“Remain in me, and I will 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.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

We were created with the need to be fruitful. God has built within every one of us the intuitive desire to be fruitful, and productive. Hours before Jesus dies on the cross, He makes these statements that provide the key to fruitfulness. The key is to have this abiding relationship with Him that is expressed in a daily dependence on Him. This is why prayer and reading the Bible daily is so important. Every time we come to Him and ask Him to fill us with His love and His Spirit, we are setting the stage for us to remain and live in His presence. His eternal Word can speak powerfully to the present day challenges of our lives. We need to abide in His presence for us to be fruitful and productive.

This requires a disciplined mind and lifestyle that is counterintuitive to the natural tendencies of the sinful human nature. By nature we are independent, egocentric and usually self-centered creatures. His grace is so great that He is promising that He will remain in us as we are dependent on Him.

The passion of my life is to live for Jesus and be fruitful for His Kingdom. He suffered and died on the cross so that I could be saved and become a minister of reconciliation for others. I am inspired to draw close to Jesus in these days and to do my best to abide in Him. I know this involves taking the time to listen to His voice and staying in that place of dependency on Him. If I’ll humble myself before Him and do my best to abide in Him, I know He’ll help me to be fruitful and effective in all that He’s asking me to do.

Thank You, Lord Jesus for this abiding relationship that You have made available. I trust You with my life and choose to abide in You this day. Help me to hear your voice. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I have the power to die to my own selfishness and live for You wholeheartedly.