Devotions from Judy’s heart
I love spending time in the produce section of the grocery store and filling my cart with fresh veggies and fruits. I know how healthy they are for us and strengthen our bodies, and we eat an abundance of them each day. But more importantly I wonder how fruitful we are for His kingdom; does the Lord see big grapes on our vines or are they baren? When I grew up our family went to the cabin, sometimes for the whole summer, and on the Point near where we swam were grapevines. The vines became loaded with grapes and my mom would make grape juice and grape jam for our pancakes that were made on a wood stove. But over the years those vines have dried up and there are no grapes at all there now and only a few dried up vines. How sad! We are branches and need to be connected to the vine or we will dry up like the ones at the lake. They aren’t good for anything now since they are all shriveled up. What a picture for us of the need to stay connected to the Lord in a vital way. We are to live in God and for Him to live in us in order to produce fruit. He sends the sunshine and rain and nurtures us and then is glorified when we bear fruit. We can’t do it on our own and we have to stay attached to Him so we can receive all that we need to be fruitful. In John 15:8 (God’s Word) Jesus said, “You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit and therefore show that you are my disciples.”  He went on to say we are chosen to produce fruit that would last. Separated from the Lord we can’t produce anything, and like the vines we wither. When we launch out on our own, our reliance is on ourselves and will fail.  So we must be joined to the Lord and live in Him and make ourselves at home in His love. As we do this, fruit will naturally come forth. It will be evidenced in our answered prayers, our joy and love,  and sharing Him with others. May we bear much fruit and bring glory to God.
Challenge for today: Spend some time in the Word and ask the Lord to make you into a fruitful vine.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy