Remain In Me

Encounter: Find a quiet place free from distraction and read John 15:1-9. After reading it through once, return to verse 4. Take your time with this verse by writing the verse out by hand. Take note what stirs within your heart as you write this verse.

With the recent rains we have experienced, the fruit or vegetables from many gardens, fruit trees, and vines have been damaged. The question is; will any of the fruit or vegetables be good to eat? Most likely, many people will have to discard their fruits and vegetables.

From verse 4, we read; “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

What kind of fruit do you produce?

Bette Dickinson writes in her book, The Art of Vinemaking; “According to Jesus, we cannot grow fruit on our own effort or performance. Fruit comes from abiding. When we remain in Christ, his life flows into ours, producing the fruit of His character – the fruit of the Spirit: ‘Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.’”

Without a constant desire to grow in Christ, we become complacent and the floods of life begin to take their toll on us. When we seek to be a disciple of Christ, it becomes our desire to grow in His character. As we grow in His character, we will produce much fruit, and this brings glory to God.

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” John 15:8

While most of us desire to grow in our relationship with Christ, many of us of will fall short, because we end up trying to produce the fruit of Christ on our abilities and become discouraged when we have an off day and allow our ways to get in the way of His way.

From my own experience, I become frustrated and lose all patience when I haven’t taken the time to seek His presence and try to figure out things on my own. The pressure builds. I try harder. Get more tired and become more frustrated. Before I know it, I have an outburst of anger and later must go to the person I had my outburst with and apologize. Not quite the fruit that is desirable.

Thankfully, by the grace of God, we are forgiven and encouraged to change our thought process and let go of our own stubborn ways to allow His way to flow through us which produces desirable fruit.

Reflect: Consider a time when the fruit of your efforts weren’t quite the desirable fruit. Reflect upon the context of the effort and consider what you might have done differently to heed to the Spirit and allow Jesus to flow through you.

Spiritual Practice: At the end of each day, take some time to reflect upon all that took place. Honestly place with God the context of the events and the actions and or thoughts you experienced. If it was not a good action or thought, ask God for forgiveness and seek with Him what you should do differently the next time. This is called the daily examen.

The “Daily Examen” is where you sit with God and you reflect upon where you saw God in the events and actions throughout your day. You also reflect where your fruit may not have been as desirable as God would have liked. Give praise or ask forgiveness depending upon the situation. The key is spending time with God and learning where He was and the reason we divert to our own ways instead of His.

Gather: As you gather in your small groups, share your challenges of remaining in the Vine. Encourage one another and ask each other how you might be able to pray for them.

Discuss the following questions:

1)     What does it look like to “remain in the vine” for you?

2)     How can you assess when you are venturing from the vine and change your thought process to re-anchor to the vine?

3)     Do you try to “remain in the vine” on your own abilities or do you seek the help of God and other believers?

Remaining in the Vine with you,

Pastor Phil