Thanksgiving is tomorrow. After that it’s Black Friday and the things kick in to high gear to get ready for Christmas. But… I got to thinking…
When most people read John 15:1-14 they
usually end up talking about bearing fruit for the kingdom of
God. That is an important principle for us to live by. If
we’re true disciples of Jesus Christ, we should desire to bear much fruit for
the sake of the Gospel.
However, as I read this recently, I had a
different perspective on it.
In this passage in
John 15 two verses stood out to me. The first is in verse 5,
which says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in
Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” As
I read this, I thought about how we all are in the “rush mode” getting ready
for Christmas. The Lord spoke to my heart through this and reminded me that we
must keep our focus on God, His Word, and his son, Jesus -the reason for
the season. Maintaining this focus will help us be less stressed
with more opportunity to bear fruit for the Lord.
Understanding that in this passage Jesus is the
Vine we’re to abide in, let’s see what we can learn about abiding in the Vine.
I have made an acrostic of the word “abide” from which we can glean five
principles of
abiding. Apply Build Involve Deny Examine.
Apply – “Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15KJV - If we’re going to walk in tune with the
Lord, we’re going to have to know his word. I don’t mean that you have to be a
scholar or read twenty-five chapters a day. Just be consistent to read
something from the bible every day.
Build – 22 But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) Ask the Lord to help you
build these qualities in your life. They will certainly be helpful in the
crowded stores! (smile)
Involve – 46And day by day
continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house
to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of
heart, 47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And
the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts
2:46-47NAS)
The believers in the early church stayed in
close contact encouraging each other and they were committed to involvement in
their local church.
Deny – “Then Jesus said to His
disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) Again, if we keep Jesus first in our life, and
think of others more than ourselves, we’ll be less apt to growl back at another
tired shopper.
Examine – “Examine yourselves as to whether
you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus
Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified.” (2
Corinthians 13:5) We must regularly take inventory of our lives to make sure
that we’re living in righteousness.
Earlier I mentioned two verses that stood out
in John 15. We looked at verse 5. Now let’s look at verse
11. John 15:11 - "These things I have spoken to you,
that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” “These
things” refer to the scriptures Jesus just share in verses 1- 10. So, what
Jesus is saying to us is that if we abide in him, we will have
JOY. What a promise to hold on to for the rest of this month and
next! The stress of shopping, the pain of being alone, missing a loved one,
financial strain, etc. As we abide in Jesus in the midst of it all
we can still have joy in our heart.
Be encouraged, my friend. Even
in the stresses of life, even in the rush of the holiday, we can call on
the grace of God to strengthen us as we abide in him. If you are struggling,
pray the following: “Lord, I am hurting, I am tired, I feel so alone. Please
send your Spirit, the comforter to come alongside me. Help me to focus on You
so that I may have joy in this season of celebrating the birth of your
Son. In Jesus name, amen.”
Until next time,
I pray that you are filled to overflowing with the joy and love of the Lord!
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