move here was strong, and we couldn't resist.  Since we've moved here, the Lord has used people from our church and the church itself to develop much deeper roots in Jesus.  Since there isn't much to do in a town of 100, we also have had much time to spend with Him, and He has pruned us right back to the branches.  God has changed us so much since we've been here.  He has given us new purposes in life, been building us as leaders, challenged us to live by faith- even more than we thought, and given us great people to speak into our lives.  We are new people. 

           
         Without faith, many things are impossible.  God uses our faith to move in us.  When we step in faith and God shows up and does something divine, it draws us so much closer to Him.  It allows us to take bigger steps.  It allows God to do bigger things.  He wants us to trust Him.  Remember when God asked Moses to speak to Pharoah in Exodus 4, and Moses told God that he wasn't a good speaker, use someone else.  Even after God said, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."  That is amazing!  God was asking Moses to have faith, and trust in Him rather than in himself, but Moses did not obey.  He asked God to use someone else.   

            What stories of faith do you have?  Do you have memories of not obeying God asking you to trust Him?  I encourage you to take a small step of faith today, and ask God to give you more faith.  Ask Him to give you an opportunity to trust Him.   When He asks you to have  faith, trust Him, and obey.  It has always been a blessing to be obedient.  God wants to do great things in and through us, but it requires us to have faith and do what He asks. 

I would love to hear some of your faith stories, email me at feedback@pruningme.com with them!


~Leanne~

 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?"  {Matthew 16:26}

            We all have dreams.  Some are bigger than others, they change, they grow, they get accomplished.  But to what cost?  Sure, there are some dreams that don't cost much at all like; skydiving, running a marathon, getting down to a certain weight or seeing the ocean.  But what about bigger dreams like; travelling the world, building your dream home, owning your favorite car, graduating with a degree in something you love, owning a business, etc. ?  We all have dreams- some are attainable, some are not.

            When God created man, we were created to be in a relationship with Him.  We were created in His image, and He is the only one that completes our longings for satisfaction and contentment.  Sure, money can buy happiness, but only temporarily.  God's love quenches the hunger and thirst that pangs the deepest parts of our being.      The sad thing is, many people in the world realize this hunger and thirst, but don't understand that God is the only One who can satisfy it.  Instead, they go chasing after their dreams, hoping they might just get enough and be content forever.  But it doesn't end there.  Some people try and fill this void with a career that they can be successful in.  Hoping that once they climb the corporate ladder, and manage people under them, have their own business card with an office facing the ocean that they will no longer have this desire for something.  Except you can't find your identity in who you are at the office, that job will one day end.  Then who are you? Some people try and satisfy this emptiness with a relationship, expecting the person to fulfill their craving for something.  Except it is not humanly possible for a person to fill this spot- so many end the relationship/marriage thinking they didn't find the "one" and search for that perfect person.  They don't exist.   Some people have a list of things they want to own in their lifetime, and since they are just feeling this daunting emptiness, they go in debt and buy everything on that list, thinking that if they owned everything they ever want, they wouldn't have that longing for something.  Except life gets even worse when they realize they are broke, and still unhappy.  

            You can fill your life with anything and everything and it will bring temporary joy, sure- but at what cost have you pursued this happiness that will end all too quickly?  You waste you energy, time and money seeking to obtain the perfect career that makes you tons of money so that you can travel the world, buy everything you ever wanted and offer a relationship to some other desperate person on the same dead end trail.   

            Nobody lies on their deathbed and wishes they bought more.  God doesn't say, "Wow, you were really successful on earth, buying this and that, working overtime every day- I think you earned your ticket to heaven."  God will say however, "You invested your time, energy and money in the wrong thing."   The Bible doesn't say the way to life is to buy all you can and be all you can be.  But rather, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, nobody goes to the Father except through Him.  {John 14:6

           "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" Matthew 6:19-24 says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If you are trying to fill the void in your heart with things, the things might reward you for a time, but when the day comes that you die, your things will not save you- you will have forfeited your soul to obtain them.  If you fill your heart with Jesus and allow Him to satisfy your deepest hunger,  you will be truly satisfied, and your soul will one day meet Him.

~Leanne~

In verse 8, Jesus quotes a prophesy from Isaiah 29:13~

"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me..."

            Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who were so "religious" that they made rules in addition to the laws already outlined in the Old Testament.  They wanted to be so holy and "clean" that they concentrated more on the rules rather than the relationship with their Creator.   How often do we do this in our lives?  We speak as if we are living out lives pleasing to the Lord, but then we act as if we are living to please the world.  If you feel conviction, you aren't the only one.  We all do this in some shape or form.  For me, I still struggle with the desire to be approved by people.  Of course, I want God to be approving of me too- but it should end there.  I should not aim to please people, I never will.  Galatians 1:10 says, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?"  Just this past Wednesday, I read a small devotional from The Word for You Today.  On this day I read, "Those who love you today may loathe you tomorrow." What a truth!  We can never completely please man, because people, in our sinful nature, tend to love conditionally.  Even if you are doing your best to love others and serve them as Jesus would, there are still people you will never please.  So instead, of wasting you time on something that doesn't really matter anyway, put all your efforts into loving and pleasing Jesus!  I'm not saying not to love others or serve others- that's our duty as Christians- to let the Light of Jesus shine through our good deeds {Matthew 5:16}.  But if we live to please men we will never be satisfied.  Only God can give us that satisfaction and approval.  

