John 15:4

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 ~ John 15:4

Jesus spoke in words to reach into the very understanding of those gathered in listening. Who can better understand what He was saying about cultivating than those who were familiar with it in their daily life? So, He talks about being connected. Here, it is a vine connected to its source of life, the branch. The vine, rooted in the ground, receives nourishment and life giving waters, then passes this on to the branch. The branch in return brings forth budding, and flowers, and ultimately, sweet fruit. If we are not rooted in studying God’s Word, in prayer, in Bible reading on a daily basis, there is great difficulty in staying connected to the branch, namely, Jesus Christ. Life is too powerful a tool! It grabs our attention, our sustenance, and our worries. Being disciplined in spiritual matters takes energy! And if we do not apply it to the spiritual, the world, as I said, grabs our attention and steals it away. We just have to look around and we see this is so. “Spirituality”, we say, “I don’t need a people, or a church. I can do this on my own.” Church attendance in our western culture has dramatically dropped as people go their own way. If we look around, the ones who said they could do it on their own are now adrift in the sea of emptiness. We need each other to encourage each other, to study together, pray together, uplift each other, so that as we cling to the vine we will all bring forth the fruit Christ has planted us to produce. It can be done, the bringing forth of fruit, by those who are not connected to the vine. It cannot, nor will not, have an eternal worth if it is not connected to the Vine of Jesus Christ.

Devotion by Pastor Julia