That you might have life

That you might have life

..."The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly"...John 10:10

Jesus clearly states that He came to give us life according to the will of the Father. This life is not something that can be reproduced artificially. Apart from Jesus, there is no other source for life and there is no other way for sustaining this life other than fellowship with the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. All other supposed sources will only kill and steal and destroy this life from God. Maintaining this life from God is achieved by abiding...abiding in the Fathers love...abiding in the vine...abiding in the faith...and abiding in the truth. To be placed in Christ and to repose in that state is to find one's self abiding in Him and receiving His life... continuously. This is the life that Jesus came to give and this is how we receive it. Jesus' statements about his shepherdhood and the life that He came to give caused a disruption in the status quo. As we can see in John 10:9 and the following verses a division occured again among the Jews and some even thought Jesus insane! Jesus rocked their world by turning their attention to the true source of life, Himself; and away from all the religious activities of the day that were considered to be the expressions and sustainers of life that they supposed they had...the Church systems of their day and their religious leaders. Things haven't changed much as the 'Religious System of Denominations' still persecutes those who simply abide in Him without all the spiritual fanfare. Your enemies may be closer than you think...

...As far back as the Book of Acts we have a warning of things to come from the mouth of Paul as he says his farwell to the elders and believers at Ephesus..."But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that day and night for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears" (Acts 20:24-31). I hope you get the picture here...Paul is giving a warning against the rise of a perversion of Christian leadership which seeks to control the followers of Jesus...rising up out of the 'Body of Christ' to control fellow believers and establish a clergy over laity pecking order. Control is the name of the game. The effect is the steal and kill and destroy of the life of Jesus within the believer. We must take the greatest care not to be moved from the place of abiding in Him, to the place of following the dictates of men who set themselves up in Moses seat...

...For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death...Romans 8:2...