Knock Knock. Who's There?

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Luke 6:45 -
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

I used to really enjoy watching horror and thriller movies. This is something that quickly stopped when I married my wife. She can not watch these kinds of movies because after she watches them, that's all she can think about afterwards. It consumes her thoughts and after watching a show like that she will even dream bad dreams that are related to the movie that was watched. I was totally fine with them and it never affected me. Then, after not watching this kind of movie for quite a long time it does affect me in a similar way that it affects my wife. I had become desensitized to them, then when I stopped I became sensitive again.

One thing that I have noticed when reading the Word of God is that God either talks about the condition of the human heart in some way or warns us to guard our hearts. He puts tremendous value on our hearts! Our heart is central to everything that makes us who we are and who we are is what we put into our hearts. So, it makes sense when Solomon tells us, in his wisdom, in Proverbs 4:23 to guard our hearts. Set up a "security guard" at the door of your heart and let nothing else in but good things... God things.

A great way to set up a guard that I am sure I have mentioned before is to ask someone you really trust and respect to be your accountability partner. Someone you feel really comfortable with to say anything and everything about your life. If you don't have someone like that, I urge to to find someone like that. Life without accountability sets us up for failure. Here is another great example of having a "security guard" at the door of your heart - Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

We can't very well think about such things if we don't feed our hearts and minds good things. It's clear in the book of Luke that our mouth speaks out of what is in our hearts. Is there something that you are doing that is contributing to the evil in your heart? What are you looking at on the internet? What kind of magazines are you buying and reading? What kind of people are you hanging out with? Do they have a good or bad influence on you? How much time are you spending in God's Word? How much time are you spending in prayer? What kind of music are you listening to? How involved are you in your church? Do you even go to church?

We simply, but tragically, get desensitized and get filled with things that are not worthy of thinking about by getting used to doing things, watching things, listening to things... etc. Those sins become normal and "not such a big deal" and they fill our hearts and they grieve the Holy Spirit.

The bottom line is that Jesus wants your whole heart. In Revelation 3:20 He says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." What He is saying is that what He really wants from you is a meaningful relationship and He wants you to let Him in. His mention of eating together is a great example of relationship building. It's something you do when you are just getting to know someone and in every other stage of relationship building. Eating together gives you time to talk and listen.

So, Jesus wants our heart and He so desperately wants to fill it. Let`s guard our hearts from evil that seeks to keep Jesus out. Let`s watch good shows/movies, let's listen to Godly music more then other kinds, let's stay away from bad web sites, let's pray more and read more of God's Word, let's get an accountability partner...etc... all things good. It's easy to fall into the world's trap of conforming to and becoming desensitized to the world and to its patterns and as a result becoming desensitized to the Holy Spirit.

What part of you do you feed the most? Your flesh or your spirit? Which ever you do feed the most will be the one that controls you. What controls you?

-Bryan @ The Vine

Pure Joy

I have to admit something today. I've been feeling like I've just had a bad run of luck or something or that I made a mistake when I thought God called me to be a Pastor. I mean, I pick up people's recycling for a living and have been for almost 2 years for crying out loud! When I went to Bible College to be a Pastor, I never in my life thought that I would end up here. So, as you can imagine, it can be a little discouraging to feel like I'm not fulfilling my calling. I would say that my faith has been tested to some degree over this. To clarify, I still do know that my calling is pastoral ministry.

But let's read this passage in James 1:2-4 -"2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

We are supposed to consider our trials PURE Joy... nothing but Joy. A good definition of pure that I got from dictionary.com of "pure" is: "free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter." Is that how you feel when you are going through a hard time or some kind of trial in your life? We have probably thought about this verse when we're feeling down about something in our lives, and tried to feel Joy because the testing of our faith in God creates perseverance which then finishes its work so that we can be complete not lacking anything, but with that joy we want to feel we also have feelings of frustration with God... which is not pure joy. We're like, "I'm thankful that God wants me to be complete, but why does it have to last this long!" Thoughts like that simply show us that we are not quite complete yet.

