John 15:4,5,8
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing…By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
When I read this scripture this morning I was reminded of a movie I had seen where a family’s vineyard burnt to the ground and were despairing at the loss of their means of living. Then, someone found a piece of the living vine and they rejoiced because they knew that with just one part of the living vine to plant… that the vine would again produce grapes. A happy ending!
This is how it is with us in Christ. We are the branches attached to the vine… it is the VINE that produces the fruit in us, the branches. If we are not abiding in Christ, in the vine, we will not produce Father-glorifying fruit. If we do, then it is proof that we are disciples of Christ. It is not the fruit that we muster up and try to push out.. it is the fruit that comes from abiding in Christ.
It is a beautiful reminder this morning that unless we abide in Christ; unless we abide in the Word of God, we will not bear fruit. For apart from Jesus we can do NOTHING!
Oh Lord, I love your word, Help me to love it more and more and more. When I get complacent about your Word, wake me up and draw me into your word. Help me see it as my very sustenance! I want my Father to be glorified by the fruit that is produced from abiding in You. I want the gospel to be advanced by the fruit that YOU produce in me.
I love you Lord and I thank you for Your Word.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing…By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
When I read this scripture this morning I was reminded of a movie I had seen where a family’s vineyard burnt to the ground and were despairing at the loss of their means of living. Then, someone found a piece of the living vine and they rejoiced because they knew that with just one part of the living vine to plant… that the vine would again produce grapes. A happy ending!
This is how it is with us in Christ. We are the branches attached to the vine… it is the VINE that produces the fruit in us, the branches. If we are not abiding in Christ, in the vine, we will not produce Father-glorifying fruit. If we do, then it is proof that we are disciples of Christ. It is not the fruit that we muster up and try to push out.. it is the fruit that comes from abiding in Christ.
It is a beautiful reminder this morning that unless we abide in Christ; unless we abide in the Word of God, we will not bear fruit. For apart from Jesus we can do NOTHING!
Oh Lord, I love your word, Help me to love it more and more and more. When I get complacent about your Word, wake me up and draw me into your word. Help me see it as my very sustenance! I want my Father to be glorified by the fruit that is produced from abiding in You. I want the gospel to be advanced by the fruit that YOU produce in me.
I love you Lord and I thank you for Your Word.
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