Word Count: 1281

Contact Twya Lavender

Stay Connected to the Vine

by Twya Lavender  
4/07/2007 / Christian Living

When you become an avid reader, you begin to see pictures in your mind as you read. After reading John 15:1-8, I see a clear picture of how Christians are connected to Christ. The verses show Christians can do nothing without Christ, because He is the source, the foundation, and the root to every good thing we do. He is our vine. (John 15:1)

When Christ died on the cross, he gave us the ability to be forgiven of our sins, start a new life on earth, and have eternal life in heaven. Therefore, we as Christians should have a connection or a relationship with Christ forever. He is our spiritual father.

Keeping that connection with Christ is a day to day process. If we do not take a participatory role in our walk with Christ everyday, we will find ourselves out of fellowship or cut from the vine. (paraphrased from John 15: 6)

Just as a rose that is picked from the vine does not live for very long after it has been picked. You can put it in water to keep it alive a few days longer, but it will soon die. It dies because there was a flow of nutrients between the rose and the vine that cannot be duplicated.

When we look at this same situation spiritually, Jesus is the vine. When we stop fellowshipping with Him- praying, worshipping, and reading His word- we begin to die spiritually.

One main reason Christians begin to die is because they are not feeding themselves with His Word, which is what cleanses them. (paraphrased from John 15:3) Reading God's Word is like the insecticide that is sprayed on the fruit to keep the insects from ruining it. By reading God's Word and applying it to your life, you are building a layer of protection around you that will protect you from the wiles of the enemy. Reading God's word will protect you from the insect (the devil) that can eat away at and destroy your life. So if you are not fellowshipping with Christ consistently, you will constantly fall for the tricks of the enemy.

Once people realize they are losing their connection with Christ they begin to turn to other things. Some people may turn to drugs and alcohol because their needs are no longer being met. Others may do the opposite and throw themselves into all kinds of charitable organizations, just to show that they are still good people even if they do not have a relationship with God.

It took me awhile to really grasp the idea that just because you are a good person doesn't mean you have been reborn and going to be granted with eternal life. I was about 13, when I joined the church and accepted the Lord as my savior. In my eyes I had a connection with Christ because He answered my prayers. Unfortunately I really did not try to live any differently than I already lived, because I felt I was a good person. Originally whenever I would sin, I would have a feeling of remorse, but the more I sinned and did not pray or read His Word, it became easier and easier to sin more often.

As I got older I began to doubt if I was ever reborn. There were years that went by before I realize that I was no longer part of the vine. I no longer had a connection with Christ. I knew who Christ was and what He did for me, but did not pray or read His Word consistently. I did not start praying and reading the Bible consistently until after I had severe financial problems, a stressful job, and an alcoholic husband. Even then I did not completely turn my life over to Him. It wasn't until my husband was reborn and I saw the changes in Him that I knew only Christ could have done, that I said, "OK Lord anything you want me to do, I'll do it. My life is no longer my own. I'm not going to try to solve any problems on my own. I turn everything over to you." This is when I was reborn and was connected to the vine. I can't honestly tell you I was never connected to the vine. If I was, somewhere along the way I was plucked off and I withered and died (John 15: 6) (NKJV), so I had to start all over again.

I HAD to be reborn.

So you can volunteer at a homeless shelter. You can raise money for the poor. You can donate time and money to a local church. These generous things just show you are a good person, it has nothing to do with your spiritual well-being. You do not get the indescribable peace and joy or the unshakeable faith you would get if you would fellowship with Him and build a relationship with Him. A relationship with Christ cannot be substituted by anything else. Just as the vine provided nutrients to the rose that could not be replaced, a relationship with Christ produces fruit that cannot be duplicated.

From continuous fellowship with Christ (connection to the vine), I have sheer jubilation in my heart and indescribable peace in my life that I think of as being fruits of my connection to the vine. I think of these as fruits of my connection because I did not have those things before. Remember I mentioned before, what Christ gives you cannot be duplicated. So if Christ is the vine and I am the rose, He not only provides me with my flow of nutrients that make me grow as a Christian but, He also provides my sun and my rain.

He is my everything and I cannot do anything without him. (paraphrased John 15:5)

As I stated earlier, from my continuous fellowship with Christ, I can see fruit. Fruit does not develop overnight nor does it grow without being connected to something else, whether its a vine or tree. So in order for us to receive the fruit of our fellowship and see the increase of fruit, we must stay connected.(paraphrased from John 15:2) We must pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), read and apply His Word to our lives, and worship and praise Him for his generosity and mercy.

Hopefully one day we can see the fruit of Love developing within us. His Word says He told His disciples, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy'. But I say to you, love your enemies, ..(Matthew 5: 43-45) (NKJV) He also told his disciples to love each other. (paraphrased John 13:34)

We are His disciples.

Truly loving one another does not come overnight, it comes as a fruit of your connection to the vine. The Spirit of Christ must be in you to be able to love everyone, because I do not think that is natural thing to do. I think it is impossible to do if you don't have that union with Christ. With Christ, things that are unnatural become possible.

So I love to tell people about the peace and joy I have. I love to tell them how my life before Christ was in shambles, because these are the things that make nonbelievers curious. Nonbelievers will want to know how I became who I am and how they can just start all over. This gives me an opportunity to tell them about my Savior. This makes me a Disciple for Christ.

I am so happy I am part of the vine. I am so proud to be a Disciple for Christ.

Twya Lavender is the wife of Eric Lavender and mother of Ajani Lavender. She is a woman of few words until she lets the Lord guide her fingers across the keyboard to glorify Him or encourage others to live a Christian. Please leave her a message at www.faithwriters.com or email [email protected].

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Twya Lavender

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer