Secrets of the Vine Devotional: Breaking Through to Abundance (Breakthrough Series)

An easy book to read, with a cup of coffee in hand, on a relaxing afternoon.I have read through John15 countless times, with most of the time skimming through the contents with no deep pondering. By reading this book, it shows what I have been missing all along. It focuses on the vines (Jesus), the branches (us), vinedresser (God) and the resulting grapes of harvest, which forms the main essence of John 15:1-8. It helps me to look at a totally new perspective, as seen from a vintner, and the correlation to the biblical verses.For the vineyard to produce, the branches (us) have to respond to the attentions of the vinedresser (God). In reality, all branches do not respond alike as each branch is unique. Thus when harvest arrives, each likewise will produce a different-sized crop.Fruits, oft mentioned in the Bible, represent good works such as thoughts, attitudes, actions, etc. Through which, it glorifies God. Inner fruit arises when you allow God to nurture in you a new Christ-like quality. On the other hand, outward fruit is when you allow God to work through us to bring him glory, such as sharing our faith.This book elaborates on the 4 distinct and different levels of fruit bearing.[1] No fruits: Involves discipliningJohn 15:2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruits He takes away.This verse seems to be interpreted commonly as, if one does not bear any fruit, his or her walk with Christ is questionable. This arises due to mis-selection of the correct word. Most bibles render (NIV, NLT, KJV, etc) the Greek word "airo" as "take away" or "cut off", which is an unfortunate interpretation, giving readers a feeling of gloom. A much clearer and better translation would be "take up" or "lift up".It then relates the behavior of new branches or vines. New branches have a natural tendency to trail down and grow along the ground. Growing along the ground, the leaves get into contact with dust. With rain, comes mud and mildew, ending in sickness and diseases. Instead of cutting these away, the vinedresser will actually "lift this" up, wash and wrap around the trellis or tie them up.Likewise when branches (us) fall into dirt, God does not throw them away or abandon them, instead He painstakingly lifts them up, cleans them to help them to flourish.1st secret of the vineIf your life consistently bears no fruit, God will intervene to discipline and guide you.Disciplining and guidance is God's proactive answer to move us out of barrenness towards fruitfulness.[2] Fruits: Involves early pruningJohn 15:2 Every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruits.Because of the grape's tendency to grow so vigorously, a lot of wood must be cut away (pruning). Grape vines could become so dense that the sun cannot reach into areas where fruits should be forming. Thus, at this stage, pruning is the vinedresser's most important task to ensure a bountiful harvest.The vinedresser's secret for more is less, through pruning.During such times, preoccupations and priorities in our lives, whilst not wrong, keep us away from more significant ministry of God. There is a need to reduce our lower priority commitments in order to make room for even greater abundance for God.When certain events happen, questions may arise whether is disciplining or pruning being involved. The book provides a guideline and comparison to discern pruning from disciplining.2nd secret of the vineIf your life bears some fruit, God will intervene to prune you.[3] More fruits: Involves mature pruning, i.e total submissionThe vines' ability to produce growth increases each year, but without intensive pruning, the plant weakens and its crop will tend to diminish. Mature branches must be pruned hard in order to achieve maximum yields.Early pruning is mostly about your outward activities and priorities, while mature pruning is about your values, personal identity and involves testing of your faith.Our faith in general could be tested in 4 key areas(i) People we love the most(ii) Our right to know why God does what He does, i.e giving up self-control(iii) Our love for monies and possessions(iv) Sources of our significancesBruce related his own experience of when God asked him to give up the ministry of Walk Through The Bible, his life's dream. After much struggle, he chose and obeyed God. And amazingly, when he chose to obey God, God blessed the ministry in ways beyond his imagination. Therefore, in order to reach the next level of abundance, we have to completely give back to God what He himself had given us in the first place, trusting only in Him for what would happen next. This is about total submission.[4] Much fruits: Involves self-initiated abidingAt this stage, our lives are overflowing with grapes but yet we can feel frustrated, defeated and are in danger of losing the harvest for a lifetime (eg known cases of famous pastors involved in extramarital affairs, etc). We throw even more energy into work, hoping to recapture former fulfillment. And the Walk with Him suffers.Even though we have a good amount of fruits, and are not being "lifted up" in discipline or being pruned, we are actually caught in 2 opposing tensions - increasing desire to produce an even better yield and decreasing fulfillment in the fruits you are already producing.With discipline taken in order to remove sins and with pruning in order to change priorities, the vinedresser is the initiator. Here, with abiding in Him, we exchange roles and will become the initiator instead.3rd secret of the vineIf your life bears a lot of fruits, God will invite you to abide more deeply with Him.Abiding starts with visible spiritual disciplines such as bible reading and prayers. We need to stretch beyond these dutiful activities to have a breakthrough to have a flourishing relationship with God, by deepening the quality of devotional time with God, broadening our devotional time by not just praying only during specific times, but rather at all times throughout the day.Abiding helps us to sense God's leading, to tap into all of God's spiritual values, to give us the "rest" we need to produce a much greater yield, carrying with it a promise of answered prayer.In our spiritual walk, we need to identify at which level of fruit bearing we are at and strive towards the next level, in order to build a strong relationship with our Lord.

