Devotion 12/16, Heart of God

[Jesus said,] “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. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:5,8

Christ Himself is the vine and we are the branches. As long as we are connected to Him we get the required nourishment to bear godly fruit in our lives. It is a matter of simply letting the life of the Vine flow out through the branches.
When we as God’s children stay in God’s Word by reading and meditating upon it, when we stay in prayer with God and focus on placing Him at the center of our lives, we will bear much godly fruit. What does “godly fruit” look like you may ask.
In Galatians 5:22-23 we see exactly what this fruit will be like…“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
These are the “fruits” that God desires to see in us, we possess these attributes inside us upon salvation, but we must choose to exercise them in our lives if we want to please God. These attributes are a direct reflection of His one and only beloved Son Jesus Christ!

We take on Jesus’ character (bear fruit) by remaining intimately connected to him. The distance between heaven and earth is not so great when heaven lives within us. In John 14, Jesus reminded us that if we will obey him, he will come and live in us and will reveal himself to us. So as we obey him, we know him better. His life becomes real in us.
He is the vine, the conduit from God to us. Our nourishment is scripture and prayer. When the Holy Spirit helps us discern God’s word, we bear fruit for God’s kingdom.

Precious Lord, I want to obey your word, your will, and your example. I want to obey you to honor you, to love you, and to know you. So please, help me to come to know you as I more closely walk in your steps. Help me to know what it means to live your life in my world. Because of Jesus’ mighty name I pray and thank him as my Lord. Amen.

I know, this song isn’t quite the theme of the verse today, but it is. Everything starts with God and there’s only love in the heart of God. He is the vine we are the branches. Without Him we wither to a mere worldly existence that will end. With Him we are the fruit. Fruit has all the components to reproduce itself, which when nourished properly is seemingly everlasting.
Father, I pray my spiritual life stay centered and focused on Christ and the cross. I ask for the strength of the Holy Spirit to dwell in my soul, that every action I take, every word I pray is for your honor, glory and to grow your kingdom. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!