"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. 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" (John 15:4,5, KJV).
As a young man in college and later in business, I used to be very self-sufficient - proud of what I could do on my own. I believed that a man could do just about anything he wanted to do through his own effort, if he were willing to pay the price of hard work and sacrifice, and I experienced some considerable degree of success.
Then, when I became a Christian, the Bible introduced me to a whole new and different philosophy of life - a life of trusting God for His promises. It took me a while to see the fallacy and inadequacy of trying to serve God in my own strength and ability, but that new life of faith in God finally replaced my old life of self-sufficiency.
Now, I realize how totally incapable I am of living the Christian life, how really weak I am in my own strength, and yet how strong I am in Christ. God does not waste our ability and training. We do not lay aside our God-given gifts and talents. We give them back to Him in service, and He multiplies them for His glory.
As Paul says, "I can do all things through Him [Christ] who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13, NAS). In John 15, the Lord stresses the importance of drawing our strength from Him:
"Take care to live in Me, and let Me live in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from Me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from Me, you can't do a thing" (John 15:4,5). Our strength, wisdom, love and power for the supernatural life come from the Lord alone.
TODAY'S ACTION POINT: I will make it a special goal to abide in Christ so that His life-giving power for supernatural living will enable me to bear much fruit for His glory.
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