Life as a Branch

What does a branch do? Not much (Galatians 3:1-3). The roots, vine and leaves of a plant do most of the work. Without them, the branch will wither and die, and be pruned and thrown into the fire and burned up (Matthew 7:19).

Yet, securely connected to the vine, the branch will bear much fruit (Matthew 7:18). The vine is one long system with many branches flaring out from it. It uses rocks, other plants, trees or any viable support for growth.

The vine helps to fertilize the soil over which it spreads, holding in moisture needed by the branches to bear fruit. It colonizes and spreads quickly. When pruned, the branches bear even more fruit (John 15:4-8).

The vine always moves toward the light in order to position the leaves of the plant to access the most and best sunlight. The vine will even overcome walls, fences and ravines in order to spread. So like our spiritual walk.  

Vines stabilize the plant on which they attach as a support, and also help to hold soil in place and to cover parts of the earth that would otherwise be bare, parched soil.

A stem is stationary and remains in one spot, but a vine spreads out and up and around. Jesus could have used the word "stem" instead of vine in illustrating our connection to Him.

However, His use of the word vine shows that He is interested in spreading His gospel as quickly and prolifically as possible. The roots of the vine also spread out in the soil, offering stability and nourishment for the whole vine and branches.

Roots act like tiny straws, sucking up water and minerals from the soil. The little hairs sticking out from the roots help in this absorption process too. Roots anchor the vine much like God's Spirit anchors us in life.

Roots also store extra nutrients for later use, ensuring that the Vine and branches have the provision they need for healthy growth now and in the future.

The leaves on the branches join the roots in providing much needed food for the vine and branches. They use sunlight, water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air in photosynthesis to make a sugary energy drink for the vine and branches.

Living apart from God's presence, the nurturing of His Spirit and the Body of Christ, we cannot survive in this world (John 15:5). We would wither and die, be pruned and discarded.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for providing Jesus as the support for our life as our Vine. We are amazed at how You piece together the Body, the Spirit and Your presence to make us healthy, and a viable conduit of Your life in order for us to bear fruit for Your Kingdom.

Remind us that we are useless without You, Your Spirit and Your Body, because we could not bear fruit. We rely on You for everything we need for life and godliness (2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Peter 1:3). Use our fruit to feed the multitudes who come to gather in Your presence.

Thought for the Day

The symbolism which Jesus used of the Vine and branches is such a perfect picture of the Christian life; the fellowship, comradery, spiritual nourishment and support provided to us by Jesus, His Spirit and His Body is invaluable to our personal growth in Christ.

Undeniable Truth

Receiving God's Word as undeniable Truth is the first requisite for a life infused with love, joy, peace and power. When we doubt, we are in sin (Romans 14:22-23).

Yet, God lets us off the hook with one particular story. It is a man requiring a miracle and he humbly requests. "Lord, I do believe, but help my unbelief" (Mark 9:23-25).

How can he have faith and doubt at the same time? Didn't you ever feel this way? In your spirit you knew without a doubt that God could, but in your soul - your mind, choices and emotions - you wondered if He would.

Faith can move mountains and it often does. Faith can change lives, if the person humbly submits to God. Faith can give us hope in a hopeless situation.

Regardless of the amount of faith we have, God is not an Aladdin's lamp at our disposal to grant all of our wishes. He has a perfect plan for our life and some of that plan includes struggle and strain.

Not because God is mean of an ogre or vindictive, but He knows that our struggle makes us stronger. Look at a butterfly emerging from its cocoon or a chick coming out of its shell.

The struggle increases their ability to live in this world. If we help them and make it easier for them, they will most likely die. God planned for every struggle to bring us the strength to survive.

God connects us to the Vine of Christ. We draw every nutrient we need for an abundant life from the very blood of Christ. We bear fruit not by our own effort, but by the life of the Vine flowing through us.

Then, what does God do? He prunes us so we can bear more fruit - a temporary trial which makes us stronger. Yet, He does not stop there. He prunes us again so that we will bear much more fruit.

Prayer:

Father God, in the productive stages of our life, when we have learned the lessons brought to us through our pruning, we have an abundance of Your Spirit running through us from the Vine and we love who we are in Christ.

We do not need to be a separate plant in order to feel pride in our accomplishments. We are thrilled to have the privilege of abiding in our union with the Vine of Christ. Thank You for caring so much about the whole world that You chose to become Emmanuel and pay our sin debt for eternity (John 3:16-17).

Thought for the Day:

We love who we are in Christ and we rejoice when a new branch is connected to the Vine along with us. The Body, the Bride of Christ all intimately united with the amazing Son of God.

Abiding Fruit - Part 2

As God's Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ, we abide in His abundant love forever. We keep His commandments and love our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors with the love of the Lord (Matthew 22:37-39; John 15:10).

The Vine existed long before the branches ever grew, and He sacrificially shares His love and life with us (1 John 4:19). We choose to fully commit to our relationship with the Vine (John 15:16).

Separated from the Vine, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We display the fruit of the flesh, which is envy, strife, hatred, self-centeredness, criticism, worry, depression, pride, bitterness, complaining, quitting, backbiting, loving our self more than others, loving money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to our parents, ungrateful, unholy, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; inventing ways of doing evil; disobeying our parents; and as adults, we put work and fun ahead of God (2 Timothy 3:2; Romans 1:30).

Abiding in the Vine gradually renews our heart and replaces these negative issues with the fruit of God's Spirit, which we bear through our obedience to Him. This is the evidence of our union with the Vine (John 15:13).

We rest in His grace and renew our strength as we wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31). His Spirit directs us each moment of the day (John 16:13). We increase God's Kingdom by our obedience to Him and His Word (Mark 4:26).

God's fruit in our life is proof of our faith in God (James 2:14-26). We abide in Him, but He also abides in us, completing the sanctifying work of holiness, which He started in us at salvation (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13).

Prayer:

Father God, let us never break our connection with Your Vine. The life we receive through Your presence in our spirit is not paralleled by anything this world has to offer.

Help us to exhibit affection for others, an exuberance about life, serenity through the storms, determination and patience, a compassionate heart, and kindness that pervades our entire being (Galatians 5:22-23).

We trust that You have this world in Your control and have a perfect timetable for its culmination and the renewal of all things. Remind us to live humbly in service to You and others, and continually guide us by Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

Our God, who called us, is faithful to us and will fulfill us and care for us until we abide with Him in eternity. - 1 Thessalonians 5:24