Every time I opened my bible this week I have been led to a different verse about Branches.
I’ve been reflecting on this every day. Wondering what the Lord was wanting me to see.
Tonight I was standing on the porch as I took the dog outside, the wind was blowing and I looked at the tree branches clapping in the wind. Then I heard look at the branches, they bear the fruit. I AM the lifesource and you are the branches bearing fruit.
I then came back inside and looked up the word Branch on dictionary.com and this is what stood out to me:
a limb, offshoot, or ramification of any main stem (We are His limbs and connected to Him)
any member or part of a body or system (We are part of the Body)
a line of family descent stemming from a particular ancestor, as distinguished from some other line or lines from the same stock; a division of a family. (We are Family)
a tributary stream or any stream that is not a large river or a bayou. (We are a smaller source of the living water that leads to THE living water)
to expand or extend, as business activities (A smaller part of the bigger picture. Able to reach more people with many branches leading to the same source)
As I sit here and reflect on what it means to be a Branch, I conclude that we are a smaller part or subdivision of the Vine. When we bear Good Fruit people come and take of that Fruit and follow the Branch back to the Vine. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. It is imperative that we bear Good Fruit so that others can be led to the Vine.
Jesus told us clearly what we must do to bear good fruit. He said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5).
A branch must stay firmly attached to the trunk to stay alive. As disciples of Christ, we must stay firmly connected to Him to remain spiritually productive. A branch draws strength, nourishment, protection, and energy from the vine. If it is broken off, it quickly dies and becomes unfruitful. When we neglect our spiritual life, ignore the Word of God, skimp on prayer, and withhold areas of our lives from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit, we are like a branch broken off the vine. Our lives become fruitless. We need daily surrender, daily communication, and daily—sometimes hourly—repentance and connection with the Holy Spirit in order to “walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh”
