Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

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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 and 5 NASB

I wonder if you are like me…. When I read a passage like this one, I start to fret.

• What if I am not producing enough fruit?
• What if I need to be doing something else?
• What if I am not producing ANY fruit? How do I start?
• What if it’s not the right kind of fruit?  How do I know?

What if, what if, what if!!!

I was reading commentaries on this passage and I learned so many amazing things!  But a commentary written by Chuck Smith included this passage that seemed to answer all my ‘what ifs?’.

“The only lasting fruit is that which is produced as the result of the relationship with Jesus Christ.  And here again, the idea of fruit indicates to us the method of God. The fruit that comes forth from our lives is a very natural thing; it’s not forced.  That apple hanging on the tree is not out there struggling and striving and pushing and doing its best to get ripe.  All it has to do is just hang in there and it’s going to ripen.  And it’s going to come to maturity.  And I just need to hang in there, just to abide in Christ, and the natural result of abiding in Christ is my life is going to bring forth fruit.  One of the problems…today is this endeavor of forced fruit.…you’re being pushed into all kinds of activities, not really directed by the Spirit.  And this can become worthless expenditures of energy, unless God is behind it and God is guiding it and God is directing it. Unless you’re abiding in Him, you cannot bear fruit of yourself.  You cannot sit down and say, “Now, this is what I’m going to do for God this year. And these are the projects that I’m going to endeavor. And this is my plan by which I intend to fulfill this goal.”  That bearing fruit that God desires is the most natural thing that can happen to you as you abide in Christ.  It’s just a natural function.”

– Chuck Smith
click here to read the entire article

I have one purpose—to produce fruit.  If we are hanging out with Jesus, the fruit will come naturally!  Whewwww!  That’s a big relief. I don’t need to do more or be more.  I just need to hang out with Jesus more (“abide in Me…”) and let the Holy Spirit direct me.  Anything I try to do on my own is going to be a useless struggle and is destined to fail.  It would be “forced fruit.”  I am powerless on my own.

Philippians 4:13 AMP (one of my favorite verses) tells us:

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me
[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him
Who infuses inner strength into me;
I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

Christ empowers me!  And when I abide in Him, I have full access to all His power.  The fruit will be a natural result.  I like the way David Guzik * puts it: “Fruit bearing is impossible without abiding; but it is inevitable with abiding.”  Philippians 1:11 HCSB tells us when we hang out with Jesus we are “…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” John 8:31 AMP reminds us “If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.”

We have two choices then: either hang out with Jesus or go it on our own.  If we hang out with Jesus, fruit comes naturally.  If we go it on our own, we will continue to struggle and begin to wither.  Not much of a choice really, is it?

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Lord, I want to spend more time with You so that bearing fruit comes naturally.  I don’t want to offer You forced fruits from my own labors. When I begin to fret, remind me relax and hang out with You.  May Your plans be my plans.  Help me hear Your voice and follow Your lead. In Jesus’ name – Amen, It Is So!

* here is a link to David Guzik’s article on John chapter 15.