John 15: 5-8 says "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (NIV) In the message the last part of verse 5 says, "Separated, you can't produce a thing."
While building the log cabin in Mississippi one of my jobs was to help cut the decking. I have to admit it was rather exhilarating using the circular saw. =) At one point after getting all the decking cut I filled in momentarily for one of the workers installing the decking. My job was to hold the board in place while Becky used the nail gun to secure it, only the nail gun did not fire. We eventually traced the problem to a line that came unhooked. Becky smiled and said it helps if your connected to the source.
As she said this I couldn't help but think of how true that is for us spiritually too. Just as the nail gun cannot do what it was designed to do without being properly attached to an air compressor, we will never do what we have been designed to do if we are not connected to Jesus.
Jesus knew that it was vital for us to stay connected to Him. In John 15: 5-8 He compares that connection to a living vine and makes it clear what happens when we are not connected to His life giving vine; separated, you can't produce a thing. Our connection to Jesus not only allows us to do what we were designed to do, it also has eternal implications.
I once read that to stay connected to Jesus we simply needed to:
Scripture - Read the scriptures daily - He gave us His Word so we could know Him.
Time - Spending time in community with other believers, spending time in the Word, spending time serving others, spending time building relationships.
Attitude - Do people see Jesus alive and active?
You - Daily, minute by minute you make the choice to stay connected to Jesus.
It doesn't have to be rigid, or difficult, you don't have to buy expensive books or attend a mega church; simply choose stay connected to Jesus everyday. Seek Jesus for guidance, seek Him for comfort, seek Him for assurance, seek Him for love, seek Him for approval. By choosing to stay connected you will bear much fruit; separated, you can't produce a thing.
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