by Dana Perkins, Evangelist

As hard as it is to believe, a new year is already upon us.  It is the last year of the first decade in the new millennium.  I don’t know what all that means to you, but what it means to me is that heaven is close today than it was yesterday. With that in mind it must be every Christians’ goal to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

In John 15:5 it says:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus warns us that we must stay connected to Him if we want to bear fruit. He is reminding us that He is the source of our nourishment and that any spiritual growth in our lives comes as a direct result of our reliance on Him. We need to be reminded to remain in Him because from time to time we tend to take credit for the victory that should be God’s. The problem with that is that the more credit we take the less reliant on Jesus we become. He also warns “us that apart from Him, we can do nothing.”

This year if we are to see spiritual goals fulfilled, and if we are to bear the fruit of Jesus’ promise, then we must avoid all temptations to give in to our independent nature and realize our need to be reliant on Christ for all things.

In 2010, let’s be sure to keep the “main thing” the main thing. For disciples that simply means loving God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. It also means to love one another and to love those who are still lost in darkness. In order to do that, we must make time for God daily and consistently. Have our “quiet times” is one o the ways that we can ensure that we keep our connection with the vine. These are not just check in times, but times to speak with the Lord through prayer and listen to the Master on an intimate level. Find a special place, a park, a mountain trail, or a closet, but make it personal.

Allow yourself to fall in love with God again.

It also means that we must learn to see one another as God sees us. He chose to make man in His image. We are His sons and daughters. It must surely grieve he Father to see His children bite and devour each other with careless words and thoughtless actions. We should encourage one another daily, and all the more as we see the day of our salvation coming.  We must learn to bear with each other in our shortcomings and weaknesses in order to demonstrate God’s love to the world.

In John 13:34-35, Jesus said to his disciples:

A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Is it obvious that you are a disciple of Jesus based solely on your relationship with other disciples?

We must not become so busy with career and family and hobbies that we neglect to make time for God and to love the spiritual family He has given us. Nor am I suggesting that we neglect our families or perform inadequately on our jobs, but in the end people won’t know that we follow Christ simply because we attend church or because we speak religiously or because we do good deeds. All these are good but, the real proof of our discipleship is our love for God as demonstrated by our love for one another. I am convinced that as we exhibit the fruits of the spirit which are (a) loving God and each other, (b) a joy for the life and salvation that God has promised those who love him, (c) a peace that comes from knowing Jesus and His amazing grace and His limitless love. (d) Patience that comes from learning to bear with one another’s weaknesses and (e) a kindness and mercy that was shown us by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross… I am convinced that we will witness more people coming out of the darkness and into His wonderful light than ever before.

In 2010, let’s all remember to “Remain in the Vine” of Jesus Christ.