John 15:5

John 15:5

Thoughts from Crystal Garnett

Dive Deeper

True Vine
Slide

“I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

Behind the Scenes
Slide

Have you ever heard the saying, “don’t put the cart before the horse”? It’s this idea that oftentimes we get things out of order. We get ahead of ourselves or move beyond where we’ve been called. We get haughty and prideful, thinking that we can do things on our own. We can do this in many different ways: in our finances when we rack up debt, spending money we don’t have; in our relationships, allowing ourselves to get too attached before there is solid commitment in place; in our dreams and goals when we take big leaps without setting up a foundation first. We foolishly let our “cart” get out in front of us and pretty soon, horse and cart are in a heap in the middle of the road.

Slide

This is a bit of the imagery that Jesus is drawing on here, using the idea of the vine and the branch. See, a vine is useless, nothing more than a dead stick, if it is not connected to the vine. It cannot grow, flourish, or bear fruit on its own. It cannot even exist apart from the vine! The branch sprouts up from the vine, growing and developing by the nutrients it receives from the vine. It is 100% dependent on the vine for everything.

Slide

Imagine the absurdity of a branch thinking that it could break itself off from the vine and still thrive. Imagine it thinking to itself, “I’m strong enough now, I don’t need the vine anymore.” Imagine if that branch broke itself off from the vine, then laying on the floor alone and separated, that branch tried to grow fruit. Imagine the life that was once flowing through the branch now seeping out, its leaves turning brown and its bark drying out. Can you picture it? How absurd it would be to believe that that now dead stick laying on the ground could ever produce fruit!

Slide

The same is true for you and me. Apart from Christ, we are nothing more than dead sticks pretending to be alive. Apart from Christ, we cannot expect to grow, thrive, or bear fruit. He is our source and our supplier, and we are 100% dependent on Him for life. We are the branches. He is the Vine. We cannot get that backwards.

Make It Real
Slide

So often in our walk with Jesus we start off strong, plugged into the Vine and receiving sustenance and nutrients from Him. But somewhere along the line we get off track. We start to get used to this new identity of a branch of Christ and we start to see fruit thriving. And somewhere in our brokenness we start to believe that we can do any of this on our own. We start to think that abiding in Christ is an option.

Slide

Pride and self-centeredness tell us that what we are doing is too important to stop and rest in Jesus. We believe that we must push harder and work longer. We buy the lie that our worth is bound up in something we do. We strive and we push, achieving and succeeding. But like the branch on the floor, the longer we remain distant from our Vine, the more life seeps out of us. Pretty soon we look up and realize that there’s no life left in us. We’re alone and dried up. The fruit that we used to be able to produce with ease now seems impossible. We feel worn out, tired, and wrung dry.

Slide

Sound familiar at all? I know it does for me! I can’t tell you how many times along my walk with Jesus that I have gotten my “cart” before the “horse.” I have been going alone strong, learning, growing, producing fruit for Jesus. Then something inside me shifts and I start believing the lie that any of it is about me. I start believing that my actions are what bring about fruit and that I can do it on my own. And in no time at all, I am nothing more than a dead branch pretending to be alive.

Slide

See, it’s only when we remain in Christ, when we abide in Him, that we can bear fruit. There is literally no other way. We can fool ourselves into thinking we can do it on our own. But that only leads to death. We need our Vine, our source of life and strength. Apart from Him, we can do nothing at all.

Slide

Praise God we serve a loving Savior who welcomes us back home with arms open wide! Praise God that when we ask, Jesus will meet us in our need. And once we begin to abide in Him again, His life will start to flow through us once more. He is good and faithful, always welcoming and always loving. We cannot fool ourselves into believing that life is found anywhere else. He is it- the only source. And in Him is life abundant!

End in Prayer
Slide

Lord,

I confess that my pride and selfishness has fooled me into thinking that I can do anything good in this life apart from you. I have tried to prove I have what it takes, and I have pulled away from You. I have let what I do define who I am instead of letting You define me. I have tried to be enough apart from You. But right now I admit that apart from You I am nothing more than a dead stick pretending to be alive. I need You Jesus, more than I think I even realize. Please graft me into Your perfect Vine once more. Teach me to abide in You alone. Thank You for always being true and always being faithful!

