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Finding Balance

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.
John 15:5

In John 15, Jesus said that those who abide in Him bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. But first you have to find balance between two popular extremes: 1) Those who say Christian life is only a bed of roses - that you'll never be sick, broke, or have problems; that unless you live in a mansion and drive a Mercedes you don't have faith. No, real faith is proven in affliction. It's when you've nothing that you need faith to believe God's your Provider. It's when you're sick that you need faith to believe He's your Healer. Listen: "he who abides, bears much fruit..." The blessing comes from abiding - you get the fruit on the other side. Getting people excited about fruit before they even have seed means they end up serving God for what He does, instead of Who He is. And one more thought: don't use your faith to belittle others. Just because you've graduated, don't burn down the school! The God who brought you through will bring them through too! 2) Those who think the Christian life is only a battlefield - they love to talk about how the enemy's always attacking them and how difficult life is. Check your Bible: Satan attacks those who are in line for promotion! The truth lies in the middle. To be mature you need balance. Sure you'll be pruned and cut back for greater fruitfulness, but that's when it's even more important to abide. Don't give up and don't collapse - beyond this test you'll have a testimony!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to abide in you and realize that I cannot bear fruit without you and any fruit that I do bear is solely because of you! To you be the Glory, Amen