John 15:4; Galatians 5:22-23 - "Make Me A Blessing"

I was reminded this morning that in order to have Galatian 5 fruit flow from me I first must live a John 15:4 life.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:4

I was thinking about the word abide and decided to look it up in the dictionary.  In biblehub.com it says about abide in John 15:4:

When a new graft is placed in a vine and it abides there, there is a twofold process that takes place. The first is in the wood. The graft shoots its little roots and fibers down into the stem, and the stem grows up into the graft, and what has been called the structural union is effected. The graft abides and becomes one with the vine, and even though the vine were to die, would still be one wood with it. Then there is the second process, in which the sap of the vine enters the new structure, and uses it as a passage through which sap can flow up to show itself in young shoots and leaves and fruit. Here is the vital union. Into the graft which abides in the stock, the stock enters with sap to abide in it.

When our Lord says: "Abide in me, and I in you," He points to something analogous to this. "Abide in me": that refers more to that which we have to do. We have to trust and obey, to detach ourselves from all else, to reach out after Him and cling to Him, to sink ourselves into Him. As we do this, through the grace He gives, a character is formed, and a heart prepared for the fuller experience: "I in you," God strengthens us with might by the Spirit in the inner man, and Christ dwells in the heart by faith.

Many believers pray and long very earnestly for the filling of the Spirit and the indwelling of Christ, and wonder that they do not make more progress. The reason is often this, the "I in you" cannot come because the "abide in me" is not maintained. "There is one body and one spirit"; before the Spirit can fill, there must be a body prepared. The graft must have grown into the stem, and be abiding in it before the sap can flow through to bring forth fruit. It is as in lowly obedience we follow Christ, even in external things, denying ourselves, forsaking the world, and even in the body seeking to be conformable to Him, as we thus seek to abide in Him, that we shall be able to receive and enjoy the "I in you." The work enjoined on us: "Abide in me," will prepare us for the work undertaken by Him: "I in you."

The key is in the statement, the "I in you" cannot come because the "abide in me" is not maintained. How can I expect to bear fruit if I don't continually abide in Him? How can I expect to be filled with His Spirit if I don't do anything to draw closer to Him? It just isn't possible. I must be in constant communion with Him in order to live the life He wants of me. I must be in His presence in order to hear His voice. It comes through hearing from Him to know what He wants of me. 

I like this statement.  God demands more than our best...He demands our holiness!  Amen! Woo hoo! Praise His Holy Name!

The desire of my heart is to have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to flow in and through me. I know the more I have of the Lord, the more I feel these fruit. Most importantly, the more others see them in me.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for these reminders this morning. Thank You for loving me enough to remind me of the importance of abiding in You. Father, fill me with more of You and less of me so Your fruit wll flow from me. Lord, You know the desires of my heart. You know I want to hear from You and I want to do Your will. May I be a blessing to You and to others. Thank You Lord for being The One I Abide In. Amen.