New Website!

Dear Faithful Reader,

You may have noticed that So I Fix My Eyes… passed its first year mark this month.  As the Lord has grown this ministry by planting more seeds of inspiration and avenues to branch out in, I realized that Blogger just wasn’t able to accommodate all that the Lord was directing me into.  So I’ve created a brand new website, and just finished transferring all the old posts onto it.  Unfortunately, I was unable to transfer the comments.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy our new home and will continue to join me in purposing to “fix my eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

New website:  www.soifixmyeyes.com
Website navigation info:  www.soifixmyeyes.com/new-website-navigation-info


Joyfully in Christ,
Christ In Me

The Reason Why

As we close out our time in John 15 and move on to chapter sixteen, Jesus gives us the perfect segue as He continues to impart life-giving teaching to His disciples.  He gives us the reason why He’s investing so much time and energy into the teachings and doctrines of the Upper Room Discourse.  So take a look at this verse:

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”

~John 16:1

Without Excuse

As we come to the end of John 15, a few verses pop out at me as an important word for us.

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  Whoever hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.”

~John 15:22-24

In this passage, Jesus is speaking of the world and more specifically the Pharisees who persecuted and hated Him despite the signs and wonders He had done among them.  They were the descendants of Abraham, the treasurers of God’s promises, the academic elite, and the ones to whom the entire nation of Israel looked to for spiritual knowledge and guidance.  The Pharisees knew all the promises about the coming Messiah, but when they finally saw Him they rejected Him and refused to believe that Jesus was the One.  Amazing right?!

Hated by the World

Have you ever been on a walk in the woods and found a fruit-bearing apple tree in the midst of the wild, overgrown forest?  It’s such an unexpected blessing, a thing of beauty in the midst of an untamed wilderness and the only thing bearing life-giving fruit.  So also, we, as fruitful branches abiding in the Vine, are like rare apple trees living amidst a forest of evergreens, hardwoods, or conifers.  And just like the wild forest slowly tries to overgrow the lone fruit-bearing tree, so also the depraved and perverted world we live in slowly tries to squeeze us until we break.  However, in John 15, Jesus told His disciples—which includes us!—to expect this.

#5 - Just

Over the last few months, we have been sporadically looking at core attributes of the God we worship—the One who sits enthroned above the heavens—and now we’re going to return to God’s throne room and look at the third attribute often listed with holy and righteous.  So let’s prepare our hearts as we enter into the presence of the King of Kings through the study of His Word.

Fullness of Joy

What is one of the first things you think of when you hear the word joy?   Do you picture the sheer excitement of a child on Christmas morning or the radiant smile of a bride on her wedding day?  Well, this week we’re going to take a closer look at the meaning of joy, where to find it, and the many positive benefits of possessing it.

After laying out the sobering reality of what happens to the branches that bear fruit and those which do not, Jesus gives the reason why He was telling the Twelve these things:

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

~John 15:11

"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"

Two-hundred and forty years ago, our Founding Fathers penned and affixed their names to a document that freed a people and ushered in a new chapter to world history. And now, as we look back and celebrate the founding of this great nation, we are grateful for the courage and bravery these men expressed when they declared:

WE, THEREFORE, the REPRESENTATIVES of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly PUBLISH and DECLARE, That These United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES…

These majestic and powerful words gave birth to one of the greatest nations in history; however, over two hundred years later, we are starting to see the beginning of its demise.  How could a nation with such a strong, sturdy foundation begin to slide downward so quickly?  And, more importantly, what spiritual lessons can we learn from the state of our Union?

The Fruitful Branch

The image of the grape vine is a vivid example of how our relationship with Christ ought to be.  It consists of a main vine that extends out to many, many branches pruned by an expert gardener to spread far and wide and bear much fruit.  Have you ever seen a vineyard of well-maintained grape vines?  It is pristine and beautiful to behold, with endless, perfectly straight rows of greenery stretching to the horizon.   If you’ve ever visited or passed through Napa County California you’ve seen what I’m trying to describe.

The Divine Helper

In our last look at John, we studied peace—the kind only God can give. Now imagine that you are with the disciples in the Upper Room listening to Jesus teaching and you hear Him say that He is leaving to return to the Father.  What would your first thoughts be?  Would you understand what He was talking about?  And if you did, would you fear a future without Him and His guidance?

#4 - Righteous

Do you remember the last Who is God? study?  We looked at the holiness of God and saw how the prophet Isaiah trembled in His holy presence. Well, now we are going to return to God’s holy throne room and will remain there for the next three studies.  So, are you ready to go before the King of the universe?!