Strengthen Our Bond

Our existence is full of elements, full of ties, full of circumstances and full of attachments that cause us to drift away from the center, from the core, and from the Source of Life and Power.  Consequently, we end up missing out, we end up missing the mark, we end up losing on the very essence of what we were originally designed for, of what we were created and entitled to be, to do, to inherit, to accomplish, to carry through.

Jesus said:  "I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).  And, in the light of that quote, we confidently suggest the reading of the whole section of John 15:1-17 which is highly-recommended, greatly-insightful, and that is an absolute "must-read".

This is a remarkable teaching and a very serious reminder from Jesus Himself to His disciples to stick to Him at all costs, to remain close to Him, attached to Him in order for them to grow, to remain alive, to continue to have life spiritually, and also for them to be able to bear fruit.

As Jesus’ present-day disciples, our lives are certainly full of circumstances that have the main plan to uproot, to sever, to tear apart, to rip apart, to break, to distort, to distract, to destroy, to choke life, to clog the flow of substance, to hinder progress. to impede advancement, to block vitality, to prevent creativity, and to sap productivity.  The list of negatively-impacting consequences can go endlessly.  Therefore, inversely, this statement from Jesus is also a cautious warning for us not to sidetrack, not to be flaky, not to fume, not to fret, not to give up, not to backslide, nor to quit because of a little futility, or because of a futile, a senseless or a trivial incident that may be easily brushed off due to our Elevated Standing in the Light with Jesus.  We then remain firm, strong, confident, faithful, steadfast, prayerful, resolute, and immovable.

One of the greatest benefits of remaining in Jesus Christ is this: by staying solidly and strongly attached to Jesus we become immune from being dead spiritually although, in our body, we are alive, living and breathing.

When we are strongly connected to Jesus, i.e., us in Him and Him in us, the constant and continuous flow of life, of productive action, of positive outcome, of recurrent vitality, and of helping and saving power, is definitely and infinitely guaranteed.

Because we are seriously and genuinely in Him as He is truly in us, His Love in us and flowing perfectly and powerfully through us allows us to begin to love others naturally.  We then feel compelled to be caring, to show kindness, to display and to manifest courtesy, to accept our responsibility to be peacemakers, to manifest great interest in the well-being of others and of our society.  We begin to create ways to make a positive difference, to make a long-lasting impression, to have a positive impact, to build a safe, peaceful and sound present, to lay the strong foundations of a great future, to construct a solid and worthwhile legacy.  We are always looking for ways to reach out, to mend, to nurture, to support, to encourage, and to uplift.  We are always creating opportunities to be light, to shed light, to manifest light.  Life with all its precious elements and components becomes our utmost priority.  As a perfect analogy, and for the sake of comparison, that connection is like a symbiotic connection as opposed to an osmotic connection, or like the tight connection of a fire hose to a fire hydrant with its valve fully open.  In the latter comparison, we (humans) would then be the fire hose, and Jesus would be the fire hydrant with His valve of perfectly-flowing Love and Power totally open.

Since God who created this world has placed us in the world, and since we gradually understand more and more that we are His representatives here on Earth, our role then has taken a totally-different meaning and a totally-responsible turn towards serving Him and towards fulfilling our mission here on Earth.

Our connection to Jesus is the state where substance abounds, where peace blossoms, where confidence is evident, where creativity is eminent, where growth is achieved, where love is profusely generated, and where power prevails.  We are then able to just "be fully" all we are meant to be.  Therefore, this is the state of full self-acceptance, and also the state where we naturally share the love that has been generated, imparted and stored in us. That is why, as a vital reminder, we individually have no need for strife, for dread, and no necessity to envy or to hate out of fear, out of jealousy, out of intimidation, out of lack of awareness of "one's own loving supply", or out of insecurity (due to lack of self-confidence) because, as we are in Jesus, we are automatically in the source of light, in the generator of life, of joy, of substance, of confidence, of faith, of creativity, and much more.  

On a more beneficial side and connotation, what apparently is bad, negative, harmful, tricky, and what normally was supposed to mess us up end up being a blessing in disguise.  They have become the cause of new possibilities, of renewed power, of endless opportunities, the new source of inspiration and of creativity, the realization and the awareness of hidden, innate, inherent, and intrinsic capabilities and potentials, and, more importantly, the confirmation of God's power, protection and preservation at work.  Since we are connected to the Master Creator of Life, we are, therefore, constantly in the automatic state of fully-being, of overcoming, of self-renewal, of self-development, of victorious living, of self-growth, and of divine covering.

Some additional points for us to remember and to remind ourselves as part of being connected to Jesus are:

