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May 21, 2023 06:00am

Connected to the Vine

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“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

The formula for living is hidden in these words. Delight and desire determine our quality of life, but a war is being waged this very moment on where we look to find that delight and desire. What delights the soul fuels its desire. When this combination is healthy, life yields abundance. When this combination is diseased, life withers and dies.

We studied John 15 at church one Sunday, and our pastor had a viticulturist from a vineyard come talk with us. As a viticulturist, his job was to tend the vine. He brought a branch cut from the vine and held it in his hand as he explained how tending vines works. Although he cut the branch that morning, the grapes were already starting to look more like raisins than grapes, because they were in the process of withering. The leaves on the branch crunched when he touched them. It was evident the vine and its fruit were dying.

“What is the most important thing we need to know about the vine?” Our preacher asked. “You have to stay connected to the vine if you want to live,” was his simple reply.

That’s it.

You have to stay connected to the vine.

John 15 says, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Jesus is the Vine. If you are finding your soul feeling withered, today is the day to pause and ask yourself two life-giving questions: Do I know Jesus and am I abiding in Him today?

Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a sacrifice in our place so that we can be connected to the Father. Our enemy wages war every moment of every day on this life-giving connection.

Living requires staying connected to the vine. The number one job of our enemy is attempting to cut us off from the Vine, which we know, if we are in Christ, he cannot do.

If you are feeling withered and dried up, create some space today to read the words of John 15. Sit with your Bible, a pen and paper, and prayerfully ask God to speak into your life.

Read and re-read the words. Write down what you notice. Who does this passage say that God is? What are recurring words?

Life is here for the taking. All the branch has to do is stay connected to the vine and it will live. You have access right here, right now. Getting to the Vine may feel like a struggle. It will be the greatest battle that yields the greatest victory today.

So check your email. Make lunch. Return the item to the store. Attend your meeting. Scroll social media. Do all the ordinary things today brings, but remember, of all these to-do’s, finding time to connect to the Vine is the most important thing you will do today.

“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. If anyone does not remain in me, he lis like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” John 15: 5-6