Abiding and Total Dependence - part 15

We have a tendency to come up with these varied excuses because we misunderstand the basis of fruit-bearing, thinking we are responsible for developing the fruit.  So we say to ourselves, "I am going to work on patience as a fruit.  "I'm going to work on love.  "I'm going to love this person even if it kills me."  Can you develop these fruits?  It's ridiculous!  Yet the devil convinces us of this, and we become determined to do it.  How many times have I talked with husbands and wives who say, "Well, I'm going to love her even if it's the last thing I ever do!"  And that is totally ridiculous.

But what happens if we are aiding in the Vine?  Love just comes out.   If we take all, we will give all. If we give all, we'll have to take it--you can't do it without Him.  No matter how much determination you muster on your own, it will still be utterly impossible to develop these fruits.  What is a severed branch fit for?  Burning, and it is good for nothing else.  The branch lasts a minute, generates a little heat, and then it will be gone--that's the end of it, and that's exactly what  Jesus intended to communicate.  This illustration is so completely true and so completely simple that it's very, very difficult for us to believe it.

So the very things I want you to remember and put down in your notes from these verses of Scripture is the lesson of the branch's total and absolute dependence.  The branch cannot live, it cannot exist, it cannot produce, it cannot do anything without abiding in the Vine.  And it must continually abide, 24 hours a day, 365 days out of the year.  It isn't a matter of abiding only on Sabbath or at the midweek service; it means abiding every day, it means abiding continually!  And if the branch abides in the Vine, it cannot help but bear the fruit!  That's right it can't help but bear the fruit, for it has to; it's the natural thing and it can't help but do so.  This is what righteousness by faith is really all about.

I think I mentioned before my experience of loving people, and I am still learning to love people no matter who they are.  I was just asking God to help me be like Him and a few days later, I realized how much He had changed me.  From a critic to someone who loves people and really wants to.  So there is hope for us all, don't give up just keep surrendering your life to God and He will take care of all the fruits that you need.  He really does do it, it is so very true.  Grandma Joan