Here is an interesting thought. We tend to think of eternal life as the part of our existence that begins after our deaths. (How’s that for paradox. Existing after death.) And we think of relationship as affecting our current life. Yet Jesus said that eternal life is knowing God. (If anyone wants the specific quotation, let me know.) In other words, eternal life is our relationship with God.

So, the gospel, which most people associate with avoiding hell, is about our relationship with God. Our relationship concerns how we live now. If A= B and B = C, then the gospel really is about how we live our life now. (Just be thankful that our now is going to last a very, very, VERY long time.)

God wants us to have a life of relationship with him, resulting in people taking steps of obedience, resulting in fruit. Distortions in the gospel can occur when people add to how we enter into a relationship with God. This can also occur in how when practice that relationship.

God may proclaim a fast and we need to heed his voice. Someone else may proclaim a fast. God may or may not call us to participate in it. Our relationship comprises what optimizes our connection with God. Agreement with and participation in a good thing will not bring us closer to God. Still, God may call us into agreement with this good.

The gospel is not just about avoiding hell. This is about how to establish and live out a relationship with God. This gospel is about living in ways that:

• glorify God
• are free and truly human
• completely from our hearts, and
• fully joyful.

Being a Christian is more that avoiding hell and merely being good.

If we are serious about communication with the Creator of the universe, Lord of all. If we open ourselves to him, receiving his whispers into our hearts, it is a very frightening proposition of what he could say to us.

Only a conviction that the mercy of God is vast and he takes that into consideration in all his interactions with us.

There are the stars. The moon. Sunsets. Rainbows. Ice into water into steam. Geese flying in gigantic V's. Atoms that should fly apart holding together. Caterpillars transforming into butterflies inside cocoons. The moving tides. Leaves turning color, falling off and budding in the spring. Babies forming in the womb.

In view of all this wonder, who is man that God in mindful of him? And not only mindful, but pursuing. engaging in relationship. revealing his heart and his secrets.

When we consider relationship with God, it is hard to fathom that God loves us. God will come to us Himself.

People used to approach God through the leaders — Moses, and then the Levitical priesthood. Then, people use to approach God through Jesus. When Jesus returned to the Father, the Spirit of God came to take residence in our hearts — because the Father Himself loves us.

So, He wants to care for us, abide with us, be close to us and have fellowship with us. His communication will not be through any intermediary. It will be directly to us. Relationship with God takes a quantum lead nearer.

Importance of Relationship

There was a writer who began giving a poetic description of some of the world's wonders. Kind of like:

Sunsets and rainbows. Geese flying in gigantic V's. A caterpillar spinning a caccoon, and emerging transformed into a butterfly. The moving tides. Leaves changing color, falling off trees, and then budding again in spring. Stars and planets racing through their courses in space. Two small seeds combining and growing into a human being. All the atoms of the universe should fly apart. But they hold together.

Then he asks the question, in the face of all this wonder "who is man that you are mindful of him?" Not only does God think about us, but He pursues us. He engages in relationship. He reveals His heart and His secrets.

After creating wonders, what God wants is to be your friend. It is very hard to get your head around something like that.

Relationship

It seems like it is the relationship with God that empowers. He transfers life to us when we go into His presence. It flows into our hearts. From there, those who continue in His presence can bear fruit and allow life to flow to others.

If we are not connected to the flow, we dry out. The ground around us becomes hard, and difficult to grow anything worthwhile.

If we are connected, we can produce fruit in any circumstance. It is compared to a tree thriving in the desert, because it is planted along a river. It can draw life from the river.

Vines Summary

We are the branches. Jesus is the vine. God is the gardener.

Branches produce the fruit. Taken in its most general sense, fruit is the effects of the branch. It is how the branch touches and benefits the world.

The branch cannot produce fruit on its own. It needs energy to come into it to create fruit. And it receives that energy as it is connected to the vine. Jesus is the way to this energy.

The Father is the brains behind all this. He is concerned with fruit bearing. He evaluates the state of the branch. He creates strategies and tactics for greater fruit production. And He implements them.

He evaluates the environment. What should the correct light, water and nutrients be? And He is responsible for bringing the light, water and nutrients to the branch.

The branches are responsible for maintaining the connection.

Access to the Vine

The problem with metaphors is they can only be carried so far. With a physical vine, there is a physical connection between the vine and the branch. Within the family of God, there is no physical connection. So, what is the connection like? How does it work? And can it improve?

This connection is the basis for any positive effect our lives have in the world. It does not mean that we cannot do any good. It does not stop our positive aspirations or works. But they do not have the zip that causes them to stand out.

All members of God’s family need access to this resource. God pervades every area of life, so His life-energy must pervade every area of life. Moreover, the world and the enemy do not allow lacks of experience, age, temperament, or talent as excuses for minimal effects.

And it must be effective in dealing with any and all situations. This is not wisdom, it is a flavor or aroma that covers all issues and circumstances.

