Abide in Jesus

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me." — John 15:4 

God calls us to abide in Jesus.

Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself without the vine.

So I can't bear fruit unless I abide in Jesus.

Yesterday we celebrated the first day of spring.

Also called the vernal or spring equinox.

Hard to believe it's spring already!

The rain we've been having is causing the flowers to bloom.

And the flowers are gorgeous this year.

The grass is green, and the landscape is beautiful.

Glory to God.

Abide in Me

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He who abides in Me, and in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” — John 15:4-5 

Jesus asks us to abide or remain in Him.

Just as a branch can't bear. much fruit by itself, it needs to be connected to the vine.

Otherwise, it will wither and die without a connection to it's life source.

When I'm not connected with God, I wither and die.

Without His nourishment, I dont' have the energy to go on.

But God wants me to bear much fruit.

Without Him I can do nothing.

Remain In Me

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: 3-4  

Jesus lives in us.

And He commands us to remain in Him.

We cannot bear fruit on our own.

We have to remain connected to Jesus.

To drink from His living water,

So that we can bear fruit.

No branch can bear fruit by itself, cut off from the tree.

It much remain in the vine to be fruitful.

When I'm connected to Jesus, I can be fruitful too.

My Father Is the Gardener

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ”  — John 15: 1-3

Jesus is the true vine.

Our Father God is the gardener.

He prunes me to make me more fruitful.

Even though it's painful, He's molding me into the person He wants me to be.

God has a marvelous plan for my life, but He needs to prune away the chaff in me.

So I can be fruitful.

He needs to cut away every branch in my life that isn't bearing fruit.

He has cleansed me of my sins and I am grateful

My Father Is the Gardener

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will produce more fruit." — John 5:1

Jesus is the true vine.

God is the gardener in the garden of our lives.

When I'm connected with Jesus, He nourishes me and helps me grow in Him.

God prunes me to help me produce fruit for Him.

That can be a painful process but one that lets me grow to my fullest.

The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. — Isaiah 11:1-2

Jesus has come to us from the stump of Jesse.

A branch has grown out of his roots.

During this Christmas season, we thank God for sending Jesus.

The Spirit of the Lord has rested upon Jesus.

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding.

The Spirit of counsel and might.

The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

As we finish another year, Lord, help me to be filled with your Spirit,

With your wisdom and understanding,

With your knowledge.

Fill me with your Spirit and help me to do your will each day.