09/07/2014: CROSSOVER-UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Jesus was a master teacher. He has a wonderful ability to use ordinary objects from every day life to teach deep and rich theological truth. Grapes are the most popular fruit on the planet. In John 15, Jesus compares Himself to a grapevine (John 15:1-6) His Father is the vinedresser or gardner and His followers are the branches that are to bear grapes or fruit. Jesus wants us to bear fruit in our lives. 

The only way we can bear fruit is if we abide in Jesus. Abide means to remain, stay, or exist. It is so easy to get frustrated in our faith. We normally don’t want to sit and remain. We go crazy just waiting around. Naturally, we bail on Jesus when really all He wants us to do is remain in Him in order to produce much fruit. We see this scenario played out in a few short chapters in the book of John. Jesus said, “Abide” and He is then betrayed and arrested and the disciples all abandon Him. How often do we bail on Jesus when He simply says “abide”?

Fruit is the “f” word of the week. What kind of fruit are you experiencing or lacking from the list in Galatians 5:22 (The Fruit of the Spirit)? How is Jesus teaching you to remain in Him?

Illustration: Andy showed the students a light bulb and talked about how the lightbulb by itself has untapped potential.  He then holds the lightbulb near the power source but doesn't plug it in.  Often in our faith we go to church and hang out near Jesus but don't fully plug into his desire and intent for our life.  This does bring us closer to the truth but doesn't change the fact that we cannot shine by proximity to faith alone.  It is only when we plug fully into Jesus that we move from untapped potential to shining brightly.