Ever wonder why you feel so frustrated that no matter how many resolutions you make, how much effort you exert, how many books you read or classes you attend, you seem to stay stuck all the time? Well, if you’ve ever felt that way, or if you feel that way right now, at the beginning of a new year, you’ve come to the right place. Because we’re going to be able to learn today, in John 15, why people fail, and why they stay frustrated.
This is the chapter about the vine, about how the life of God flows into ordinary, fractured, broken human beings; how God takes us where we are, and plants us into himself. He becomes the vine, we’re the branch, and He flows through us. The life that we live, as Paul said, is not the life that we live, it’s the life He lives through us, so that our fruitfulness and our continued success over time is guaranteed, as long as we don’t forget the vine/branch relationship.
And also, by the way, there’s a reason why so many people don’t like you, why there are people who lie to you, why there are people who betray you, why there are people who walk away just at the right time to cause you the maximum pain and frustration. It’s all in there. You’ll find it today in John 15: the vine and the branch theory.
Hi Dave: Just wanted to say thanks for doing what you do so well. My life is a train wreck right now and I have found myself teetering between fits of angst and thirsting for His word…daily…sometimes hourly. I know there’s only one way to live and I’m clinging to that truth. Hearing His words flow through you provides the branch that brings me shade and restoration, so that I can be a branch for someone else. Just wanted to let you know how blessed and utterly grateful I feel after hearing you preach.
Have an awesome day!
Jan Porter