The Daily Readings for SUNDAY, April 29, 2018 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

Daily Readings

SUNDAY, April 29, 2018 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

(Revised Common Lectionary Year B)

Opening Sentence

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

~ Colossians 3:1

Prayer of the Day (Collect)

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Confession and Forgiveness

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;  but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

~ 1 John 1:5b-8

Dear Heavenly Father, we lower our heads before you and we confess that we have too often forgotten that we are yours. Sometimes we carry on our lives as if there was no God and we fall short of being a credible witness to You. For these things we ask your forgiveness and we also ask for your strength. Give us clear minds and open hearts so we may witness to You in our world. Remind us to be who You would have us to be regardless of what we are doing or who we are with. Hold us to You and build our relationship with You and with those You have given us on earth. Amen.

The Lessons

The First Lesson
Acts 8:26-40
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
8:26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Response

Psalm 22:24-30 Deus, Deus meus
24 My praise is of him in the great assembly;

I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the Lord shall praise him:

"May your heart live for ever!"

26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

27 For kingship belongs to the Lord;

he rules over the nations.

28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship;

all who go down to the dust fall before him.

29 My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him;

they shall be known as the Lord's for ever.

30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn

the saving deeds that he has done.

The Epistle

1 John 4:7-21
God Is Love
4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

The Gospel

John 15:1-8
Jesus the True Vine
15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Here ends the Lessons

Click HERE to read today's Holy Gospel Lesson message

The Apostle's Creed

We believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

We believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

Benediction

Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted me as a living member of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have blessed me with the grace of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made for me and for all people. Send me now into the world in peace, and grant me strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

~ Numbers 6:22-27

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower... Abide in me as I abide in you..."

"I AM the True Vine" - The Sermon for SUNDAY, April 29, 2018 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

"I AM the True Vine"

by Rev. Mark A. Barber

McDonald United Methodist Church

McDonald, Tennessee

15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

~ John 15:1-8

Today, we will look at the last of the I AM statements in the Gospel of John. There are seven of them with a predicate adjective, the bread of life, light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth, and the life, and this one. In addition there is an I AM statement in John 8 without a predicate. The I AM in each case is very emphatic and is structured to resemble the I AM that I AM in Exodus 3:14 as the name of Yahweh. John equates Jesus to the Yahweh of the New Testament. Here he calls Himself, the True Vine. Let’s explore the text further.

When we look at John 15, we come to a break in the farewell discourse at the end of chapter 14 which some consider awkward. There Jesus commands them to rise from the table and depart. Some think this was just to get up from the dinner couches where they had reclined on, and others see chapters 15-17 being said on the way to Gethsemane. Others have different views, but it seems that the idea that they started the journey to Gethsemane seems the most likely, Perhaps, grape vines or grape vine ornaments such as decorated the Temple would be seen. Rabbi’s often used objects in their lessons. Jesus as a rabbi may have pointed to these and compared Himself to it. This is an interesting speculation, but the interpretation of the text does not depend on it. The break in the text does not change the interpretation either. What Jesus begins to say on chapter 14 continues here in chapter 15.

What does it mean when Jesus says He is the true vine? The wording literally reads, I AM the Vine, the True One. This is a little stilted in English, but the way it is said in Greek it puts special emphasis on the word “true.” If something is true, then its opposite is false. This means that there are other claims being made about the vine which were false. Jesus in this allegory is not saying that natural grape vines are false vines. They are truly grape vines. But the comparison isn’t being made between Jesus and grape vines but of a false vision of Israel. The Old Testament often compares Israel to a grape vine. In many case such as in Isaiah 5:1-2, it is in a negative way. The vineyard which Yahweh planted was supposed to yield sweet grapes. But the grapes went wild and sour. Israel had become false to Yahweh.

Jesus here emphatically states that He alone is the true vine which produces true sweet fruit, and not the bitter fruit of Judaism. The religious leaders of Israel had become utterly corrupt and bore false fruit. True fruit can only come through being connected to Jesus. Here the Father is said to be the gardener who tends the true vine and does what is necessary to produce fruit. Jesus then goes on to describe what the vinedresser does to the branches to produce fruit. The first thing he does is tend to the branches which are not producing any fruit. The verb here, airo, can mean to cut off, but it can also mean to take up. Most commentators hold that it means that fruitless branches are cut off and are the withered branches which are later burned. But Boice makes an interesting comment here that it should be taken “lift up” as in getting a branch which is lying on the ground and tying it up on the trellis. In another parable of Jesus about the fruitless fig tree, it was going to be cut down, but the caretaker said to give it another year. Let’s fertilize it and give it special care. If it does not then produce fruit, then cut it down. This seems good here. God does not give up so easily on his people. He will first do what He can with the fruitless branches.

