Verse of the Day - John 15:5

I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can't do anything without me. ~ John 15:5 (NIrV)

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Many years ago when I was married, we rented a house on a court, with a very large back yard. Over the large wood slat patio cover were grapevines that seemed to take over the structure --grapevines just doing what they do naturally. I don't think the grapes were edible, but because the branches "do their thing", the patio had very nice shade in the summer months.

With such a large structure, one could look up and see the many branches intertwined and think that the foliage is the vine. But all you'd have to do is take clippers and sever a twine and see it shrivel on one end, and realize that you have severed a branch -- a branch that cannot exist without connection to the root. Branches can go a long way away from the root, even out of sight, but all it takes is a set of clippers, and the branch is finished.

Do we sometimes forget that we're just the branches and not the vine? Do we sometimes get so busy and determined intertwining on the structure we're groomed on, growing tall and big, out of sight of the root, that we think we're the root? When people look up at us and say, "Gee, what nice shade and what great fruit this vine is producing!", do we glow in pride and say to ourselves, Yeah, that's right -- admire this vine called 'me'...? We have to watch pride like a prowling lion.

Jesus likens Himself and His followers to a vine. By nature, from a single root will come many, many branches. And if the connection is maintained, a vine can send branches that can overtake any structure. My parents used to have a wooden patio cover with a wisteria plant. Beautiful, fragrant flowers in Springtime, but over the course of 25+ years, that wooden patio cover was no match for the wisteria's pulling power, and the cover slowly began to give way to the vine. Amazing power when the branches stay connected to the root! Hmm . . . kinda reminds me of when Jesus said, "On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it..." (Matthew 16:18). When we stay connected to the vine root, we, as the branches, have power to tear down the strongholds of the devil. Do you believe that?

We, as the branches of Jesus Christ, have the ability to have far-reaching affects, producing spiritually fragrant blossoms, good fruit and pulling power. But we can never forget that our connection to the Root of Jesse is the key -- the absolute key -- to staying alive, to being productive and healthy. If we get heady about what we're doing, forgetting the Giver of all that we have and trying to take credit where it isn't due us, we run the risk of withering because, at that point, our lifeline is trying to tap from within us. And we're just branches, incapable of producing anything without the root.

Are you staying connected to Jesus? Are you taking life-sustaining spiritual nutrition from Him regularly? If you desire for God to make a difference in and through you, it's essential that you maintain the connection. So, as my Aunt Ginny would say, "Well, do it then...!" :-) Stay connected to Jesus and grow where and how He wants you to!

Love,
Joelene