Welcome to the ULC Minister's Network

Pastor Charles Stilwell ULCM

Daily Scripture and Reflections

  • Jesus: The Vine
    I am the vine, you are the branches.
    He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
    for without Me you can do nothing.
    John 15:5
     
    Jesus is the Vine, the source of your spiritual life. Abide in Him, and you’ll have a fruitful life. You are the branches where His life grows and His fruit is produced. The key to fruitfulness is relationship; you must constantly remain attached to (abiding in) Him, or the opposite will happen. If you become detached, your spiritual life will not be fruitful; no fruit will grow, and the branches of your life will begin to die.
     
    Lord, when I was small, I was constantly growing; but when I became an adult, I stopped growing. I sometimes feel the same thing has happened to me spiritually. Now that I’ve reached spiritual adulthood, don’t let me stop growing as a Christian.
     
    Jesus is the Vine, and you are the branches. You will continue to grow as you are attached to Him. You must do more than talk about Jesus, sing about Jesus or even learn facts about Jesus. You must abide in Him in order to grow and be fruitful. You must be totally dependent on Jesus, just as a branch is totally dependent on the vine for everything. Just as energy (life) flows through the vine to the branches, your energy flows through Jesus to you. The Vine must become your life; yield to Him. The Vine has the fruit you desire; let Him grow it in you.
     
    Jesus, since You are my Vine, produce optimism and spiritual expectation in me. Help me become like You, just as a branch is like the vine. Amen.
     
    Go Deeper: John 15:1-8
     
    The life of Jesus flows through us when we abide in Him.
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