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John 15: "I am the vine, you are the branches"
by Mark E Crossley John 15 v 1 - 8 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples". Working in Human Resources one often deals with employment references and the one aspect that shines through is relating to a persons character. As believers in God we are his resources and to be part of a ministry we have to in effect have satisfactory references to qualify for a God given appointment. If we don't do a God given task HE will get someone else to. If we do a good job that often means even more work and we then have a glowing reference. How awesome is that!. If our heart is not in an appointment God may need to work on our attitude, motives & responses to situations we face and even strip us from positions of power & influence until we can rebuild our character and be raised up to new heights. At all times we need to be connected to the vine to ensuring our anointing is effective to what we are called to do for God. Here are a few suggestions to help you be effective and stay in tune: Attend Church Attend Small Groups Attend prayer meetings/groups/networks Attend Christian Conferences Attend Christian social outings Read the bible / the word Recruit a good Christian counsel to be accountable to Read good Christian books, listen to good Christian CD/DVD/Video/MP3/MP4's If we incorporate all of these into our lives we may live the life as directed in Galatians 5 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". Today, Is God is calling you to be attached to HIM rather than be tempted to enter into things that are not of God and of the world, to bear fruit within our character; to develop, prosper; be humble & stronger to our Heavenly Father; show discipleship and above all be faithful. Is that you need to do today? Here are a few questions we can ask ourselves: Have you lost connection with your Heavenly Father? Have you been burnt a few times when your hand has not been in Gods hands? What fruit are you waiting to see come to fruition in your life: leadership, learning to love, being a better forgiver? What qualities do you posses to show you are a disciple of Jesus Christ? Ask your house group leader and perhaps encourage and identify each of your Gods given gifts together! What kind of reference do you need from God and his leaders to develop in your God given potential and what can you do to earn this? What would you want God and his people to say about you? What branches of your personality do you need to put into the fire today in order to move forward in the Lord? Lord Jesus, I pray for people reading this article today, I pray that you would impart something from your characteristics you would like the reader to incorporate into their life today, to make a difference to their personality and the people around them. Give them the strength with your presence; conviction and energy to live more for you in Jesus Name. Amen. If you have any comments, queries or suggestions regarding this article please do not hesitate to contact me by email at [email protected]. Thank You. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |