Key Text: John 15:5 KJV - 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.

Whenever a branch is trimmed off a live tree it usually withers because it is no longer connected to its source of nutrients. The branch is never meant to be independent of the tree. Branches are expected to bear fruits, but they cannot perform this function if they are separated from the tree. In order words, without the tree, the branches cannot bear fruits.

Jesus Christ is the live tree to which every true believer is connected. If any believer is detached from Him, they no longer have life but are dead. Adam and Eve became spiritually dead the moment they disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the tree in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Since sin separates the believer from the Lord, it must be avoided by all means.

Precious people of God, you must be sensitive to sin? Beware, and do not allow yourself to be deceived to seek independence from the Lord: for without Jesus Christ you can do nothing. He is the source of your life, so you must abide in Him to move and live and have your being. You must strive to depend on Him always by seeking to know His will and praying for the grace to do it.

Prayer: O Lord, You are my hiding place: let not the boisterous wind of life disconnect me from you, in Jesus name. Amen.

Reflection: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God - 2 Corinthians 3:5.