What's Your Source?

Who are you quoting on any given day?

One of the members of our online Bible study group brought these questions to us this past weekend. She has been attending prayer meeting at her church on Wednesday nights, and the young Pastor who led the prayer group asked these questions of the congregants gathered last Wednesday.

The Scripture he used was John 15; where Jesus is speaking to the Disciples about being/staying connected to Him, the True Vine. We, His followers, are the branches, and the Father is the gardener who will either cut us off if we bear no fruit, or prune us to enable us to bear more fruit.

The entire chapter is good food for our spiritual consumption and digestion, but in our study, we focused our attention on who/what we, as believers, are using as our source; what/who are we citing as our point of information as we go about our work, play, interactions with others.

And to be clear, the fruit Jesus is speaking of in John 15:1-8, are those qualities cultivated within us by the power of His Spirit. These special characteristics and how believers behave are plainly identified in Galatians 5:22-26;

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

So the members of our study group touched and agreed, in our prayer for one another, that we will strengthen our connection to the True Vine, daily, and be much more mindful of the distractions that come on a moment-by-moment basis. It's vitally important that we take seriously who/what we're quoting, by our very actions. 

May our lives always demonstrate that our Source is Christ Jesus.