Jewels From John # 23 - Abounding in Fruitfulness

-
Devotion # 23

Abounding in Fruitfulness
For the Audio Version of this devotion click here - Abounding in Fruitfulness


Read John 15:1-8

 “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.” John 15:4 (NKJV)

When Jesus told His disciples, that He was the true Vine, His Father, the Gardener and they, the branches, it was an analogy that they could relate with. For those of us who are interested in gardening, we understand the importance of trimming the branches and also cutting off those branches which sometimes are completely dry. That’s exactly what the Father has to do when there is no fruit in our lives. Just like a gardener who invests his time, energy and resources on a plant and expects to see the fruit, so also, God who has given us everything we ever need, including Salvation, which is the greatest gift, anticipates a life of fruitfulness.

In order to bear fruit there is an important prerequisite, and that is for us to abide in Christ and that His Words abide in us.  It’s really simple; a branch has life and can bear fruit only as long as it is connected to the Vine. Once it is disconnected, death is inevitable. Abiding in Christ means acknowledging the fact that we are helpless without Him. What happens as a result of this abiding, is that we become more fruitful and we have the assurance that whatever we desire will be done for us.

There are two important areas one must be fruitful in. Firstly, in our own personal lives. Galatians 5:22-23 spells this out clearly, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”(NLT) As Jesus clearly stated, the fruit of the Spirit will be evident only in the life of one who chooses to abide in Him.

The next area of fruit-bearing is where we are called to bless others and lead others into the Kingdom of God. In the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, Jesus talked about the ones who are good soil, who hear the word, understand it and produce fruit, some hundred fold, some sixty and some thirty.  The Lord wants to take and use us to be those fruitful people who are fulfilling the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus and brining many into His fold.

Here is a word of Jesus to treasure in our hearts from John 15:16, “You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures.” GNB
For the Audio Version of this devotion click here - Abounding in Fruitfulness

                                  If you were blessed by this devotion, please share it with others

Esther Collins
Email: thelifetransformingword@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jewels From John # 8 - No Finger-pointing Please

-
Image
Devotion # 8 No Finger-pointing Please For the Audio Version click here:  No Finger-pointing Please John 8:7 , “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”(NKJV) Read John 8: 1-11 for the entire account. Jesus was at the temple, early in the morning, teaching people who had come eagerly to hear His words. The Scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery.   Their only aim was to trap Jesus and to check whether He would keep the Old Testament law as given by Moses (Leviticus 20:10), which actually commanded that both the man and the woman be put to death, but for some reason only the woman was brought to Jesus. They thought they were putting Jesus in a spot, as they awaited His verdict.   Strangely, Jesus spoke nothing, but simply bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.   No one knows for sure what He wrote, but
Read more

Jewels From John # 3 - The One Who Perceives But Still Pardons

-
Image
Devotion # 3 The One Who Perceives But Still Pardons Click here for the Audio Version:  The One Who Perceives But Still Pardons The woman of Samaria said, “Come see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:29 (NKJV) Read John 4: 4-42 for the entire account. The woman of Samaria had no clue whom she would encounter on that eventful afternoon, as she came to draw water from Jacob’s well.   What seemed to be a casual request from Jesus for a drink of water, developed into a very deep dialogue where the Samaritan woman realized who Jesus was, and that He also knew all about her. Initially she must have been shocked when Jesus revealed that He was aware of the 5 husbands she had earlier, and also about the man she was living with, who was not her husband. There must have been something about the way Jesus spoke to her, that caused her not to be embarrassed, scared and withdrawn, but to feel overjoyed at the thought that she h
Read more

Jewels from John # 5 - When We Have No One

-
Image
Devotion # 5 When We Have No One For the Audio Version Click Here:  When We Have No One "The sick man answered, 'Sir, I don't have anyone here to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am trying to get in, somebody else gets there first.'" John 5:7 (NKJV) The pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, called Bethesda was a unique place. An angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred the water and whoever stepped in first was healed of whatever infirmity they had. The Bible records that a very large multitude of sick and disabled people were all awaiting their turn. It was here that Jesus met this man who was bed-ridden with an infirmity for 38 long years. Jesus knew everything about the man and his predicament, and asked him a very important question, “Do you want to get well?” His reply was amazing. Not knowing who it was who was asking this question, he replied, “Sir, I have no man…” John 5:7 (KJV). Ther
Read more