“I am the vine; you are the branches.”
John 15:5
Like many of you we had an extra deep
freezer for the overflow of food. It was a
medium sized chest type with a small
power-on indicator light on the front. It was
three days before we noticed that the light
was out! Actually, it wasn’t the darkened
light that caught my eye, it was the defrosted
food. The power cord got knocked out of the
socket.
We had been walking past that freezer for
days and had not missed the small yellow
glow on the front. The freezer was still there
but the power was not. The wilted food told
the story. Some of it survived but most of it
was lost.
My cell phone needs recharged daily. My
car can go about 350 miles on a tank. The
flowers I bought Christy lasted three weeks.
When the battery is dead, my cell phone
shuts down. When my car runs out gas, it
refuses to go any farther. When the flowers
dry up, the pedals fall off.
Unfortunately, as Christians the missing
light of God’s love in others goes unnoticed
until sin makes it evident that they had cut
themselves off the vine (power). We might
look good for a time, but the truth comes out
sooner or later.
Jesus made it perfectly clear. We must stay
attached to the vine if we hope to bear good
fruit. “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
Though this simple truth is easy to
understand, it is not always easily applied in
our fast-paced life. We get busy doing
“good” things at church and neglect the
“God” things related to our spiritual life.
What did Jesus mean “remain in me?” There
are three essentials to the disciplined
spiritual life: A daily quiet time of…
- Personal prayer
- Reading and meditating on God’s Word
- With regular worship attendance
Prayer connects us with God. Daily reading
in His Word keeps us fed spiritually and our
faith strong. Regular worship helps us stay
charged, motivated and focused.
Throw in some spiritual supplements like
corporate prayer, personal and small group
Bible study, and fellowship with other
Christians will keep your walk with God
close.
Hey, do me a favor? As you pass by the
mirror, check for the glow of the light!
Blessed by you…Bro. Sherman
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