HOW ATTACHED ARE YOU?
“How I ever managed to keep you alive but killed
every houseplant I have ever owned is beyond me.”
I nearly choked with laughter when I saw a cartoon of a mom saying this to her child. I truly identify! Not because of my maternal skills, but because I can’t keep houseplants alive! Children might be a planting of the Lord, but thankfully they don’t need a green thumb to flourish. (Just lots of prayer). The point is, live plants rarely survive under my watch.
I had nearly given up on them until I found Mandevilla. She doesn’t need a lot of attention. As long as Mandeville is allowed to cling she’ll climb the trellis and flourish. All I have to do is sit back and watch her grow. Without much help from me, the results are glorious. All because she clings!
I realize there’s a life lesson here. The secret to becoming a fruitful believer is also in the clinging. Jesus called it abiding in the Vine. Sometimes I forget to cling and pursue my independence. I try to make it on my own. Until I feel a gentle nudge.
- Do not lean to your own understanding
- Do not be wise in your own eyes
- Fix your eyes on Jesus
- Hold fast to Him
Just like Mandevilla wraps herself around her support system, I need to wrap my heart and soul around mine. As long as I stay attached to the Vine, the results can be glorious, too.
Scripture Reading:
John 15:1-8 excerpts
I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 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.
Galatians 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Questions to Consider:
1. Who is the Vine? the Gardener?
2. Who are the branches and what happens if they don’t bear fruit? What does fruitlessness indicate?
3. What happens to branches that do bear fruit? What might that process look like in our lives?
4. What should real fruit look like in one who stays attached to the Vine?
5. What application can you make for your life from these scriptures?
Summary:
All of the I AM declarations we’ve studied in these lessons reveal who Jesus is to us. He is everything you need for life and godliness!
- I AM the Bread of Life
- I AM the Light of the world
- I AM the Gate
- I AM the Good Shepherd
- I AM the Resurrection and the Life
- I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life
- I AM the Vine
Jesus will do beautiful things in your life as you learn to abide in the Vine. Stay close to Him by reading His Word daily. Pray about everything. Listen to worship music. As a branch in the Vine, your fruitfulness will be obvious. You can’t make it happen on your own. The secret is in the clinging.
WHO IS THE VINE – my vine has always been JESUS in my life – I learned that at a really early time in my life in Bible studies and my FATHER GOD is the one who was the gardener. Just to think on that verse again in a Bible study is wonderful – JESUS AND THE FATHER should be the main people in our lives. I always want them in my life – sometimes we do try to do things our way – but I want to really lean on the LORD at all times – I want HIM in my life completely with reading HIS word and by praying unto HIM – by praising HIM through song and praises. You and I are HIS branches down here on this old earth – we are leading other to trust in the LORD with their lives. Without fruit we are taken away from HIM – HE puts more people in our lives to help them find the way to HEAVEN. Just think when we abide in HIM brings more people unto HIM. And I love the part of the verse “FOR WITHOUT ME WE CAN DO NOTHING” – – AMEN.
I want to glorify my FATHER and bear HIM much fruit – I want to be one of HIS disciples on earth. I want all of these things in my life down here on earth – LOVE – JOY – PEACE – LONG SUFFERING – GENTLENESS – GOODNESS – MORE FAITH – MEEKNESS – TEMPERANCE. I just want to be more and more like HIM in my life so that other may see JESUS in my life here on earth. You and I need to strive for these things each day. Every one of us should have a special prayer time and Bible reading time in our lives and do it each day of our lives. Thanks so much again – Karen Cooper – for the wonderful lesson. Think on these things.