This morning, Pastor Jonny brought us the first in our new series on growth!
Rooted in Jesus
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
(Colossians 2:7)
Paul wrote to the Colossian church, a young church. He encouraged them to be spiritually full. They needed to be rooted in Jesus and He is all that they needed. There was no need to let distractions take precedent, but to make sure that their feet were planted firmly in Christ.
It’s the same for us today. Are you rooted in Jesus? You need to make sure that your heart is fertile soil, letting the Holy Spirit do what only He can do.
So how do you make sure the soil of your heart is fertile? You need to ask yourself some challenging questions. How is your prayer life? How regular are your daily devotions and Bible reading? Hint: the clue’s in the name. These things are the basics, the foundation for growth. If you aren’t building solid foundations into your walk with the Lord, how do you expect to grow?
Just like appliances need to be plugged in at the power source to work, we as Christians also need to be plugged in and engaged with God and His Word on a daily basis.
Drink the Living Water
But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
(John 4:14)
So you’re rooted in Jesus, now what? You need to be fed and watered, like any good thing that grows!
In John 4, Jesus met the woman at the well and spoke to her about how He is the living water.
Have you ever eaten a really salty meal that’s resulted in excess thirst, where soft drinks just won’t cut it, and only pure water will do the trick? If you’ve ever experienced that feeling, we need to turn that feeling into our attitude of thirst for Jesus. We need to come to Him knowing that all the distractions in our life just won’t satisfy us like pure quality time of prayer and worship with Jesus.
When did you last realise you needed an outpouring of Jesus in your life?
Eat the Bread of Life
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
(John 6:35)
In this verse, Jesus is condemning the crowd that followed Him. In the previous chapter (John 5), they had seem Him perform the feeding of the 5000, and Jesus knew that they were only following Him for another miracle. He had to speak quite firmly to them and teach them that He is the Bread of Life, not the bread that He multiplied in His miracles!
In fact, Jesus talked about bread a lot in His ministry, from teaching us the Lord’s Prayer to having bread at the Last Supper.
We imitate the moment at the Last Supper by having bread and wine at communion. When we come to what is known as the Lord’s Table, we remember that Jesus’ body was broken on the cross for us (represented by the bread) and His blood was spilled for us (represented by the wine), to pay for our sin, so that we can be forgiven of our sins and be granted eternal life in Heaven when we believe in Him.
So root your life in Jesus! We cannot encourage this enough here at Light & Life. If you’re not a Christian and you like what you’ve read, and your interested in following Jesus, get in touch via our contact page or on our social media! We look forward to hearing from you!