"The testing of your faith develops perseverance" - The more we stand firm in our trust in God through the hard times, the more we will be able to stand firm through the harder times that come. Life isn't easy and no one ever said it was going to be. We also don't always get what we want when we want it in life either... as hard as that is to accept most of the time. So the sooner we can claim this pure joy for ourselves and as soon as we start building our perseverance (by God's Grace and strength) through the trials of life, then when the "trials of MANY kinds" come we will be ready for them because God's strength will have been built in us.

Sounds a lot like character building to me. God is never finished with us and being able to deal with the hard times in a Godly way is part of that process; and it hurts. When God builds us and shapes us, like that potter that He is, it hurts because we have to change a part of ourselves that is hard to let go. Maybe we have been reacting to trials the same way all our lives, but all of sudden God wants us to experience Pure Joy through those trials. Our verse uses the word, "develops" when it talks about getting perseverance, so, it is a process. We don't automatically just have what we need to go through trials. It would be much easier if God would just give it to us of course, but I think we will appreciate and value it more if it is built up in us through perseverance instead.

Our verse also says "perseverance MUST finish its work so that you may be mature and COMPLETE, not lacking ANYTHING." This process gives us EVERYTHING we need. God knows what He's doing. This NEEDS to be a process for there to be completeness at some point in our journey. We simply must trust God to know what He's doing and know that He is absolutely in control and Sovereign like He promises that He is.

My hope is that we won't always look for the easy way out all the time and instead consider it pure Joy, not only because The Lord wants to complete us (which is also preparing us for a work He wants for us to do for Him) but Because God loves us enough to make us complete. He wants us to be everything we should be for Him so that we can be as effective for His Kingdom as possible. He is a good God and He loves you very much.

May God speak to you and hold you up through whatever you are going through today and may you experience PURE JOY while going through it. Trust me, I'm speaking to myself as well. I thank God that He spoke to me about this again. It's one thing to know something the Bible says, but it's definitely something else to DO what it says.

In Christ,
Bryan @ The Vine

Good to Great! - Easter

I think it's funny that we call the day that Jesus was killed "Good" Friday. I mean, I know why it's good. But when we celebrate it we are always so somber. I'm actually quite happy that Jesus died for me. He took my punishment for me. There is nothing I can do within myself to earn eternal life and God knows that. No one in the world can ever measure up to God's perfect standard. So what does God do? He comes to earth and dies for me! If it were up to me, Good Friday would be called GREAT Friday and it would be a massive party!

Have you ever wrapped your minds around the fact that THE God of the entire Universe and all that is in it came down to Earth from Heaven just to give His life for you? He left the comfort and paradise of Heaven to be here with us... to walk in your shoes and to know what it fully means to be human and to face all the temptations that we face. Check this out in Hebrews 4:15 - "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." So Jesus knows, in every way, what we go through each day. In EVERY WAY; yet He did not sin... He did not give in. Jesus is perfect and He is God and that more than qualifies Him to take our place and die for us so that we do not have to die an eternal Godless death in Hell. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that God needed to satisfy His anger towards humanity.

Romans 5:9 - Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

That is so exciting! God's anger is not against me anymore because of Christ's death. Praise the Lord! Now THAT is good!

Romans 5:10-11 also continue to say - 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

"...how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Jesus didn't stay dead! He lives today! He conquered death and Hell! When Mary, the mother of Jesus and the other Mary went to Jesus' grave to see Him, this is what the Angel said to them when they saw that the humongous stone was rolled away from the front of the grave: Matthew 28:5-6 - 5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."

When the Angel said, "...just as He said." he was saying that When Jesus is proving that who He said he is is exactly that; who He said He is! He is not only a man, born of a woman, but He is also God, conceived by God in Mary. Jesus said He would be raised from the dead after three days and HE WAS! Praise God! The tomb is empty and He is alive!

So, the question is now: Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead? And if you do, then you not only believe He was a good roll-model, but you also believe He is God and He is alive and continues to watch over us and guide us and love us. The the only logical choice is to accept His love and salvation by telling Him that you are sorry for your sin and that you want to have a personal relationship with Him and that you accept His forgiveness. Tell Him that you believe He was born and raised to die for you and that you want to live for Him. In faith, if you do that with all your heart, you will be saved! You will have salvation from God when you do this from the heart. He wants you as you are right now. Nothing you have done... NOTHING... can ever separate you from God's love and forgiveness if you accept it. It's all up to you to accept it because it's right there for you to reach.