What makes this interpretation more likely is the words “in me” The “me is the emphatic form “emoi” and is made more emphatic by placing it forward in the Greek sentence. Literally, it reads “Any branch in ME not bearing, He lifts up. The phrase “in Me” or “in Him” are descriptors of the Christian. Does this mean that the Christian who doesn’t bear fruit loses his/her salvation and is cut off, withers, dies, and is thrown into the fire? This is certainly a frightening thought. But if a person is truly a Christian, they will bear fruit. It might take a lot of work and encouragement, and even being pruned. But the Christian by nature will produce fruit because he/she is attached to the true vine.

The next thing the vinedresser does is to take branches that are producing some fruit and cut off some of the leaves so that the sap which comes up from the roots might be used to produce more fruit. This is a well known practice of those who work with grapes. One wants just enough leaves to produce sugar by photosynthesis. This is needed by the fruit. But if the sugar goes to producing more branchlets and leaves, then the strength of the plant is being directed away from the fruit. So the vinedresser prunes the branches so that more fruit can be produced.

Jesus goes on to say that these 11, Judas already having left to betray Jesus, were already cleansed through the words Jesus had spoken to them. This indicates that the Word of God acts to discipline the believer to produce more fruit. The reminder of the words of Jesus, who as God the Son spoke in the Old Testament as well, comes from the Holy Spirit whose role Jesus had just explained to the disciples.

Jesus commands the disciples to remain in the relationship He had established with them. True fruit can only come from the attachment to the true vine. Jesus is not describing the entire process of producing grapes in which the leave on the branches produce sugar which the vine uses to produce fruit. In real life, grape vines require the root, the connecting vine and the roots to work together to produce fruit. Jesus is not interested in bringing forth this idea. Instead He stated the obvious fact that a branch that is cut off from the vine cannot produce any fruit at all. Judas who was a false branch, a parasite, had already chosen to leave and cut Himself off. Within 24 hours, He would be dead, hanging from a cursed tree. The remain “in ME” is emphatic again.

In verse 5, Jesus restates the argument. The I AM statement is abbreviated. “I AM the Vine.” This time he makes explicit that the disciples are the branches. He repeats the command to remain in Him, a theme fount throughout the farewell discourse. He add: “Apart from ME, you cannot do a single thing. The branch that is cut off from the vine withers and dies and is gathered with the other dead branches to be burned. Judas is the example of such a branch.

The relationship between the believer and Jesus is essential. The believer produces not just fruit, but abundant fruit. Believe can because of this relationship make requests of the Father that no one else can. The abundant fruit of the vine displays the glory of the Father which is the ultimate goal of the Christian. As the Westminster Shorted Catechism say that your chief duty is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

The question now comes up, What is the fruit? Some see this as winning souls for Christ. This is often preached. But is the believer the one who gives birth to other believers? Is not every believe born of God, a new branch which springs from the vine. It is certainly our obligation to declare the gospel to every creature. But it isn’t by itself the fruit in my opinion.

One can also see the fruit as the “fruits” of the Spirit such as “love, joy, peace.” Jesus does talk much about “love” in the farewell discourses, including the statement: “by this shall all people know you are my disciples, if you have love, one for another.” He also says: “Greater love has no man than this, that lay down his life for His friends.” Here Jesus refers to the laying down of His own life, but the example extends to us His disciples as well. A grape vine with abundant fruit is a witness to the skill of the vinedresser. In this case, where love abounds between the brethren glorifies God in the eyes of the world. Added to love is joy which is often symbolized by wine, the crushed fruit of the vine. The grapes which attract the eyes are picked and crushed in the process. But the net result is joy. Jesus says He is about to be crushed. This is represented by the bloody sweat he was about to have in Gethsemane in His agonizing prayer, in the place of the olive press, where He would be crushed. He has just drunk the cup of the Lord’s Supper, saying that this was His shed blood for them. Crushing is sorrowful like a woman in labor, but the net result is joy. God is able to bring those so crushed back to life.

So when we look at this passage, we produce the sweet fruit. Do we so love the world as God loves the world, that we are willing to lay down our lives for the gospel if need be, and be crushed? Are we willing to take our cross and follow after Jesus. Even if we are crushed, in the end, in the end there will be joy, Many Christians have paid the ultimate sacrifice in having their blood spilt and their bodies burned by men. Our sacrifice does not save anyone, but it does bear witness to the one who paid the ultimate price for our salvation, Jesus our Lord. The idea of such a costly sacrifice is reflected by our love for each other, and our willingness to lay our lives down for our brothers and sisters. As the vine came back to life, so the branches in Christ will come back to life also. After all, Jesus is also the Resurrection and the Life.”

