In John 15, Jesus tells us that He is the true Vine, and that the Father is the gardener. The gardener goes and cuts off every branch of the vine that does not produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do have fruit so that they produce even more fruit. Then, Jesus says that we have already been pruned and purified by the message that He has given us. If we were to stray away from Him, we would stop producing fruit, just like a branch that has been cut away from the vine. This is why Jesus tells us that He will remain in us if we remain in Him.

What exactly does it mean to remain in Jesus? To remain in Jesus, we need to stay connected to Him just like a branch is connected to the vine. We can stay connected to Him through actively listening to His Word and believing His truth, living out our faith, and obeying what we are called to do. And what does it mean to be fruitful? In Galatians 5:22-23, we read about the fruits of the Spirit, which we should produce in our lives. Some of those fruits are love, joy, peace, and patience. I know that it can be challenging to remain in Jesus sometimes. I sometimes ask God to make me follow Him better. However, when I find myself asking God to draw me closer to Him, I remember verses like John 15:4 and James 4:8, which remind me that I am the one who needs to draw close to God in order for Him to draw close to me. God gave us free will, which means that He will never force anything on us. It has to be our choice to take that step.

Suggested prayer: Thank you, Lord, for giving me the ability to produce good fruit. Thank you for always waiting for me and welcoming me with open arms when I come back to you. God, please give me the strength and lead me in the right path so that I can remain in you and you can remain in me. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

1.    John 15:4.

Today’s Encounter was written by: Gianna B.