I’ve shared in most of my posts this year, that my word for the year has been “rooted,” the idea being that I am choosing to be rooted to the truth and the source of all life; Christ. This has influenced many of my posts, as I have been writing about the fruit of the Spirit that are produced when you are rooted, which must be hand in hand in our walk with Christ.

I am rooted and therefore I produce good fruit.

A friend of mine, Jay, recently shared some posts that I believe are a good reminder for a follower of Christ, that the goal is not one thing or action, but the reminder that we are called to live with a kingdom mindset. That when we follow Jesus, our whole life shifts to that focus. I believe this focus means that you are rooted in truth and your life will produce good fruit that points others back to our Savior.

This requires something very important, you need to be rooted, and the way we do this is by remaining in Christ.

So, how do we properly root ourselves?

I’ve noticed a trend in churches in the United States that is concerning (this is a general observation and not a single church), the trend is that churches are the sole place where one’s faith grows. This is not a blog about church not being important, it very much is, as it is a gathering of believers to encourage and help each other grow in their love and wisdom to then be sent out and be a light. What is happening though, is a trend of churches saying “come to us and we’ll feed you for the week!” What this does is take away responsibility from each believer to be in the word, know how to share the Gospel message, and be an example of Christ at work inwardly and outwardly.

If we are not careful, we will view church as the destination and not the launch pad into an everyday faith.

Jesus over and over in the New Testament says that we are to follow Him, meaning that our faith must be active participation in that verb of follow. Jesus lays out the way we root ourselves, we remain in Christ.

Jesus says we cannot produce fruit if we are not connected to the vine, meaning that you could be the nicest person who puts on a good “Christian” face, but if you are not actually connected, your life will show the truth. We see this all the time with public figures and even some Christian leaders, where they say they follow Jesus, but what comes out is that their life was contrary to being connected. Now this means that we too, should be careful, I can’t just look at those stories and think I am perfect, no, we should make sure that we are connected and rooted to Jesus so that we don’t fall into the same snare.

I chose to observe the chapter of John 15 for two reasons, the first is that this Scripture gives us a picture of what kingdom living looks like and how to do it. The second is a way to help you understand how to dig into Scripture in your own life.

To remain in Jesus, we must remain in His word.

You don’t plant something in bad soil. My gravel driveway is not the best place to plant flowers, the soil there is under layers of rock, why would I expect something to thrive there? Yes, weeds thrive, but the picture I am trying to paint here, is that you need to be rooted into something that will give you what you need. Prayer is vital on how we speak to God, but God speaks to us through His word.

People have called me a “theology guy” before, because I have a masters and like to know a lot about Scripture, but the truth is, I’m really a story guy. I don’t really want to spend my time discussing theological minutiae, I want to spend my time taking in the love story that God has given me in the pages of my Bible. I use study plans and have a study Bible, and when I get confused or want to understand, I do research. Why? Because it is important to root myself in truth so that my life can follow the way that Jesus has layed out for His disciples (that’s us!).

Don’t let a Sunday message be the only fuel for your week, be in the word daily. Here’s a helpful tip to start, after a Sunday message, that week re-look at the Scripture that was presented!

To remain in Jesus, we must look at the big picture.

It is dangerous to pick and choose Scriptures to support what we want. That’s how we misuse Scripture and take God’s name in vain, by making His words what we want.

So, look at the big picture. Who is speaking? Who is the audience? What is happening historically (this is where a study Bible and some research is important)? How can this apply to me? Should it apply to me?

These are questions we need to make sure we are paying attention to, no matter how new or old you are to faith, it matters!

So let’s look at John 15, we have Jesus speaking to His disciples in His final time before being crucified. That keys us into context, that this is for His closest followers that will carry on once His death and resurrection had occurred, this is Jesus tying His ministry in a bow one last time for His followers. The chapter begins with this picture of abiding in Christ, then moves to show that this abiding should produce the fruit of love, then He moves on to the reality that they will face persecution because of their love and testimony, but He ends with the hope that is the Holy Spirit who will abide in them and give them power because they are abiding in Christ.

See what we just did? We just took in the big picture and now can apply this to our own walks, spurring us foreword and helping our roots remain in Christ!

I wanted to write out this post because it’s important to me that you not just become people who know the Word, but believers who know the importance of abiding in the Word. To remain in Christ means that we must follow Him daily. He has a pathway for our lives and it is one that I want to root myself in, not sit back in complacency. When we choose to follow Jesus, we begin a new life in the kingdom of heaven, and it requires us to follow and remain rooted in the truth that Christ has left for each of us. Don’t have a weekend faith, have a faith that you walk with daily growing in your love of Jesus and pouring that love out to others.

• Your pastor and friend, Joshua.

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About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a husband, father, and pastor doing what he can to love others the way Jesus did. You can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. He may not have it all figured out, but the journey is the best part. You can find him on the only social media he uses, Bluesky and Instagram