Abiding Fruit - Part 1

Vineyards are a way of life in many countries around the world. A vine and branch are a common symbols of the intimacy of our relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-6).

No branch can bear fruit unless it is connected to the Vine, with the nutrients from the roots and leaves flowing into each branch through the Vine (John 15:4).

The only way to bear fruit for God's Kingdom is by abiding in the Vine. In Christ, we bear much fruit (John 15:5). He puts us in the right place, at the right time, with the right people to impact lives.

God's abiding fruit gives us a new personality, prunes the decaying negative characteristics from our life, and nurtures the positive aspects, which He birthed in us.

He replaces hatred with love, discontentment with peace, irritation with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, worry with faith, pride with meekness, and depression with true joy as He controls and guides us by His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

The branch has no responsibility but to allow the life of the Vine to produce fruit through it. The branch is securely attached to the Vine, an integral part of the makeup of the Vine.

To abide in the Vine means to be so unified with the Vine that there is no difference between the two. We flow out of the Vine, reaching up to God's life-giving Son and basking in the refreshing later rains (John 15:2; Joel 2:23).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that the Vine and branch are one entity, created for the purpose of bearing fruit to sustain a famished world dwelling all around us. Without this union, the branch dies and is pruned, discarded and burned in the fire.

Help us to enter into Your rest and to patiently hang out with the Vine, enjoying the cooling winds of the Spirit and the warming rays of Your Son. Encourage us to continue in Christ throughout our lifetime (Hebrews 4:10).

Thought for the Day:

If a branch is torn from the Vine by the storms of life, it no longer bears fruit and it withers and is thrown into the fire to be burned; yet, if we weather the storms of life by clinging to the Vine, we remain in the Vine and bear even more fruit. 

- John 15:6

Our Union Life with Christ

 

John explains our union life with Christ as a branch on a vine. We cannot live a fruitful life without our intimate connection with Him. God is the vine dresser and He prunes us to make us even more fruitful (John 15:1-8).

Jesus prayed for our union with Him through His Body. He wanted those who believe on Him to live in unity with one another and with Him, just as He is in God, and God is in Him (John 17:20-24).

We enjoy the glorious union with Christ; and He calls us to live in unity with one another (John 17:25-26). This will only occur as we lay down our life for one another. This union life is a witness to the dying world around us that there is reality in our faith and practice.

God already crucified us with Christ, so that we no longer need to live by struggling in this life. We live a fulfilled life in Christ. We live by the faith of Christ, God’s Son, who loved us enough to give His own life in ransom for us (Galatians 2:20).

God calls us to walk in the Spirit and do the works He ordained for us to perform before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:15-17). This takes all the guesswork out of life. We simply wait on God to reveal to us His divine purpose for each moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, You gave us Your Holy Spirit to dwell in our body, which is His Temple. Therefore, it is only right that we glorify You with our body and soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Remind us to obey Your Spirit’s direction through each moment of our day. Give us a true revelation of our union with Christ.

Thought for the Day:

Our union with Christ is a great mystery, but a reality nonetheless.

Grafted

 

A gardener will take a young vine and cut the trunk off at ground level. Then, he will graft a new branch into the trunk, just where it rises from the earth. The sap from the trunk flows into the new branch until the old sap from the branch is embedded completely as one with the trunk. Similarly, God cut Jesus down to His roots on Calvary’s cross to give us new life. He grafts us into the vine of Christ (John 15:1-17). God’s Spirit totally renews us until we are completely consecrated and surrendered to Christ with wholehearted faith and devotion (2 Kings 10:3).

If we forget that we are in Christ and that He is in us (1 John 2:28; Colossians 1:27), life can get absolutely unbearable. When we live according to our will or try to do anything in our own strength, we will eventually self-destruct. It is only as we allow the life of Christ to fill us that we are able to succeed in life. God’s wisdom and power come spontaneously as our life is rooted and grounded in Christ (Ephesians 3:17). We only find true contentment as we consistently dwell in Christ with unbroken fellowship (1 John 1:6).

We recognize Christ as our life (Colossians 3:4), and without Him we have no life at all. Life is not a mystery for us to decipher. The Holy Spirit guides us throughout the day with His spiritual insight: a deep abiding understanding of what God wants to do through us. We trust His faithfulness, wait for His guidance and glorify Him in everything we think, say and do. We live in Him and He lives in, through and instead of us as we submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading throughout the day.

As God reveals His faithfulness to us, we acquire confidence that He will continue to supply all of our needs according to His heavenly riches (Philippians 4:19). As we surrender our humanity and abide in Christ, our thoughts are clear, our passions tempered, our judgment wise and our body strengthened. Our former roots are cut off from earthly temptations and worldly distractions. As we wait in our dependence on our union with Christ, He inspires us, leads us and works through and instead of us.

We dwell in the inner recesses of our spirit, united with Christ, safe and blessed regardless of the circumstances that plague our life. This keeps us from reacting in the flesh and allows us to act from the spirit instead. We cling to Him, unshaken by the storms of life, in harmony with the Spirit of God within us. His work of righteousness in our soul brings us rest, tranquility and reassurance forever (Isaiah 32: 1,17). Abiding in Christ, we stand complete and accepted in God’s beloved family (Colossians 2:10; Ephesians 1:6).

Prayer:

Father God, we are delighted that You are in us, that You quiet us with Your love and that You save us mightily; however, we are especially blessed that You take great delight in us and that You rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17; Isaiah 62:5). We abide in Your rest because You keep us in Your perfect peace, as we trust You and keep our focus on You (Isaiah 26:3).

Thought for the Day:

God unites us with Christ to make us right with Him: pure, holy and free from sin. – 1 Corinthians 1:30