• We have increased motivation to love fully, to live joyfully and to create productively in spite of, and in the midst of any forms of short-term, passing, temporary, and fading adversity.
• We know that sunny and better days will always supersede and will always replace cloudy moments.
• Worrisome events and circumstances are allowed by God for the purpose of testing, of buffeting our faith in Him, and for our sheer growth (spiritual, emotional, personal, and so on).
• Our current exuberant joy will always outweigh all instances of past pain, of previous disappointment, and of outdated sadness of yesterday.
• Our optimism and our forward-going attitude, although mysterious and puzzling to many, always triumph, always prevail, always succeed, and always conquer in the face of uncertainty and in the midst of trials and testing.
•  We always have a reserved supply of happiness inside of us that is available and ready to be tapped into at any time, and at any short-moment notice.  It is up to us to be aware of it, to draw from it, to activate it, and to utilize it on due times, and as it is required.
• Renewing our mind is the key to our victory in our God, Jesus Christ, and is the essential element to overcoming, to prospering in peace, and to winning at all times.  Renewing our mind also prepares us for higher level of unprecedented accomplishment, achievement, miracles, insight, understanding and revelations.
• Education is the greatest tool that is available, the most valuable asset that we possess and that should be maximized, updated, upgraded and upheld for our self-protection, for our strong standing, for our self-defense, for our self-worth, for our personal happiness, and for our self-advancement.
• Since we are so individually loaded and so personally blessed in Christ and through Christ, there is absolutely no need for irrelevant competition against one another.  Instead, we focus on completing each other for the sake of togetherness, for our Love for Christ, for our tangible progress, and for the sake of our Mutual Love and our Long-Lasting Peace.
• God is the Creator of the whole universe.  Therefore, being connected to Him makes it "absolutely normal and totally acceptable" to prosper in all things, to be great, to think big and rich, to have big dreams, to entertain big ideas, to have and to work on great designs, on great products, on big projects, to be bountifully fruitful, to consider building cities with large highways, subways and tunnels, to build churches in order to teach Peace, in order to be an additional solution to communities, in order to rescue innocent people and the lost that deserve to know better, and that deserve a better life with Secure Peace, with Greater Sense of Self, with Elevated Hope, and with Secure Access to the Light and Additional Education.
• God has not put any limitations or boundaries to our capabilities.  The proof is, Jesus Himself said to His disciples:  "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."  (John 14:12) (Full Context, John 14:5-14).  Therefore, we will consciously maximize and expand ourselves in many ways, shapes and forms by increasing our faith, by boosting our self-confidence, by igniting our passion, by widening our vision, by sharpening our focus, by activating our determination, by exercising our capabilities, and by applying our positive actions.

We Strengthen Our Bond with God in doing the following:

• By reading, meditating on, and studying the Word of God, the Bible.
• By praying to God, and by expressing our gratitude to God for ALL He has granted to us, for ALL He has blessed us with, and for ALL He has done for us, from the smallest, the minute, to the biggest things.
• By acknowledging God at all times, and by not taking Him for granted.
• By pleasing God in all our ways.
• By loving our neighbor as ourselves.
• By reaching out to our neighbor in Peace and with the intention to interact, to support,  to encourage, to help, to create relationships, to bridge differences, to establish connections, and to build togetherness.
• By assessing ourselves constantly, and by correcting ourselves always to allow for God's  greater intimacy with us.
• By asking God for forgiveness for our sins, by repenting always, and by being in good terms with God to the best of our abilities.
• By being a Good Samaritan, i.e., a voluntary solution to someone else in their crucial moment of need for help.  The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found in the Bible in Luke 10:25-37.
• By apologizing to our neighbor, to our brother, to that stranger when we are wrong, or when we have wronged them.  It is real, noble, and commendable to admit and to acknowledge our mistake, our wrongdoing, to submit ourselves to godly humility, and to take the concrete, the positive and the mending action to apologize for the sake of Peace, faster healing, psychological and emotional restoration, forgiveness, divine mercy, reconciliation and moving forward.
• By being attentive to God's voice, by being obedient to His instructions, and by following through.
• By being willing to serve Him with all our skills, gifts, talents, and with whichever tool He has placed in our hands, to work for Him, to be His hands extended, to love on His behalf, to be Peacemakers, Instruments of Peace, and by focusing on Him.
• By showing Renewed Appreciation for the Governance, by having High Respect and High Regards for Authorities, and by Showing the Utmost Respect for God:  "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s." (Matthew 22:21) (Full Context, Matthew 22:15-22).  Our Love for God and our Love for our Country are of Highest Value, and of Significant and Noble Importance.
• By practicing humility, by showing kindness, goodness, gentleness to all at all times. Kindness, goodness, and gentleness are also called and referred to in the Bible as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) (Full Context, Galatians 5:13-26).
• By interceding, by manifesting compassion, by lifting up, and by boosting up the destitute, the outcast, the fallen, the sick, the needy and the poor.
• By sharing and by giving to others with “no strings attached”.  We are blessed in order to have the ability and the willingness to bless others as well.  Otherwise, we somehow block and clog the flow of supplies coming to us and that were intended to flow continuously through us.  Jesus said: "Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you". (Luke 6:38).
• By becoming God’s Sons and Daughters ready to live fully, ready to go into the world, and prepared for our full heavenly inheritance.  Therefore, we accept Jesus Christ in our lives as our Lord and Savior, we go to Church as full participants, we receive the Water Baptism, we shape up our lives, we live our lives in compliance with our Sons and Daughters High Standards, High Class, High Quality, Growing Maturity and Self-Respect. The Church Pastor and the Church officials are ready to embrace us royally, are rejoicing for our decision to participate and to integrate, and are happy to welcome us “Home” where we truly belong.

This above list is very concise and comprises a reduced number of what can be done to Strengthen Our Bond with God.  Much more remain to be done as we take on our responsibility to improve, to correct or to change the course of our lives, and as we decide to live effectively and richly in God as per His original plan for us.

It is a very beneficial and a great phenomenon to be connected to the Generator of Life and to the Source of Light.  That is why we must and we shall Strengthen Our Bond with God, Jesus Christ, who is the KING of kings, and the LORD of lords. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (of life and of all things).  In Him there is Love, Peace, Restoration, Security, Life, Light, Solace, New Beginnings, Strength, Perseverance, Reconciliation, Protection, Confidence, Forgiveness, Courage, Compassion, Hope, Prosperity, Bright Future, Direction, Empowerment, Focus, Wealth, Joy, Passion, Purpose, Growth, Everlasting Life, and much more.  In Him we are completely whole and greatly powerful as we remain receptive to His Love, grateful for His provisions, obedient to His instructions, submissive to His commands, attentive to His voice, and in absolute synergy with the Holy Spirit.

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Special Notes:

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