Our dear friends and supporters of the True Vine, July 4, 2024

            Today is July 4th, the celebration for Americans of our Declaration of Independence, and eleven years
later, of our Constitution, which represented an entirely new and untried experience in governance. What an
amazing story! - a greatly outnumbered colonial army defeating the mightiest military force on earth, surviving a civil war, winning two world wars, and then becoming the most powerful and prosperous civilization in the world, and arguably remaining so. How could this happen? French diplomat, Alexis DeTocqueville, visited America some fifty years later in hopes of discovering the reasons for America's great success after its revolution and France's abject failure. France started much the same with its battle cries of "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite". But there was one vital difference. They left God out of their equation. DeTocqueville was quoted in summary, "America is great because She is good. If She ceases to be good, She will cease to be great." That axiom still rings true today, and if we aspire to greatness, we need to be rooted in God. Over the last fifty years we've gradually turned away from Him. So, what must we do? God's answer is clearly stated in 2 Chronicles, 7:14, "If My people, who are called by My name ....". In a practical sense, for us today, we need to elect godly leadership based on Biblical principles and those who uphold our constitution and are committed to reforming our educational process. Thomas Jeferson was quoted at the time of constitutional ratification, "The success of this experiment depends on education of the populace." And each of us needs to be proactive toward these ends in our own areas of influence. In the ministry we’ve placed special emphasis on learning Integrity, honesty and respect for authority.
                  We still have wars and rumors of wars and there is still civil unrest in our civilization and most of the
world. But the sun still comes up in the east, and moon lights the nighttime sky. The True Vine brings nutrients to the branches, and the branches are even now bursting with new fruit and promise of a bountiful crop. And that's what we're promised in John 1, 1-8 of God's Word. In most of His promises, there are conditions to fulfill before the promise is realized. In this one, it is Jesus, the True Vine, which bears the branches, but if left alone, branches grow almost unlimited and bear little fruit. But with proper pruning of the branches, the fruit becomes copious and tasty. The vinedresser, or pruner, is the Father of Jesus, and of us who accept and abide in Him, and so become sons and daughters, and will be pruned. It is done with sharp shears and produces pain. But just as the branch grows uncontrollably without pruning, so do we unless we are pruned. Come and see the True Vine as It
grows to fruition!
      The ministry bookings continue to be strong despite the heat, but we anticipate the usual upsurge during
the fall. We are also happy to report the new full-time managers in the gatekeeper’s cabin, Emily and Kyle Stille. They’ve settled in nicely and are a wonderful contribution to the ministry. As an aside, the elder of the ministry's founders has had a dream of building an open-air chapel between the vineyard and the lake - a place for our heavenly Father to sit back, cross His legs and enjoy the splendor of His creation and those who want to enjoy it with Him. A precious lady from Georgia has dedicated a gift of $5,500 to initiate the project, for which were grateful. Additionally, your support has continually allowed us to provide a high level of excellent programing and lodging to our guests at an extremely affordable rate. We consistently feel the efforts and obedience of The True Vine Prayer Group and if that’s a passion of yours, please let us know and we’ll loop you in. Also, we’ve set the 2025 Dine at the Vine date for April 26th so please mark your calendars!   

       May God bless you and keep you.

    

     The McRaes, for the True Vine