08/29/2026
Weekly Devotion : Being Connected
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” John 15:4
\A tragedy in a Texas town resulted in the loss of more than 200 lives when the school burned to the ground. When the school was rebuilt, no expense was spared in hiring a company with the best reputation to rebuild the school and install a fire sprinkler system. When the school opened, school officials made sure to point out the new sprinklers to the community members to alleviate any fears that another tragedy might occur.
After several years with no problems, the school needed to expand. The construction workers made a startling discovery as the addition was completed. The fire sprinklers had never been connected to the water supply! The sprinklers that had given them such peace were completely ineffective because they weren’t connected to the source.
In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine which is about 1,000 years old. This grapevine has one root which is at least two feet thick, and some of the branches are 200 feet long. Despite its age the vine produces several tons of grapes each year. Although some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they still bear the sweet and delicious fruit because they are connected to the vine. Life flows from that single root and throughout the vine bringing nourishment and strength to each of the branches.
God is the power source and by us being the branches stemming from the vine we are plugging into God and simultaneously we become fully functional as a result. We, as humans and Children of God, require the recharging that we get from being connected to our very own Creator in the same way we must plug in a lamp in order for it to give off light.
Without it's power source, what good is a lamp? It is just a useless piece of metal, glass, and wire incapable of functioning in the purpose for which it was created. Likewise, what good are we? What purpose are we serving if we aren't plugged into our power source every day? We need to be connected to the Lord to work properly and in the direction of our divine purpose through Him.
We also need to be a light! Without our source, we too will be a broken lamp in the darkness. That’s like the sprinklers not being connected to the water source, totally ineffective.
Pastor David Hughes
