Plugged In

John 15:4-5 “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.”

Abide: to dwell, remain, be present, be held and kept

It’s the 21st century, we all have cell phones and electronics. These electronics have batteries or plugs that need constant power in order to function correctly. You may charge your cell phone over night which will give you enough battery to last for a while, but eventually it will need to be plugged back in again. It will not function properly without a constant charge.

In the same way, our relationship with Jesus will fall short if we are not constantly plugged in to Him. He tells us to “remain” in Him.

This does not mean we charge up in the morning with our bible study and devotional time, and then slowly throughout the day allow our spiritual battery to drain again until we charge back up the next morning.

We can’t treat our relationship with the Creator the same way we would treat our cell phones.

We need a constant connection. A constant source of Gods power within us. To remain in Him, means that we keep Him in everything we are doing in our life. Constantly speaking to Him throughout the day, reading the Bible in our free time instead of scrolling, praising Him for the beauty of His creation.

It can be too easy to treat our relationship with God as a check list. “okay, I did my morning devotions, now I am good for the rest of the day.”

Can you imagine if you treated any other relationship in your life like this?

Telling your wife, “okay, I talked to you this morning so I don’t need to again until tomorrow morning.”

Try that and tell me how it works…

The Lord wants a relationship with us, and we can’t have a strong relationship without intentionality and constant effort.

We need to Abide in Him. In His grace, in His peace, in His words. We need to stay constantly connected to our God, otherwise we will start drifting back to our hearts of stone and desires of the flesh.

Keep Jesus at the forefront of your mind. He is with us wherever we go. Talk to Him like you would a friend or a father. “Remain” in Him, and He will make your paths straight. Stay constant in His word.

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:31 (emphasis added).

Take a moment to think about these questions:

• Do I make it a priority to remain in Jesus throughout the day, keeping Him at the forefront of my mind and in all my thoughts and decisions?
• Am I constant in the word of God? Do I ruminate on His word throughout the day?
• Do I treat my morning devotions and time with God as a check box, or do I pursue intimate relationship and constant connection with Him?
• What would my life look like if I chose to truly abide in christ and stay plugged in to Him?