Persistent Vines

 Psalms 80: 1-2, 8-19; Hebrews 11:29 - 12:2

 Asaph the seer has written another Psalm. In Psalms 80 he uses the metaphor of the Jewish people being a vine brought out of Egypt that prospered in the land God had cleared for them. Why Asaph asks have you not taken care of it - allowing people to break down its walls, allowing others to pick its fruit, animals to feed on it, allowing it to be burnt and cut down? This is a parable of the Jewish people turning from God. Asaph pleads for God to return and give this vine of the Jewish people life. “Restore us, O Lord, let your face shine, that we may be saved.”

Hebrews 11 accounts the faithful people of the Old Testament, those who did great things due to their faith in God. Using Asaph’s metaphor – they bore much fruit. They are not only our examples, but they are also our “cloud of witnesses.” They endured even when they didn’t see the promise fulfilled, but still they had faith and witnessed the love and power of the Lord.

They are to be our inspiration to keep on going in the faith, to keep on running the race set before us. To do so we must let go of any sin that weighs us down. We are to run with perseverance – not to give up but to keep on going during the hard times. How can we do this? We do so by putting our focus on Jesus who was the pioneer, first in faith believing that God would use him through the awful death he went through to save the world from sin. This was the joy set before him. He endured the cross and disregarded the shame due to this and now God has lifted him to God’s right hand.

Jesus is not only the pioneer of our faith but the perfecter of it. Through Christ we have the power to have a growing faith which produces fruit. He enables us to be a persistent vine, continuing in the rough times to keep the faith and produce fruit for God.

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