Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:2.
I have been thinking about the lesson that Christ gave to His disciples just prior to His entering the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing it would be His last opportunity to instruct His disciples before His crucifixion. He says to them, as He points to a vine—and the vine is something that the Jews greatly prized and respected and considered very beautiful—“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away.”
Now, here is something for us to study…. We have our opportunities now to bear fruit; we can reveal that we are fruit-bearing branches of the vine. And if we go on now in a careless and indifferent manner, then what will be our position? He tells us He will take us away, for we cannot do anything without Christ, and if we are as a dead branch and do not draw sap and nourishment from the living Vine, we shall become withered branches. He says that every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it (pruneth it), that it may bring forth more fruit….
We have the enemy in our world to contend with. We have the powers of darkness to meet. We have to be in this conflict as long as time shall last. Our Saviour was in the conflict with the powers of darkness, and the powers of darkness were in conflict with Him, even after He entered our world. Satan was in conflict with Him. And then just as soon as His reasoning powers were exercised, He was in conflict with the powers of darkness. His very coming—as a babe in Bethlehem—was to set up a standard against the enemy….
And when He went away, what did He do? Who is to take up the controversy? Who are the visible ones who are to take up the controversy here in this world and carry it through to the very end? They are those who are Christ’s followers, every soul of them. It is not merely the delegated ministers. There is where our people make a grand mistake. They seem to think that day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute in the conflict, the ministers must take care of them. It belongs to every soul of us.
We do not know what work God has for us to do…. If we have only the one talent and we begin to put that to the exchangers, and then we begin to work with that one talent, and God sees that we are faithful in that which is least, then He will give us another talent…. And thus the talent keeps increasing and growing; and the more we put it to the exchangers, the more talents we have to employ to the glory of God.—Manuscript 56, 1890.
Christ Triumphant p. 257
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Prayer Requests
—–update—Dwight is back in the hospital with kidney failure. Please keep him and his family in prayer. Mike
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Dear Friends,
Although my grandfather had stopped going to church for a time (because in the back of his mind he equated religion with his abusive father who appeared pious at church but was a demon at home), he occasionally went when there was a special speaker. On one such occasion, Ellen White was speaking and my grandfather decided to go and hear her. At the time, Mrs. White was quite old and not feeling well. As she began speaking, she could barely be heard. (This was in the old days when there were no microphones or even electricity.) Suddenly, my grandfather saw a bright light come to Mrs White and immediately her voice became strong and her vigor returned. The congregation listened attentively and were greatly blessed.
After the service as the people were talking in the foyer, some said how thrilled they were to see an angel come and stand by Ellen White. Others, including my grandfather, said that they saw no angel. They only saw a bright light. Others were surprised at this and declared that they had seen no angel nor even a light. They had only noticed that her voice became suddenly stronger and her movements freer. This made a great impression upon my grandfather and eventually he came back to the Lord.
Although we don’t know why some saw an angel, others saw a bright light, and still others saw nothing at all, we can infer that it was their closeness to God that made the difference. Perhaps there were others in the congregation that day who, like my grandfather, needed a boost for their faith.
How often we are overwhelmed by the trials of life that cause us to fall away from the One Who Loves US So. As we look at our troubles, our hearts sink within us. We feel like crying, “Alas! We are doomed!” How much we all need that spiritual eyesight so that we may look beyond those trials and temptations and see angels the excel in strength poised ready to help us just as surely as an angel strengthened Mrs. White so long ago. “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.” “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Ps 103:20, 21; Heb 1:14
May we obtain the Heavenly Eye-salve that we, through the eyes of faith, may see God’s holy angels helping us each day is my prayer.
Rose