It’s easy for Christians to fall into a rut: Church is a thing you do, prayer is a box to check, and faith seems far from “the real world.” This fall we let Jesus himself confront our ruts. “Do you believe this?” he asks (Jn. 11:26).
To believe in Jesus is to experience him. It’s more than logic, argument, and doctrine. It is intimate knowledge of God himself. This fall, let Jesus himself speak to you in his seven “I AM” statements in the gospel of John. How is he changing you? What response is he inspiring in you? To believe in him changes everything.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ponder:
Today, ponder the I AM statement: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Find, or think about, a plant with branches. Consider all the parts: vine or trunk, branches, leaves, fruit, etc. Ponder what it means to abide in Jesus as a branch remains in a vine. Ponder what fruit Christ wants you to bear.
Meditation:
To Abide
by Megan Roegner
definitions from Merriam-Webster
To Abide
To bear patiently; to endure without yielding
the aching pain of losing
what we love and who we long to be
To Abide
To wait for
the response to prayers
whispered fervently in the dark
To Abide
To accept without objection
the answers we didn’t hope for,
the plan that is not our own
To Abide
To remain stable or in a fixed state
and not see it as paralysis
but the dormancy before growth
To Abide
To continue in a place
wondrously waiting the arrival
that will bring us back to life
Prayer
Jesus, you said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” I am nothing without you. Be my source. Fill me with life so that I may grow and produce fruit that is pleasing to you. Amen.
Benediction
Bless us, O God the Father, who has created us.
Bless us, O God the Son, who has redeemed us.
Bless us, O God the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us.
O blessed Trinity, keep us in body, soul, and spirit unto everlasting life. Amen.