Bearly Making It or Bearing Fruit

John 15:5
I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.

During these times of extreme struggle there are many of us who are barely making it. Our salaries, our businesses aren’t what they use to be. In some parts of Texas they haven’t had consistent rain fall in over a year. Their crops are failing and their cattle are dying. They are barely making it. When we look at the grand scheme of things it is a miracle that we are still making it.

The way that we guarantee that we are fruitful in a famine is to make sure we are abiding in the true Vine.

Jesus said he is the True Vine and God is the Vine dresser. God’s promise is that if we abide in Jesus as branches into a vine we will bear much fruit but apart from God we can’t do anything. Now more than ever people should know that they desperately need relationship with Jesus in order to be fruitful. Being fruitful is not just about getting money but it’s that Zoë life that Jesus promised when he said, “I have come to give you life and life more abundantly.” Zoë { dzo-ay’}

Strong's Lexicon: Greek Origin
-Life
- the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate
- every living soul
- Life
- of the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through Him
- life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, and to last for ever.

Jesus says any branches that are not producing will be cut off. This is not the season to be unconnected and unproductive. Everybody that’s connected needs to be productive and fruitful. Just as God is the Vine dresser, the person that inspects the vines and Jesus is the branch, the person who supplies the blood and nutrients for the branches to produce fruit, so is your organization or family. You must stay connected and produce or else you run the risk of being cut off.

Another key is that when you are fruitful you still might get cut on but not cut off. Whenever you bear fruit you must be pruned so you can bear more fruit. Pruning is the process of removing certain above-ground elements from a plant; in landscaping this process usually involves removal of diseased, non-productive, or otherwise unwanted portions from a plant. In nature, certain meteorological conditions such as wind, snow or seawater mist can conduct a natural pruning process. The purpose of anthropomorphic pruning is to shape the plant by controlling or directing plant growth, to maintain the health of the plant, or to increase the yield or quality of flowers and fruits.

During this recession you might have been cut back but when your season to bear fruit comes back you will be more fruitful than you were before because you stayed connected to Jesus. Without Jesus we can do nothing.

Dear God, help me to abide in Jesus by acknowledging that he is Lord over my life. Thank you for cutting off my dead weight and helping me to be more productive. You have been my provider. You’ve been my way maker. You have sustained us through some of the toughest times. When our season of fruitfulness returns, help us all to realize that it was you who did it. Thank you for my fruitfulness and helping me to make it through my famine.

In Jesus Name.
Amen.