            There are some that say they love Jesus, but continue to live in unrepentant sin.  For me a few years ago, this was drinking and porn.  For ten years ago that was promiscuity and drugs. I confessed with my lips to love Jesus, but my actions failed to prove that.  In fact, according to my actions I was rejecting Jesus.  How can I go to church on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday are slanderous, sexually immoral and drunk?  There are people who love the thought of going to heaven, but don't love the thought of changing their behavior to do so.  People don't like to think of themselves spending eternity in hell, but also don't want to commit to Jesus' rule in their lives.  Friends, neither of these can be so. To follow Jesus means to let Him rule in every area of your life...not just on Sundays.  You can come to him messy- full of sin, but if you decide and commit honestly to Him, He will clean up the mess and make you blameless before Him.  Justification happens once you choose to surrender to Jesus.  Sanctification is a process. Over your lifetime, sin will be revealed to you that you must choose to repent of to stay in right position before God.  But when you choose to live in repentance, Jesus irradicates sin as you repent.  I no longer am a drunkard.  In fact, October 13th will be 3 years sober.  I am no longer a druggie.  In fact, I am high on the Spirit of God.  I am no longer a porn addict.  But I am completely in love wth my husband and am trying to build godly intimacy between us.  I am no longer a slanderer.  But God is [still] working on my tongue and teaching me to bless others with it.  But honestly, I tried to work on these things by myself, and it didn't work until I surrendered under God's complete rule for my life- obeying all that He commands me. 

            How do you honor Jesus with your lips, but reject Him with your heart?  Jesus wants our hearts, and by surrendering our hearts to Him, our lips will praise Him as a result of it.  Jesus said that the Pharisees and scribes who were very religious people, had lips that honored him but hearts that were far from Him.  He also called them hypocrites in verse 7.  Do you want Jesus to call you a hypocrite? In Matthew 23 Jesus exhorts the Pharisees and scribes and as he does so, says, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.  For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in." [emphasis mine]  So not only does Jesus call them hypocrites, He also said they will not enter heaven.  As a reminder, what did they do?  They honored Jesus with their lips, although their hearts were not surrendered to Him.  

            What do these words do to you?  Do you feel conviction?  I encourage you to go there.  Repent.  Ask Jesus to make you clean.  If you were like me a few years ago, confessing to know or love Jesus but proving with your actions that He wasn't your king, do you truly love Him?  Are you truly saved?  I can't answer that for you, only you can. 

~Leanne~ 

   First, lets talk about the one thing that was mentioned twice in this chapter- alone time.  Verse 13 says, "...he withdrew from there...to a desolate place by himself." And in verse 23, "...he went up on the mountain by himself to pray...he was there alone." Why do you think Jesus isolated himself?  Well we learn that he got himself alone in verse 13 after he heard of John the Baptist's death.  Jesus probably wanted time to mourn his friend's death.  His mind was probably buzzing after teaching so many people for such a long stretch.  He was a busy man.  Although I'm sure our busyness cannot even come close to how much Jesus was demanded of, there is a lesson to learn from Him.  We need alone time.  Not just to quiet our minds, having no distractions, but also to pray (verse 23).  I'm not sharing with you my example for you to copy how I get alone time, but with two young kids, I try to have my alone time before they get up in the morning- and they get up anywhere from 5:30-6:30am.  So sometimes, if I haven't had a rough night with the kids getting up, I try to wake up at 4:30.  Yes crazy- but you should see how crazy I get if I don't have alone time with my Father!  You don't want to see me crazy!  Your quiet time alone might be at night before bed, on your lunch hour, or in the early mornings like me- but I encourage you to make it a priority.  If you live just a regular life- going to work, staying home with the kids, going to school- whatever it is, you have noise all around you.  You have voices speaking to you at different volumes in every minute of every hour.  When are minds are full of this noise that comes from the world, we need to get in a place of seclusion so that we can hear the One Voice that matters.  Time with your Father is crucial in keeping sanity in this chaotic world, rest in the busyness of life and staying on His path rather than following the loud voices booming from the world.                

            Second, let's talk about Jesus feeding five thousand men, not including women and children- with FIVE loaves of bread and TWO fish!  If we add the women and children into the equation, we are probably talking about 20,000 people!  We can picture a multitude of people who follow Jesus into a desolate place, and at the end of the day, instead of sending the people away, he chooses to feed them.  The only thing that seems to be a problem?  A young man from the crowd only has 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, as we learn in the Gospel of John.  Hmmm. Now, if you do the math, you can't feed 5000 or 20,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  But Jesus does something only He can do.  He looks up to heaven, and asks God to multiply what they have.  Not only did He feed all the people there, but there was also some left over!  How amazing was that?  Notice, also that before He asked God to do something divine, He had the disciples gather the people in groups of fifty.  I heard a preacher once mention this neat thought: that before God blessed and multiplied what they had, Jesus and the people got into a position of faith and action.  Instead of gathering in groups and sitting on the grass after the food was provided, they acted in faith- sat in groups, expecting God to show up and provide, and He did.  Even though the disciples may have not known what was going to happen, they obeyed and didn't ask questions when Jesus told them to prepare the people.  That in itself was an act of faith- they trusted that Jesus was going to do something.  What actions can we take in faith to expect God? God wants to provide for us.  He wants to multiply our faith, our love, our devotion to Him among other things.  How can you get into position of faith today?

