“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.” *John 15:4

He is the vine and we are the branches. We bear fruit according to our connection to the vine. Stay connected, or remain in Him, and bear fruit.  Disconnect, and the branch falls away and withers without producing any fruit. My focus doesn’t need to be on the fruit, but on remaining in Him.

So, how do I remain in Him? It sounds so lofty. I can’t live the life of a monk, but I’d still like to keep my focus on Him throughout the day.

By being nourished spiritually, I can stay close to Him.

It takes a pause to refill spiritually. Pause to read the word and reflect on it. Pause to hide His Word in my heart. Pause to pray and listen to praise songs. These pauses aren’t ways to win His love; I already have that. These pauses help me stay connected to the vine.

And maybe, just maybe, there’ll be some fruit from all those pauses.

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When the alarm goes off

And my feet hit the floor,

When breakfast is over

And day beckons once more…

When interruptions threaten

And troubles take time,

Remain in the Lord

Stay connected to the vine.

As the sun disappears

And all through the night,

Stay camped in His presence

Let Him your battles fight.

When a life is stayed on Him

Good is sure to come,

Because the branch is in the vine

And that’s where fruit comes from.

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photo and poem by Patty Perkins

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*The One Year Bible, NIV, May 26, copyright 1986, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL.

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