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

previous arrow
next arrow

“I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” 

John 15:5

Behind the Scenes

Have you ever heard the saying, “don’t put the cart before the horse”? It’s this idea that oftentimes we get things out of order. We get ahead of ourselves or move beyond where we’ve been called. We get haughty and prideful, thinking that we can do things on our own. We can do this in many different ways: in our finances when we rack up debt, spending money we don’t have; in our relationships, allowing ourselves to get too attached before there is solid commitment in place; in our dreams and goals when we take big leaps without setting up a foundation first. We foolishly let our “cart” get out in front of us and pretty soon, horse and cart are in a heap in the middle of the road.  

This is a bit of the imagery that Jesus is drawing on here, using the idea of the vine and the branch. See, a vine is useless, nothing more than a dead stick, if it is not connected to the vine. It cannot grow, flourish, or bear fruit on its own. It cannot even exist apart from the vine! The branch sprouts up from the vine, growing and developing by the nutrients it receives from the vine. It is 100% dependent on the vine for everything.  

Imagine the absurdity of a branch thinking that it could break itself off from the vine and still thrive. Imagine it thinking to itself, “I’m strong enough now, I don’t need the vine anymore.” Imagine if that branch broke itself off from the vine, then laying on the floor alone and separated, that branch tried to grow fruit. Imagine the life that was once flowing through the branch now seeping out, its leaves turning brown and its bark drying out. Can you picture it? How absurd it would be to believe that that now dead stick laying on the ground could ever produce fruit!  

The same is true for you and me. Apart from Christ, we are nothing more than dead sticks pretending to be alive. Apart from Christ, we cannot expect to grow, thrive, or bear fruit. He is our source and our supplier, and we are 100% dependent on Him for life. We are the branches. He is the Vine. We cannot get that backwards.  

Make it Real

So often in our walk with Jesus we start off strong, plugged into the Vine and receiving sustenance and nutrients from Him. But somewhere along the line we get off track. We start to get used to this new identity of a branch of Christ and we start to see fruit thriving. And somewhere in our brokenness we start to believe that we can do any of this on our own. We start to think that abiding in Christ is an option. 

Pride and self-centeredness tell us that what we are doing is too important to stop and rest in Jesus. We believe that we must push harder and work longer. We buy the lie that our worth is bound up in something we do. We strive and we push, achieving and succeeding. But like the branch on the floor, the longer we remain distant from our Vine, the more life seeps out of us. Pretty soon we look up and realize that there’s no life left in us. We’re alone and dried up. The fruit that we used to be able to produce with ease now seems impossible. We feel worn out, tired, and wrung dry. 

Sound familiar at all? I know it does for me! I can’t tell you how many times along my walk with Jesus that I have gotten my “cart” before the “horse.” I have been going alone strong, learning, growing, producing fruit for Jesus. Then something inside me shifts and I start believing the lie that any of it is about me. I start believing that my actions are what bring about fruit and that I can do it on my own. And in no time at all, I am nothing more than a dead branch pretending to be alive.  

See, it’s only when we remain in Christ, when we abide in Him, that we can bear fruit. There is literally no other way. We can fool ourselves into thinking we can do it on our own. But that only leads to death. We need our Vine, our source of life and strength. Apart from Him, we can do nothing at all.  

Praise God we serve a loving Savior who welcomes us back home with arms open wide! Praise God that when we ask, Jesus will meet us in our need. And once we begin to abide in Him again, His life will start to flow through us once more. He is good and faithful, always welcoming and always loving. We cannot fool ourselves into believing that life is found anywhere else. He is it- the only source. And in Him is life abundant! 

Crystal Garnett

Crystal Garnett

ACF Digital Discipleship Pastor

End in Prayer

Lord, 

I confess that my pride and selfishness has fooled me into thinking that I can do anything good in this life apart from you. I have tried to prove I have what it takes, and I have pulled away from You. I have let what I do define who I am instead of letting You define me. I have tried to be enough apart from You. But right now I admit that apart from You I am nothing more than a dead stick pretending to be alive. I need You Jesus, more than I think I even realize. Please graft me into Your perfect Vine once more. Teach me to abide in You alone. Thank You for always being true and always being faithful!  

In the name of Jesus Christ, 

Amen 

Tagged