~Leanne~

 "A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched.  And since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear."

"Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.  This is what was sown along the path.  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.  As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful.  As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it.  He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

        I remember back a few years ago, I was "discipling" a girl whom I led to Christ. (You will find out why I emphasized [what I called] discipling in a bit...)  I wanted to study Scripture with her, so we started out the book of Matthew.  We came upon this passage and studied it further.  The first time I read it then, I was quite confident my life reflected the seed that fell on good soil, and I pointed out to her that she was the seed that fell on rocky ground (Not a very friendly or gracious thing to do).  What is so sad, is that at that time of "discipling" (there I go again!)  I was a porn addict, a severe idolater and a person who found her identity in alcohol.  How could I be properly discipling someone and helping develop the conditions in which seed falls in her life, if my conditions were not healthy?  Just an exhortation: Do not assume you are healthy.  Let others who are more spiritually mature confirm your growing conditions.  

      Where is your heart at today?  Do your faith roots go deep, so that when trial and tribulation come, you will stand firm in Jesus?  Of what importance is the world to you?  Are you more concerned at being accepted by the world rather than being accepted by Christ?   Look around you.  Is there good fruit being produced from your life?  If so, this is a good indication that you are good soil, producing a good crop. 

~Leanne~

 "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." If any of you have read my latest article, A Babbling Fool, you will have learned that I struggle with my words, especially when I have been offended.   Regardless of my excuse for speaking harshly- reading this text in the latter part of verse 34, stirred my soul- deep.  If I show lack of integrity when I get upset at someone, what does that say about my heart?  For "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."  Yuck.  So if I spit out words of discouragement, insult or anything that would tear down someone rather than build them up- what then, is to make of my heart?  There's obviously some filth that needs to be worked out.  What comes out of your mouth?  What is your heart overflowing with? Jesus says in verses 36-37, "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

    Let's discuss verse 43-45: [Jesus talking] "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.  Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.  So also will it be with this evil generation."  

    I can totally see how this text  lived out in my life.  When I was addicted to pornography, I would have a day of extreme temptation, and instead of watching for the way out that Jesus provides, I'd surrender to the temptation and sin against God.  After the sin had been done, I would ask for forgiveness, truly sorry for letting myself get in a mess with outright ungodliness.  I would get right with God, clean up my act and get my house"empty, swept, and put in order".  The problem was, I wasn't putting on the armor of God, I wasn't taking precautionary measures to make sure porn wasn't an option anymore- even if that meant getting rid of my computer.  Although I was sorry for what I did, it was more because of the consequences for my action- guilt, confession, shame.  It wasn't because I hated the sin.  Deep to my core, I knew this, and I knew that when tomorrow came, I would struggle with it again, giving in to the temptation.  

    When you don't truly repent, you are still allowing the evil one to have a stronghold on your life.  When a stronghold is on your life, you are allowing the evil spirit to come back with more spirits, making your temptation harder.  Remember, Satan doesn't care what you are doing, but to Whom you are doing it against.  Satan wants you as far away from God as possible.  To bring in more evil spirits means the stronghold is larger on your life.  This text says, "and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first."  It wasn't until I completely surrendered my struggle to Jesus, meaning full repentance- x3watch on my computer (www.x3watch.com) -with my mother and husband being the accountability partners; only use of computer allowed was when my husband was home; if necessary, no use of the computer at all; and cancellation of Netflix.  Some may seem that was extreme.  Yes, it was.  But in order to live a godly life pleasing to Jesus, we sometimes need to take drastic measures to maintain purity.  That's what I had to do.  Since I had on the full armor of God in addition to taking extreme precautions, I began to honestly hate the sin.  My repentance at that time was sincere, so the evil spirits had to leave, and I didn't invite them back.  I have been porn-free now for over two years.

    Are you aware that your sin, if not repented for, invites the evil one to have strongholds on you?  Have you experienced temptation like mine, where it seemed that every time you went back into a particular sin, you noticed the temptation to be greater?  Is your house "empty, swept and put in order" or have you allowed Jesus to completely cleanse it?  There's a difference when we just tidy up, and when Jesus comes in and makes it clean.  What is the Holy Spirit pointing out to you today that needs a good "Jesus cleaning"?  Confess and repent today.

