He is this close

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You are not alone”

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: “He is this close”

How close is Jesus to you? He is so close that He lives within you. In John 14:17, speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “… he remains with you and will be in you.” In Galatians 4:6 Paul writes, “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts …” and in 1 John 3:24 the Apostle John reminds us, “The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us.” Those are just a few examples from the New Testament which assure us that the Holy Spirit lives in the hearts of believers.

But as close as that brings the presence of God to us, in John 14:5 Jesus took it to a whole new level. In that verse not only does He claim to live in us, but to live His own life through us. In that verse He likens our relationship with Him to that of a grapevine and the branches that grow off it. The life of the vine flows in and through the branches. The vine then produces its fruit through the branches. As long as the branch continues to stay attached to the vine, the life of the vine will flow through the branch, and the fruit of the vine is produced through the branch.

Jesus’ point is that not only does He live in us, but His life flows through us, and He produces His fruit in this world through our lives. As a follower of Jesus, with His Spirit living in your heart, the life of Jesus is in you and flowing through you, and He is using your mind and body to do His work.

Jesus is that close to you. He is so close that He is living His life through you. He is using your mind, your words, your body as if it was His own to accomplish the things He wants to do in this world. And as amazing as that seems, it gets even better. Not only is it true in a general sense that Jesus lives in you and through you, but it is true in a very specific and unique way as well. Jesus created you to be a unique individual (Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 29:11), and He has developed in you specific gifts, skills, talents, and abilities that He then wants to use to accomplish His purposes (1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

I read a great statement about this the other day: “Potential is God’s gift to us. Making the most of it is our gift back to God.” And it’s true. Because Jesus lives in us and through us, and because He has also empowered us in unique ways to be used by Him for His purposes, we each have unlimited potential to do great things for God.

My friend, you are not alone. Not ever. Jesus is so close to you that He lives in you and through you, and He wants to use you every moment of every day to live out His own life in this world. Now that is a close relationship with God!

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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