So it must be readily available to all of God’s family. There is no level or maturity, special knowledge or ritual necessary to tap into this resource.

Vine and Branches

We will return to prayer sometime in the future. I am off on a tangent … sort of.

There is a metaphor that Jesus used to describe what our relationship with Him should be like to produce the type of compelling, attractive life that He is looking for. The metaphor compares He and His family to a vine and its branches.

The fruit of the vine is very beneficial to people in a number of forms: grapes, raisins, and wine. The fruit grows from the branches. The vine does not produce anything. But, if the branch is not connected to the vine, it does not produce anything. All the resources for the branch to create fruit come from the vine. All the resources for the branch to continue to live come from the vine. The connection between to the two is vital.

Jesus is the vine, of course. We are the branches. We are connected to Him, and produce a lifestyle that is abundantly beneficial to the people around us. However, if we are not connected to Jesus, we cannot produce this abundance. Abundance is directly related to the connection.

Without this connection, there can be no fruit. Without this connection, a branch withers.

With the connection, there is an increase in life. The branch grows longer and larger. Leaves are produced. Growth may happen that is actually counter-productive to producing fruit.

What do we think about branches that produce only leaves? All life and energy can be found in the vine. There should be an abundance of fruit. If there is not an abundance, does this mean the connection is inferior? If so, how do we improve it?

Prayer

Because man is a spiritual creature, he lives at the intersection of the spiritual and physical worlds. He lives in both worlds and exposed to influences from both.

Prayer is a heart focus into the spiritual world. This focus transfers energy into the spiritual world; and puts people into a position to receive energy from it.

Since all people live in this intersection, prayer becomes a powerful weapon to affect people. The heart focus transfers energy into the spiritual world. From the spiritual world, the energy returns to the physical and impacts the hearts of people for whom it was directed.

Warfare, II

So, warfare is living to counter-act the effects of the enemy's work. It is living as close to God's ideal as possible. To demonstrate the wonder of life in God. Love, a renewed life and community that demonstrate unity and kindness are all "weapons" of God.

Is there a way to combat the mind-set and atmosphere of lies the enemy promotes? Visible reality in lives and community are valuable and important. They do produce the desired effect. But is it enough? There are so many voices in the world. Each one clamoring for attention. Each one is used by the enemy to distract people away form God's family. Each one claiming their legitimacy. How can we create a wind to blow away the smoke that clouds the heart of each person?

As mention earlier, each person stands at the intersection of two dimensions: the physical and the spiritual. A person communicates with the physical with his five senses. The person communicates with the spiritual with his heart. We interact with the spiritual by focusing our hearts on it.

There are many disciplines that strive to interact with the spiritual. Many forms of medication, magic, etc. They all focus their hearts into the spiritual realm, which often results in a response from the spiritual back into the physical.

Is there a method or means for God's family to project their hearts into the spiritual? God does favor some forms of mediation. But the most direct means for God's family to positively affect the spiritual world, and indirectly the hearts of mankind, is prayer.

Warfare

And then there is warfare. There is an enemy; he does seek the destruction of your heart.

But this warfare is different. First, God’s family wages war, but it does not destroy anything. It wins the war by bringing more people into the family. By making hearts whole. By reversing the destruction of the enemy in society, in culture, and in the environment.

Second, a person can also fight by making sure his heart is whole. There are different aspects to this. One, we need to be disciplined to recognize the lies and not let them get a hold in the heart. Two, we need to be open to God’s influence. Even as ruler of all, having our allegiance, living in our hearts, he does not force our obedience. So, we need to invite his influence, and his work, in our hearts.

A human being, living and becoming more what God made him to be, and attracting other human beings to live in allegiance with him, are strong blows against the enemy.

Healing

Another aspect of discipleship is healing. And I mean heart healing, in this case, not physical healing. Before we become a member of god’s family, we have no relationship with him. We have no communication. It is open season on our hearts. The enemy bombards it with lies, with the goal of distracting us from God.

If we hold lies in our hearts, we are not going to live as we should. We will have damaged hearts. So, God seeks to repair the damage. Bring the shards together and create a new heart.

There are a number of different healing methods He can use. Some are general, for everyone. Some are individual.

Counsel

There seems to be parts to discipleship.

If the enemy can get God's family to harbor lies in their hearts, it will detract from the effect God wants His children to have on the world. Steps should be taken to apply truth to hearts to counter-act the falsehoods.

We could use the word "counseling" to describe this application of truth. God is quite involved in counseling. This is one reason why He resides in the hearts of His children. This is why He regularly seeks out and speaks with His children. And this is why we need to engage in listening.

Discipleship II

Discipleship is living out our love relationship with God. This renews our heart because we are designed for this relationship. This interaction is part of the basic fuel that powers our beings. Just like when people who love each other are together, they fill a tremendous joy that fills their hearts.

In all relationships, there is interaction. So, there must be communication between God and his family.
God has a unique position in our lives. He designed us and knows us. Each person’s heart vibrates at a different frequency. And God knows that frequency best of anyone.