~Leanne~

   "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  

                    Okay, so you understand the first sentence of this verse:  Jesus is inviting you to come to Him for rest if you labor and are weighed down by your work.  But what is this "yoke"  Jesus is talking about in the next two sentences?  The term "yoke" describes a device mainly used for working oxen.  Instead of one oxen pulling something heavy behind them, the yoke brings two oxen together.  If the oxen were simply tied to the object they were pulling without a yoke, the oxen might try to pull in opposite directions, causing moving of the object to be unsuccessful, or very difficult.  By attaching a yoke to the oxen, the two animals are not only joined together, but also their direction of movement becomes the same, therefore making pulling the object a much easier task.  When Jesus offers us His yoke, He is saying to us, "Be attached to me, and I will steer you in the right direction.  Not only will you be brought together, but He will also help pull the load of your life.  When conforming to Christ, the burden of life is no longer heavy, but light.  It's not just any person inviting to be your yoke- but God!  He is strong!  His mighty strength will make a difference!  It's not like you were offered a yoke from a scrawny 100 lb boy.  This is God we are talking about, and He has offered to help with your load!  He wants to give you rest and take some of the weight off your shoulders!  Jesus not only says, "Take my yoke upon you," but also "Learn from me".  How can we learn from Jesus in this context?  The two words, "gentle" and "lowly" can also mean humble.  So if humble ourselves, as Jesus is humble, and realize the burden is too heavy for us alone to carry, we will be blessed with His rest.  We will get exhausted if in our pride we think we can carry it all on our own.  We weren't created to do it that way.  When we experience His guidance and rest, I hope we would understand that Jesus wants to be our yoke all the time- not just some of the time.   

                  I think this is where a believer can really find joy in the Lord!  When we go about our day in our own thoughts, in our own strength, facing the challenges and trials of life on our own, we become weighed down- feeling inadequate, worrying about the circumstances we are facing and wondering how we will ever get through life.  When we accept Jesus' invitation to let Him be the Lord of our life, it means we let Him be the yoke too.  We allow Him to be the driving force of our life, steering us in His direction.  When we join Him in His work, the load of life becomes lighter, because He is carrying the weight of it with us, we aren't required to carry it on our own.  When we go in His direction, it is for His purposes and not our endless efforts to please ourselves.  If Jesus is your Lord but you still feel weighed down by the load you are carrying, it's because you are trying to steer yourself, and Jesus in your direction!  Submit, and let Jesus have full reign.  Stop trying to go in a different direction than the one Jesus is guiding you.  If you are trying to carry the load by yourself with the other portion of the yoke empty, ask Jesus to come and take over.  Often times, when I ask Jesus to come, I don't feel any weight, it's as if Jesus is carrying the whole burden! With every situation we face, we have to make sure we surrender our will and let Jesus reign in it.  Allowing Jesus to have complete dominion in our lives gives us rest.   Rest, because He is God, and He will get us through each challenge and trial of life with His strength.  We don't have to waste energy stressing, planning or wondering.  We can rest that Jesus knows, and will direct each step we take.  This rest is a gift to all who acknowledge Him as their Savior and Yoke of their life.  

~Leanne~

      "So everyone who acknowledges me before me, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before me, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."  Many people after reading this verse would say they would never deny Christ, even to the point of death, and I hope that is true, because the consequences of denying Him are severe.  Many know the story of Peter.  Peter was one of Jesus' disciples.  Peter spent tons of time with him.  Peter taught people about him.  Peter saw and experienced him in physical form.  Yet he still denied Jesus.

Matthew 26:69-75~
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."  And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."  And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."  After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you."  Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man."  And immediately the rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."  And he went out and wept bitterly.

                Upon reading this account, we think, "Oh, we'd never do what Peter did!"  But I honestly think many followers of Christ deny Him without intending to.  Denying Jesus doesn't have to imitate the way Peter denied him.  How about that time that you chose not to mention the fact you were going to Bible study that night, when your friends were doing something they had invited you to?  Denying Him comes in many forms.  Peter was a devout follower of Jesus.  He didn't believe in something unseen- Jesus was right in front of him!  Yet, Peter still denied him before men, when his reputation and maybe even life was on the line.  As Christians we will be persecuted.  What will you do when that time comes?  Will you stand firm in your love for Jesus or will you be a coward like Peter and deny Him?

                The result of denying Jesus before men has eternal consequences which far outweigh the persecution you can undergo from man.  Instead of denying Him, we must deny ourselves and fully take up His cross.   Matthew 10:38-39 says, "And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worth of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  Have you surrendered all you know and all you are to Jesus?  This is denying yourself.  You are giving up your self-will and submitting to God's will, no matter what the cost.  And as verses 34-37 talk about, the cost might be acceptance by your own family.  There will be brothers who deny Christ and sisters who embrace Him.  Denying yourself is giving up this life on earth to live for yourself and it's rewards, and embracing the life and purpose God has planned for you, to live for Him and reap eternal reward.  "Taking up the cross" or submitting to Jesus, is an everyday thing.  It's not a one time deal, then hoping to live the rest of your life in peace.  In fact, when you live for Jesus, as we've read in this chapter, we will experience persecution.  And if you don't continually submit to Jesus, you won't stand when you face trials and temptations, if you are trying to face them on your own.  Once you decide to live for Jesus, and you surrender to him daily, living out repentance, Jesus is with you every step of the way.  It doesn't make life easy, but it does bring a sense of God's purpose for everything you face, whether it seems good or bad.  

