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John 15:5 - I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (NKJV)

Growing up, I always wanted to have a pair of blue jeans with the little tag that said "Levi's" on them. All my friends had them, and I wanted a pair also, but due to the cost of them and the fact that I was growing, my parents felt that money could be spent more wisely than on a pair of blue jeans with a tag on them. When I was twenty, I bought a pair of them -- only I bought a size 30 waist. At the time and until recently, having a size 30 waist was only a dream, something to work towards. So for the past thirty years, those jeans have moved each time we have, and they have been re-hung on a hanger in the closet, mostly forgotten about until recently. As I was driving home after a Weight Watchers meeting, feeling a little discouraged at having stayed the same weight for a few weeks, the Lord brought to mind the jeans, and I became anxious to get home and pull them from the closet. When I took them off the hanger and put them on, I was more than pleasantly surprised that they fit. I was so excited to share this with my husband and son who were home at the time, but their comments were not about the weight loss. "You kept them for thirty years? You mean, each time we moved, they have moved with us?" To which I replied, "Yes, and now the jeans fit!"

As I reflected on this, I remembered that it was the Lord's prompting to go to the closet that day and take the jeans out. His timing in our lives is always perfect. How easy it is for us to forget to share how He impacts our days and to give Him the credit for His presence in our lives.

I also began to realize that my jeans are a treasure that I invested in here on earth, but my genes incorporate a much greater treasure here on earth that the Lord has invested in me.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (NIV)

When we receive Christ, we get His spiritual genetic structure, so to speak. We need to be careful that our behaviour reflects that new life, so that our witness to the Lord's power is not hindered.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your new genes, the only spiritual genes that we will ever need and that will never go out of style. Lord, help us to show others how they can also have Your genes in them, and to encourage others to pursue a life in You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Julie Bowles <julieanni@rogers.com>
Barrie, Ontario, Canada