John 15:5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Ah friends, it’s been one of those pretty late nights or early mornings, so the ole fella is a bit behind in his activities. (smile) Anyway, it’s a glorious day to be alive on God’s great earth.
We don’t know exactly what will happen to us, how our day will go, but we do know that our wonderful Father in heaven is controlling everything for our good. Therefore we can confidently proclaim like the psalmist: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
Yeh mih people, what’s the use of having a day given to you as a gift and not enjoy it eh? None whatsoever! But please remember too that the Lord expects good stuff from us in return, so let’s do our best to please Him.
And I got a bookmark from the Prostate Cancer Society yesterday with this interesting quote from Tom Bodett (1955), American author, voice actor and radio host. It says: ‘They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to LOVE, something to do, and something to hope for.’
Well I don’t know if those three things will necessarily keep us happy, but I do know that without them, we’ll be very miserable and unhappy. (smile)
Yeh friends, LOVE, Action and Hope are all very necessary ingredients of a successful and happy earthly life. But sadly, a lot of people lack them all.
And the only place you’ll truly find them in all their glorious splendour is in an intimate relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to earth, was born in this Christmas season, so that we could understand more about our Creator and heavenly Father.
Now let’s declare our Wednesday Wail, which helps us keep our eyes on Jesus, who gives us the LOVE, Action and Hope we so fervently desire.
Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah mih breddren, isn’t it just great to be associated with Jesus and all the wonderful things He has in store for us!
And what could be more invigorating and pleasing than the awesome breath of life that He has breathed into our mortal bodies eh? Nothing really! For without it, we’re nothing; nothing but a dead set of bones and flesh.
And yuh know, even with the breath of life in us, if we don’t have Jesus too, then we’re still nothing, because as He says in our Bit:‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’
And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! In the relationship between man and God, Jesus is indeed like the vine, and we are the branches, offshoots of that vine. Just like in real vines, the branches can’t produce anything unless they are attached to the vine, likewise, we can’t do anything without being attached to Jesus.
And to make it even more lifelike, the Father tends the branches, like a real gardener, pruning and watering and doing whatever is necessary to keep the branches alive and fruitful.
Now here is an interesting explanation from the scholars re our Union with Christ. ’15:5. The uniqueness of the Christian experience results from the union of Christ and the believer. This is expressed in scripture as Christ being in the believer and the believer in Christ.
Ten times Paul uses the Greek preposition ‘sun’ (“together”) to describe this relationship. Believers were crucified (Gal.2:20), dead (Col.2:20), buried (Rom.6:4), quickened or made alive (Eph 2:1-5; Col.2:13), raised (Col.3:1; Eph.2:6), and glorified (Rom.8:17) together with Christ.
Illustration: Jesus used the image of the vine and its branches to describe His union with the believer. Application: On the basis of the union, the apostle Paul showed how the successful Christian life can be opened with four key words in Romans 6: know (v.6), reckon (v.11), yield (v.13), and obey (v.17).
The Christian can conquer sin because Christ lives in him. (Gal.2:20). (First Ref. John 7:37-38; Primary Ref. John 15:1-5; cf.1 John 5:13).’
Ah friends, I do hope those explanations helped us to better understand our relationship with Christ. And what would be a good exercise would be to check out all those scriptures. I just did that, and they are very interesting and useful.
And we’ll end with one of those inspirational scriptures. ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
Oh precious people, what a Titan, what a gigantic figure is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Please, let’s show wisdom and common sense by staying attached to Him. Much LOVE!
…oh what beautiful fruit we bear…when Jesus waters our hearts…
P.S. It’s somewhat late, but it wasn’t all my fault (smile) for while writing, I also had to get up and attend to a couple of technicians who came to do some work on my new furnace. Ah Lord eh! That wasn’t connected properly in the first place. But them’s the breaks. Have a blessed day my people! Much LOVE!
