Daily Affirmations - Day 3 - Heavenly Gardener - Fruit - That Will Last

Day 3: Fruit - that will last

Living in Jesus much fruit I shall bear

Jesus said, “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).

“You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last...” (John 15:16 - International Standard Version - ISV).

In that day— “Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it (Isaiah 27:2-3).

What a simple thing it is to be a branch. The branch grows out of the tree, or out of the vine, and there it lives and grows and in due time bears fruit. It has no responsibility except just to receive sap and nourishment from the root and stem…

The branch has nothing: it just depends upon the vine for everything. How large, how solemn, how precious is the thought conveyed by that phrase, “absolute dependence...”

And how does He fulfill the trust of that dependence? He does it by sending down the Holy Spirit—not now and then only as a special gift, for remember the relation between the vine and the branches is such that hourly, daily, unceasingly, there is the living connection maintained. The sap does not flow for a time, and then stop, and then flow again, but moment by moment the sap flows from the vine to the branches…

…The Lord Jesus repeated that word fruit often in the parable; He spoke first of “fruit,” and then of “more fruit,” and then of “much fruit” (John 15:2-5)… Remember... He who watches over the connection between Christ and the branches is none other than God Himself; and it is by the power of God, through Christ, that we are to bear fruit…

If there is in your heart the consciousness, “I am not a strong, healthy, fruit-bearing branch, I am not closely linked with Jesus, I am not living in Him as I should be”—then listen to Him saying, “I am the Vine. I will receive you, I will draw you to Myself. I will bless you, I will strengthen you, I will fill you with My Spirit. I, the Vine, have taken you to be My branches.

Let our prayer be that He, the living Vine, shall so link each of us to Himself that we shall go on our way with our hearts singing: “He is my Vine, and I am His branch. I need nothing more—now I have the everlasting Vine.”

Then when you get alone with Him, worship and adore Him, praise and trust Him, love Him and wait for His love. “Thou art my Vine, and I am Thy branch. It is enough, my soul is satisfied.”

~ Andrew Murray

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