It doesn’t feel great to admit that we’re doing things wrong. But being honest in admitting our need is the first step toward a genuinely fruitful life. When we become willing to stop our efforts and acknowledge that we need God, we’re ready for him to show us his way.

We’re going to look at four emotions that generally show up when we’re trying to be productive apart from Jesus: discouragement, fatigue, frustration, and anxiety. These emotions can be warning signals that we need to check our connection with Christ.

If we are going to stay close to Jesus, we must start by getting quiet, sitting down, and spending time with him. While this way of producing fruit seems counterintuitive to us—we don’t like to be still and rest—the process of bearing fruit doesn’t come by human effort. It comes from abiding in J...

Pruning is painful, but it’s necessary for the health and fruitfulness of a plant. Our Gardener, God, loves us and would never do anything to harm us. We can trust him when he prunes us because we know that he is working toward increased fruit in our lives—fruit that will last.

Life often takes us by surprise with painful storms, and it’s easy for us to seek out imitation vines to try to meet our needs. Yet, when we fall away, he can graft us back into the vine. But staying connected to Jesus, even in the hardest tests, is even better and produces beautiful fruit.