Stay

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:1-6 NKJV

I heard a 6-minute message today that was part of our church's 25th Anniversary Celebration. It was so rich, I will be chewing on it for days. 

Abide in Me, and I in you. On the surface, I've never taken that any further than "Follow Christ. Be a Christian and He would never leave me." Today, I realized, it is SO much more than that. Thank You, Jesus, for Your Word!

What is the first thing we want to do when we get into trouble or face adversity? We want to cut and run. Turn tail and run in the opposite direction. If there is pain involved, we want no part of it. Right? The last thing we want to do is stay. Likewise, pruning is painful. It's cutting back. It's cutting away things that suck life out of us. Things that allow the enemy to steal from us our time, our health. Our very faith! We shouldn't want that even more!

Abide is translated from the Greek word 'meno', which, according to Strong's Concordance, means to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy). In our Promise for Today, Jesus tells us it is the pruning process of our lives that allows us to bear more fruit. And if we don't bear fruit, we are cut completely away from Him. When we read verse 2, we see it is the branch already bearing fruit that God prunes. In other words, you're doing something right, and God is going to prune so you can do even better. That may feel or even look like you're being punished for doing good things, but keep in mind, God's ways are not our ways. Jesus tells us to "Stay in place." "Stay in relation to Me." "Stay in expectancy."  Stay in the pruning process. Stay in the fire. Be refined. The key is to stay. 

Prayer:

Father,

          Open Your Word to us. Reveal Your great Truths so that we may live and not die. Give us hearts of understanding and opportunities to share Your Good News. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen