I thank you for your continued support. In these tough times, we may feel as if we’re alone. But God sets us up for success through His Son. He sends the Son so that all may have faith in Him and bear fruit. For this reason, I would like to share with you a short devotion about John 15:1-7.

      I remember teaching my confirmation students about John 15 through an activity. I gave them a dead branch, markers, construction paper, scissors, and glue. I told my students "Make the branch alive again." At first, my students laughed and then started to get to work. One student asked for a shovel to plant the branch. But I told her that the branch would only decay. She quickly gave up. My other student spent five minutes looking at the materials. After five minutes, I had to put the student out of his misery. I told them that they could not make the branch alive again. This was to show that Christians cannot live or bear fruit without Jesus.

      Why would Jesus want to give us such a depressing message? Jesus wanted to remind the disciples that they would not be on their own. Previously in John 14, Jesus told his disciples that He was going to be with the Father. Jesus told them that they would not be alone because He would send the Spirit upon them. He wanted them to rely on the Spirit so that they could love Him, keep His commandments, and keep His Word.

      After all, the disciples would be entering into a hostile world without Jesus. They would feel alone since Christ is not there in the flesh. They would have to deal with the Roman Empire, which would persecute them. They would even have to deal with the Pharisees and scribes, who thought that Christianity was blasphemy. They would be tempted to think of themselves alone. They would be tempted to rely upon themselves, which would lead them to trust in their abilities. We all know what happens when a branch is torn from a trunk. We easily die and wither, without Jesus within our lives.

      The problem that most Christians have is that we think we're alone. When we think we are the ones that have to bear fruit, we set ourselves up for failure. Just like a branch cut off from a tree, all we can do is wither and decay. A branch that is rained upon, in sunlight, or is cast from the wind can only rot faster. The world is the same way how we may easily get burned out and feel lifeless after just one week of work. In those moments, we have a hard time thinking God is with us. We doubt that He abides in us at all.

As Lutherans, we become even more concerned because the text says, "Every branch that does not bear fruit He takes away." "How can this be? What about by faith, through grace, which we are saved? Doesn't Jesus save?" We are afraid that since we don't bear good fruit, God is going to condemn us. But this kind of thinking leads away from trusting in Jesus and towards being independent. We make ourselves feel alone when we are not abiding by the true vine.

I think my confirmation students needed to learn that Christians do not rely upon themselves but on Jesus Christ alone. We all grow up learning to be self-dependent in life. We are given various commands and responsibilities. And we are punished, if we don't uphold them. Since Christ is the true vine, then there are other things we depend upon. Self-dependence is a vine that does not bear fruit at all. Instead, we focus on ourselves, lean on our strengths, and remain alone.

      The good news is that we are not alone because God is the vine-dresser. In biblical times, a vine dresser plants and has to wait for three years to bear fruit. He patiently waters and cuts off branches that do not bear fruit to maintain it. What does this say about God? He is the one who is in charge of fruit production. Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." He is the one who is responsible for a good harvest. He waits patiently and works diligently to ensure we may have life through His Son. God is with us as we grow as he has been with all generations.

Through Jesus, we receive the Spirit and abide in Him. Even when we feel alone in this world, God's Spirit is within us. We depend upon Him to lead us through this life and pray for His help to bear good fruits. To abide in Jesus to rely upon Him through the storms of this life. Only through Him may we receive love and forgiveness to keep serving our neighbor.

      And even those who are far away from Jesus can still become part of the vine. The Bible talks about grafting, where a vinedresser may cut the vine and insert a separate branch. The branch can become part of the vine and bear fruit. This shows that even gentiles, people who are foreign to God, can become part of Christ the vine. Romans 11 says, “17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” We see a beautiful image where the branches depend on the roots of the vine for life. Christians abide in Jesus by trusting in Him alone for strength and perseverance. Only through faith in Christ can we endure the storms of this life.  No matter how many sins we have committed, no matter what age we are, or even if we were not born into the Christian faith; God can still graft people into Christ the vine.

      Sometimes in life, we need to show that God is still present by setting other people up for success. I remember going to see my grandma in the nursing home. She was scared and lonely. Sharing a devotion, and a doughnut when the nurses are not looking, helped her to pray to God. Additionally, I was able to serve 3 kids who never picked up a bible in their lives. Now my students are inspired to help others by talking about Jesus and serving their community. We can all help people to grow and bear fruit. The key to success is depending upon Jesus in times of hardship and strife. Christ's death and resurrection show the world that God loves everyone. Such love makes us feel less alone in the world.

      Therefore we continue the work of God, by setting people up for success in our church. No matter what the situation, we comfort our members through the Gospel. We are not in the business of tearing each other down but teaching people to have faith in Jesus. We abide in Jesus by trusting and depending upon Him throughout life. Through our Bible studies, fellowship, services, and servanthood we show that God still abides within us. And in time our churches shall reap a harvest by setting people up for success by expressing the love of Jesus in our communities.

      In time we shall become part of the greatest harvest of all, which shall happen eternally in heaven. We shall not wither or die but rather see the harvest of the vinedresser. Where there will be fields of people in white robes. Where we shall see all the people we helped along the way. And we shall see the Lord almighty, whose Spirit has been within us throughout life. Amen