Based on John 15:1-11 (New King James Version)
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. ‘As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ‘These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.’”
Fred Brooks once said: “How does a project get to be a year late? One day at a time.” Time is something of great importance and value. The experts on money, finances, and business say: time is money. Everything takes time. Currently, it seems like days are shorter. It feels like there is less time than ever, like if the sun sets much faster than before. What is harder to deal with is that there is nothing that can stop it. There is no time machine so you can go back, or jump forward. Many things are done to try to avoid the effects of time, but nothing can be done. Days go by, and years are left behind, while we move forward to an inevitable end. Meanwhile, what are we doing with our days, while we are here in this world? I understand that we all have our obligations and responsibilities with our families, with our careers and jobs, with taking care of what we have, with our health, etc. Time flies between one thing and another. Everything requires time, and we dedicate time to a lot of things. There are some of us that need to work hard daily, to be able to pay our debts and bills. Money is not everything, but it is necessary for many things. And unfortunately, we cannot just live on air alone. There are those that don’t have to work anymore because they have already put in their time. But now, the clock runs differently for them. They start feeling those things that come with time, like wear and tear of the body, sicknesses, etc. It doesn’t matter how many surgeries or treatments people undergo trying to seem younger, or all the exercise and special diets they do, the organs last only so long, and science is very limited with many things. Not everything can be fixed today. And furthermore, it seems like things are ruined even more with medicine than the damage the actual sickness causes. If you don’t believe it, just watch a commercial that announces some sort of newer medication, that even the medication itself can cause death, potentially doing more harm than the sickness itself.
Where am I going with all of this? Our passage today encourages us to not only believe in the Lord, but to something deeper and with continuity; to remain in the Lord. We read clearly that having the benefit of the Lord in our lives does not just consist of a momentary decision taken at some point. Instead, it is necessary to remain in that decision continually. It is not just a matter of one day, but of a lifetime. Salvation is not just based on one moment, but also, on continually remaining in Him, doing those things that He advises and commands us to do for our own well-being, and so we can be of blessing for those that are around us. We should yield fruit so we can be pleasing to God! And if there is not fruit, in the very least, there is a serious problem, or even further, something very hard and unpleasant will happen in the future, where there is no blessing or eternity.
How should we remain in the Lord? Daily! The Word explains the following: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Psalm 1. We see that the Scriptures teach us that it is a day and night type of thing—regularly. The Lord also clarified it as follows: “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” Luke 9:23. So then, if we truly want to be blessed in God, and be able to yield the fruit He is looking for, we must remain in Christ, walking with Him daily. The Bible also teaches us that the way we can start fresh and new, without any weight of sin is by being in Christ, for it is written: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. You are a new creation when you are in Christ, remaining in Christ; not because of a prayer you did once upon a time and nothing else happened in your life after that.
And finally, the Lord teaches us the following: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16-25. We must remain daily in the Lord, looking for Him regularly, and doing regularly what pleases Him; yielding much fruit. All good things, big and small, happen with the daily walk. So then, are you maintaining a good daily relationship with the Lord? Lord bless! John