Nurture that relationship

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”

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: “Nurture that relationship”

Are you familiar with the term “life verse”? A life verse is a Bible verse that speaks to you personally in a deep way and which plays an important role in helping you to live the Christian life well. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible (23,145 in the Old Testament and 7,957 in the New Testament). And as Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, they are all given to us by God and they are all important and helpful.

But a life verse is one that is particularly special and helpful to you personally. I have six life verses and over the next few days, as we continue to consider our present state of being a saved person and one who is in the process of being sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit, I will refer to a few of my life verses and tell you why they are so special to me.

In John 15:5 Jesus used a grapevine and the branches that grow from it to help us understand the spiritual reality of Him living His life in us and through us. The grapevine lives its life and produces its fruit through the branches that grow from it. The life of the vine flows through the branches, and the branches then produce the fruit of the vine. As long as the branch stays attached to the vine it will produce the fruit of the vine. But if the connection between the vine and the branch is broken, the fruit will no longer be produced through the branch.

Likewise, by means of the Holy Spirit living in our hearts, the life of Jesus flows in us and through us. The fruit of Jesus is then produced in and through our lives. Some of that fruit is described for us by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. He called it “the fruit of the Spirit”: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Those are attributes of Jesus and He wants them to be present in our lives too. He wants you to experience and enjoy those things in increasing measure, and He wants the world to experience those fruits from you. His fruit produced in and through your life. I want this to be true of me and that’s why these are two of my life verses.

As you maintain a close relationship with Jesus day-by-day, the fruit of the Spirit becomes more and more a reality in your life. That’s a natural result of the ongoing process of sanctification and it is progressively making you more and more like Jesus. This is part of your salvation and that’s why it is critical to maintain a healthy relationship with Jesus.

Stay firmly attached to Jesus. Spend some time today nurturing your relationship with Him.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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