We are so excited to share a message from our guest blogger this month, Tracy Berta. We’ve included a pic of her with her family. Enjoy her message!
Did any of you have a live Christmas tree? Did you get it down without losing a forest of needles
on your living room floor?
When my kids were little, we took our Christmas tree out to the curb after New Year’s, and they
wondered why we didn’t just plant the beautiful tree in the backyard. I explained that although
the tree still looked green and pretty, it was dead. It had been cut away from “the vine”- or it’s
roots- where it gets its nutrients. I explained that the tree wouldn’t grow anymore, no matter how
rich the soil was.
The tree needs to remain in the vine to have life.
“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. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If
you remain in Me and My words remain in You, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be My disciples.”
John 15:5-8
“I am the VINE.”
Have you ever thought about these verses? Have you wondered what Jesus meant when He
said He was a VINE??? What it means to “ABIDE” in Him?
What happens when a branch is separated from its vine…its source of life?
Remember the Christmas tree? The tree needs to remain in the vine to have LIFE.
We need to remain in our Vine (Jesus) to have LIFE. If we are ABIDING in an intimate
relationship with Him, we will bear much fruit. To be fruitful, flowering, vibrant, ALIVE, we must
be connected to the Source of LIFE…Jesus…drawing on Him to sustain us, to nourish us, to
make us flourish.
When we don’t, we will wither.
I can’t try to do things on my own, in my own strength. Instead, when I rely on Christ’s strength,
depending on Him, abiding in Him, I thrive.
When I don’t, I wither.
I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my birthday once that were gorgeous. But, they
weren’t connected to the vine. They were CUT AWAY. And, still they remained vibrant, lovely,
pleasing…..
Not one week.
Not two weeks.
Not three weeks.
SIX weeks they remained gorgeous.
But, eventually, they withered. Eventually they died. I had to throw them away.
Our relationship with Jesus is the same way. When I don’t remain in Him, when I don’t seek
after Him with all my heart, when I am depending on MYSELF instead of HIM, when my
RELATIONSHIP with Him is not healthy, I will wither.
Like the flowers, I may stay beautiful for a while. I may be “OK” for a week…or six weeks….or a
year. But, eventually, I will wither. Jesus said in verse 4, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it
must remain in the vine.” I can’t bear fruit on my own. I must stay connected to Him.
He is my source.
Isn’t it amazing that Jesus comforts His disciples right before He goes to the cross, telling them
to REMAIN in Him….to allow His Word to remain in them. He knows life is about to get REALLY
DIFFICULT for them. Everything is going to change. Jesus wants them to know “the secret” of
thriving in difficult circumstances…ABIDING.
Lord, help me to always turn to You as my Source. I want to remain, abide, flow in You and I
know then that Your Life flows into me, allowing me to bear fruit. I know when I am
disconnected from You I wither. Fill my heart with desire for You, oh God!
GIRLFRIENDS, Do you want to be a guest blogger on our monthly “Inspirations?”
Email us your message, 800 words or less, to soul@mandymccleary.com
