Abiding in The Vine

John 15:11

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Being rightly related to Jesus Christ is the place of complete joy.  Unfortunately, too often we let our vain attempts at finding happiness get in the way of finding the fullness of the joy that is in Jesus.  The simple fact is that our attempts in finding happiness in this world provide obstacles to us fully understanding and enjoying what God has prepared for us through His Son.

The fullness of our joy is directly related to our relationship with Jesus.  Jesus is very specific in His instruction in the parable of The Vine.  Jesus establishes that He is The Vine.  He teaches that we are the branches and that the branches must abide in the vine.  Jesus repeats over and over again, "Abide in Me."  Jesus summarizes the result of our choice in one simple statement, "Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

Jesus goes on to establish the promises associated with abiding in Him.  We will glorify the Father, bear much fruit and prove ourselves to be His disciples.  In the process, His perfect joy will be in us so that our joy may be full.

Prayer

Heavenly Father we thank You for the life that You promise us if we abide in Your Son.  We rejoice in knowing that we will bring glory to You by being disciples of Jesus Christ.  We bless the name of Jesus for the perfect joy that He brings us as we join Him in His bountiful harvest in our lives.  We pray Father that the Holy Spirit will guide us and inspire us daily in being rightly related to The Vine.  May we be known by the fruit that we bear in His name.

Waiting in Quiet Confidence

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

God's promises are meant to give us comfort.  His promises are for all that have been redeemed by the blood of His Son, Jesus.  The promises are meant to give us the strength and the courage that we need to overcome without fear all that comes against us. 

His promises are also given so that we may endure the time that it takes to get through the rising waters and tormenting flames.  We should be careful not to force our way out of our troubles through our own efforts.  Waiting in quiet confidence on the hand of God while we are under attack blesses Our Heavenly Father.  Waiting in patience, without murmuring, allows the waters and the flames that we pass through to cleanse us, purify us and prepare us for our place in God's kingdom. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Holy Word that is swollen with all of the promises that You have set aside for us.  We bless the name of Jesus who redeemed us so that we could live under the protection of Your promises.  We praise Your Name for allowing us to live in Your shadow and claim Your promises as we go through the struggles of life.  We pray, Father, that You teach us how to live confidently and without fear, trusting in You for our every need.  May our lives come in complete alignment with Your will as we learn to surrender all to You.

Trusting Through Fiery Trials

1Peter 4:12

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Jesus makes it completely clear in His teaching that we should expect trials if we follow Him.  We should not be surprised by any painful trial that we may be going through.  Trials are part of the necessary process of growing our faith and our intimacy with Our Lord.  

Our faith must be tested.  Without trials, we would soon believe that all of our good fortune was of our own making.  Through the trials, we build our confidence in Our Savior who faithfully delivers us from each and every challenging period in our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for being our rock and our foundation.  We thank You for Your faithfulness in delivering us from the fiery trials in our lives.  We pray that we will come to a place where we trust You in all things.   May our trust become so complete that we actually learn to rejoice in the face of our trials, knowing the victory is ours in all matters even unto death. 

Constant Enlightenment

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray without ceasing.

Unless we live lives of solitude, incessant prayer as we perceive it would seem to be an impossible command to follow.  However, if we realize that the Holy Spirit of Jesus is with us throughout the day, why wouldn't we be in constant conversation with Him? 

Would we ignore our best friends if they were to accompany us throughout the day?  Of course, we would not.  Our relationship with our friends would dictate that we have interaction of some type with them on a regular basis.  Does this mean that we would be speaking with them non-stop?  Of course, we would not.  The flow of the time that we spend together would dictate when we would speak and when we would listen.  We would be ourselves and comfortably include our friends in all the activities of our day.  

So it is with the Lord.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing us with the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit.  We praise You for allowing us to have fellowship with One who loves us perfectly and unconditionally.  Father, we humbly seek to interact with our Wonderful Counselor without ceasing.  May we be constantly enlightened, enlivened and purified by His presence.

Living in the Light

John 12:35

So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

Jesus is the light, the truth and the way.  When we let Him into our lives, His light is going to reveal all the darkness that exists in our flesh.  When He brings our sins into the light, we must repent immediately and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us as we turn away from the things in our lives that displease Our Heavenly Father.  To delay is to let Satan build a stronghold that will become harder and harder to overcome.

Jesus came and died on the Cross for us so that we may have light.  He freed us from walking in the darkness where the stumbling blocks are many and where we are sure to find afflictions, calamity and distress.  He provided us with a path that allows us to act as wise men and not as fools.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.  We thank You that Your Holy Spirit within us reveals our sins to us.  We ask forgiveness for all of our sins.  We choose this day to turn away from all the things in our lives that are displeasing to You.  May the Holy Spirit guide and strengthen us as we choose to live in the Light.