03.28.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Last week, we talked about the Vine. How Jesus is the vine and the impact of that on our lives...even today.

This week, we'll look into the next part of John 15:1-3-
"I [Jesus] am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you."

That's not the Father there below pruning...just Larry. He's doing the work of pruning. It's not pretty...it's actually cutting off parts of the branch so they will produce even more. It's a work the Father--the master Creator and Gardener--is doing in our lives. The tools He uses are many but are primarily related to "the message of Jesus". The message of Jesus corrects, cuts and changes us.

He causes pain...not because He likes to see you hurt, but because He wants to see you be fruitful. Ouch that looks painful in the picture...and it is painful in our life.


The flip side to the pain is the meticulous care God gives to the pruning work. He knows the exact spots where you need trimmed, for your benefit. He knows you intimately. He is carefully and precisely involved with you!

So, I'd ask you to reflect on the places where God is pruning you with the message of Jesus right now. Press into the work that He is accomplishing in you...don't run from the pain.

We love those plump, juicy grapes at the end of the season...and that's the fruit He wants in your life!

Press in,
Mike

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Pruning

03.21.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Spring is springing. The warm weather has prompted attention to that stuff outside--lawns and gardens--not just snow and cold. So everyone is happier!

On the right, you see a picture of something brown and winding up wards. It doesn't look like much, but it's the main "trunk" to a grapevine.

It hasn't turned green yet and it won't (but some green ivy is peeking into the back). It isn't sweating, but it is working hard right now. It is the main conduit for the nourishment from the ground into the branches and the rest of the plant. As spring moves on, the vine will continue to awaken and do it's work so that the extremities can do their work.

Jesus said, "I am the vine..." The picture is a metaphor--a physical picture with symbolic/spiritual meaning. Jesus did his work, so that His followers (that's you and I) could do their work. Jesus died and was awakened, or resurrected, and is laboring even now on our behalf. His work on the cross in paying for our sins is complete. He's not still working on that. "It is finished" He said.

Jesus, as the vine, is still working on our behalf:

If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely.
1 John 1:8-2:1 NLT

Jesus is pleading for us and forgiving us as we confess our junk to Him. He is doing that so we can get to the work that God has for us. He is about cleansing us so we can glorify God in our other activities.

I trust that you will reflect on the Vine this week as you are gardening or working outside. About His work on your behalf, and that you can be clean as you walk into your day to glorify God.

Press on,

Mike

PS. Thanks to the Totzke's for letting us take pictures of their grapevine. Also we hope to catch more glimpses into John 15 as the year unfolds.


If you want to do more study on what Jesus is doing right now, check these out:

What is Jesus doing Now? Part 1 /May 1, 2005 / thequest INSTITUTE

What is Jesus doing Now? Part 2 /May 9, 2005 / thequest INSTITUTE

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He is the Vine

First Century Communion on Maundy Thursday

03.14.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Last week, I challenged us to be risky for Jesus...and invited us to an experience where God had to show up. We took that risk together on Sunday night.

People showed up at our house and we looked at a passage in Acts 13. It tells us that the Holy Spirit spoke to a group of people and that their action of response was prompted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1-5). We really want and need that kind of direction in our lives.

Sometimes we feel like God is done speaking to us...and we grope around acting like He doesn't...but we believe that God speaks to us: through the Scriptures, through other believers, through situations, through common sense, and in our everyday lives. We also believe He wants us to do something.

So Sunday, I asked those gathered to get into groups of 2-4 (kids counted in!). Then I gave each group a $10 bill and gave them this assignment: Figure out what God wants you to do with this $10 and do it. We'll gather in an hour and half or so to hear what God put in your hearts and what you did.

We put God to the test--and He guided and directed us in very different ways for each group. Isn't that just like Him?

One group went to a restaurant with eyes open to see what God might want them to do. They ate a bit (on their own buck) and the thing that emerged for them was to send the money to a single new mom who has been connected to thequest.

My group started out to connect with a homeless person who a couple of us saw on our way to the gathering. We went to find him, and couldn't. So we stopped and prayed for more direction. A few options came forward and we sensed that God was prompting us to get a grocery gift card for someone who was actually in another group. We also were able to get her daughter a cookie card...for a free cookie every time she goes to the store!

Another group that I was proud of was three of our elementary boys with one of our men. They started out with wanting to buy toy cars with their money. Then they wanted to by a REAL car and a house. The reality of $10 sunk in and they began to think about sharing this gift with other. One of the boys remembered something about a cancer hospital for kids. They agreed God wanted them to send the money to the hospital. They wrote a letter to the hospital. They even recruited more donors and ended up with a $25 gift to the hospital.

It was amazing the diversity of what God wanted with the $10, and it was awesome to know that when we did it...we did it through His direction.

May we continue to live under His direction every day.

Press on,
Mike


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Stations of the Cross

To find out more click here - www.thequestcolumbus.com/stations.htm

03.07.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Risk Management. A huge value in our culture. We don't mind a little bit of risk, but even when there is risk we ask "how can we manage it?" We really would rather be safe. Safety and risk are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

A value of the kingdom is risk. How else do you explain faith? The evidence of things not seen is a peculiar thing. We put our faith in someone not seen by our own eyes. That's a huge risk.

So a question that has been perplexing me is how did I get so far away from risking stuff for Jesus? Is safety such a requirement for me that I don't risk for Him. In fact, if I live in such a way that I don't really need Jesus, am I truly following Him?

I'm not challenging the biblical value of wisdom, but the shift from expectation of risk to a culture of safety--especially for those of us in the family of God.

Well, I'd like to push us to take a risk. So we are going to do something really risky on Sunday for our assembly. We assemble because the Scriptures beg us to, so that we might spur on one another toward love and good deeds. I think we are going to do something together which will do that.

There isn't really a way to prepare for what we'll do on Sunday night, but I want to give you some background:

We believe that God speaks to us: through the Scriptures, through other believers, through situations, through common sense, and in our everyday lives. We also believe He wants us to do something. I want to put us in a dangerous spot. A spot where we put God to the test. A spot where He guides and directs us. So here's the plan. We are going to gather at our house on Sunday night the 11th at 6pm. We'll sing a song or two and I'll give some instructions. We'll break up into groups of 2-4 people. Then we will have a rather general assignment which will require us to find out what God wants and do it. We'll HEAR FROM GOD. I'm confident...although I'm fearful too, because this is out on the limb for me...and for our spiritual family.

I am praying that this will be an important laboratory in seeing/experiencing how God leads us, guides us, and blesses when we obey. That's connection to the Vine...and Branching Out. And may it catalyze us to live our moments that way!

Let's live risky. We've got an abundant life to live and death is not our enemy anymore!

Press on,
Mike

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