STAY WITH ME AND I STAY WITH YOU

In John 15:5-7 Jesus explains that just as a branch cannot live apart from the vine, so our souls cannot thrive apart from Christ. Jesus invites His disciples—and us—to remain in Him, for in His presence our lives bear fruit that endures. Through prayer, through the quiet of Scripture, through listening and meditating on His Word, the breath of God renews our spirit. But when we drift from Him, our hearts grow dry, and like a branch severed from its source, we slowly wither away.

"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. ⁶ 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. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." 

HOPE

What came to my mind was this: "When problems replace hope, something is wrong with your faith." Maybe that sounds a little harsh, because I do have faith. Yet sometimes that saying fits me uncomfortably well. There are moments when I feel like a prisoner. By nature and character, I have always needed the freedom to walk freely—or to walk away from things when it was time. But now I sometimes feel that my circumstances have put me inside a box.  

Still, I know very well that God is above everything, and that I should always depend on Him completely. And then, in the midst of sadness and seemingly unchangeable situations, there are those sudden moments when my spirit cries out: "IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL." In those moments, I know it truly is—and I treasure them deeply.

WITNESS

I was able to observe a beautiful scenario that perfectly complemented our youth pastor's message this morning. His theme was about caring for people and going out and telling them the truth about Jesus. After church I went to Whole Foods Market and saw two young men talking to a young woman from Pakistan who had a booth there to promote a product. One of the men had a T-shirt that said: "There is Hope - Hebrews 11". 

So I was curious to see what would happen. One of them started to talk seriously. After a while, the young woman became emotional. Then the men prayed over her and she began to cry profusely. You could tell that something or someone was tugging at her. When the prayer was over, you could see that her tears of sorrow obviously turned into tears of joy. What a beautiful picture! 

I don't know if she gave her life to Jesus today, but she definitely encountered the power of the truth of Jesus, which once you know, there is no going back. I thanked the men for their courage.