Happy Easter everyone. We, at The Vine, pray that this Easter will be the turning point in your life that will define your eternal destiny for the Lord Jesus. He loves you - He's proved that by coming to us at Christmas, Dying for us on Good Friday and coming back from the dead on Easter! PRAISE THE LORD!

Watch this Video: Click Here

- Bryan @ The Vine

A Spot of Light

John 8:12 - When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

The other day I was sitting on the couch and enjoying my family's company. It was sunny outside and there were beams of sunlight shinning in on the carpet. It was truly a great day outside. My two oldest boys are generally pretty active and at this moment I noticed my 2 year old running around in circles. He reminded me very much of a little puppy chasing his tail. He was pretty cute. Then I noticed something interesting. He was running around the spot of sunlight that was on the carpet and once in a while running through it, but really just wanting to run around it. He was only running through it because he is 2 and he was losing his balance.

Then something occurred to me as he also reminded me of something else that hit home a little too much. It may even sound familiar to you when I tell you what it is that I was thinking.

We're all just like my son. We run around The Light all the time.

Jesus calls Himself The Light of the world because their is so much darkness in the world. He also tells us in John 15:4-5 that we must remain in Him (in The Light) and He in us in order to accomplish anything for Him. The verses actually go like this in the New International Version:
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The truth is, we run around The Light too. We sometimes even run through Him, but we hardly ever remain in Him. We just run and run and do our own thing. What are we accomplishing? Are we trusting Jesus and dwelling in His presence and love? I mean, what are we accomplishing for Him, through Him? What is He accomplishing through us?

Our time with the Lord each day in a deliberate time of devotion is crucial to our remaining in Him and He in us. Reading His Word and talking and listening to Him through prayer is how we learn about Him and how we learn about how He deals with people and what we mean to Him. It's how we learn to trust Him because we are hearing from Him and we are unloading our burdens and our thankfulness on Him.

When we dwell in the Lord we learn that what He really wants is a relationship with us, His people, His beloved creation made in His image. That's all He wants. He doesn't want you to give Him anything except your heart.

Come as you are because His love is unconditional. Remain in The Light and don't just run around Him. The blessings that will come from Him and the fruit that you will bear because of Him will be more than we can even imagine.

- Bry...

Showing Through

I heard of a little girl a little while ago who was talking to her mother about the sermon her pastor gave on Sunday. She told her mother that she was a little confused about something he said.

“Mommy?” The little girl said.
“Yes dear?” She replied.
“I’m confused about what pastor said in church today.” She came back.
“Oh yeah? What is that?”
“Well, he said that God is very big, right?” She started to explain.
“Yes, he did say that.” The mom confirmed.
“And he said that God lives inside of us.” She said.
“Yes, he did say that too.”
“So, if God is very big and He lives inside of us, then shouldn’t He show through?”

I think the reason the world is so confused about God and people aren’t getting saved is because He doesn’t show through us like He should. The light we are letting through isn’t bright enough or showing at all. We live our lives in a zone of comfort and it’s very hard to get out of that zone. We’re scared of what people will think when they find out we follow Jesus. We sometimes follow the fear instead of the Holy Spirit’s lead because we let Satan lie to us and we believe every bit of it.

This is a very short and simple message. Does God show through? Or is that too scary for you?
- Bryan @ The Vine -

Do you like Vomit?

John 10:18 -
"18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded."


This passage is Jesus speaking. I absolutely love this passage from Him because it reminds me of something. Is it possible that sometimes we forget who Jesus is to us? Do we forget that Jesus could have done anything and everything He wanted when He wanted it?

That is no exception to his death on the cross for us. He said it right there that no one can take His life from Him... NO ONE. He sacrificed His life VOLUNTARILY! Isn't that simply awesome?


Romans 5:8 -
"8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."


