Tag Archives: Vine

Our Most Important Task

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Our most important task in life, and in faith, is not do anything. We can think there are things we are supposed to do.

Not just in our jobs or with our families or with our communities.

But in our faith. There are things we are supposed to “do” to make God love us, to change ourselves, to change the world.

There’s all the stuff that we are supposed to accomplish. But, what does Jesus tell us? What does He tell us that our most important task is?

Listen to what He told us in John 15:4-5:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

vine and branchesAbide in me. A branch cannot bear fruit, unless it is in the vine.

Your most important task today is not to “do” anything. But, it’s to be in relationships with God. Focus on Him. Chase after Him. Live in the fullness of His life and His grace.

Focus on Him. Our main goal is not about what we “do.” It’s about who we “are.” Live as His child today. Focus on your walk with Him. Pray. Read His word. Be in connection with Him and others that love Him.

That’s our job. That’s our task. Focus on God. Make Him the center of our lives. If we do that, then all else that we need to do will fall into place.

May Jesus Christ be the center of our lives and of all that we are. That’s our most importnat task.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Staying Connected to Jesus

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Before devotional – a quick note. Yesterday, Asbury released a mobile app for smartphones. You can download this app and listen to my weekly sermons, read this devotional, and find out all that’s happening here at Asbury. To download the app for iPhones/iPads, click here. To download the app for Andorids, click here.

Now, on to today’s reflection!

Life is found in Jesus. That’s a simple statement. But it’s an incredibly powerful statement. Life, life that matters, life that can weather a storm, it is found in Jesus.

Jesus shares this with us today, in a powerful concept.  He is the vine. We are the branches.  Listen to what He says in John 15:4-5:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Today, in this passage Jesus tells us that He is the vine, and we are branches. He is the source of our strength, our life, our power, our everything. We get our very life from Him.

And this is so important for us to not only understand, but to live by as Christians, to say that He is our life is to say that He is the source of power, our strength, our ability to fight through pain, or doubt, or fear, or worry, or troubles, or trials, or anything like that.

He is the vine. He is our life.

But, that means as the branches, we have to be really plugged into Him. We have the amazing source of power and life at our disposal, and we just have to turn to it.

How? How do we acces this power? The ways we can do it have been called by folks like John Wesley, the means of grace – prayer. Studying the Word. Communion. Christian Conversation. Fasting.

By being active in these things, we receive grace. And we stay plugged into the Vine. We get His power, His life, His hope. His everything.

So, today, when you grow tied, read, pray, talk to a Christian friend. When you get frustrated, read, pray, talk to a Christian friend. When you think you can’t do it, read, pray, talk to a Christian friend.

Stay plugged into the vine. And in doing that, you will find life. He is our life. And as we stay connected to Him, we will find all the life we could possible need!

What to Do?

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Being faithful is not about what we do.  It’s about who we are.  It’s about how we are planted. It’s about where the roots are.

CS Lewis once said “No man nows how very evil he is until he has tried very hard to be good.”  There’s a lot of truth to that statement.  All of us that follow Christ want to be good. We want to do right. We want to grow. We want to be faithful. We want to see good things happen.

And, so, we try to be good.

And, we find ourselves failing. We find ourselves falling. We find that it’s not working.

So, we try harder.

And it still doesn’t work.

What do we do?

Today, Jesus tells us the one thing that we must do.  Listen to what Jesus says in John 15:

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

It’s not about what we do. It’s about who we are.  He is the vine. We are the branches.  Our job, our task, it is to stay rooted in Him.  If we stay in Him, He is in us, and He does the work.

He bares the fruit.  He grows us.  He produces fruit.  He makes it all possible.

It’s not about what we “do.”  It’s about who we “are.”  He IS the vine.  We ARE the  branches.

What are we do to?  Stay faithful. Stay close to Him.  Remain in Him.

And, if we remain in Him, He will bear fruit in us.  That’s what vines do.  That’s what we do.  Stay in Him.  He will bare fruit in you.