                Back to Peter-  when Scripture says he "wept bitterly", I believe he re-aligned himself with God's will.  I believe he asked for forgiveness and re-surrendered his life to Jesus, no matter the cost.  I believe this because later in the book of John 21, Jesus has a great conversation with Peter, who is called Simon.  Part of this conversation was this: (Jesus speaking to Peter) "Feed my sheep.  Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." And after saying this Jesus said to him, "Follow me." In Acts, Peter preaches a sermon that God used to save about 3000 people.  It was the beginning of the "church" after Jesus left the earth.   

                Jesus forbids us to deny Him- in our hearts, in our minds, or from our mouths.  Instead, He wants us to deny ourselves and live in the freedom He brings.  When we truly die to ourselves and completely surrender ourselves to Him, He uses us in amazing ways.  Like Peter, you may be apart of seeing many lives changed.  But it takes acknowledging Jesus before men.  How can Jesus use us to share the gospel if we act ashamed of it?  Take this verse with you today:

Romans 1:16~
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes...

                If you want to others to experience freedom and salvation in Christ, then you must not deny Jesus, but proclaim Him!

~Leanne~

 "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;  therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."  The harvest are people who are ready to hear the good news of the gospel.  The problem was that Jesus said there weren't enough people to tell the gospel.  He exhorted the disciples to pray for more people that would share the gospel.  This quote from verse 37 & 38 has been used by missionary organizations as their "slogan".  There are people all over the world who have never heard the gospel.   Some, who have never even heard the name Jesus before!  Although I think there is much need for preaching the gospel all over the world as Matthew 28:19 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." [emphasis mine] I also think there is much need for preaching the gospel in your area.  You have been placed with your spouse (if applicable), in your house, on your street, in your community, at your workplace,  in your town/city, in your country for a purpose- God's.  God's purpose for all his children is to glorify Him and make His name known.  If we know that is our purpose, then why don't we start doing it!  Many of us (including myself) have wondered what our purpose is.  We have prayed and asked Him,  "What do you want me to do?"  He has already shown us in His word what He wants us to do!  [Matthew 28:19, Isaiah 43:6-7, Psalm 86:12, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 96:3, Isaiah 12:4] are some examples.   If you aren't obeying what He has already told you to do, then why would He ask you to do more?  If you're a parent, go here with me:  If your child's chores are to do dishes, feed the cat and take out the garbage, and he is not doing these chores well, lazily or at all,  would you add more chores to his list?  Probably not.  God is the same!  If He has asked you to glorify Him in all you do, do it!  If He has asked you to preach the gospel, do it!  Before He can trust that you will do more for His glory, He needs you to show Him you are faithful with what He already has asked you to do.  Look around.  Ask the Lord, "Who are you calling to yourself, and how can I join you?"  Give everyday to Him and let Him direct it and accept anything that happens in it.  Be joyful, always!  Love others.  Serve others.  Be hospitable.  The Bible is full of things to get doing!  What's amazing, is that by doing- you are preaching the gospel.  Preaching the gospel is not only by your words, but also how your life reflects Jesus being Lord of your life: how you work, how you react, how you love, how you put others first, how you talk, what you watch, how you present yourself, what your treasure is, how you spend money, etc.  

                Let us respond to Jesus in saying, "Jesus send me into the harvest!"  "Use me!"  "Do whatever it is in me and through me!"  "I am yours, and my life is for you alone!"  "Who are you calling, and how can I be apart of it?"  Then watch, listen.  See how Jesus responds to you.  He might send a new friend your way.  He might open a door with an old-time friend.  Someone might ask you for the hope in which you have [Ephesians 1:18].  Be ready. God wants to use those that are willing.  So if you are, be ready to see Him at work!

~Leanne~

  I really wanted to write about Jesus healing the leper, and the significance with it.  I heard an amazing sermon on this story from the Luke 5, by Mark Driscoll at Marshill Church in Seattle.  Instead of writing it, I am going to encourage you to listen to it or read the transcript by Mark who does an amazing job teaching this text. Here are the links:

• marshill.com/media/luke/jesus-heals-a-leper-and-a-paralytic#transcript
  

• marshill.com/media/luke/jesus-heals-a-leper-and-a-paralytic
  

                The second thing I want to write about is verses 18-22, the cost of following Jesus.  Let's start with this: it's not easy.  We get a small picture of this when the scribe said that he would follow Jesus wherever he went, and Jesus said that he didn't have a place to lay down.  Jesus was homeless basically.  Jesus had it rough.  When he wanted quiet time, people followed him.  When he was tired, he couldn't just crawl onto his Simmons Beauty Rest mattress and set his iphone to wake him after he'd had a full eight hours of sleep.  He was sought after by many, and he was a busy man- from the wee hours of the morning to late hours in the day.  The last verse, 22, was unexpected and made me think a sec.  "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."  Jesus was saying, the cost to follow me is greater than the importance of burial. The cost of following me is, everything.  Nothing should get in the way of following Jesus.  If anything does hinder your relationship with Him, set it aside.  That is my story of pruning.  The Holy Spirit has shown me things I need to get rid of, or set aside, because they were getting in the way of my commitment to Him.  There are some obvious ones, although at the time were not as obvious to me: excessive drinking, porn, identity in the wrong things, material idolatry, love of money, time management, laziness, self-image, pride... to name a few.  In all honesty and humility, I have surrendered all these things to Him.  Some I still struggle with at times, but following Jesus is having an ongoing repentant heart.  If one of these starts to creep up on me, I try to repent of it right away so that it does not hinder my walk with Him.  We all have things like this, and the devil knows them well, and will remind you of them on a day you are weak.  He wants you to get caught up in something other than Jesus.  He wants your mind to be dwelling on something so much that you forget to spend your quiet time with the Lord that day.  He wants you to get so busy with the earthly rewards, that you don't have time for heavenly ones.  Friends, I encourage you to sit and pray about this.  Ask Jesus if there is anything that is hindering your commitment to Him.  If there is, are you willing to pay the price to follow Him?  Are you willing to set aside anything that is minimizing your walk with Him?  I challenge you to be honest with yourself.  I was honest with you.  If you are willing, be honest with a trusted friend who can pray and hold you accountable.  If you want to, message me and I can pray along side of you.  Thank you to those who have done this already.  

