Thought of the Day !!

(Jesus says) "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
John 15:7-8 (NRSV)

There are many out there, including several TV evangelists, who take this verse and others like it to form their own type of gospel. It's where we are told that whatever we ask for will be given to us by God if we have enough faith (and so often if we send enough money). That would mean that many of us don't have enough faith evidently.

But that is not what Jesus is telling his disciples here. First of all, we will get what we ask for if, and only if, we abide in Christ. If we abide in Christ, then we share his love and compassion and desire for God's will to be done. This means that we're not going to go out and claim a new car or house in the name of Jesus. Instead, our desires will be consistent with the will of God.

Part of producing fruit means thinking about God's wishes instead of our own. I once read an article about the famed TV evangelist Jim Bakkar, who was imprisoned for fraud. According to this article he found out during his prison term that asking for money and all that came with it just brought about pain and a desire to have more.

During this time, and while old Tammy Faye was divorcing him, he reread the scriptures and saw what was truly important. He realized that was bearing fruit, not asking what we can gain, but what we can do for others. And after his release he started working with a street ministry.

Abiding in Christ means loving God and neighbor and having Christ guide and motivate us. It means loving one another as Christ loves us. It means inviting others into the relationship that we already have with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It means sharing the peace that Christ affords us with those that we come in contact with.

If we will abide in Christ and allow Him to abide in us, we will receive much more than we can ever imagine.

In the love of Christ,
greg