The Gardner

John 15: 1- 14 NIV
¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
   ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
   ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command.

Tye Tribbett on His Infidelity

God is sooooo soooo AWESOME! Be blessed by hearing this! I hope this encourages somebody.

Kari Jobe -- Pure - Immerse Worship

RACE

I take an issue with Pastors, Preachers, Teachers, people in general who say, "God doesn't see color"
I would beg to differ. I would say, Yes, Yes He does, because He made me. He paid close attention when He created Tamika from gender, eye color, and skin color. And I know that my being African-American/Black is apart of His plan for His Kingdom purposes. Even though, I think I want to be chicano- there is a reason He did not put me in that ethnic group! ;) For example, take your child, if he or she gets lost, how will you describe him or her to authorities? OR Say for instance you made a red quilt with white stripes. This quilt is so special to you, it's your best work. You would never deny it was red or had white stripes, it's special, you KNOW what it looks like- you MADE it. I know that may be a little trivial. But for God not to see my brown skin is to deny or to say His creation is not good. This is against His Word. I was made in His image. I am good. He sees me and said I was Good. I think we sometimes bring God to our human way of thinking--- WE are not so happy with what we made and if someones asks who's ugly quilt is that- we'd be the first to deny we knew where it come from. No- we are not God. He does not ACT LIKE US! Flip it, honey! The script that is! :)

Ultimately, I think God pays attention to race because it displays His Awesome power and love for us. The fact that the Bible states that 'every nation and every tongue' who what John saw in heaven, is something to marvel. How can this ONE God has this ONE love that encompasses ALL people. How is it that it His love is translated into thousands upon thousands of languages with no translator. We all have different life circumstances, definitely cultural lifestyles differ, language and beliefs. Yet He knows each of us by name and heritage (earthly), He understands day to day struggles. He is in it. The bible says He holds all things together. Colossians speaks of this. Who among us can gather such a broad amount of people to commune together, in peace? Most 'christians' in your church can't do this!Hebrews talks about it- how we have a High Priest who knows what it feels like to be to be in our day-to-day lives as black, chicano, white or native american, etc. Does not our differences be it skin color, ethnicity, gender shout out God's AWESOME SOVEREIGNTY and POWER!!! No ONE else can be God but God.  It puts me in AWE of this AWESOME WONDER - this Magnicifent Creator God in which we serve.

 for through him God created everything
      in the heavenly realms and on earth.
   He made the things we can see
      and the things we can’t see—
......

      Everything was created through him and for him.
  He existed before anything else,
      and he holds all creation together.
 Colossians 1:16-17

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (heb. 4:13)

   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (heb. 4:15)

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

   “Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:8-10

Exhortation!

Lord, you are so Beautiful to me.
Lovely in all you ways...None can compare, Father, to your Majesty.
You fill me up and You make me whole; Over and Over again.
Thank You.... For never getting tired of me. (Help me to STOP getting tired of others)
Thank You, again, for never getting tired of me.
You are so faithful to Your Word that You have given me to me to cling to for dear life. It is my lifesaver.
You always keep Your promises. I am forever grateful.
As I drink from you bowl of mercy and grace- help me to share it with others.
No 'empty calories' here! I want to feast and be nurtured and satisfied!
Lord, I want to be more and more life You.
You are my strength, my everything, my ALL in ALL.

Praise the LORD, my soul.

   LORD my God, you are very great;
   you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

  The LORD wraps himself in light as with a garment;
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
   and rides on the wings of the wind.

Psalm 104:1-3

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—  to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Jude 1:24-25 



You Reign

Lord
You are high above all the heavens and your glory above all the nations.
           You rest over all your creation (expecting the same from us).
Thank You for your unfailing love- a love so authentic, our imitation falls short.
 Praise be to your Holy Name, Lord.
Thank You for reaching down
 Awesome- you are Awesome.       

All    by    Yourself.

Who am I that you are [still] mindful of me....
Your Word says I am the apple of you eye..AHH! Sovereign Lord such love I can not fathom.
Yet.I.can.not.live.with.out.it.
                             My feeble mind doesn't understand it.
Oh, but I am grateful.
Grateful for Your love,
                          Your faithfulness,
                                             your favor.
I STAND, completely, in awe and amazed of YOU, my Creator God and Lord.
Blessed be Your Name!
Hallelujah!

Just thinking.....

You know?....Much is to be said about God's dislike of sin, that while His only Begotten hung on that Cross (becoming sin for us), God Himself turned His back on Him.
This very act = turning His back and/or forsaking  He, HIMSELF, promised He would never do to us. 
Yet He did to His OWN Son, Jesus Christ.

Then, I think, you know, Praise Abba Father! Because Jesus was the ONLY ONE who could handle- God's back being turned on Him and still get up! We could not bare the thought- let alone the action of God forsaking US! Praise the Lord for He is the Master!

 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?)”

Matthew27:45-47

 God has said,  “Never will I leave you;  never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:5-9