One of 'His' Branches

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 15:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 122 ~~~ John 15:1-8 ~~~

I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.

Have you ever been to a vineyard?
The vine and the branches are so intertwined
that you cannot tell one from the other.
There is an art to growing grapes.
It takes preparation.
The supports must be in place
 to prevent the vines from decaying on the ground.

Every vine grower wants to cultivate and produce the finest luxury grapes.
The finest grapes make the most exquisite wine.

A few years ago my husband and I
had the opportunity to visit Napa Valley.
We saw the branches and the twisted vines
stretching along the guide wires.

The vine grower must cut away the parts
 that are not going to produce fruit.
He then prunes the branches
that are healthy to produce the better quality fruit.

This is what Jesus is telling us about our spiritual life with him.
We must stay connected to him as closely as the vine
 and the branches in the vineyard.

It is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
If we were to be that close to Jesus;
it would be hard to tell that we were not becoming a saint.
To become a saint would be equivalent to producing
 the most exquisite wine.

The more closely connected we remain to the Lord
 the more we will prosper and grow in his love.

The Father is the vine grower he knows
who has remained on the vine...who has remained close to Jesus.

There is no life if we are cut from the vine and fall to the ground.

Perhaps this 'pruning' Jesus speaks of
 is the essence of those hardships we read about yesterday.

If you are close to Jesus and you are bearing fruit
 then be prepared to be pruned.
For he tells us it is through the pruning
 that we come to bear fruit more abundantly.

His very words remain in our heart.
They are designed to prune off
 that which does not make us into one of his exquisite branches.

The vine and the branches are one just as the Father and the Son are one...
just as we must become one with him.

Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit...

The best way to bear much fruit is to became one of his faithful disciples,
even when the pruning shears cut into our heart.

How often Lord have I not understood your pruning?
How many times have I not seen your blessings?
Ask God to make you into one of his exquisite branches.
For with him all things are possible
and probable, but keep that last part to yourself. (wink,wink)

Close to him, I want to remain.
~~~Peace~~~

Necessary Pruning

 

~~~ Acts of the Apostles15:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 122 ~~~ John 15:1-8 ~~~

 

I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.

 

Grape vines are mentioned more than any other plants in the Bible.

But I had planted you as a choice vine,

all pedigreed stock;

How could you turn out so obnoxious to me,

a spurious vine. Jeremiah 2:21

 

The grape vine was often used to represent Israel.

A fruitful vine was a symbol of an obedient Israel,

while wild grapes or an empty vine spoke of Israel’s disobedience.

 

Some years ago my husband and I had the opportunity to take

the Wine Train through Napa Valley California.

Since it was the dormant season for the grape vines

they appeared to be dries up and almost dead.

Of course that certainly was not the case;

we just could not see evidence of life.

They were not green and growing. 

 

Never the less, they did produce grapes

 which ultimately were pressed into table wines.

 

It helps to understand today's gospel of the vine and the branches

if we have some background about grape vines.

 

The branches must be at least a year old before

they are ready to produce any grapes.

The young vines must be properly trained in order to have the best yield.

It is best to train the vine on a fence;

giving it support as it becomes heavy laden with bunches of grapes.

The vines are very carefully pruned to keep the vine in top condition.

 

 

We must remain connected to the vine...connected to Jesus.

In order to be fruitful we must draw our life from the vine.

If we want to be productive we also must allow God to prune away things in our life.

Those things which interfere with our connection to him...such as sin.

 

In reality circumcision is necessary for us to remain in the Lord.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.

 

Sometimes pain and suffering are required as we allow

 God to prune away that which is no longer needed.

The vine must regularly be pruned to insure the most productivity.

Branches that no longer produce grapes

must be removed as they drain nourishment from the branches

 that are laden with grapes.

 

Look carefully at your relationship with the Lord.

Are you just hanging on clinging to the vine.

What needs to be pruned from your life in order to become productive?

Jesus provides all that we need to be full of fruit.

He is all the support we need.

He tends to the vineyard with precision.

Trust that as you take a closer walk with the Lord you will bear much fruit.

 

The Easter Blessing of the Vine and the Branches.

Trusting: The Master Gardener Prunes

~~~ Acts 9: 26-31 ~~~ Psalm 22 ~~~ 1John 3:18-24 ~~~ John 15: 1-8 ~~~

"...with the consolation  of the Holy Spirit it (the church) grew in numbers."

The Holy Spirit has been, is, and will continue to breathe life

into the community of believers.

We too are members of this community of believers.

John's letter encourages to show our love through what we do...basically to live a life that reflects the love of God to the best of our ability. If our heart is filled with love we cannot go wrong. If our heart is filled with love

"we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask..."

If our heart is filled with love we want to keep his commandments; it is no longer a chore but rather a delight.

"...the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us."

The Gospel today is a classic, well known passage; the Vine and the Branches.

Jesus was a wonderful teacher. He knew how to take something familiar to his audience and turn it into a spiritual teaching.  

Since this is a well known reading I only want to highlight one point.

"He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit."

Thinking about God as the Master Gardener; having to prune branches from my life causes some anxiety. God sees what is no longer needed in our life when we cannot.

We often find it difficult to let go of those branches that are not bearing fruit.

How long do you wait? The corpse flower does not bloom for years at a time.

It takes a tremendous amount of trust to allow God to prune away the branches that only he knows will not be able to bear fruit.

In order to bear fruit we must remain in him so that he can remain in us through the grace and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Allow the Master Gardener to gently and patiently

prepare you to be bear more fruit in your life.