                The third thing, is when Jesus calms the storm.  Get your imagination out a second... and go with me here for a minute.  Imagine you are a disciple.  First of all, Jesus is the guy you want to be around 24/7.  He is your rabbi.  You love hearing Jesus teach so you follow Him into the boat hoping for a good lesson or two.  Instead, Jesus wanted to take a nap.   After he'd been asleep for awhile, a storm begun.  We're not just talking about a bit of sprinkling rain and a few peals of thunder.   We're talking about winds so violent that the waves were filling the boat up with water.  You look around not sure what to do.  You can barely see through the sheets of rain.  Your shoes are getting wet as they vicious waves are crashing in on the boat.  You look at the others and you can see they are as scared for their lives as you are.  Then it dawns on you to go wake Jesus!  You grab the others and push through the wind and rain to get down below to where He is asleep.  "Master, Master!" you say.  "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." Jesus sat up and looked at you and the others with calmness. "Why are you so afraid, O you of little faith?"  We looked at eachother stil panicked.  Jesus got up and went out to the deck.  He lifted His hands in the air and told the wind and the sea to retract.  All of a sudden, it was calm.  You couldn't believe it!  You thought surely you were going to drown!  The boat had almost been full of water!  You stare at amazement at your rabbi.  You are in awe of His authority over the wind and the sea.  You and the other disciples glanced at eachother in complete astonishment.  One of the other men said, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?" You all nod your heads in agreeance.  

                Even though you weren't a disciple at that time, following Jesus as a man, you are still His disciple, following Him as God.  Even though you aren't in a boat in the middle of the sea when a storm breaks out, where you life is in danger, you are living life on earth, where there are many "storms" that come.  Do you panic and say, "Jesus! Save me!  I'm about to die!"  Do you think the worst will happen?  Do you not trust that Jesus is right there with you in times of trouble?  Do you question whether or not He could protect you?

                What storm are you experiencing right now?  

~Leanne~

 Did you know that to the measure you judge others, you will be judged? Yikes!  For some of us that's pretty serious stuff.  Why is it that we as humans tend to see everyone else's faults but our own?  How do we work on that?  I believe it's a heart issue, and the only thing that can fix the heart, is Jesus.  So, on that note, get closer to Him!  Since you are reading this, then you are on a good path to doing just that.  You are taking time out of your day to study Scripture and be challenged by God who may speak to you through what you read.  Since we learned about judging others today, be mindful of what judgmental thoughts come to mind, and dismiss them to Christ right away.  If you dwell on the negative judgment, you have allowed it to overcome your thoughts.   Let Jesus be Lord of you heart and mind. 

            Upon reading verses 7-11, what were some thoughts you had?  I know a common question regarding this text.  "What if you are praying for something and God just isn't answering!" The text does say if you ask, it will be given to you.  If you seek, you will find.  If you knock, the door will be open to you.  "Then why aren't my prayers being answered? I've asked a hundred dozen times!"  My thoughts are this:  You aren't asking what is best for you. If it was best for you, then God would answer- keeping in mind that He doesn't always answer the way that you think He should. In fact, although it's frustrating at times that He doesn't answer right away, in our timing, and in the way we want, the way God does  answer is way better than we could have hoped for.  He does this because He is our Father and He delights in us.  I love the example of the earthly father and son: "Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?"  Then Jesus continues, " If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"  Precious.  I know it can be frustrating when you feel that what you are asking for is selfless, godly and for His kingdom... but maybe He has other plans. Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord."  In our finite minds, something may seem best- but God is infinite.  He knows the big picture, you are only seeing a scene.  This is where faith comes in that God knows best, regardless of it not making sense to us at the time.  I remember feeling this way awhile ago, and the outcome made the biggest impact on my life.

I had been dating a guy for awhile and I really liked him.  Our relationship went on for a few years, and we talked about marriage often.  However, it seemed as though I was pursuing it, not him.  It seemed I was excited to spend the rest of my life with him, and he did not reciprocate the joy.  I knew he loved me, because he told me all the time.  They weren't empty words, but he definitely could have done better at showing me love. (couldn't we all?) During our relationship, I followed Jesus on and off.  Yet the one thing that I spent hours praying about was that this guy would love me and ask me to marry him.  It was the only thing I ever wanted.   I was angry with the Lord that He wasn't granting my request, even though I spent hours crying and begging Him.  This went on for years.  After about the 6th year of dating on and off, I went to Bible College.  In my mind, this would be a great way for this guy to miss me and realize his love for me and the seriousness of committing to me.  Well, I think he did realize how much he missed me- he called me often at 2 o'clock in the morning, drunk.  At this time, I had begun following Jesus closer than I had before, and although this guy was still doing things that I wouldn't want in a husband, I pleaded with God to change him- make him love me in a godly way.  One day at a "Day of Prayer" at school, God showed me one verse concerning my relationship with this guy.  Isaiah 55:8~  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord."  It was the first time in my life that God spoke loud and clear.  I didn't want it to be true.  I wanted to marry the man of my dreams.  But there was something stirring my heart that knew I needed to take a step of faith and trust that God knew what He was doing.  So that day, I called the guy up and broke up with him for good.  Two weeks later, I met Joey, my present husband (insert super smiley face).  I think all along, God grieved at my desire to want to be with this guy when He knew He had someone greater for me.

Here's a story I hope you can relate to like I can:

                A little girl's birthday was approaching, and all she wanted was a red bike with pink tassles hanging off the handle bars that had a basket on the front.  She had been asking her Daddy for a bike for as long as she could remember, and her Daddy said, "Not yet."  One day, they went out garage saling.  When they pulled up to a sale, the little girl exclaimed, "Daddy! Daddy! There's a bike just like I've always wanted!" They got out of the car, and the little girl dragged her father to the bike right away. The father looked at it and saw that it wasn't quite what she wanted.  It was a yellow, tarnished bike.  It had a basket, but it was old and bent. It did have pink tassles off the handle bars, but half of them were torn off.  "Daddy, it's only five dollars! Oh please, Daddy, please, would you buy me this bike? I would be SO happy!!"  Her father turned to her, bent down to the ground on one knee and said, "No, honey, not at this time." The little girl was so disappointed.  She wondered what she did wrong that her Daddy wouldn't spend five dollars on a bike. "Daddy, I will wash dishes for a month every day, if you buy me this bike!" But her father just shook his head no.  The little girl could see that her Daddy was not mad at her, in fact he looked sad. They left the sale and went home, the little girl didn't to go anywhere else. She looked out the window all the way home with tears rippling down her cheeks. 

                A few days later was her birthday.  When the little girl came out of her room, her parents were waiting to sing her happy birthday in the living room.  She looked around and didn't see any presents.  Her Daddy got up off the couch and grabbed her hand and led her out the front door to the driveway.  There, with a big purple ribbon on it was a brand, new bike.  The red paint even had sparkles in it!  The basket was pink to match the long tassles on the handle bars.  There was even a bell on it with a pretty ring to it.  "Oh, Daddy! Thank you, thank you!  Did you go our shopping later that afternoon after the garage sale?" she asked.  "No honey, I've had this bike hiding in the garage for a couple months.  I just wanted to give it to you on a day we could celebrate."

            The first time I heard this story, I bawled.  I remember connecting my teenage love story to this one, abd how God had a much better plan than my own.  He knew all along that He had something better in store for me, but it wasn't until I was obedient in letting the man of my dreams go that he could give me the man of His  plans.  Just like this father was hurting along with his little girl when she didn't understand he had something greater, our Father grieves when we don't understand His ways at the time. I hope you can relate with this story.  I hope you can bring to God something you have been holding on to.  Something that you have been asking for.   Surrender it to Him.  He might just have something better planned for you. 

            Remember, God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways.  If God isn't quick to answer, be patient.  Continue asking.  Continue seeking.  Continue knocking.  In his timing, and in his way, He will answer.  When He does, trust that however He answers is for His glory and your best. 

~Leanne~

09/18/2012    Do you do good deeds in the presence of others so that they are pleased with your actions?  People may be impressed with your giving, prayer and fasting- but God is not pleased when you do it to impress others.  He wants you to be concerned about pleasing Him.  I think all of us struggle with being approved by others in some realm of our life.  In the context of giving, praying or fasting, it’s hard not to want some recognition of your generosity or persistency in prayer toward another.  We think our “holiness” needs to be known by all- but I think in reality it shows your unholiness, since you are trying to please man rather than God. {Galatians 1:10~ For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?  If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.}  So in essence you are more displeasing than you are pleasing to God. 

                Do you hold unforgiveness against someone?  Jesus says that if you have not forgiven someone, that you are not forgiven.  Friends- this is extremely important!!  If you aren't forgiven, are you truly saved?  If you have not forgiven someone,  I would question whether you understand Christ’s forgiveness.  If Jesus died on the cross for your sins- and the sins of the whole world (sins including murder, rape, idolatry, adultery, sexual immorality) and these sins are forgiven, then how can you say you can’t forgive someone who has wronged you?  Do you think the wrong done against you is greater than all the wrong done against Jesus?  If you have truly received Christ's forgiveness, then you should be able to extend forgiveness to others.  I'm not saying it's an easy task, but I'm saying it is required, if Jesus is your Lord and Savior. {Read Matthew 18:21-35}

