The Vine and the Branches

The Vine and the Branches:

John.15:1-5

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

These verses tell us that we should hold on to Jesus Christ. In times when we think there is no solution to our problems, all we need is to remain in the Vine. The Lord tells us to still be in faith. He is encouraging us by telling us that everything is under control. All we need is to keep His Words and fix our eyes on Him. If we continue to be faithful, rest assured that God will provide a breakthrough to answer our needs. To summarize it all, continue to get a grip on Him, and He will make us bountiful. Without God, everything is impossible, but the Lord makes all things possible (Matthew 19:26)

All of us come to Jesus with our own weaknesses, hurts and struggles, imperfections, and sinful patterns of selfishness and pride. And it can be discouraging that as we attempt to follow Jesus and live out our faith, we sometimes struggle with some of the same issues and patterns we brought into the spiritual life. Nevertheless, John 15 offer great hope that as we abide more and more in Christ, these spiritual fruits -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control -- will grow in us more and more.

As we abide in Jesus, with His Spirit within us, His life and His character will progressively replace ours and we will bring glory to Him in our lives!

Dear Father,

I continue to struggle, but I know You are able to do great things and produce fruit in my life. Give me the confidence in You to know that You are working and pruning and growing Jesus in me day-by-day, as I abide in Him.
Amen.