John 15:4, 5 (ESV) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. INTRODUCTION Abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of His Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to His service. The channel of communication must be open continually between man and his God. As the vine branch constantly draws the sap from the living vine, so are we to cling to Jesus, and receive from Him by faith the strength and perfection of His own character. {DA 676} COMMENTARY PEARL SUPREME All who receive Christ by faith become one with Him... So those who receive Christ by faith become one with Him in principle and action. They are united to Him, and the life they live is the life of the Son of God. They derive their life from Him who is life... The heart must be united with Christ's heart, the will must be submerged in His will, the mind must become one with His mind, the thoughts must be brought into captivity to Him... The regenerated man has a vital connection with Christ. Christ has provided means whereby our whole life may be an unbroken communion with Himself; but the sense of Christ's abiding presence can come only through living faith... {HP 56} COMMENTARY PEARL From Overwhelmed to Overflowing The moment you start doubting the goodness of God and deciding for yourself what will make you happy, all kinds of problems begin in your life. You wind up overworked, overanxious, and overloaded - and just generally overwhelmed! But God promises you an overflowing life, not an overwhelmed life. Jesus said, I have come in order that you might have life - life in all its fullness (John 10:10 GNT). How do you experience an abundant, overflowing life? There is one habit that, if you do it every day, will fill you with an endless supply of God's goodness: Stay connected to Jesus. In John 15:5, Jesus compared staying connected to him with a grapevine: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5 NIV). What happens when a cluster of grapes is cut off from the vine? It dies. The same is true with you. God is your true source of energy and power. If you try to go through life on your own power, you're going to be overwhelmed. But if you're connected to him, you'll have all the power you need. Or, as the Bible says, Your joy will overflow! (John 15:11 NLT) One way to stay connected to Jesus is through a daily quiet time. In a quiet time, you set aside time to be alone with God and get to know him through reading his Word and talking to him in prayer. Mark 1:35 says, Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (NIV). Even Jesus knew his personal need for connection with God - and he was the Son of God! How much more do you need the strength that comes from daily time with the Lord? Some days you may not feel like having a quiet time - but do it anyway. If you wait to have a quiet time until you feel like it, Satan will make sure you never feel like it. Do you find yourself needing more time, energy, knowledge, or opportunity? I want to challenge you to develop the habit of spending daily time with Jesus. When you stay connected to him, youll find your life overflowing with Gods goodness and power - and youll realize thats all you really need. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] CLOSING THOUGHT Cling To Christ Jesus' allegory is simple. God is like a vine keeper. He lives and loves to coax the best out of his vines. He pampers, prunes, blesses, and cuts. And Jesus plays the role of the vine. We nongardeners might confuse the vine and the branch. To see the vine, lower your gaze from the stringy, winding branches to the thick base below. The vine is the root and trunk of the plant. It cables nutrients from the soil to the branches. If anything good comes into our lives, he is the conduit. And who are we? We are the branches. We bear fruit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness" (Galatians 5:22 NASB). Our gentleness is evident to all. We bask in the "peace of God" (Philippians 4:7). And as we cling to Christ, God is honored. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples" (John 15:8 NASB). Make it your aim to cling to Christ. Abide in him. [You Can Count On God by Max Lucado] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY John 15:4, 5 - The Pursuit of God. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20211031-1051.html John 15:5 - Learning to Abide in Jesus. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210503-0932.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/