Sometimes we wonder if God still loves us or even if He's there. I mean, sometimes nothing good is really going on and we just don't feel His presence in our lives. Sometimes prayer seems like it's just hitting the ceiling and God doesn't hear us. But He's already proved He loves us a really long time ago. Sometimes we just forget that fact, don't we? God The Father gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us... to take our well deserved punishment for us so that we don't have to. God's wrath has been satisfied by Jesus' sacrifice. Is that not love? Is that not proof that God loves you?

It's so simple it hurts.

God's like, "Here's a FREE gift for you! Christ's death for Eternal Life! All you have to do is take it."

And we're like, "No thanks. I like my vomit better."


Proverbs 26:11 -
"11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness."


And Jesus gave you His life voluntarily... this free gift of eternal life is FREE!!! You don't have to do anything to earn it because He's simply giving it to you. You are saved only by God's amazing Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ. Simple and Free.

Just as Christ's death for you was voluntary on His part, so too is your acceptance of it. He won't force you. He'll tug and knock at your heart to get your attention, but He won't force Himself.

I just shake my head and get perpetually frustrated, sad and confused when people understand what God has done for them yet still rather have their 'vomit'.

Dear Lord, please touch the lives and soften the hearts of our loved ones who don't know You. May they come to the saving knowledge of your grace through faith in Jesus.

-Bry...

Is Your Ship Sinking?

Many of us may have events in our lives that have occurred that have wounded us deeply; abuse, death, addictions, betrayal, dissapointment? Is there anything at all that hurt you in such a way that you just can't seem to get beyond it and you feel like maybe God has abandoned you? And you question... "Why did this have to happen to ME?" When bad things happen to us it's easy to believe Satan and think that God has abandoned us... and if God was good, then why would he do this to us.

The reality of life is that there will be trouble. Jesus never promised us a life without trouble. In fact, he made it clear that this life would bring trouble. He said it like this in John 16: 33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble..." He didn't say 'maybe', He said, 'WILL HAVE TROUBLE'. So, if there is one thing you can count on in life is that at some point, you will have trouble.

Have I thoroughly depressed you yet? If so, I want to offer you some perspective... some hope.

Psalm 9: 9-10

9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

God is your shelter in times of trouble. What a promise! Jesus promised that there would be trouble, but it was promised long before Jesus even said this that He would be your shelter in times of trouble and that He would NOT abandon those who search for Him! Claim that for your own life today.

Let me offer you more perspective: The Hymn that is called "It is well with my soul" was writ­ten af­ter two ma­jor trau­mas in Horatio Spaf­ford’s life, the writer of this hymn. The first trauma was the great Chi­ca­go Fire that happened in Oc­to­ber of 1871, which ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly because he was a weal­thy bus­i­ness­man. Soon af­ter this event, while cross­ing the At­lan­tic, all four of Spaf­ford’s daugh­ters died in a col­li­sion with an­o­ther ship. Their ship went down and they drowned in the ocean. Horatio’s wife, Anna, sur­vived and sent him a tel­e­gram that said, “Saved alone.” Sev­er­al weeks lat­er, as Horatio’s own ship went near the spot where his daugh­ters died, the Ho­ly Spir­it in­spired the words of his well known Hymn. They speak to the eter­nal hope that all be­liev­ers have, no mat­ter what pain and grief may happen to them on earth.

Below you can read every verse of the Hymn if you wish... of even just a few. It doesn't matter because in any of the words you will feel his peace and comfort that he received from The Lord while he was going through his trouble.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford believed all of this because He knew God and he knew that God is good all the time even in times of trouble. Do you think that if something like that happened to you, you could say, "It is well with my soul"? You can only do that if you really know who God is and not some lie fed to you by Satan that God doesn't care and isn't there for you. Satan lies to us all the time about who God is and how much He really does love you! Satan doesn't want you to know that, you might just turn to God!

Psalm 100: 5 says,

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Did you catch that? "Through ALL generations". That also means that His goodness and love and faithfulness endures through OUR generation! We must search for Him now, because we now know that those who search for Him will never be abandoned by Him... even if it feels like He has. He's promised not to.

Jeremiah 29: 12-13

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Please watch this video of the song. Powerful stuff... and you will get more of the story behind the words:


~Bry...

Have you looked in the Mirror Lately?

Recently, I have had the opportunity to work with a partner on my truck. This is a rare occasion because the nature of the work is that I work alone almost 100% of the time. I pick up recycling for a living right now and I happen to have a sore knee, so my boss had mercy and gave me a helper. The opportunity came up to talk about "religion" with him and it was obvious that he has the wrong impression of the things of God. Things like, "Religion has been the source of wars for far too long." My response to this was, "That's not religion's fault, that's our fault... man's fault. We're the ones who've messed things up." He agreed.

Bottom line is that he has a misconception of what God is really about. This is the case for a lot, if not most people who are not followers of Jesus. I mean, there is a reason why they do not want to follow Jesus. What is that reason? Somewhere along the way they have been mislead to believe something that has turned them off to Jesus. God has chosen to use His followers to be His image and representations in the world. This is something you already know. You've probably known this fact for a very long time.

What are we NOT doing to show people who Jesus really is to us? Seriously... why are people so turned off? Are we scared of what people will think and say when people find out that we are followers of Jesus? Is that making us unintentionally scew the image of Jesus to others? Are we being enough of a counter culture so that others will actually see a difference in us... something that is different than the rest of the world... something they find attractive that they might also want, and also makes them ask you why you are so different than everyone else.

This is challenging for the best of them.

In John 14:26-27, Jesus says, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." Why are we scared to portray Jesus to people? Jesus promises peace. He promises HIS peace for us in every area if our lives, even being a witness. Yes, in the context of this verse He is speaking to his disciples, but He is also promising His peace to all of those who follow Him after His first followers.

Also notice that Jesus says he does not give as the world gives so this peace He is talking about may not look or feel like what we would expect it to look like. We must trust, in faith, that what Jesus tells us is real and true and, also in faith, step out and be different than the world; much different than the world. Step out and show people what Jesus is really like so that less and less people will have the wrong image of what Jesus is all about. It's a risk to be a counter culture as Jesus was because people inevitably will not like you. Jesus says in John 15:18 says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

As you are challenged to love Jesus with your life and being the portrait of Jesus in your world, rest in His peace and know that Jesus knows exactly how you feel.

Jesus is what life is all about. Please, don't let anyone or anything tell you anything different.

~Bry...

Ultimate Fighting Championship - Fight the Good Fight!

2 Timothy 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Philippians 3:14 - I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.


Most, if not all of you have heard of the UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship. The guys would think that it's pretty cool... like myself. Most ladies would probably think that it's just too violent for them. I've had the "opportunity" to stay in a hotel the last few nights due to some flooding in our basement. We don't have cable or anything like that at home, so I have been taking advantage of the free TV here at the hotel. When my wife goes to bed, I like to watch UFC for a little while before I go to sleep.

Something that has occurred to me is just how much preparation goes into getting ready for these brutal fights that these men get themselves into. It's their job; their life, so they have dedicated their lives to being the best fighter in the UFC. They have all the tools available to them to help them get ready: Professional trainers, top of the line training facilities and equipment...etc.

When you watch the fight, you can't help but notice that each fighter gives it everything they have. They punch and kick and grapple and throw down with all the skills and training they have learned and practiced. All they want is that next win... that next victory and they keep that as their main goal in this whole process. As Paul the Apostle put it: "I press on toward the goal to win the prize..."

I can't help but parallel that with our own lives. We have all the equipment that we need to train ourselves and grow with Jesus: Our Bibles, Christian literature, Worship services, fellowship with other Christ followers, Small Bible study groups, Accountability partners, youth groups, young adult groups, volunteer opportunities, mission trips... you get the picture. These are tools that God has given us to grow in our walk with Him and our walk with each other. We have it really good in North America because we have absolutely no opposition, relatively speaking, to our faith. We can utilize these things to the fullest extent that they are meant to be used.

Our busy lives often side track us from the main goal that Paul talks about in Philippians. The challenge is to keep the main thing the main thing. How many of us keep "church things" as just something else in our busy schedule as opposed to making those things the main thing that takes up most of our time? Getting caught up in life is normal this day and age. We just have to slow down a little and refocus and re-prioritise. It's not easy. It never will be. That's why we have God's grace... His free grace. Putting the things of God number one in our lives has to come from within us. We have to ask God for the strength for this because in our own human nature, there's no way we can do this.

Seems discouraging, but God is good. He understands that we are not perfect and He knows it's tough, but He does expect us to use the tools He`s given us to grow and excel in our walk and relationship with Him.

I guess my ultimate challenge here today is whether or not we are doing everything in our power, using everything that God has provided, with God`s help, to make our lives and our relationship with Him everything He wants it to be and pleasing in His sight? Are we setting aside regular time to be with God and be in His Word and be with, serve and love His people? Is God just another thing that we need to fit into our schedule, or is He the main thing we are focussed on?

Like the UFC fighters train hard to be the very best at what they do, let's train hard to be strong in the Lord so we can say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" like Paul was able to say nearing the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:7.

~Bry...

Convenience or Conviction?

Daniel 1:8 - "Daniel determined not to defile himself..."

Daniel had passion for nothing else but God. This passion was what drove every aspect of his life. If you know anything about Daniel, you know that he didn't care what other people thought about his relationship with God. In fact, you probably also know that Daniel didn't care what other people thought so much that he was willing to die for his faith.

There was a crucial decision making point in his life that he knew would impact him and his way of life forever. The King had issued a decree that no one could pray to anyone else but to him and anyone who did would be thrown into the den of lions. This would have been a good time for Daniel to throw in the towel if there was ever such a time. I'm sure he didn't want to die in the mouths of hungry lions, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

At this point he was pretty high up in politics and he knew that if he were to pray to The Lord three times a day like he always did that someone was bound to see him. People tend to keep their eyes on important people... waiting for them to mess up. So, the short of the long is that someone did see him and the King was bound to the decree he instituted and had to throw Daniel into the lion's den even though he didn't really want to do that since he liked Daniel.

So, it turns out that God rescued Daniel from the lions. Simply awesome.

It's not a secret that it's hard to live a completely authentic, free from fear all the time, kind of Christian life. But that's what Daniel determined to do. Daniel 1:8 says, "Daniel determined not to defile himself..." This was referring to the kinds of food he was going to eat according to his beliefs, but this determination permeated his whole lifestyle. He did not and would not defile himself in any other area of his life either. I believe his strength in the hard times came from his devotion to prayer; his communication with The Father. He could not have handled the fear of knowing he may be ripped to shreds by lions if it wasn't for the strength he received from The Lord through his knowledge of who He is and what that meant to him. He built a regular routine into his life to pray three times a day and he never quit even when his life was in danger!

Daniel's relationship with God was not a relationship of convenience, it was one of conviction! Nothing would stand in the way of his love and devotion for God.

When we look at our own lives and how we handle our faith in public, how does it stack up to how Daniel lived his life? Do we avoid talking about God because we're scared of what people will think or say? Do we only follow Christ when it's convenient and we don't have an opposition or feel embarrassed or do we not care what people think... like Daniel?

Are we willing to commit and resolve in our hearts, by God's grace, that our relationship with Jesus is going to be one full of prayer and conviction that nothing can match, or are we just going to "follow" Him when it suits us? Our world is falling apart and it's going to get increasingly harder to follow Jesus.

There will come a time when we'll have to stand firm or deny what we've been claiming all this time. Will you stand firm? I pray so.

Bry...

The Farmer's Seed

Jeremiah 17:7-9

7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

For some reason, God keeps speaking to me about His love and His faithfulness through any and every situation that we go through in our lives. It’s truly hard to see beyond what’s all around us and we keep wondering why we’re going through the things that we’re going through. Let’s face it, living life hurts a lot of the time. Some people’s situations are worse than others, but we all hurt at some point. It’s not fair… it really isn’t. But, God never promised a life that was fair or easy. In fact, he even said this in John 16:33b – “…In this world you will have trouble.” If Jesus said it, you better believe it.

