Fruit From The Branches

Fruit from the Branches

Prayer   Wonderful, Master, Creator, Sustainer, Counselor, Strong Tower, Mighty God, Everlasting  Father,  Worship belongs to you O  Lord, Let everything that has breathe praise you Lord!  Thank  you for health, protection and provision. Thank you for supplying my every need. Please bless  my Pastor, his family, church leaders, husband, and fathers. Lead and guide them and give  them wisdom to lead your people in a way that demonstrates your love. Please give me grace  to accomplish the tasks set before me today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.                             Fruit From The Branches by Veronica Garrett  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 is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.    John 15:5-8 Appearance counts for a great deal in the western world. People spend billions to look beautiful in our world.  In fact, we name the most beautiful people each year, inspite of the fact that many of them have reconstructed their entire faces and bodies with plastic surgery. That leaves many of us thinking appearance is everything. Have you ever bought fruit that was pleasing to the eye and you couldn't wait to bite into it? Were you eager to eat the fruit that looked very delicious only to be disappointed by its taste? This fruit looked ripe but it was removed from tree or vine a little too soon.  Far too often kingdom building is strategized in great detail without emphatic reliance and dependency upon the beauty of our wonderful Savior. Societal influence and ideology can deceive the people of God into thinking we can construct beauty that will draw the hearts of men towards God without Him.  It is true that remaining close to Jesus Christ causes us to flourish and be fruitful in the most unlikely places. The men and women who have made the greatest impressions on my life are those whose personal relationship with the Lord speak to them being branches close to the Vine.  Scripture clearly states we can do nothing apart from the Vine.  It  reminds me of faux fruit arrangements on display as a table centerpiece.  The eye may be tricked for a few moments to believe the fruit is real but when we pick it up it becomes obvious to lack nutritious value. When we are close to the Vine (Christ) the byproduct is we are fruitful.  When our lives are bearing much fruit its clear that we are close to the Vine. The Gardener (God) ensures that those who remain in the Vine bear much fruit. Quite naturally believers can focus less on how to be fruitfulness and more on a close relationship with Christ. Our efforts can be compared to decorative fruit when they lack a Christ connection.