Since, he knows our frequency, he knows what best resonates with us. So, he can communicate directions and actions which can feed and renew our hearts.

He can communicate conditions or practices that block renewal. He can warn of the enemy's plans which will harm us and squash our hearts.

Learning to live this love relationship is probably the main avenue of heart renewal.

Discipleship

In the modern West, the word "discipleship" defines a process that people go through, usually a series of classes. Presenting accurate information is not wrong. But amassing information is not the purpose of discipleship. (The people setting up the "classes" would agree with that too.)

Jesus knew that choosing allegiance with God, and beginning a love-relationship with Him, is a revolutionary experience. People develop different values and perspectives. They see God, people, right\wrong differently. There is a heart level, radical transformation.

Discipleship is the process of directing this heart transformation into appropriate lifestyle. When someone has a love relationship with a person, there are appropriate behaviors. One does not steal form them. One does not lie to, abuse or degrade them. Similarly, a love relationship with God involves learning practical steps in living out the love relationship. It involves relating with God and other people based on the heart change and love relationship.

It is a learning process because even though our heart have been radically transformed, our behavior is still etched into our minds, and bodies. Our hearts must be filtered through these other parts of us. So, we do not completely live as God's disciples, living in allegiance and a love relationship with Him.

So, this process is both wonderful and painful, liberating and difficult. It is something people want and strive for. It is something they avoid at all costs. It expresses who we really should be.

Heart Renewal

As I said before, I started this thought process after reading "Waking the Dead." My question was, if the enemy is attacking people's hearts and having some success at it, how do we renew the heart? So, I am going to spend time and space trying to answer those questions. I will probably begin with the four basic areas "Waking the Dead" started with, and hopefully push into some areas it did not.

Renewable Assets?

Here we are in a war. Our greatest asset is being assaulted by an implacable enemy. And the prime question is “how do we repair the damage to this asset?” Or …

How do we heal, renew and give life to our hearts?

I think we need to realize that, in the same way we are given freedom to choose allegiance with God, we are given other freedoms as well. Freedom to:

• Participate in the war.
• Participate in the love relationship.
• Take healing, renewing action.

There seem to be things God does of His own volition. And there are things we do of our volitions. And there seems to be things we do in cooperation. Perhaps we begin alone and then join in a cooperative effort. But freedom brings us to a place where we need to take action.

So, how do we heal, renew and give life to our hearts?

We are in a war

Man lives from his heart. So, God wants to strengthen and renew it. The enemy wants to crush it. In the spiritual war, man’s heart becomes a very important strategic focal point.

If God’s family is God’s attracting force, some should be able to judge the heart of God’s family by evaluating how attractive it is. That is, are people motivated in becoming part of God’s family?

In some parts of the world, God’s family seems to be exploding. In the West, it sometimes seems to be imploding.

Some people who study these types of trends indicate that God’s family has remained static for several decades. Some indicate that God’s family is losing ground. And some indicate that it is shifting. That is, there are new and difficult to measure types of family. So, if progress is being made, it is through a visible, but basically underground movement. Otherwise it seems that the hearts of God’s children has been damaged and they are not healing.

We need to remember that it is an enemy who waging war on God’s family. The battleground is the heart. The objective is to infuse renewal and life into the hearts of God’s children.

The Heart

Imagine that you are the enemy. You have undertaken to stop, as much as you can, any movement toward God. You want it as simple as possible. You want as much bang for the buck as possible. Just as God renews the heart, the enemy can halt renewal by attacking the heart, using the inside-out law to his advantage.

Given that God’s family is his attracting force and people live from their hearts, then the enemy could attack the heart and remove any attraction God’s family may have.

• God built the bridge between man and Himself. This issue of man’s rebellion had been dealt with. God still deals with moral failure. It still has the capacity to disrupt the love relationship. But now it cannot cancel the love relationship. Man needs to deal with the failure and repair the relationship. If the enemy can get God’s family to become pre-occupied with their failures, they lose their compelling nature. Guilt is not attractive. It ruins peace. Destroys joy and confidence. And self-preoccupation and love are just mutually exclusive.
• Man’s rebellion created alienation between all men. God put in man’s heart the need for true relationship. Since, God’s family is a picture of what true relationship should be, the enemy can attack the relationships within the family.

God intends love to be the bright, neon lights of His family. The enemy stresses areas that show a lack of love. He has convinced family members to hold onto slights, and minor distinctions. He convinced them to focus all attention among themselves. So, failure to uphold the standards the family proclaims weakens the attractive power.

God intends His family to be a lighthouse, showing the correct ways to travel. The enemy stresses the problems, the drawbacks, and the dangers of being highly visible and fully engaged with those outside the family. So, God’s family tends to circle the wagons. And they perform family business in ways that make it very difficult to connect with outsiders. Simple lack of engagement robs those unaligned with God any light to see that allegiance with God is a viable option.