You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. (John 15:16) Our faith is exercised and grown when we are “naked, poor, and miserable.” Also, I should add, when we are in pain. We are accustomed to quick fixes. We grab our goodies and run. We promise that we will pray more and go to church more if God will just deliver us from this one thing. We promise to stick, to stay, and remain, so that we can bear fruit. But after the deliverance we quickly forget our promise and return to our old ways. I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:1-4) In order for us to bear fruit we have to remain. We must stay connected to the vine. The trial didn’t come to break us. The trial was the pruning. It is never a good time to detach ourselves from the true vine, to let up on prayer, to cut back on reading our word, or refrain from fellowship, because no branch can bear fruit unless it remains. Bearing fruit is demonstrated through our character. “As we spend time with Christ, his character rubs off on us.” As we spend time with Christ, he prunes us so that we might bring forth the fruit described in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When the ex-slave’s shirt was removed, revealing the marks of a whip across his back, it wasn’t the healed whip marks that identified that he was saved and grafted into the vine. He demonstrated that he bore fruit by the way he lived. His continued joy was exemplified by how he treated people, the positive words that he spoke, his ability to forgive those that had abused him. His hardship had brought forth fruit. Dear Lord, remind us often that we can do nothing unless we are grafted in you. I pray that we are determined to remain, to bear fruit, and “hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:14) GiGi❤️
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