Our theme for this month: “Personal Responsibility”
Our Bible verse for today: “I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.” John 15:5 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “You are responsible for maintaining a healthy relationship with Jesus.
In John 15:5 Jesus directed the attention of His disciples to the grape vine and its branches. The life of the vine flows in and through the branches, and the fruit of the vine is produced through the branches. As long as the branch stays firmly attached to the vine, the life of the vine will continue to flow through it and the fruit of the vine will continue to be produced through the branch. But should the branch become detached from the vine, the healthy relationship ends and no more fruit is produced.
That’s a perfect picture of the relationship you and I have with Jesus. He is the vine and we are the branches. His life flows in us and through us. His fruit is produced through our lives, and as long as we remain in a good and healthy relationship with Him, that continues to be the case. Withinthe disciple the fruit will be what Paul described in Galatians 5:22-23, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” That’s what you experience in your life as a result of your relationship with Jesus. The fruit that is produced through your life is the blessings of God showered upon a broken and bleeding world. It’s the work of Christ in this world being performed by His faithful followers.
Each of us has a personal responsibility to protect and nurture the relationship we have with Jesus. We do that by practicing the basic spiritual disciplines of the Christian life including, prayer, Bible reading, worship, fellowship, acts of service, etc. That will help to keep our relationship with Jesus healthy and thriving and there will be plenty of fruit.
Today is Saturday, tomorrow is Sunday. One of the most important ways of keeping your relationship with the Lord vibrant and healthy is through regular participation in group worship and fellowship. We each need to be an active member of a good church family. If you don’t have a good church that you are already a part of, then I want to invite you to visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist. We’re located at 3036 Genesis Road in Crossville, TN. Sunday school is at 9:00, the worship service starts at 10:00, and the evening service is at 6:00. I hope to see you there!
Oak Hill Baptist Church