...He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion...

 “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. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:5-8, MSG)

After setting the table for Christmas dinner, I thought some Christmas greenery on the table would add some beauty.

At the end of the table I laid some branches that I’d cut off from the base of the tree when I attached the tree stand.

While the tree has had water over the last few weeks, these branches have had no water.  They are dry and will soon be crispy fuel for the fire.

Whatever beauty these branches added to the table, they did so because they remained faithfully attached to the trunk until they were cut off.

As Christians, we don’t necessarily like to be reminded that our sanctification rests entirely with the power of God.

We like to believe that we play some independent part.

But the hard truth is that Christ said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.”  And lest there be any misunderstanding, He add, “apart from me you can do nothing.”

Life flows through the vine and nourishes the branches and the fruit.

Barbara DuGuid writes, “Indeed, a key part of that maturing fruit is itself an ever-deepening awareness of the branch’s utter dependence upon the vine moment by moment.”

The Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer on His own time table and in His own way.  Without the constant sustaining power of the Holy Spirit, Christians would have no power to obey in even the smallest thing.

In some people, God is pleased to produce much fruit and in others, seemingly little.

Wherever the Christian is on the path of sanctification, the Christian remains utterly dependent upon God for that work.

We have this promise from Philippians, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
 

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   Diane Davidson 
                               Gammon M.S.
         Clinical Mental Health Counselor

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615-556-8406

Email- Diane@LivingWithHopeCounseling.com

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Disclaimer- I am not a doctor and I am not giving out medical advice. My blogs are for information and inspirational purposes. Please consult your doctor before starting a new health regimen.

Diane Davidson Gammon MS is clinically supervised by Michael Loftis LCSW as she pursues  LPC-MHSP licensure