Close To The Vine

Prayer   Lord God, Great and Mighty are you O God!  I am grateful for all that you have done in my life and I'm thankful for your many  blessings. Bless missionaries throughout this world--those  domestically and internationally. Send your spirit before them to prepare the hearts of the people for the good news. Bless my superior as well as my colleagues. Bless me with wisdom and grace to be a wise steward of my time. Help me to draw nearer to you that the overflow of you working in my life will touch someone elses life. Father, I want to be closer to you, In Jesus' name, Amen.                  Close To The Vine by Veronica Garrett  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:1-4  All Christians do not live the same distance from God. Some are closer to Him than others. Why else does scripture tell us to draw near to God? Quite interestingly enough  those who have close relationships with the Lord are admired but every believer has the same opportunity to draw closer to Him. We are compelled to draw near to God. Jesus Christ is the true Vine and God the Father is the Gardener.  And when we draw nearer to Christ an evident by product is that we are fruitful. The modern church is at times confused on this one point.  At times she measures her health on her  busyness.  We may view all of our church and community obligations as indication that we are productive while spending little to no private time drawing near to Christ. Sometimes the church is   far to focus on growth plans and competitive analysis.  We miss the opportunity to stay close to the Vine. Often times we have real obligations and commitments that require time that have to done but we must strive for personal intimacy. In this passage, the truth nugget speaks loud and clear. Beautiful edifice, gifted oratory, and modern presentation is not what makes for a healthy body--abiding in Him is the secret.    What I've learned is that in my own strength my attempts are empty. I must be a spiritually connected person to do spiritual work.  In a healthy love relationship couples are cautious to spend time together.  The hours may be odd for many and the activities may be different than most but they strive for healthy communication in the relationship.  After going through a season of living close to God and winding up seemingly far away from Him I've learned that staying close to anyone is intentional.  Relationships we nurture tend to grow unlike those we neglect.  I've learned to protect my time with the Lord from family, friends, and ministry. The overwhelming motivator is that time spent with the Lord makes me better for my family, friends and ministry.  During times of weariness and wandering of my heart I recognize it as such and I pray that Christ will woo my wandering heart so that I may be close to Him.  When I abide in Him, He supernaturally takes my human effort and turn it into something meaningful.  When I focus solely on my effort I miss the opportunity to be blessed of God as well as forfeit what it means to truly be a blessing.