5/15/2007 12:50:00 AM

John 15: 1-8
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 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. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

This has been an exciting weekend with the Jackie Pullinger conference and then Mothers' Day celebration. After spraining my ankle on Thurs, I had second thoughts about whether I should go or not. I knew it would be harder to get around and that standing for long periods of time might aggrevate my condition. But the Holy Spirit reminded me that these where silly minor excuses and that I would benefit from going. And true enough, I did gain!

One main thing I caught from the conference was that fruitfulness was not to be measured by the number of members under you or the amount of harvest reaped.

Have to confess that I have been obsessed with numbers recently. Been asking God "Why do I see no fruit?? How come I dont have any members?? Do I really suck that badly?? Am I such a lousy Christian??"

Being a student under the Singapore education system, I have come to measure my success/closeness & relationship with the Lord purely on the number of sheep I had under me. Using that particular criteria, I starting thinking that I really sucked as a child of God. There must be something seriously wrong with me such that I dont have any members or seeing anything come to pass. I felt like a failure.

Jackie Pullinger's message yesterday revealed that such thoughts were all lies from the devil. Previously, I kept focusing on verse 6 of John 15 where fruitless branches would be thrown in the fire, cut away from the Lord forever. That verse evoked fear in me. I kept wondering if God would punish me if I was fruitless.

After rereading the verses, verse 4 came to my attention. Silly little me didnt read the passage carefully in the past!

"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."

As Jackie Pullinger said, the real work is to be done by the Holy Spirit. All I have to do is to allow myself to be a tool, used by Him, to be Jesus to those around me. To be a people lover and not a soul hunter.

Each of us are created to do a specific thing in this world. To be a blessing to a person, a family, a town, a city, a nation or to the entire world. We are all special.

God has made me in such a way that only I can fufil the purpose He has for my life. I cannot compare my journey or task with ting ting, maggie or my sister. I can only walk close to the Lord and fight the battle against temptations, fears and distractions.

And at the end of each day, when I have allowed myself to be a tool for the Lord, the reward is not in the number of sheep I have. The reward is in the knowledge that I have represented Jesus to another in this lonely world.

Oh Lord, open my heart and spirit that I may be sensitive to Your promptings. Change my mindset and release me from criterias formed by man. I pray that You will give me the grace to love others in the little things. I want to be a people lover and not a soul hunter! Amen..

Acts of kindness... ;)

+ AMEN

:charissa sarah seah
:22 yrs old
:princess of God
:auditor
:mother/leader-in-the-making
:rissa_seah@hotmail.com



:my Father, Lover & King
:the whale, penguin & peng-let
:grandma ~ lily
:mama ~ wanting
;family
:friends
:crystal light
:cuddly bears & giraffes
:colours
:sunflowers & blood red roses
:diamonds :)


:: to have the very heartbeat of God ::
:: to be a Mother of nations ::
:: to be a faithful wife & mother ::



:Isaiah 51:1-3
"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness & who seek :the Lord.. look to Abraham.. & to Sarah..
:When I called him he was but one, & I.. made him :many.
:The Lord will surely comfort Zion &.. look with :compassion on all her ruins..
:Joy & gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving & the :sound of singing."



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