Are You Attached to The Vine?

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 29th, 2008
By Connie Ciccone
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Are You Attached to The Vine?


Scripture: John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches ... without me you can do nothing."

Jesus compared Himself to the vine and His followers to branches. The analogy that He was making was that if we want to be able to draw continual strength from Him, we must stay in relationship with Him. To walk in light and maintain life we must abide in Him and allow Him and His words to abide in us. A branch that is separated from the vine or trunk may flourish for a short season, but it will soon dry up and wither away because it is not self-supported. It must stay attached to its source to maintain life. Like the natural branch, God is our life and the source of all of our strength. All the power that we experience comes from God, and God alone. Without Him, we can do nothing.

We must have the same mindset that Peter had in Acts 3:12 when the lame man was healed. Peter recognized that he was simply a vessel of the Holy Spirit. The people tried to attribute the miracle to Peter, but he said, "Don't look on us as though by our own power or holiness that we made this man to walk." Instead, he gave all of the glory to God. (AMEN) Sometimes when we do good blessings , we take all the credit without giving the glory to God. This Is where we lose the blessing.
God could have chosen anyone, but He chose Peter and allowed a miracle to flow through him because Peter was attached to the vine. He had an intimate relationship with Jesus and drew strength from Him daily. Peter was filled with the Spirit of the Living God and was fully aware that God was the one who was responsible for performing the miracle. He dared not take the glory.

It is so easy for us to forget how insignificant we really are when God immediately answers our prayer or does something supernatural in our lives. When God uses us for something, we may forget for a moment and tend to look at ourselves in grandeur. We become like the woodpecker who pecked continuously at the trunk of a tree. Suddenly, lightening struck the tree and split the tree down the middle. The woodpecker declared, "Wow, I didn't know I had that much power in me!" He failed to realize and acknowledge that the act was wrought by God's power. Zechariah 4:6 explains our ability. It says it is "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Host." We have no might nor power to call our own. Power is held in the hands of the Almighty God, and without Him, we can do nothing!

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie