Abide

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I regularly prune the bushes in my garden . I have primarily natives so that they in turn attract the native birds. I now have a plethora of the tinniest birds to mid-size Eastern lorikeets (I associate them with Rosellas). There is a tree just outside the boundary of my yard that is more established and even larger birds congregate there. The magpies sit up there and sing to me, the white cockatoos rest on the way through and once I had black cockatoos visit. I am always glad to see them all. However, the cockatoos are destructive and I was glad to see them move on.

Now of late I have had to prune a bush right back because it was damaged in the storm. The removed branches soon wither and die without being attached to the trunk of the plant. The trunk has its roots in the soil and have a better chance of living as they are where food and water exists.

Jesus told the above teaching to enforce the truth: we need Him to survive. He is our source and supply, He is our life and sustenance. We can rely on Him to provide, He will keep us in Him. Our challenge is to not allow fear or foolishness remove us from our union with Him.

Stay connected! Amen!