This 5-day devotional draws directly from Church of the Springs's sermon “Church of the Springs Livestream - 2026-06-29” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
You Were Made to Be Connected
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever chased something — a relationship, a goal, a version of success — and finally caught it, only to feel strangely empty? Like something still wasn't quite right?
Today's Scripture "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." — John 15:5
Reflection On the night before he died, Jesus walked with his disciples through the moonlit streets of Jerusalem, past gardens and vineyards. And somewhere along the way, he pointed at a grapevine and said something that changed everything: I am the true vine.
That word true is doing a lot of work. It implies there are other vines — other things we reach for, hoping they'll give us life. A career. A relationship. A sense of achievement. And those things aren't bad, but they aren't designed to be your source. They can't hold the weight of that.
Jesus is saying: I'm the real thing. Everything else is a counterfeit. Not because the other things are worthless, but because they were never meant to be the root of your life.
A branch doesn't have to manufacture fruit. It doesn't strain and struggle. It simply stays connected, and the life in the vine does the rest. That's the picture Jesus is painting for you — not a life of exhausting effort, but a life of deep, steady connection.
The question he's asking you today isn't how hard are you working? It's what are you connected to?
Today's Step Take a quiet moment and honestly ask yourself: What am I going to first when I need peace, meaning, or strength?
A Closing Thought You were created for connection to the true vine — and the door to that connection is wide open today.
The Vine You've Been Trusting Isn't Working
Tuesday — When It's Hard
Be honest: how many times have you told yourself, this time it'll be enough — only to find yourself empty again?
Today's Scripture "I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out." — Romans 7:18
Reflection There's a reason this teaching from Jesus can feel uncomfortable. Because when he says I am the true vine, the implication is that we've been trusting false ones. And if we're honest, most of us have a long history with false vines.
Maybe it's been a person — someone you've leaned on so completely that when they couldn't hold you up, everything fell apart. Maybe it's been your own strength and discipline, the belief that if you just tried harder, you'd finally get there. Maybe it's success, or approval, or staying busy enough that you don't have to feel the emptiness.
Paul captures this tension perfectly. He knows what's right. He wants what's right. But on his own, he can't get there. That's not failure — that's honesty. And it's the beginning of something real.
The struggle isn't that you're broken beyond repair. The struggle is that you keep asking things to give you what only Jesus can provide. And those things — even the good ones — will eventually let you down. Not because they're evil, but because they were never designed to be your root.
Acknowledging that is hard. It can feel like grief. But it's also the moment the door opens.
Today's Step Name one thing you've been leaning on that keeps coming up short. You don't have to fix it today — just bring it honestly to God.
A Closing Thought The fact that the false vine isn't working isn't a sign that you're failing — it's an invitation to find the true one.
What Abiding Actually Looks Like
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
"Abide in me" sounds beautiful — but what does it actually mean when your alarm goes off and your day starts filling up?
Today's Scripture "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." — John 15:7
Reflection The word Jesus uses for abide is the Greek word meno — it means to dwell, to live somewhere, to make your home in a place. This isn't a once-a-week visit. It's not a quick check-in. It's the difference between a hotel stay and actually living somewhere.
So practically, what does that look like?
It starts with the posture of your day. Before the noise rushes in — before the phone, the news, the to-do list — there's an opportunity to simply say, God, I need you today. You're my source, not my supplement. That's not a long prayer. It's an orientation.
It looks like letting his words actually live in you. Not just reading a verse and moving on, but sitting with it. Letting it speak to your specific worry, your specific relationship, your specific temptation today.
It looks like catching yourself mid-day when anxiety or frustration spikes and asking, what vine am I drawing from right now? Not as self-condemnation — as a gentle redirect back to the source.
Abiding isn't a performance. It's returning. Over and over throughout the day, returning to the awareness that you are loved, held, and connected to something that cannot run dry.
Today's Step Pick one moment today — morning coffee, a lunch break, a commute — and use it as a simple returning: God, you're my source. I'm staying connected to you.
A Closing Thought You don't have to manufacture fruit — you just have to stay close to the vine that produces it.
When the Fruit Starts Showing Up
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
What would it look like if the love, patience, and peace you've been straining to produce just... started appearing naturally?
Today's Scripture "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." — Galatians 5:22–23
Reflection Imagine someone who spent years trying to be a better parent through sheer willpower. They made promises to be more patient, more present, less reactive. And for a while, the effort would hold — until a hard week hit, and the old patterns came rushing back. The trying was exhausting, and the falling short was crushing.
But then something shifted. Not because they found a better strategy, but because they started spending real time with Jesus — not just reading about him, but actually sitting with him. Talking to him honestly. Letting his words settle into their day.
And slowly, almost without noticing, the scenery changed. The patience that used to feel forced started coming more naturally. The anger that flared so easily began to lose its grip. The love they wanted to give their kids started flowing instead of being squeezed out.
That's what abiding does. It doesn't make you a different person through effort. It makes you a different person through connection.
The fruit of the Spirit isn't a checklist you complete. It's what grows when the vine is doing its work in you. Love, joy, peace, patience — these aren't goals to achieve. They're what happens when the life of Jesus is flowing into your life and out into the world around you.
Today's Step Look at your life this week. Where have you seen even a small glimpse of love, patience, or peace that surprised you? That might be the vine at work.
A Closing Thought You don't have to force the fruit — you just have to stay rooted, and watch what grows.
One Thing Worth Carrying Into the Weekend
Friday — Carrying It Forward
What if you walked into the weekend with one simple intention instead of a long list of things to do better?
Today's Scripture "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." — Psalm 27:4
Reflection All week we've been sitting with one of Jesus's most personal invitations: Abide in me. Stay connected. Make your home in me. Let my life flow into yours.
It's simple, but it's not small.
The psalmist understood this. When he thought about everything he could ask God for — protection, provision, answers, success — he landed on one thing: just to be with you. Not the benefits of God, but God himself.
That's the heart of what Jesus was teaching his disciples on that last night. Not a new list of spiritual tasks. Not a higher standard to strain toward. Just this: stay close to me. I'll take care of the rest.
As you head into the weekend, you'll face the same pull toward false vines — the pressure to perform, the noise of comparison, the temptation to find your worth in what you produce. But you now have a different question to carry with you: Am I abiding?
Not have I done enough? Not am I good enough? Just — am I staying connected?
That's the whole thing. And it's enough.
Today's Step This weekend, when you feel pulled toward striving or emptiness, come back to this: I am a branch. My job is to stay connected. The fruit is his to produce.
A Closing Thought The true vine is always open, always flowing, always enough — and you're invited to stay as long as you like.