It has been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. The more the church is persecuted for the glorious name of Jesus, the more that will be drawn. What precious seed the fruit it! The psalmist says “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” By dying we will rise to new and everlasting life. How else could death be so precious?

We here in America have not yet suffered to the shedding of blood here, unlike many parts of the words. On Easter Sunday, Christian believers were massacred in Pakistan. But we are quick to complain when terrible things are said against Christians in the press. We are fast to claim our American rights and are interested in preserving out wealth and our homes. If only we were as zealous to glorify God, even if it is at the expense of our earthly safety. It is certainly a possibility that things could deteriorate further in America to where we might have to lay our lives down. I can only hope that the Lord will prepare us for the eventuality as He did His disciples that night. Lord, help us to be willing to glorify you, by the way you have chosen for us. Amen.

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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission. Sermon contributed by Rev. Mark A. Barber on Apr 18, 2018.
What does it mean when Jesus says He is the true vine?

The Morning Prayer for SUNDAY, April 29, 2018 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Verse of the Day for SUNDAY, April 29, 2018 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

John 15:1 (NIV) (Jesus said) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

Read all of John 15

Listen to John 15

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Un dia a la Vez - Promesas sin cumplir

Promesas sin cumplir

¡Sé fuerte y valiente! ¡No tengas miedo ni te desanimes! [...] ¡pon manos a la obra, y que el Señor te acompañe!

~ 1 Crónicas 22:13, 16 (NVI)

Ya falta un día para que se acabe este cuarto mes del año y te está preocupando que muchas de las cosas que prometiste cambiar en el inicio del año aún no las puedes cumplir.

En este día, te motivo a que no te des por vencido. Un hábito no se cambia de la noche a la mañana, ni tampoco dejar de hacer algo que sabemos que no es la voluntad de Dios. A decir verdad, nos cuesta muchísimo cumplirlo.

Por lo tanto, nuestra oración diaria debe ser pedirle a Dios que nos permita desarrollar el dominio propio y estoy segura que, con el favor de Jesús, lo lograremos.

No te desanimes, Dios te ama y te ayudará a cumplir tus promesas.

Repítete: «Yo puedo, yo lo haré, yo lo lograré. Lo que me propongo, eso haré».

De ese modo, estoy segura que lograremos cumplir nuestras promesas.

¡Ánimo, aún nos faltan ocho meses para hacerlo!

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
En este día, te motivo a que no te des por vencido.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - GOD USES PROBLEMS AND PERSECUTION TO CORRECT YOU

GOD USES PROBLEMS AND PERSECUTION TO CORRECT YOU

"...It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws.”

~ Psalm 119:71-72 (TLB)

Here is another of five ways God uses problems and persecution in your life: God uses problems and persecution to CORRECT you.

Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It is likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something—health, money, a relationship—by losing it. 

John 17 clearly teaches that He does not desire to have His church in the comforts of a problem-free society. He desires for His church to be faithful in the midst of trials and testing.

During a recent visit to Indonesia, some co-workers had the joy of participating in an Open Doors Standing Strong Through the Storm (SSTS) seminar held in an area of intense conflict. The constant presence of armed soldiers outside the building confirmed that this seminar was far more than just a theology course—this was reality! More than seven hundred churches were already burned to the ground and the church was facing a severe onslaught.

On the second day of teaching, one pastor suddenly jumped up and with all his heart cried out: “My brother, please don’t teach us just to survive, teach us to be faithful.” 

In understanding God’s purposes for the church it is vital to understand His requirements for us to remain faithful within these purposes. Faithfulness is not a request it is the duty of every believer. “Teach us to be faithful in the midst of our circumstances” should be a far greater priority in our prayers than that of making our society a safer place. Perseverance is far more important than transformation or preservation.

William Barclay said the following about praying for our circumstances. “When we pray for ourselves and others, we should not ask for the release from any task or situation, but strength to complete it and endure it. Prayer should be for power and seldom for release: not release but conquest must be the keynote of the church.”

RESPONSE: God is at work in my life—even when I do not recognize it or understand it. It is much easier and more profitable when I cooperate with Him. This is the way to victory!

PRAYER: Lord, teach us to be faithful in the midst of our circumstances.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

LHM Devotion - April 29, 2018 - In It but Not of It

Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"In It but Not of It"

Apr. 29, 2018

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God.

~ Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

Ercan Ozer is a shepherd in the mountainous region of Muradive, Turkey.

Whether Ozer is a good shepherd or not, that I cannot say. I do know that today he has fewer sheep to take care of than he used to have. That is because, not so long ago, 80 of his sheep committed suicide. According to his telling, one of his flock decided it could fly. To test the theory, sheep number one walked off the side of the mountain.

The long and short of his story is this: he was wrong.

Amazingly, rather than learning from the mistake of sheep number one, a second sheep, sheep number two, followed the first. Sensing a pattern was developing, Ozer sprang into action and inserted himself between his flock and the cliff. Things happened very quickly after that.

In order: sheep number two also found out she could not stay airborne for any length of time. Even with their shepherd between them and open air, the flock continued to surge ahead. Like a river flowing around a rock most of the flock simply bypassed Ozer and stepped out into space and into sheep baaa-lhalla. As we said above, 80 sheep died, and Ozer found himself with a flock considerably diminished in size.

Years ago, I remember my father asking, "Ken, if everybody jumped off a bridge, would you do the same?" It was his way of telling me that I shouldn't be a blindly following sheep. Instead, he wanted me to do the right thing, the smart thing, even if that meant I wasn't going to be a card-carrying member of the flock.

It was good advice. Indeed, it is the kind of advice Christians should follow. I know it is good advice because in John 17, Jesus said, "I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

Writing to the church in Rome, Paul rephrased Jesus and said it this way: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God."

And if you've been listening to your pastor on a Sunday morning, he has probably said it this way: "We are in the world, but we are not of the world."

Now let's make it simple. Christians have been rescued from the punishment of sin by the Savior, Jesus. When that happened, the Holy Spirit made changes in us. Those changes mean the world no longer dictates what we think and what we do and what we want.

Replacing that old-world view, we find our thoughts and actions centering on the Lord who has saved us at the cost of His own Son's life. True, we still are living with the things and the people of this world, but we will no longer follow them as they disobey and disregard the loving Lord.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, we are people who live in this world, but no longer are of this world. Grant us the discernment to walk Your path rather than the world's superhighway to nowhere. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one carried by Strange Sounds on July 19, 2017. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: http://strangesounds.org/2017/07/80-sheep-commit-suicide-in-turkey-video-pictures.html

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Ercan Ozer is a shepherd in the mountainous region of Muradive, Turkey...

Notre Pain Quotidien - Regardez Jésus à nouveau !

Regardez Jésus à nouveau !

Lisez : Hébreux 3.1-6

La Bible en un an : 1 Rois 6 – 7 ; Luc 20.27-47

Christ l’est [fidèle] comme Fils sur sa maison ; et sa maison, c’est nous, pourvu que nous retenions jusqu’à la fin la ferme confiance et l’espérance dont nous nous glorifions. (V. 6)

S’il y a eu quelqu’un de fidèle, c’est bien Brother Justice. Il se dévouait à son mariage et à son poste d’employé des services postaux, et tous les dimanches, il remplissait ses fonctions de leader au sein de notre Église locale. Dernièrement, je me suis rendu dans l’église de mon enfance, où j’ai trouvé sur le piano droit la même clochette que Brother Justice faisait sonner pour indiquer que l’étude biblique touchait à sa fin. Cette clochette a résisté à l’épreuve du temps. Or, même si Brother Justice est auprès du Seigneur depuis longtemps, l’héritage de sa fidélité perdure toujours.

Hébreux 3 porte à notre attention un fidèle serviteur et un Fils fidèle. Bien que la fidélité de Moïse en tant que « serviteur » de Dieu soit indéniable, Jésus est celui sur qui l’on nous enseigne à fixer les yeux : « C’est pourquoi, frères saints […] considérez […] Jésus » (V. 1,2), surtout si la tentation vous guette (2.18). Leur héritage ne pouvait leur venir que du fait de suivre Jésus, le Dieu fidèle.

Que faites‑vous lorsque les vents de la tentation hurlent autour de vous? Lorsque vous êtes inquiet et épuisé, et que vous avez envie de baisser les bras ? Le passage biblique nous lance cette invitation : « Alors, regardez à Jésus » (3.1 ; français courant). Regardez‑le encore et encore. En méditant sur la personne de Jésus, nous découvrons en lui le Fils de Dieu digne de confiance qui nous donne le courage de vivre au sein de sa famille.

Avec les yeux fixés sur Jésus, on a le courage de relever ses défis.

par Arthur Jackson

© 2018 Ministères NPQ
Il se dévouait à son mariage et à son poste d’employé des services postaux...