I had taken a Bible Study class once exactly on this, the Vine & the branches. I wish I had found this book then, it was so perfect and so well written. I highly recommend it.

Recommended by a friend right before a planned retreat of reflection. My question? What's next, Lord?The answer? I AM!Secrets helped me answer the question.

The book arrived on time and was exactly how it was described. I will continue to purchase books from this site.

This is a great book. It was very helpful in breaking down the lessons and importance of the analogy of the vine. I plan on sharing with friends and family next Christmas. Grace be with you.

Do you want more of God? Do you want to do more for God? This book is your answer. The author gives a deeper understanding of how God is pursuing you and how you can respond to grow in your relationship with Him. I’m looking forward to seeing the results as I look at abiding with God with greater passion than ever before!

This book came to me at a time when I was stepping out of my norm and comfort zone to spend two days alone for a silent retreat. I had come to a point that I needed discernment, direction and time alone with God but had never done anything quite like this. As soon as I began to read this book I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. Bruce Wilkinson takes just one moment, one Gospel, one chapter, one experience, and one powerful teaching from Christ in those last hours of His life to bring to life the secrets of the vine - an impactful message of hope and abundance. So subtle, I certainly have read over the top of the 'secrets' and the complex message in John 15 my whole life. As Wilkinson points out, Christ waited until these precious moments with the understanding of what was to come in a few hours to share a final message that certainly changed how I viewed my life and my journey. The complexity of the vine and its relationships to the grower and harvester as well as its needs to thrive convey the complexity of Christ's message in a very simple and meaningful way. This little book brought an aspect f my life in Christ alive - gave it meaning and helped me to understand my journey and my role in 'abiding' in Him. Thank you Bruce - the message in your book made my time alone with God richer and full of abundant love and understanding. I recommend this book to anyone seeking a deeper relationship with Christ.

This was a great study! I was challenged to abide in the Vine and to see what it means to abide in Jesus by someone recently so I decided to check online how the grapevine actually works. That is when I came across Bruce Wilkinson's web site and discovered Secrets of the Vine book and Bible study. I thought the book was good but when I got into the Bible study I was amazed at how the Lord took me through it and revealed things to me about my relationship with Him. Sometime between the book and the Bible Study I discovered it was a sequel to The Prayer of Jabez. I began the 30-day journey in the Prayer of Jabez and am now beginning the Bible Study on the Prayer of Jabez. I am excited about where the Lord is going to take me through this and am anticipating the many blessings to follow.I was wondering how it would be to do a study on the Kindle but I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it so much that I really did not want to put it down but of course I had to so I could ponder and meditate on the things the Holy Spirit was showing me.Through the disciplining and the pruning sections of this study I was a bit fearful of what the Lord was going to show me about myself but what I found was a tender and loving Father who gently helped me to turn myself around. He lifted me up and put His loving arms around me. He loves us with an everlasting love!

I found this book very interesting and thought provoking. The author writes clearly and in a language which is easy to understand explaining fully about the meaning of the vine. It is a very humbling book to read. Thank you

This book was a recommendation for me to read, I’m glad I purchased it, lots of great insights.

Every BodyIf one want's to grow they need good books to help them and this is one of those books that wiil help you to be better after not only reading but doing what it says.

Very pleased with this book, had already read,. and wished to now have my own copy of this book. Thanks..

it worth the read but with great understanding hard to get into lot of reading and thinking great for thinkers