Remain in me, and I will remain in you

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1-8

REFLECTION
For people who are living in an agricultural environment, with fruit trees and vine yards all around them, these words made a lot of sense. For us, people often living in modern, urban environments, it may be a bit harder to understand this metaphor of the gardener, the vine and the branches.
Vines need attention if you want them to be fruitful. Jesus paid constant attention to his Father and in return his Father was continually taking care of him. Jesus, the true vine, is God’s perfect example for us and we need to remain in him. If painful things happen to us, we can learn to trust our Father, the gardener, who is constantly at work in and around us – through his Word and through his Spirit. God creates opportunities for spiritual growth. If we stay connected to the true vine, our Lord Jesus Christ, if we drink in his words and allow him to poor out a constant stream of love and grace in our lives, we will bear much fruit.

PRAYERDear Father, thank you for looking after me. I don’t always understand why you cut certain things of in my life. It is not always clear why you allow pain, problems and adversity. It is often very hard to understand how you operate as a gardener. But I want to stay connected to your Son through his Word and Spirit. I want to bear much fruit for you, not in my own strength, but in full dependence on the finished work of your Son.
Dear Lord Jesus, help me to remain in you. I don’t want to throw my life away and I don’t want to miss great opportunities for spiritual growth. Feed me, cleanse me with your Word, fill me with your power and help me to bear much fruit for the glory of the Father. Amen

Love connection

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (John 14:15-21)

REFLECTION
If you love Jesus, you will listen to him. And even if we can’t see our Master with human eyes, we can still feel his presence in our heart. Jesus is ‘out of sight’, but he is not ‘out of mind’. His Spirit came to guide us, comfort us, strengthen us, inspire us. There is this long-distance, wireless connection between Heaven and earth that will never let your down. Via this connection you are linked with the Father’s love and truth. And like radio waves and wireless internet, this connection is very real but also very mysterious. Yet you can rely on it, tap in to it, hook up with it and download thoughts and feelings from the Father’s heart. This flow is a constant flow – there are no technical obstacles or interruptions. If there is a connection problem, ask yourself: What is wrong on my side of the line?

PRAYER
Invisible God, nothing is as real as your love for me and nothing is as pure as your thoughts. Yes, you are holy, holy, holy. I need to stay in touch with you. I need to keep your Book at arm’s length, because I need to find out how I can keep an open line. Take away my impure thoughts, create in me a clean heart, because I want to stay connected to you. I need to receive your love before I can share it with the people around me. I need to obey your words before I can make wise decisions. Your Word instructs me to pray without ceasing and that is exactly what I intend to do. I want to obey, I want to love and I want to be loved by you. Constantly! Amen

Do not let your hearts be troubled

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4

REFLECTION
Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure. It strikes me that Jesus had already started talking about his upcoming death in John 12 (this book has 21 chapters). Based on this, I think that Jesus took the time to make sure that his friends were well-prepared for the things to come. Still, we now know that many of these words were not remembered by Jesus' disciples at the times when they really needed to remember them. Often they panicked first - and only afterwards did they realize that this was exactly what their Lord had predicted…
Today we can still hold on to Jesus words: "Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."
Remember that the skilled Master Carpenter is preparing a home for us where we will live in eternity. I'm sure that this house will be breathtakingly beautiful, but what I am really looking forward to is being in Jesus' presence forever!

PRAYER
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for giving us so many promises. I know that you are making a home for me! I like to come home, Lord. I like to be in my safe, welcoming environment together with all the people I deeply love. I also like to be in your presence, right here, right now - in this quiet moment. You make me feel at home.
But you also know that this earth is not a hospitable, friendly place for all people. I pray for those people who are longing to be taken away out of their misery - the people who have every reason in the world to long for a better place. Encourage and strengthen your children Lord, please give them courage and help them to keep the faith. Give them strength to be homemakers - even if all their efforts are taken for granted and they don't receive any love or appreciation in return.
Thank you for this eternal perspective: one day we will be with you forever! When I think about this future, I can hardly wait. But I will be patient, not waiting passively or fearfully, but confidently looking forward to meeting you and the Father. Amen