Vertical Connection

I spent the fourth of July in Northern Wisconsin where the internet is just making its first appearance, and WiFi non existent. I found myself without a connection for several days, and the resulting silence was painful.

It got me thinking about the Christian walk and the need for a vertical connection for survival. In John 15:4-5 Jesus says “Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.    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.”

It’s easy. Think of it like the bars on your phone. You know you’ve got a good signal the more bars you see on your phone. When you abide in Christ, you’ve got a high signal going. God promises that when you are well connected your life will bear fruit and you’ll be able to communicate with God the Father.

So how do you maintain a good connection with God? I can think of a few basic elements:

1. You’ve gotta have life.

I just came home after a 3 day weekend, and my plants are dead. It hurt to see them that way, but no matter how hard I tried, there was no way to revive them. I had to replace them with new ones. The first step to a good connection with God is to have life in Christ. I’m not talking about trying harder to live a better life, or getting a superficial clean up or a spiritual face lift.  What I am talking about is a complete heart transplant. Only God can do that for you. He can remove your dead heart and give you a new one instead.

2. You’ve gotta get rid of sin.

The number one barrier to a good connection with God is sin. Isaiah 59:2 says that our sins separate us from God. Confess them and ask God to help you obey.  John 15:10 says “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love”. Obedience is the surest method to abide in Christ’s love. Are you obeying the word of God?

3. You’ve gotta get a clue.

You can’t obey what you don’t know. The surest way to know God’s commandments is to get into His word. There is no way around it. Get a clue. Read the word. But don’t just read it. Start doing it. The funny thing is that I may sound old fashioned and basic to you, but God promises a funny thing when you abide and obey. He promises Joy.  It says it in vs.11. So…. you wanna be happy? Start obeying God’s word!

I can’t tell you how thrilled I was the moment I got home and regained my connection.  My first reaction was to make up for lost time. Write 3 posts, I said to myself. That way they won’t think I’ve been lazing around.

But it doesn’t work that way. You don’t need to read 3 blog posts in one day, and frankly, I’m not that relevant!!

Same for you. When you get vertically connected, the past is gone. You can’t make up for lost time, but you can determine how you live today.

I’m alive and back. My connection is strong, and my data plan unlimited.

How about you?

Are you vertically connected?

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