In this precious parable we see the principle that without Christ we can do nothing– we are dependent upon Him. But there is another point here. There is a sense in which apart from us He will do nothing– He depends on us. While the vine feeds the branch, it is the branch that bears the fruit. As believers abide in Christ they abound in fruit—“more fruit…much fruit”. F.B. Meyer put it like this–

The vine cannot bear fruit, of itself; it is only the channel along which the energy of God flows in its endeavour to gladden the heart and life of man. So Jesus is the channel through which the life and love of God reach us, that we may pass them on in loving ministry, and in so doing we are creating and storing up for ourselves infinite joy.

Let each of us learn to abide in Christ with the heart open to Him on the one hand, and open to men, women and children on the other. Then let us trust Christ to pour His love and grace into our hearts, that the pressure within may lead us to perform acts of tender sympathy and helpfulness of which we would not otherwise have been capable. Let us resolve to let no day pass without doing something at cost to ourselves, to make the burden lighter and the path easier for someone else. Our willingness for Christ to do these things through us will always meet a response from Him; and His Spirit being in us will show us exactly what to say or do. It may be only a smile, a touch of the hand, or a word! Thus life will be filled with joy, and this will be perpetuated surely in that other life, when we shall awake and be satisfied. As we mingle with the throngs of happy spirits who have come out of great tribulation–the martyrs, prophets, apostles, and saints of every age—the greatest wonder of all will be that we are there. “Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, and feed Thee? or thirsty, and give Thee a drink? And He will say, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these.., ye did it unto Me.”

May I never forget, O Lord, that the best and happiest life must be lived in communion with the needs, sorrows, and trials of others. Give me closer sympathy with Thyself, who didst not please Thyself, but whose blessed life was perpetually laid down for others. AMEN.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:“– Phil.  2:5.

One of the dangers we all face is distraction. Whether burdens or blessings, poverty or prosperity, there is always something that is liable to distract us from what we should be focused on. Our text reminds us of where our mind should be. F. B. Meyer left us these following observations regarding this matter:

In the paragraph from which these words are taken, the wonderful description of our Lord’s descent to share our shame and sorrow is cited by the Apostle, that it might become a living impulse and inspiration to ourselves, not to look upon our own things, not to hold them with a tight grasp, but to be willing to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ, who became the instrument through which God wrought out His redeeming purpose.

Guided by the Spirit of God, the Apostle opens the compasses of his imagination and faith, and places the one point upon the throne of the Eternal God, and the other upon the Cross of shame where Jesus died, and shows us the steps by which He approached nearer and nearer to human need and sin; that, having embraced us in our low estate, He might carry us back with Himself to the throne of God; and that by identifying Himself with our sin and sorrow, He might ultimately identify us with the glory that He had with the Father before the world was….

The Apostle bids us think as Jesus thought; do not look exclusively upon your own interests; do not count anything of your own worthy to stand in the way, but always be prepared to deny yourself that through you God’s redeeming love may pass to those that need His help. We must be willing to lay aside ambition and glory that we may be the better able to succour others. There is no other way to sit with Jesus on His throne; no other method of assisting Him in His great mission….. We must take the low seat, do the unnoticed tasks, refuse the honour which comes from human lips, or we can never be counted worthy to stand before the Son of Man.

We ask, O Lord, that we may be so filled with these thoughts throughout the day, that our earthly life may be inspired with the spirit of Heaven. May we go to and fro about our business as those who have seen the face of God, and with the light of the other world upon our faces. AMEN.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” Colossians 3:16

One of the ways the Bible helps us, is by making Christ known to us. The noblest Christian is he before whose eyes, the character of Jesus shines in brightest splendor. Indeed, it is only when we have clear visions of Christ, that we really grow like Him.

“It seems to me,” says a writer, “that nowadays men think and talk too much about improving their own character — but meditate too little on the perfectness of the divine character.” Christ will never appear really great in our eyes, unless we make His Word our daily study. And only as He becomes great and glorious in our thought — will our character and standard of life be lifted up to what they should be.

