Words From The Upper Room

Your connection with Jesus Christ determines the entire course of your life as a Christian, living in this world for the glory of God! From time to time, someone will say, “I just seem to be drifting. I don’t feel as close to Jesus as I used to.” The “disconnect” is obvious! You can often tell just by listening to a person speak … and you can almost always tell by looking at how a person is living. People who are united to Christ by faith are “in Christ,” and if you have been born again by the Spirit nothing can separate you from the Father’s love in Christ. Yet Jesus wants His disciples to know that being united to Him is a “dynamic relationship.” Apathy produced by distractions and sin leads to a sense of being disconnected, which in turn leads to a lack of fruit for the glory of God. Jesus tells His disciples and all who believe in Him that HE is the Vine and we are the branches. We cannot bear fruit for the glory of God unless we “ABIDE” in Christ. What does that mean? How do you “abide” in Christ? How do you stay “close” to Him? And how can you tell if you are abiding in Jesus? Jesus tells us in our text for today. Few today understand that living life in this world as a disciple of Jesus Christ cannot and will not happen simply by wishing it to be so. But it isn’t as difficult as many make it out to be! Learn today from the very mouth of Jesus how to abide in Him and discover the clearest evidence that you ARE abiding in Him: bearing the fruit He describes here! This is the only way to endure, to persevere, to “keep on keeping on!” Let whoever has ears to hear, hear what the Spirit says to the Church!!