Abiding in Jesus ~ by Amy Vest

 

The Lord has been drawing my heart in a fresh way to abiding in Him and has been revealing the wonder of who He is and what He alone can do, as a result!

John 15 has been a treasured passage of mine for years. Lately, I have been studying the Gospel of John and read chapter 15 again.  This time a verse popped out at me and the Lord brought fresh insight as I studied, “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 15:5)

I used to simply think of bearing fruit in the context of ministry – if I abide in Jesus, He will bear fruit through my life and reach others for Him.  While this is true, there is more.  When I abide in Jesus, He bears fruit IN my life.  He transforms me and brings fruit in who I am, as only He can. 

All that we are called to in the Christian life, is not possible on our own – and was never meant to be.  It was meant to keep us close to and relying on Jesus.  For example, the fruit of the Spirit ~ love, joy, peace, patience, etc. ~ will come as we abide in Jesus and allow Him to work in us and fill us with His life.  No amount of striving on our own strength can do this.  "...without Me you can do nothing..."  Only by abiding in Jesus and His life in and through us, we are enabled to live the life He is calling us to live.

In a fresh way, I heard the Lord calling me, “Abide in Me and I will bear this fruit in your life.”  He is calling us to that deep relationship with Him.  A relationship of abiding – dwelling in, relying on, finding all in, drawing nourishment for our souls from, delighting in – JESUS, and allowing Him to fill us with His life and live His life through us.  The fruit in all of our life will flow out from this.

Friends, may we remember in a fresh way that all that we need is in Jesus.  Let’s look to Him for all that our heart needs, rely on Him for our strength, and allow Him to work in and through us, for His glory!  There is such joy in being a branch looking to the vine for all it needs, because our Vine is so all-fulfilling – JESUS!

Together, let’s seek to abide in our amazing Jesus and let Him bear the fruit that He desires in and through our lives!