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DEVOTIONAL

Excerpt taken from 'The Last Eyewitness:The Final Week'

Posted on March 29, 2006

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit.” John 15:5 The Voice Bible

“How can you follow Christ if you don’t know what it means to be joined with God, to become a living branch in God’s vineyard?

Grapes do not grow in isolation. Many have romanticized the spiritual path of monasticism—brothers and sisters known for their private journeys into the wilderness to be with God. This word monastic comes from the Greek word monazein, meaning, “to be alone.” This seems selfish really, and contradicts all that Christ is. Our call is to community, not isolation, to be present with one another, to share, and to raise one another up.

Seasons may come when we are allowed some space that helps us to see the world more clearly and identify God’s work in our lives. But we belong to one another. We are to abide in Christ and one another; this is central in Jesus’ teachings.

I know these are hard truths. Some of you wonder what difference it makes to believe that we are in Christ and that we are intimately connected with one another. It makes all the difference in the world. You see the world’s way is to seek personal advantage, put self first and to live disconnected to everyone else. It is to celebrate the myth of the “self-made man” and to jockey for position over everyone else. But Christ’s way is a way of love and connection between God and neighbor. Because we are connected like vines and branches, when we serve one another, we actually serve Christ. And when we serve Christ, we find we have gained great rewards in this life and in the life to come. As Jesus said over and over to us, the way to greatness is service. And no one served us more than Christ.”

by Chris Seay and David Capes

 

Foresight is 20/20

Posted on March 7, 2006

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18a

The New American Standard Bible states, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…” The word vision, according to Strong’s Concordance, means “mental insight or a revealed word from God.” The word unrestrained denotes “the absence of clear guidance or definite direction.” In other words, if you do not have a revelation or an unveiling of God’s purpose and vision for your life, you will be without direction having no means of receiving His guidance in the various areas of your life.
However, when you receive a picture of what your spiritual DNA is, then your identity, in regards to your function in life, will catapult you to higher realms of motivation and passion for God. The great evangelist Billy Sunday said that “More men fail for lack of purpose than through lack of talent.”
From having a passion for God we can determine to follow through in His vision for our lives by following some practical steps:

1.Passionately believe in your goals, destiny, and purpose: it is mandatory to sustain spiritual motivation for the long term.
2.Decide not to quit no matter what gets in your way. Always go back to your calling.
3.Write out your goals in detail. Write the vision down.
4.Plan proactively, looking at the details of your goals and covering every resource.
5.Anticipate possible problems. Count on opposition as the enemy will want to derail you from your vision.
6.Seek a mentor who can impart to you and encourage you.
7.Cultivate your primary gifting through teaching and deployment.

The future is yours. Are you going to show up for it? Pursue God as He pursues you and let your vision come from His eyes.

Rick D’Orazio
Conference Pastor

 

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