Just Stay Put!

"...If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear (produce) much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5 NIVb)

John's revelation of the person and personality of Christ is rich and draws most people in like the warm sunshine. He shows us how Jesus relates to each of us on a very personal level, as He did those disciples travelling with Him.

He is the vine from which all fruit (gain/wealth/people) is produced.  When the branches of a rosebush are pruned, the roses will bloom in what appeared to be a barren, unproductive spot. When God prunes us, cutting away all the dead stuff in our lives and removes it (and people), we have an opportunity to blossom when most would have given up on us.  The problem for most of us is that pruning hurts and we tend to move away from anything that hurts us. 

When we are confronted with truth about the things we do, some will run and hide or go find someone (another church) that will condone our wrongdoing.  Dead things do not grow and when we continue to pile on "death" we eventually stink and rot away and nothing will grow in the midst of the deadness.

When we hear truth, we need to stay put and allow the pruning process to work in our lives, cutting away all that we do not need. If we don't, our lives become worthless and like the unproductive branch that is cut off and burned, so do our lives--we do it to ourselves.

Stay in position with Christ--withstand the correction and enjoy the fruit of your labors with all of His many benefits.  There is no place to hide from God, "for His eyes are in every place, seeing the good and the evil." With Him, we can accomplish much, without Him, we can do absolutely nothing worthy of pleasing Him. Stay in The Word and allow The Word to stay in you!