Many of the blessings we seek in prayer, can come to us only through the Word of God:

We ask to be kept near the heart of Christ — but our Master tells us that only those who keep His commandments shall abide in His love. In order to keep His commandments, we must know them — and we can know them only by reading and re-reading them.

We ask God in the morning to guide us through the day, and in one of the psalms is the prayer, “Order my steps according to Your Word.” That is, God leads us by His Word. If then we do not read the words of God, how can we get His guidance?

The leading He promises is not general, by long stretches — but by little steps. The Psalmist says, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet.” It is not said that prayer is the lamp — but the Word. We must carry it in our hand, too, as one carries a lantern to throw its beams about his feet.

We pray to be kept from sin, and in the Scriptures one says, “Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Our prayers to be kept from sin, can be answered only by getting the Word of God into our heart!….Neither is complete in itself alone. We must talk to God — but we must also listen to God talk to us through His Word. We must pray for blessings — but only through the divine words of Scripture, can these blessings come to us.– (J.R. Miller)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” Colossians 3:16

Probably prayer is less neglected in devotions, than is the reading of the Bible. Many people who would not go out any morning without a few moments of prayer, will go forth day after day into the thick of life’s duties and perils, without reading even a verse of Scripture! They feel the necessity of asking God to keep, guide and bless them — but they fail to realize that it is in and through meditating on His Word, that God chiefly gives His richest and best blessings.

It is in His Word, that God reveals Himself. We cannot know what He is like, nor what the attributes of His character are — unless we ponder the Scriptures. We cannot learn what God’s will is, nor what He would have us to do and to be — if we do not look into His Word. There is nothing that we need more, than to hear God speaking to us every morning. This is possible, only as we open the Bible and let its words whisper their messages to us.

No matter how familiar we may be with the teachings of the Scriptures, we need to ponder them anew every morning to keep their pure ideals and lofty requirements ever before us, lest we allow our standard of holy living to be lowered.

A celebrated painter always kept some purely-colored stones on his table. When asked by a visitor why he did so, he said it was to keep his eye up to tone. When he was working in pigments, unconsciously his sense of color was weakened. By keeping a pure color near him he brought his eye up to tone again, just as the musician by his tuning-fork brings himself up to the right pitch. In the same way, we continually need to turn to God’s Word to keep our thoughts, and character, and life up to the true standard.

Rubenstein used to say that he could never omit his daily practice on the piano, for if he did, the quality of his playing would at once begin to deteriorate. He said that if he missed practice for three days — the public would know it; if he missed practice for two days — his friends would know it; and if he did not practice for even one day — he himself knew it!

It is no less true in Christian life, that in order to keep its holy tone up to what it should be, there must never be a break in the continuity of the study of God’s Word. If we leave off for only one day, we shall become conscious of a loss of power in living. If for two successive days we fail to look into God’s perfect law, our friends around us will notice the failure in the beauty, the sweetness and the grace of our character and disposition. If for three days we fail to study the Scriptures, to see how God would have us live, even the people of the world will see a lowering of the spiritual quality of our life!–J R Miller

” If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”–2 Tim. 2:13

Turning Point magazine tells this story. A young man was in an outpatient drug rehab program, meeting with a counselor weekly. Some weeks he had to report that he had succumbed to drug use since their last meeting. “Do you want to get off drugs?” his counselor would ask. Hearing “Yes” as an answer she would say, “Then I will be here for you until you succeed.” When he asked why she didn’t give up on him, the counselor would reply, “My job doesn’t depend on your faithfulness. It’s my job to be faithful regardless.”

It is in God’s “job description”—His character—to be faithful. God is loyal, never-changing, and committed to His purposes. His purpose for His children is to see them conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29). Our reaching that goal is a sign of God’s faithfulness, not ours. Yes, God wants us to be faithful and is glad when we are. But whether we are faithful or not, God always is.

“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9). All day today, even at this very moment, God will be faithful to you. Let that truth be a comfort and a shield, come what may. Let God’s faithfulness to you be an inspiration for your own faithfulness to Him.

Though men are false, God is faithful.(Matthew Henry)