Your Daily Devotional for July 11, 2007

 

July 11,  2007

 

 

A Relationship with God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

 

John 15:1-5

 

 

Several years ago, I had the privilege to preach in a meeting with the late Dr. Lee Roberson from Chattanooga, Tennessee. I asked him to explain to me some of the keys to his ministry. He simply stated, "You must learn to die to self, and you must learn to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is key in living the Christian life."

 

Many people look at the Christian life as a list of rules and regulations to follow. The Christian life isn't all about rules, but it is about a relationship. It is about dying to self and identifying with Christ through a relationship with Him. God desires to build a personal relationship with each one of us! He wants us to enjoy fellowship with Him.

 

Perhaps the passage that best illustrates the relationship we have with Christ is found in John 15 where we read of the vine and the branches. We see in these verses that Christ is described as the vine and we are referred to as the branches. In verse one we see that Christ says He is the true vine. A vine provides stability and sustenance for the branches; the branches are dependent upon the vine for life. God is our source of provision and protection in our Christian lives. We are dependent upon Him for our sustenance.

 

If we desire to receive this protection and provision from God, we must seek Him. We must develop a strong relationship with Him. The key word in verse four is the word abide which means "to remain; continue; stay."  As we come to God for provision, we must remain with Him and abide in Him. We must spend time with Him through prayer and Bible reading.

 

Many times we can become so caught up in the busyness of our day that we fail to truly abide with Christ. It would do us all well to set aside a time each day to get alone with God. Each day we must find time—away from the schedules, meetings, and hurriedness of the day—to abide with Him. We must take time to meet with God and renew our relationship with Him.

 

Spending time with Christ shows our love for Him. If we were to never spend time with our spouses, they would begin to question our love for them. Even so, if we never spend time with Christ and abide in Him, some would have reason to question our love for Him. God desires to spend time with us, and He is waiting for us each day! We must set aside time to abide with Him.

 

Are you abiding with Christ each day or are you simply hurrying through your personal time with Him? God desires for us to take time to develop our relationships with Him. We must daily set aside the cares of this life and seek Christ. Spend time with God right now. Abide in Him. Read His Word and seek Him through prayer. Let Him develop your relationship with Him today.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 1-3 • Acts 17:1-15

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