The simple life!

I believe, and will always believe, that one of the greatest tragedies that we perform is turning the Bible into "rocket science." The Gospel of God is, and should be straightforward, easy to understand, and easy to live. It should not be confusing, hard or boring to read, and easy to live. One of the most profound verses in the Bible actually reinforces my belief in it's simplicity, but is so incredible short and sweet. It sums up our relationship with Jesus in just a few short words.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. --John 15:5

The Christian life really is very simple… it’s not the complicated thing we try to make it out to be. When you say the words, "Jesus died," you should have a flood of memories, verses and feelings overcome you. But two simple words should trigger that response.

Now I’m not saying there aren’t deep and profound things we can discover about Christ and being His followers. As we walk with Him day by day, we will naturally become more and more knowledgable about the Bible and the life of Jesus, I'm just saying that as we gain this knowledge, we can't let it go to our heads to the point that we forget the foundation on which our knowledge must be built; obedience. Jesus reduced the Christian life down to one simple word in the verse above: abide. He said, “If you abide in Me just like a branch stays connected to a vine… if you abide in Me, and I in you… you will bear much fruit.” It's just that simple.

I’m convinced that there are many Christians who are running around trying to live an obedient life who would have a much easier walk with the Lord if they could just learn this simple lesson. To learn that we have both union and communion with the Lord. It's a message that the "seasoned," as well as the new Christian can both embrace.

When you learn how to abide in Christ, you’ll find that every other thing in the Christian life will take care of itself. All you need to do is to be available. All you need to do is say, “Lord, here I am in communion with You; I am in union with You, and You can do with me what You will.” When life starts to get overcomplicated and worrisome, just go back to the basics. Otherwise, it's like trying to balance a beachball on top of a pin head. it just doesn't work.

That is the Christian life in its simplest, yet most profound form!

Trying not to overcomplicate things,
Pastor Mike

On a lighter note...:)

A man was speeding down the highway, feeling secure in a gaggle of cars all traveling at the same speed. However, as they passed a speed trap, he got nailed with an infrared speed detector and was pulled over.

The officer handed him the citation, received his signature and was about to walk away when the man asked, "Officer, I know I was speeding, but I don't think it's fair. There were plenty of other cars around me going just as fast, so why did I get the ticket?"

"Ever go fishing?" the policeman suddenly asked the man.

"Ummm, yeah... so," the startled man replied.

The officer grinned and added, "Ever catch ALL the fish?"

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I'd like to welcome our new reader in Munich Germany. May the Lord bless you and your family.