Living in the Vine

-->

John 15:5- I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Living in The Vine is the name of this personal Bible journal (Blog). The essences of being a Christian is to live and abide in Christ, and to remain always in Him. Having a religion called Christianity without abiding in Him is idol worship and is fruitless. The world measures success by what a person accomplishes in life, but it is all vanity outside of the Vine. The expectation of being part of the Vine is to have a life that will bare fruit. It is the fruit of our lives that testify that we our abiding in the Vine. If the branch does not bare fruit, Jesus said it is of no use and is to be cut off and cast away. We may call ourselves Christians, but to truly be part of the Vine it is essential that our lives show the fruits of the Spirit of God. I judge not, for only God knows the heart. Let us examine our hearts and the fruit of our character. Abide in the word of God, keep His commandments, let your actions show the world what it means to belong to the Vine. As long as we abide in Him, there is no fear of being cut off and cast away.

Believing Without Confessing

John 12:42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

Believing without confessing. Such were many of the religious rulers in Jesus’s day. They could not deny the power of God. Pride blinded their eyes in taking the next step to confess His Name and follow Him. They took upon themselves all the rituals of a religion, having a form of godliness, but denying the true power of God. Why? Because they feared what others may think. They feared for their reputation and standing in the religious order of their sect. Many today, believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They go to church, follow many of the teachings of Jesus (The Word of God), but stop short of confessing that Jesus is Lord of their lives and proclaiming that He is the only way to the Father. They desire the approval of man, more than the approval of God. They still live in darkness, and their eyes have yet to be open to see the kingdom of God. Most of us who live in America, don’t face physical persecution for our faith, but we face the pressure of being reticule, rejected, and mocked for confessing that Jesus is the only name under heaven to obtain eternal life. Believing is good, but not good enough. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Commit Thy Works

Proverbs: 16:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Commitment is hard to find in the day we live. People are afraid to commit because they fear that such a commitment will interfere with what they want to do. Committing our works to the Lord means that there’s things in our lives that we will probably have to put aside. Any commitment demands that we give time. Committing to spend time alone with God, committing to attend the house of God, committing to do acts of kindness, committing to love as God would have us to love. Commitment demands our full attention. Commit to seek first the kingdom of God with all of your heart. Commit your way to God, and He will give you the desires of your heart, He will establish your thoughts to be His thoughts. “Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with thy might”.