“I Am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:5-7
Take a long look at verse 5: “For without Me ye can do nothing”! There has never been a time when we needed Jesus more than the present! Humanity has continually tried to do things without God. Excluding God has resulted in creating this monstrous mess all around us. It’s not only about a few things such as the economy, job losses, inflation, etc. but everything has been affected by mankind’s prideful ways.
Attempting to meet your own needs without God is hopeless and makes bad things worse. What’s even more tragic is to see people who know Jesus as their Savior getting caught up in the same wave of failure and loss as those who don’t. What’s the answer? How can we not only escape and avoid all this, but actually help those who are hurting?
Let’s go back to the words of Jesus. That’s ALWAYS the place to go. When Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (verse 5), notice He was talking about our bearing much fruit. I don’t care what’s going on in the world, good times or bad, without Jesus, things get bad, and then worse. However, when Jesus is involved and His plan is being carried out in our lives, God’s blessings take over. The curse loses its power to wreck our lives and you and I become the hands of Jesus to help those around us!
Jesus said, “Abide (live) in Me.” That doesn’t mean just going to church. It indicates someone who is holding onto every word that comes from the mouth of God–every word, all the time, first place, every day! Abiding is living in the secret place, abiding in His love and grace. (Psalm 91) Resting, and not panicking. Faith rests, while fear panics. Panic is faith in reverse and never brings glory to God. It magnifies the works of darkness and makes the devil look big and powerful, which he is NOT!
Verse 7 of John 15 is The Key! “If ye abide in Me and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
What a wonderful promise! But, how do you abide? You abide in the Word by, studying, praying, believing, speaking and seeking God’s words and thoughts on everything. You seek Him and learn His way of doing things. When you abide in God and His Word, you will know God well enough that you won’t be asking for something against His will. He is always right and His ways work! As you abide in Him and in His Word you will have peace that passes understanding.
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