I am the branches

Yesterday I was reading John 15 and even though I have heard this passage many times before, I have never actually taken the time to really think about it.  As I was reading, I was just thinking to myself how cool God is.  How much He can do if only we give Him the room in our live to do so.  Verses 1-3 say this “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you." I have so much room for improvement in my life.  We all do.  I think that a lot of times we begin to think that we are perfect just the way we are and that nothing about us needs to be changed.  But we are wrong.  God is the gardener of our hearts and our lives.  We need Him to trim the parts of us that we no longer need and that are dead and not bearing fruit.  We need Him to reveal to us the aspects of our lives that need changing so that we can bear the good fruit that He wants us to have.  Maybe we think that it is an area that is perfectly fine, but really it isn't bringing the glory to God that He deserves and so He needs to prune us and get rid of that "branch" in our life.  We need to let Him do that.  If we don't let go of it, it is going to hold us back from doing the best work we possibly can for Jesus.  I know that I don't always like change, but I am ready and willing to be changed by God into the woman that He wants me to be.  How about you?  Are you willing to be changed by God?
Verses 4-8 say  "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are 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 done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."  In order for us to reach our fullest potential, we need to remain in God.  That doesn't mean just simply going to church and being a spectator.  It means really seeking after God and what He wants for your life.  It means spending time with Him praying and reading His Word.  I often got in the habit of saying that I didn't have the time everyday.  But I have been making the time recently and I see such a difference in my life.  I see the fruit that I bear.  I have realized that I really can do nothing if I do not remain in God.  I don't want to be that useless, unfruitful branch that is thrown into the fire.  I want to do great things for God.  I want Him to use me in ways that I could never imagine and do things with my life that only He can do.  I think that it is comforting to know that if I remain in Him, I can come boldly before the throne of grace and ask for anything and have it done. If I am in Him, I know that I will be asking for things that will bring Him that glory and the honor that are due to Him.  This has nothing to do with me and my status and everything to do with God.  So take the time and pick up your Bible and seek out God.  Remain in Him.  Don't walk away when things get hard.  Trust that He knows what He is doing with your life and with your branches.  Let Him produce the fruit in your life and see what will happen!