The fundemental things apply, abide


I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 ESV
                As the song says, “…The fundamental things apply, as time goes by.”  I suppose it is cliché to say that a particular verse changed your life, especially for a minister of the gospel; nevertheless this verse did change my life, especially as a minister of the gospel. Now allow me to depart from my typical tone and pull back the curtain a bit. In the midst of this pandemic I have been troubled. As an individual I have been made to compromise, it is necessary, but to me very uncomfortable. As a minister I have often been at a loss as to how best to serve the church and its people. Some things had to change very quickly, and because of that a lot things had to be, “good enough”, or, “the best we can do right now” instead of the very best. Yes, it had to be that way. It was necessary, and at the time of this writing it still is. Good intentions, even love can press us to try more than we are able to do, even more than we ought to attempt.
                It is so easy to get caught-up in what cannot be done, and what could have been done better, and what else might be done. We can easily become restless with good reasons. Because we look at the shifting sands around us, at the things that do change as time goes by. We forget to look straight down and find the solid rock is still as solid as it was yesterday. The unholy trinity of world, flesh, and devil would like us to forget. They would like us to act as though our feet were in the sand, are roots not planted in the good soil nourished by the living waters, our souls not abiding in the life of the True Vine, and His life abiding in us.
                We must remember this alone we are helpless, abide still means abide. These fundamental things apply, as time goes by.  Notice, “I am”, it does not say He was, or is, or will be, He just am. Unchanging, and unchangeable, the certainty leads to a certain pronouncement that as we abide in Him and He in us we will bear much fruit. His life will be on display, all the fruits of the spirit clearly visible. I remind you that among these are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentles, and self-control.  Joy and peace may seem to be in short supply these days, but they are still abundantly available in Christ.
                What then shall we do in this time of turmoil? In ourselves, we cannot do anything. As a minister of the gospel I cannot do anything on my own. For all of us the fundamental things apply in this time we must abide in Him so that He can abide in us. The command has not changed. There never was a command here to bear fruit, and there is not such a command here now. The command is to abide, the result is that fruit will come forth. The Holy Trinity will see to that.
                Abiding sounds simple, but it is not easy. However, even as we take hold of the Vine, the Vine takes held of us in the Spirit, and the Father cares for the branches so they will grow and flourish in the life of the True Vine. Even if your strength should fail, you will not be lost if you are indeed in Christ as it is written in John 10:28-30. The life of the Vine is eternal life.  Let us remind each other of these fundamental things which apply as time goes by. Thankfully by God’s grace we have the means to do assist each other in abiding even though physically separate via technology of varying kinds. All of my writing it is my intention to aid you in abiding.
                All I can do is hold onto the Vine. All any of us can do is to hold onto the Vine. Christ the True Vine can do all things, has accomplished the subjected of all things to Himself. With us nothing is possible, but with God all things are possible. Abide.
Prayer
                Father you are holy the perfection of goodness from which comes every good thing. You have given the very best of all in Jesus Christ our Lord. In Him we have life abundant and free. We have the promise of fruitfulness by a simple command. We thank you that even as our strength fails and our hearts falter You hold us fast who belong as branches connected to the True Vine.  May we bear fruit in season to Your glory. May we weather well the storms as time goes by. Forgive us our trespasses. Let Your will be done in all things. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Songs
                There are many good songs which connect to this text and these themes. I see no reason to limit myself to just one and so give you five.
Abide with me
All I have is Christ
On Christ the solid rock I stand
Christ the sure and steady anchor
He will hold me fast

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