                So...what do you store up on this earth?  I love the picture of rust and moths destroying our earthly treasures, because it really emphasizes that what we store up on earth are really just "things".  What are your earthly treasures?  This text tells us to lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven instead- for they have eternal reward.  What does this mean exactly?  Investing in lives.  Loving people. Serving your church body.  Raising your children to know Jesus.  I can say that I used to have a desire to be rich- to have a house full of things.  My parents used to always say that I would have to marry a rich man to fulfill all my dreams.  Did I tell you my husband artificially inseminates cows?  Yeah, not exactly the "rich man" my parents were speaking of.  Although I'm still human and get desires once in awhile for things out of our financial reach, I really have reached a point where I am really content with what I have.  Infact, Joey and I have been downsizing our stuff.  The closer I have grown in the Lord, the more I have realized that the things I once desired, will bring me no happiness. Oh, they might be fun for the first few days... until the excitement wears off and I have a hunger for the next thing on my dream list.  I think many people who store up for themselves treasures on earth, really do seek the "treasure" from these things.  They think it will bring them excitement as if finding the treasure from a childrens treasure hunt.  They have a need to obtain something...but instead of finding a life full of Jesus, they find their things that won't fill the longing they have inside that only Jesus can fill.  I think some of us (including me) sometimes forget that... and remember our earthly desires once in awhile.  I have even gone to buying something, then after I got it home and had it a few days... I still felt empty.  I realize at that moment my wrong impression on these treasures, re-position myself before God... and return whatever it is that I bought.  Some of my treasures include: clothes, shoes, makeup, jewelry, home decor or kitchen anything.  Of course, those are only the treasures I can afford so that's why they are easy to act upon.    I also have the unreachable treasures too- just like everyone else.  The most important part of this lesson from Jesus, I think, is the last verse of this section:  "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Ouch.  Girls especially are so quick to give their hearts away to boys when we are young teenagers.  As grown women, we realize the devastation it does to us.  How quickly do we give our hearts away to our earthly treasures?  What are we willing to do to get those treasures?  What devastation does it bring upon you? If we know this displeases the Lord because we are giving our hearts to something other than to Whom it belongs, does this change your mind about the treasures you are seeking?  Surrender your treasures to the Lord today, and let Him be your treasure. 

~Leanne~

Jesus says that we are "the light of the world".  What does that mean?  If you put a candle on a stand in a dark room, what happens?  You see things that wouldn't be seen if still in the dark. When you receive Him as Lord of your life, He becomes the Light in your life and His light reveals things in your life that wouldn't be seen if still in darkness.  If we follow Jesus, then we also reflect His light to the world.  If we reflect His light, then the reflection of light will also expose things in dark places.  Notice though we simply reflect the light.  The light in us is not as bright as the light He is.  So although Jesus uses our light to reveal things, ultimately when He is asked to be apart of a life, it is His light that completely reveals all.  Being the light of Jesus, it cannot be hidden- just like a city on a hill cannot be hidden.  When you drive at night and are approaching a city, the clouds are lit up with color, reflecting the light from the city.  Even before you see the city parameters, you can see it's light.  May it be so with us.  When people approach us, may we be lit up with the Light of His glory.  His majesty cannot be hidden, and when He is apart of our lives, His light should be obvious.  Are you reflecting His light? 

~Leanne~

"Bear fruit in keeping with repentance" is the line that stood out to me this chapter.  To bear fruit means, to see active growth in you and seeing God's work done through you.  "In keeping with repentance"...Repentance is an ongoing thing.  It isn't something you decide once.  Repentance means to turn away from, have a change of mind from,  choosing to think and live a different way from... SIN. 

        I remember, even just 5 years ago... I had a drinking problem.  I believed in Jesus at the time... have since I was young, but He wasn't the Lord of my life.  Those are two different things.  I believed that Jesus was God.  (But as we have referenced in other studies, James 2:19 says, "Even the demons believe- and shudder!") But I didn't make Him the Lord of my life.  The Bible teaches honesty and truth, so when Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved," it doesn't mean say that Jesus is Lord and not truly make Him Lord  That's what I was doing. I was saying I was a Christian, but Jesus was merely who I believed in, not Whom I served as King.  At the time of my drinking (and porn) problem (among other things) I was sharing the Gospel with my friends.  Except I wasn't a great witness, because my life didn't testify to repentance- the decision to turn away from my drunkenness, and it didn't testify to transformation- the power of the Spirit at work as a result of obedience.  Repentance is our part- choosing holiness and desiring purity.  Transformation is the Spirit's part- abolishing the strongholds we have to sin.  It wasn't until I truly made Jesus Lord, and lived out repentance that I was free from drunkenness and porn.  Some things take time, I understand that, but if you don't choose to repent, you are also choosing to not invite the Spirit to do the work of His power- the transformation.  

    So if you don't see fruit- check your repentance.  I was wondering why I wasn't seeing good fruit come out of my life, both in me, and through me- and it was because I wasn't "keeping with repentance".  This is heavy material.  We should not take this lightly, for Matthew 3:10 says, "Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." 

        What kind of fruit are you producing?  Where are your roots getting nourishment?  How have you seen transformation in your life recently?

~Leanne~