I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch, and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.     John 15:5-6 HCSB

A couple of days ago, it was a beautiful day outside. The sun was out, but the temperatures were mild, and most importantly for southeast Louisiana, the humidity was low. It was a great day for yard work. I started by removing some vines that had overtaken a fence row last summer, a friend came along and helped with that, and I began to use my leaf blower to blow leaves. I added some dead branches to the pile, and eventually, the dead vines were added.

What amazed me was how quickly the fire consumed the dead branches and vines. It immediately brought to mind our Scripture passage for today. I realized just how quickly we can be consumed by the fire when we are not attached to our Savior.

Psalm 91:1-2 says, “The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ This Psalm goes on to tell of all the ways God protects us. In verses 9 and 10, it tells us that because we have made the LORD our refuge and the Most High our dwelling place, no harm will come near us. Verse 11 tells us He will give His angels orders concerning us, to protect us in all our ways.

Our Scripture passage for today tells us that if we remain in Him, we will produce much fruit. It tells us we can do nothing without Him. And of course, just like those dead branches, if we don’t remain in Him, we wither and are thrown into the fire.

Revelation 20:10 says that the Devil will be thrown into the lake of fire along with the false prophet and the beast, where they will be tormented forever and ever. We are told in Revelation 21:8 that the cowards, the unbelievers, the vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will be in the lake of fire.

The cowards are those who are afraid to profess their Christianity, just in case you were wondering.

When we stay in Christ, we stay protected. We should continually pray for His strength to help us resist temptation. We should pray for wisdom and discernment. As we are told in Proverbs 3:6, we should acknowledge Him or consult Him in all we do, and He will guide us on the right paths.

We typically stray from God when we allow ourselves to succumb to temptation. Our sin creates a barrier between us and God (Isaiah 59:2). When this happens, we are even more vulnerable to the devil’s attack. We are in danger of being consumed by the fire.

Be protected, surrender to Christ today. Choose to make your dwelling place with the Most High and live in the shadow of the Almighty. Allow Him to be your refuge and your fortress, your God in whom you trust. If we remain in Him, we are fireproof.

We must trust in Him. Ephesians 6:12-18 shows us how to suit up and be protected in God’s armor. We are told in verse 16 that the shield of faith will protect us from the flaming arrows.

Without God, we can do nothing but wither and die and be thrown into the fire. Without Him, we can be easily consumed by the devil, which leads to an eternity in the lake of fire or hell.

We must choose to abide in Him. Trust in Him today, and He will take good care of you.

Have a great day!