This is the third post in the series about core teachings. This series of posts is meant to focus on the pillars of following Christ. I don’t claim to say these are the polished end all say all for me, nor do I claim to be an authority on the subject. However, I have given this much thought. It has been about a half a year now that Holy Spirit has been prodding me to “get back to the basics.”
One major piece of our foundation as Christians is connection with God.
Imagine I put two apple trees in front of you. One tree had a lush green color to its leaves. The branches looked nourished, apples were ripe and ready to be picked. The other tree looked dry. It’s branches cracked in the sway of the wind. Its leaves were sparse, and it had no chance of bearing apples.
Which tree was full of life? The first one, right? The first tree’s roots went deep. It relied on nourishment from the soil, water from the sky, and light from the sun. The second tree, the dead one would need to be removed and chopped up for firewood. We would think nothing of it to remove a tree that was dead.
Jesus taught this:
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” (John 15:5-8 MSG)
Some times following Christ is portrayed as a set of behaviors to mimic. Being a Christian seems to look more like behavior modification at times rather than living connected with God. There is no power in behavior modification. There is life however in connection to Christ.
Some questions I want to leave you and me included with are these:
Do we spend our day thinking about Him?
Does His ways influence the ways we make decisions?
Do we see Him in our every day interactions?
Do His words, work, and ways cause emotion to rise up within us?
I want to encourage you to stir up your hunger for more connection with God in your life, not because its the Christian thing to do, but because He is our source of life, joy and strength.
Some ways to foster connection with God are as follows:
– Reading and praying through the Bible.
– Spend time listening to Him in prayer.
– Worship Him from the Psalms or God-centered worship music.
– Praying for the needs of others.
– Giving money, or time to bless others in thankfulness to God.
