Christian Foundations Guest Post – Abide in the Vine
Jesus revealed to me a green vine. I was the branches of this green vine supposed to be a fruit vine. However it was not bearing fruit for a long time. To me I felt healthy and from a distance I would appear to be healthy with loving dark green leaves. However little did I know that I was not making my Owner very happy as I was not doing my job in producing fruit.
As I felt pretty healthy, I thought that I didn’t need to rely on my Owner’s roots for nourishment. I thought that I should be able to survive in all types of weather by myself. Jesus revealed to me that even thought I was meant to be a fruit vine, in His eyes, I appeared to be a common evergreen vine instead.
He explained that this was because I had been born in any “evergreen family” that refused to change colour and let go of their leaves and snapped branches.
He told me that He has come to set me free from being an evergreen and that He has saved me to reproduce change, colour and fruit. Jesus has shown me, especially as the area of my family badly grown fruits that looked like they had shrivelled up and were literally just waiting for the wind to knock them over before falling to the ground.
My branches were a mess and it was time for my Owner pruned me back. I was always used to my branches and without realising it, I was used to my branches dropping with bad fruit – it never seemed to bother me that much.
One day I was drooping far too much. I had lost my strength, my joy and my hope. My Owner could see this and fed me His nourishment. Although I had loved my Own, it was only at this moment that I was able to really let His love for me sink in. I could see that My owner was about to prune me for the first time.
I could see that my Owner wasn’t going to use garden cloves. He was going to use His bare hands and a pair of garden clippers. At first I had thought to myself, “I wonder why He isn’t going to use soft gloves?” Then I realised how many times previously I had cut Him all over. My Owner didn’t seem to mind. He had always accepted me, mess and all, but this was a special time for Him – a time that He was waiting for my acceptance.
My Owner loved gardening and it wasn’t that He neglected me, but rather that I refused to be pruned. So with one hand, He held my first branch that wasn’t bearing good fruit. He was holding this branch in the palm of His bare hand and He used the clippers with the other hand to prune my branch.
Snap! My branch snapped and fell to the ground. Snap! Another branch fell to the ground. Snap! ……and another fell.
Just as my owner was almost finished pruning my branches, He found some healthily looking buds, promising to bear fruit. He realised this branch was very healthy, as it was constantly in the sun’s direction. With this branch, He pruned it differently, on an angle to encourage more of this type of fruit.
After He had finished, He looked back on His vine. He was very pleased and fed me more nourishment. Now my vine is bearing lots of buds and promising good fruit. Now there is life in my veins. My Owner’s is looking forward to the fruit I will bear. In fact, He continues to look for any pests or diseases that will stunt my growth!
Now I have never felt better. I have a very special Owner whom I have to thank. He has always had hope for me. He will never forsake me. He will always feed and will continue to fill me with His nourishment. He will admire the colours as I change and the fruit that I bear.
He will always get rid of branches that don’t produce good fruit always encourage and promote branches that are producing good fruit.
In John, chapter 15:5-8, Jesus 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, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned. ”. We must learn to abide in Him as He is the vine and we are branches. Learn to Abide in the Vine!
I challenge you to think of any areas in your life that you may not be remaining in Jesus. He asks us to remain (or stay) in His love in john 15:9.
Are you remaining in His love? If not where are you abiding? Are you remaining where Satan wants you to remain? Are you remaining in your comfort zone? If so, you are not where Jesus wants you to continually remain. If you don’t remain in Him, your branches will be “…thrown into the fire and burned….”. You can choose to remain at ‘the fear bus stop’ and catch the bus with Satan’s passengers or you can wait for the King of Kings to pick you up in His beautiful carriage and you will enjoy an exciting journey together.
Of course, the journey will not always be a scenic your and of course, you will be challenged to remain in
His love with Him. If you do remain with Him, you will be stronger and be able to conquer anything with Jesus on your side!
Remember there is no fear in perfect love. Are there any areas in your life that you are trying to rely on your own strength? Remember that you cannot bear fruit by yourself; you can only produce fruit through the nourishment of the Vine – Jesus Christ.
Would you be willing to allow the Great Gardener to “…cut off every branch in you that bears not fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be more fruitful.” John 15:2.
May God multiply the branches bearing fruit in your life and may you bear a sweet fragrance to attract people to Christ! Debbie
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Thanks Debbie for this interesting Guest Post! May He continue to grow healthy and precious gruit in your life,
Susanne Fengler, Blog Author
www.hearinggod.mentorsnotebook.com/blog
PS. This was just an interesting Guest Post, you will find a copy at www.hearinggod.mentorsnotebook.com/blog
Tags: Guest-Abide in the Vine
Filed under: Guest Posts, Series #1: Being a Jesus Follower
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