4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
It can be pretty easy to get off track in our Christian walk, if we're not careful. We have to make sure that we are walking in the Spirit and maintaining our awareness of God's presence in our lives. Otherwise, the worldly influences, the distractions of life, can render our faith less effective. Jesus offers a clear picture of the importance of abiding in Him, recognizing our sense of dependence on Him, and walking in a manner that pleases Him, which is done through our reliance on His indwelling presence.
In James chapter 2, the author emphasizes the importance of good works, not born of human effort,
but produced by the Spirit of God:
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by myworks.
SEC Media Days have come and gone, and there is plenty of excitement about the upcoming season - and, of course, a number of important questions. Who will be the starting quarterback at Alabama? What difference will new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp have on Auburn? Who will win their respective divisions and go to the SEC Championship? Will the SEC have more than one team in the 4-team playoff?
And, on the media side, there's an important question - who will replace Tim Tebow in the co-host slot on the SEC Nation game day show? By the way, ESPN's GameDay will have a new lead host - it's Rece Davis, who will be speaking next week at the Gridiron Kick-off event at Montgomery's Landmark Church. But how about Tebow's chair? You know the former Heisman Trophy winner, Florida legend, and outspoken Christian signed earlier this year with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.
But, he had the opportunity to make an appearance at an event in Tennessee recently that made some headlines. According to the Daily News Journal, Tim made a clarion call for people to respond to God and allow Him to work in their lives. He's quoted as saying: "What's amazing when you get up and do something is what God does in your life," adding, "We just have to get up and do something."
At the event at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, sponsored by the organization, Music with a Purpose, Tebow said that by putting his beliefs and his outreach before everything else, he has remained spiritually strong as a "Christian who happens to be an athlete." He said, "When your identity is found in Christ, your identity never changes," adding, "You are always a child of God.
"That's why I always say I don't have to live the roller coaster that the rest of the world lives in my life."
+++++
In James chapter 2, the author emphasizes the importance of good works, not born of human effort,
but produced by the Spirit of God:
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by myworks.
SEC Media Days have come and gone, and there is plenty of excitement about the upcoming season - and, of course, a number of important questions. Who will be the starting quarterback at Alabama? What difference will new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp have on Auburn? Who will win their respective divisions and go to the SEC Championship? Will the SEC have more than one team in the 4-team playoff?
And, on the media side, there's an important question - who will replace Tim Tebow in the co-host slot on the SEC Nation game day show? By the way, ESPN's GameDay will have a new lead host - it's Rece Davis, who will be speaking next week at the Gridiron Kick-off event at Montgomery's Landmark Church. But how about Tebow's chair? You know the former Heisman Trophy winner, Florida legend, and outspoken Christian signed earlier this year with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.
But, he had the opportunity to make an appearance at an event in Tennessee recently that made some headlines. According to the Daily News Journal, Tim made a clarion call for people to respond to God and allow Him to work in their lives. He's quoted as saying: "What's amazing when you get up and do something is what God does in your life," adding, "We just have to get up and do something."
At the event at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, sponsored by the organization, Music with a Purpose, Tebow said that by putting his beliefs and his outreach before everything else, he has remained spiritually strong as a "Christian who happens to be an athlete." He said, "When your identity is found in Christ, your identity never changes," adding, "You are always a child of God.
"That's why I always say I don't have to live the roller coaster that the rest of the world lives in my life."
The Christian Post account of his speech said that the quarterback noted that his faith also plays a crucial role in his work for charity, such as the opening of the Tebow CURE Hospital in Davao City, Philippines, earlier this year. That hospital had been in the works since 2011. The nonprofit facility is devoted to its mission to "provide care to the underserved children of the Philippines." It employs a staff of 54.
So, while Tim Tebow may be on the field or on the sidelines with the Philadelphia Eagles in the upcoming season, he apparently has no intention on being sidelined from speaking about his relationship with Jesus Christ.
And, that attitude can give us some inspiration for our own lives. Tim Tebow is someone who is known for expressing his faith. He has done it verbally, and he has done it by placing Scripture in his eyeblack; he has become known for the practice of what is called, "Tebowing," taking the knee after a score to signify a position of prayer. In being an effective witness for Christ, attitude is important. We have to be "on our game," sort of speak, and be prepared to live in a manner that glorifies Christ. Tim Tebow recognizes the platform that God has given him.
The effectiveness of our witness is also determined by how we allow the Holy Spirit to use us - Tim Tebow says that you have to "do something." In the Bible, James taught on that - faith without works is dead. We don't work to earn our salvation, to prove to God that we are worthy of being saved, because we are not. Rather, we want to do good works because the Lord is working though us. Jesus taught that if we abide in Him, we will bear fruit. Good works are not intended to earn brownie points with God or to make others think well of us, to make us appear as something we are not. Good works are the outgrowth of a life yielded to the love and power of Christ.
So, it's not about us - it's about having a good attitude, allowing the Spirit to use us, and attributing whatever good we do to the hand of God. It's not about calling attention to ourselves, it's about letting Him be seen in us.
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