Theme: Rethink: “Getting Unstuck”
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Your Grace is Enough - Chris Tomlin, Holding Nothing Back - Jesus Culture, None But Jesus - Hillsong, Your Love Never Fails - Jesus Culture
Read : John 15:1-4; Matthew 22:37-38
Think: Change. It’s not easy, and it’s downright uncomfortable at times. Our habits are deeply engrained within each of us. Years and years of rote behaviors and activities can lead to us to a place of complacency or a belief that we are forever stuck with our habits. This need not be the case, however.
Today’s first passage of scripture uses the analogy of God as gardener, Jesus as the vine, and we are the branches. This passage has so many wonderful examples of the attributes of our God, and I have reflected on it in both happy and sad times in my life.
Think about it…God as gardener. What does it conjure up for you? I think of an active, engaged God. A God with a plan, a desired result, e.g. the bearing of much fruit. I also think of a God willing to get His hands dirty if necessary!!
Jesus as the vine. Perhaps you might think of words such as nurturing, sturdy, integral, connected, everlasting, and purposeful in terms of how this analogy applies. Also without the vine, the branch cannot live without abiding (being connected) in the vine…the vine is its life source.
Ah…now to the branches. That’s you and me. God desires the branches to bear fruit, but take careful note of what the Gardener will do. He will cut the branches bearing no fruit, and prune (clean) those that are!! His desire is to produce the best fruit possible. The Gardener will remove anything from the branch that saps its vitality and ability to bear fruit. Things like sucker branches, useless buds, misdirected shoots are all pruned so that the vine can focus its life giving nourishment upon the part of the branch bearing fruit. That discomfort you might be feeling just might be God’s caring hands looking to bear more fruit from His child. I take comfort in a God who cares enough to shape me and form me with His loving hands.
Our charge is to abide in Him. Loving Him with all our heart, and all our soul, and all our mind. No fruit can be born without abiding in Him first.
As I stated earlier, change can be difficult. Abiding in him may require a change in your habits. If you are a golfer…ever tried to change your golf swing? Then you know how unnatural and uncomfortable that can be….yet with practice it can produce a superior result. Abide in Him and let Him alter your swing for a while. Let Him guide and instruct you and see if ultimately you don’t see more fruit being born for His kingdom.
Do: Fold your arms in front of you against your tummy, one on top of the other. Each of your hands tucked under your arms. Now take the arm on top and slip it underneath your other arm. How does that feel? Probably kind of strange, maybe unnatural. That’s what change feels like. Just because it feels different and maybe a bit awkward, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Take a step and make a change today to abide more closely with Him.
Pray: Heavenly Father I desire to draw closer to You today. I desire to be used by You for Your Kingdom. I praise You and thank You for Your diligent and tender care. May I abide in Your Son this day. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.