Remain

"I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you if you don't remain in me. I am the vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:1,4-5

I bit off way more than I could chew this semester, so I'll be the first to confess that I have not remained in Jesus as I should have. Don't get me wrong, I spent time in prayer and reading the bible, but not as I should have. Not as I was before I got so busy. And I could tell you that never before have I understood the scriptures so clearly. The real key to life and living a good life is to remain in Jesus. If you don't remain in Jesus, there isn't anything fruitful about your life, and there wasn't anything fruitful about mine. Sure, I got straight A's this semester and got so many things done, but the bible talks about fruit that will last, and to me, more specifically, about causing and creating good in this world, touching people's lives, bringing them closer to the Truth of Jesus Christ, and we can only do this by remaining in Him.

Jesus is truly the fuel that powers us and gives us energy to shine and pass on that magic to those around us. His power and grace is something that fills us completely and we have no choice but to spread this joy to all we meet. But we can get so wrapped up in what we can accomplish on our own, and the THINGS we have to do, that we forget where we draw our strength from. It's like the moon thinking it can light the Earth on it's own, forgetting it draws it's own strength from the radiance of the Sun. We can't possibly think we can compare our night to His day. This is what we're like if we don't tap into the energy of the Lord. So, please, take it from me, you might be able to get a lot of things done, juggle this and arrange that, but Jesus came to give us life in abundance. Don't settle for the things you can do on your own, when you can shine like the stars if you let Him be the one who strengthens you. But you can only do this if you acknowledge that He is the vine and you are the branch… remain in Him.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me for trusting so much in myself, casting You aside to focus on what I need to do. The truth is that I'm empty without You and nothing is as good in my life if You're not the One powering me with Your strength and grace. Give me that joy again and be my light. In Your Name we pray, amen.