This summer hasn’t looked like I imagined. I pictured slow mornings on my porch with coffee, my Bible, and my journal. Instead, the heat drove me inside. There were errands, meals to cook, children needing rides, unexpected interruptions, and all the ordinary moments that make up real life. Also. There was something big and hard and devastating – but private so I can’t share. In all of this. Summer just wasn’t what I wanted or pictured. So what is this…
As we walk through this life, abiding, dwelling, staying close to Jesus, I admit I want to see a purpose. And in John 15 Christ promises fruit. Bible scholars have talked about what this “fruit” is, but most agree this is inward change, not outward change. So what is this spiritual fruit? As we stay close to Jesus, listening to His Word, communicating to Him through prayer, and simply setting our minds on thoughts of Him, we will act different….
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. -John 15:4 (ESV) I’ve missed my porch this summer. It’s where I usually read, pray, write, and simply sit with Jesus. But this year’s heat has made those quiet mornings short-lived. At first, I felt like something important had been taken from me. Abiding in Christ felt a little off. Then I…
Jesus says: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” –John 15:4-5 Grief can mean a lot of things. Long again I thought the only kind of hard…