Vine and Branches

Look at the nativity scene you likely have up somewhere in your home. Do you see three wise men kneeling beside Jesus? Yeah? Okay, good. Pick them up and move them to the other side of your home. Why? Because they did not come until Jesus was a "young child." Nor did they visit Him in the manger. They visited Him inside a house.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.

--Matthew 2:11

A few weeks ago, Waylon preached a POC message on the importance of not only studying Scripture, but memorizing it. Before hearing that message, I always viewed Scripture memorization as a legalistic that Christians should do just because it's "good."

Waylon, however, put it into perspective for me. The Word of God is the only offensive weapon we have to use against the enemy. If you read Ephesians 6, the metaphor used for the Word is the "Sword of the Spirit." Having been in the midst of a lot of spiritual warfare lately, Ephesians 6 is becoming more alive to me. We really are in a battle, and who goes into a battle without a weapon? Without having the Word of God embedded in our minds, we are like sitting ducks in the middle of a battlefield. We will be utterly destroyed because we are helpless against the enemy.

So in response to Waylon's message, I have embarked on memorizing the entire book of John. It's a slow process (I'm still in chapter 1), but it has been amazing. As I'm memorizing it, I'm also taking the time to meditate on it and study it.

Have you ever taken the time to read the first chapter of John? I don't mean just read through it. I mean really read it. Have you ever tried to understand it? I used to just skip over that part because it was so wordy and hard to grasp. Now, however, I think it's one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. It's beautifully written, and it's jam-packed full of cool stuff about Jesus. Check it out...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.

--John 1:1-3

The "Word" that John is referring to is Jesus (cf. John 1:14). These first three verses are filled with awesomeness! Sometimes I forget that, before He "became flesh and made His dwelling among us" (John 1:14), He was in eternal communion with the Father and Spirit, and He was present at the creation of the universe. Not only that, but before the universe was even created, He already knew that He was going to become human and die (1 Peter 1:20). That is amazing!

Praise Jesus for His love for us. He loves us so much that He died for us so that we would have "the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). JESUS IS AWESOME! Amen!

So I encourage all of my brothers and sisters out there to take Scripture seriously. It is your only weapon against the devil. Learn it. Practice it. Wield it.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

--Psalm 23 (NKJV)

First of all, back in October, Holly and I both felt that God was telling us to put our relationship on hold and take a break from each other. We didn't know why at the time, but we reluctantly obeyed God. For the next two months, we spent no alone-time together. When we did hang out, it was in a group setting. We spent the time that we usually spent together with God instead.

The primary purpose of the break was so that we could make God our first love. He was jealous for our hearts, so He asked us to take the break. Through the break, we were able to reach a point where we no longer needed each other and we could envision our futures without each other. It was very hard to reach that point, but we did. :-)

We have started our courtship back up, but we have a lot more boundaries in place for our relationship. We have sought counsel from married couples around Bethany's campus. We want the two primary purposes of our relationship to be to glorify God and to explore the possibility of marriage. We'll see how it goes!

School has been going pretty well, although the homework has been pretty tough. However, having already been through three years of a liberal arts college already, the work here is nothing I can't handle. I just have to learn to not procrastinate so much. :-P

I have to take some time to praise the Lord right now. The things He has done and the things He is teaching me are just blowing me away.

First of all, God did some miraculous work with Holly last night. She has been struggling with ongoing sickness over the last few months. The doctors have not been able to figure out what's wrong. This past week, the sickness was hitting her really hard. Some of our friends here at BCOM spent yesterday fasting and praying for Holly. Then last night they layed hands on her and prayed over her. She instantly began to regain her energy and feel better! On top of that, her jaw, which has been dislocated since July, was also instantly healed! Praise the Lord for his mercy and power!

God has also been teaching me many things. I've been hanging out a little bit with Waylon Clemmons, a mentor here on campus. With Waylon's help, I have been learning a lot about the shepherding nature of God. It's amazing how God cares for us enough to guide and protect His sheep. He will even break the legs of His sheep if it means protecting them from harming themselves. God is truly amazing.

That's all for now! Until next time! :-)