So, try if you will, to think of yourself as a farmer’s seed that will be planted into the ground. One day, you’re just sitting there minding your own business and all of a sudden, the Farmer picks you up and shoves you into this deep dark and dirty place. You have no idea why the Farmer would do this to you and you struggle and you begin to lose hope because what you’re going through is so hard and seems like it couldn’t possibly get any worse. Then what you would have never expected to happen, actually happens! Things get worse! While you’re in this deep, dark, dirty place the Farmer pours water on you. What’s he doing… trying to kill you? You (the seed) begins to break apart and die and you have lost hope completely. Just when you think you couldn’t take anymore, something strange begins to happen. You start growing… and you’re actually sprouting! You are now so beautiful and delicious that people just can’t get enough of you! You think, “Wow, the farmer was letting me deal with all that so that I could become what I am today: beautiful and full of fruit! He really does know what He’s doing!”

As you can see from this week’s passage, Jeremiah 17:7 says, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” In anything, this is number one. Jeremiah says that you will be blessed if you simply trust in the Lord. Just trust Him. Don’t worry about what’s going on around you. Ask for God’s grace to just trust Him through your difficult times. Obviously, it’s easy to trust Him in easy times… in fact, have you ever noticed that it’s in easy times in life that some people are the farthest from God? Have you ever given any thought to the possibility that God lets us go through hard times so that we will look to Him? Maybe, for some of us, it’s the only way to keep our attention. For the seed, for it to be thrown into the ground and watered is the only way it can even grow into the plant that it needs to be.

The rest of our passage in verse 8 reads: “He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” A tree that has an endless source of water never has to fear that it will run out… even when the heat comes. When its year of drought comes, it looks to the water for its strength.

Is it your year of drought? As cliché as it may be to say this, yes – Jesus Christ is your strength. He is your Eternal water source. He is the only one you can truly trust that will take away your every reason to worry about what you’re going through. You will know that God wants you to learn something good from what is happening… no matter how dark it may be. And according to God, through Jeremiah the Prophet, you will never fail to bear fruit… you will never fail to build character and become the person that God wants you to be.

Put your trust in the Lord. His Grace is sufficient.

Bry...

The Nature of God's Guidance

Psalm 119: 105 - "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

If you're like me, you've wanted to know what God wanted for you and your life. It can get frustrating when you go for long periods of time not really knowing what God's up to. There are so many aspects to our lives and so many choices to make and we ask God for so many answers all the time. I know that even if you are not a Christ follower, you have probably asked God to come through for you on different aspects of your life. It's in the human nature to want to know what's going to happen before it actually happens. I believe that we just worry too much. I'm sure you'd agree with me on that... and I'm as guilty of it as anyone else.

Although, when you read the passage in Psalm 119:105 that says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and light for my path". We can compare that to our lives... the path is life and our feet are on it. We also know that our world is a pretty dark place. I mean, if you've ever taken a moment to look around you I'm sure you've noticed that our world is a pretty dark place. The Psalmist uses the example of God's word being a light because we need His light to get around in the darkness of the world. We need His light to see where our feet are going. Our culture dictates one thing when usually God's Word says something that is counter cultural.

And you'll probably notice that the light that is referred to in this passage is aimed at the person's feet that are on the path. This, I believe, is very accurate to the nature of God's guidance in our lives. Yes, our world is dark and we need God's guidance in it and if we follow the Words of God He will give us His light and guidance... but there will only be enough light for one step at a time. This is God's Grace in action for us because if He gave us too much information at once, He knows we'd be overwhelmed with what we see.

We have to trust God in faith that He will always do what is best for us, even if we don't like where He's guiding us. He sees the big picture of our lives and He has a perfect plan. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." He knows His own plans and Ephesians 3:17-19 says, "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." His love for us is so beyond comprehention that it's obvious He wants the very best for us even though the path we are on at the moment may not feel that good. As long as our main goal is to do what God wants for our lives and to listen to His guidance... that one step at a time kind of guidance... we will always come out on top no matter what. We just have to be ready for the outcome of God's plans.

We must resolve in our hearts that God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are beyond our ability to understand, so when we are doubting that God knows what He's doing and everything seems out of place right now... remember, He has the answers, but all you see is the next step right in front of you.

-Bry... @ The Vine

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Where is God?

Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Have you ever wondered if God truly loves you? Have you ever gone through a time in your life that made you feel that maybe God was ignoring you? Maybe a loved one really close to you died, you're having a hard time in your marriage, your job situation isn't very good. Whatever it is, you feel like God may have abandoned you.

Sometimes it's hard to imagine a God who is truly loving and who truly cares about our lives and our situations when everything seems to be going wrong. “Where are you, God?” We might ask. “Why are you letting this happen to me?” Whatever variation of this question may fit how you have felt... I'm sure you have asked it. We all have asked it in some way. You may have even come to a place in your life when you've doubted God's love for you.

We look all around us in the world, too, and see nothing but evil. We see nothing but people hurting people... we see poverty and people dying from malnourishment and the like. Does God really love us?

The answer is an unequivocal YES! Romans 5: 8 says - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He has already shown His absolute, undying love for us! He sent Jesus Christ to DIE for our sins. And if you are not familiar with the term “sin”, it simply means – missing the mark. God has set a standard based on Himself and there is nothing in humans terms that we can do to meet that mark – or standard. So, God Himself had to be the standard. He had to be the sacrifice that we just simply can not be! Jesus, the perfect embodiment of God, died and suffered so we don't have too. It's pretty simple really. I love that about God. He made it so simple for us and made it so free to accept. Why do you suppose our world rejects it so adamantly?

Whatever it is that we go through in life... all the hard times – as devastating as it may be – we go through it so we can grow and learn to trust God who has already paid the ultimate price for us... He has already shown his inconceivable love by doing an inconceivable thing. God Himself in the form of a Human being – Jesus Christ – took the punishment FOR YOU so you never have to. We just have to entrust our lives to Him... to let Him be our Saviour.

Yes, He does love you even if you don't know it... and even if you don't want to know it. He died for you while you were STILL a sinner.

Think about that for a minute... would you give up something so precious to you – such as your life – for someone who constantly tells you they don't love you and constantly rejects you?

Jesus did.

Bry... @ The Vine

A Mother's heart

Mother's Day 2009

Your love for your children,

Will never end.
They can rest in your arms,

On this, they can depend.

When you look at them
With your loving eyes,

They instantly know,

That in you, there is no surprise.

'Cause your love is so true,
And it is so deep,

That their love for you,
They will always keep.

You so tenderly care,
For their every need,

When it comes to their love,

You take the lead.

So never feel down,
When things are a little tough,

'Cause they love you more then their dad,

The diamond in the rough. :)

Composed: May 9^th, 2009 for Jennifer Christine Roy
By: Bryan Alain Roy

Now or Never

2 Corinthians 6:2 - Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. [NLT]

For some reason, people in the world naturally think that they don't need to be saved from anything. They say, “I'm a good person and I don't do anything bad.” Or, they may know they need God, but they think they have lots of time to make things right with God... that they'll do it when it's “the right time”.

From my experience, people who think this way are scared to give up their lifestyles. They are scared because it's really all they know, it's how they grew up, it's all their friends...etc. They are scared to lose all they know. It's amazing the faith we put in what we see around us. The things we see always fall apart and decay; people die, plans fail, we get hurt.

The hope that I personally have in Jesus never seems to fade. Yes, I have my bad days... sometimes too many in a row, but I always seem to know that He's right there waiting to pick me up from my slump. The Bible tells us, way back when the Apostle Paul wrote his letters – particularly the letters to the Corinthian people in Second Corinthians 6:2 – “Indeed, the 'right time' is now. Today is the day of salvation.”

The word “indeed” that used here implies urgency in the 'right time' statement of that scripture. Revelation 22:7 says, in the words of Jesus Christ Himself - “Behold, I am coming soon!” and Jesus said it again in the same chapter in verse 12 - “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”

Those words were spoken by Jesus a couple thousand years ago and He used the word “soon” to indicate when he would be coming back to judge the world. If He was saying that He was coming soon, THAT long ago... can you imagine how much closer He is to coming back NOW, thousands of years later?

Please, try to sense the urgency in your own heart for God... search for it... long for it! Please, don't hold back any longer because before you know it, it will be too late... and the “right time” will have passed you by and the regret will be forever.

-Bry...

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