I Am the True Vine
15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 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. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
The Hatred of the World
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. (ESV)
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Simple formula but ignored so often when we try to be the captains of our own souls and make our own way.
God may I be joined at your hip today so that I will bear fruit you are pleased with.
27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
What a BOLD reminder Jesus gives His disciples…
You also MUST testify.
It’s really a non-negotiable for us as His disciples.
For you have been with Me FROM THE BEGINNING.
He knew us before we even knew Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We are not some spontaneous result from our parents passion. God INTENDED us. And He called us, and He knew us, and we who are His have been WITH HIM from the BEGINNING.
I can hardly wait for my homecoming…
10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
this is something pastor Bobby preached about! Obeying Christ’s commands and letting go of sins gives you a full and complete joy thats out of this world! dropping sins that keep you from feeling complete and total joy will let you be happy IN CHRIST all the time!!! :D that is SO amazing!!! praise the Lord!
This is such an amazing chapter showing what being a Christian is all about. We need Christ in order to grow, and those that don’t bear no fruit and wither away. This chapter always tells us the importance of loving one another, like JEsus loved us. But it also warns us of the CHristian life: you will be hated by some and you will be persecuted.
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Verses 5 & 6 stood out to me because they contrast a life lived in complete reliance upon Christ versus a life lived without Him. The Bible is clear, apart from Christ we can do nothing good. All our “good” is like filthy rags to God. It is only through a personal relationship with Christ and total reliance upon Him that we can live a life full of spiritual fruit that is focussed on eternity. God is not indifferent to our lives on earth. He insists that we must be His disciple or, as verse 6 makes makes painfully clear, we will be cast into hell. Lord, since I am Your disciple, please help me to live my life in complete reliance upon You. Help me to seek You daily and live in obedience to Your Word. I know that I can do nothing good apart from You, so help me to keep the faith by continuing to have You as the head of my life.
ELLO… I read
I like verses 13-14,”Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”
I like these verses because it is just another way JESUS showed us how much HE loves us and HE sets another example for us to follow. JESUS called us HIS friends and for one I don’t deserve it in the slightest way, JESUS laid HIS life down for me and by doing that HE showed that there was no other love that is greater showing that HE loves us beyond what is normal. JESUS is love and I need to follow in HIS example.
CYA
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
These are some great verses about experiencing persecution. There have been a lot of times in my life when people I was close to, people that I thought were my friends, made fun of me because of my faith. But I know that I should expect stuff like that to happen – and count it all joy instead.
8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
This really struck me. God is glorified, not just through praise and worship, but through the fruit that us who are Christians bear.
God is glorified simply when I am obedient to Him. I can praise and worship God by evangelizing, by studying his word, by praying unceasingly, by respecting my parents, by having joy, by doing the most important of all—displaying love.
Today, I need to zealously work for the glory of God! I can start by obeying my parents, then having a joyful attitude, and finally by showing all others love because: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. This is my goal! :) For Gods glory!
12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
14You are my friends if you do what I command.
3 love related statements….the first Christians need to love each other just as Christ has loved us….it is such a shame when us “Christians” fail to love one another when we have been shown the greatest love of all…I mean, half the time we can’t give two seconds to a brother in need, when Christ gave his life for us! verse 13 takes this even deeper by showing how intense this love should be…and also gives a little allusion towards his death on the cross…finally verse 14, if we claim to love Christ, if we claim to be his friend…we need to be doing what he says…I have been guilty of lack of love for both fellow brothers and for my lord…I want to truly love other christians and Christ by sacrificing myself for my brothers and obeying what God commands….
FAITH-LOVE-HAPPINESS
DVW
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
This is a very serious verse. People can tell if we are Christians by the fruit we bear. It is so important to not be hypocritical with our beliefs and actions. My brother and sister(who are both non christians) say that Christians are so hypocritical. They say that Christians say one thing and do another. Well, I know that i have been hypocritical in different areas of my walk with Christ and I need to be sure that i resist sin and temptation so that i can be a better example for Christ. It is so important for me to bear fruit and express my love for God. Its really interesting (and sad) when i think about all the areas in my life that im a hypocrite in. Immediatley i know i need to change those areas and become more like Jesus in them. I want to show my siblings and other non christians that being a Christian is a real relationship with God and that i have a desire to fully obey His commands and not be hypocritical in any area! I pray that I have a better understanding of when temptation arises so that i can be on the look out and i pray for boldness so that i may be a better example and a better witness for Christ- He deserves all the glory!
MARANATHA!
I want to be a tree that bares good fruit.
I want to be a light of Christ and not dead weeds/branches.
I want to live my life for Christ and not this world.
I want to be for God and NEVER against Him.
This world can never sway me!
Glory to God in the HIGHEST!!!
May His name be praised and lifted high! :D
***Rejoice in the LORD!!!***
12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
14You are my friends if you do what I command.
This command is pretty deep. We don’t often have chances to literally lay down our lives for our friends but if there was a time to, would we? I need to check my love for others and see if I am willing to do that for them. Christ loved us and died for us in the most painful way. He took the sin of the world and God could not even look at Him. If Christ did that for us, I can openly risk my life for those around me.
John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Jesus wants our joy to be full. He wants us to have his joy, but it’s not just going to be given to us. Jesus said, “‘these things,” referring to what he talked about previously in this chapter. The most powerful one I believe is: abide in me, and abide in my love (4, 9). These are the causes. The effects are bearing fruit (5), and asking whatever you wish, and it will be done for me (7). That is only if i abide in Jesus, and he in me, meaning I’ll be asking for things according to God’s will. These lead to the overall effect which having my joy full.
John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
This verse is really scary! I know that your “fruit” has nothing to do with becoming a Christian, and your good works cannot save you, but they definitely have a huge part once we are already saved. If we are claiming to be Christians, it needs to be evident! We cant be “undercover Christians”, we need to shine our light before men so they can see Jesus through us. If we arent showing fruit, then our salvation can be questioned, and the Father will cut us off! thats a scary thing! I need to make sure i am repping Christ in my fruits and works everyday of my life!!!
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
God will spew out the lukewarm, or those who bear no fruit. It is important to carry out God’s commands as a Christian, to have a relationship with him, and to obey him so that we may bear good fruit. The pruning part makes me think of hardships. When God prunes a branch, he gives them a painful yet disciplinary wake-up call that may hurt at first but then brings a person closer to him and stronger in their walk with God, making more fruit produced by that once fruit-bearing-slacker person. When life is easy and it seems that God is good, it’s easy to not thank him daily and lose the immensity of gratefulness–that’s why God sometimes gives us trials so that we may appreciate what we have…and appreciate his mercy. I need to constantly be putting Christ’s name out there and produce more good fruit, because I want to be a strong branch.
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
Verses like this one always make me pause while my heart beats faster. Surely God wouldn’t choose *me*? But they always make me so thankful….because He *did* choose me, and it is the most important thing about my life. But with this comes a huge responsibility: “…and appointed you to go and bear fruit….”. The phrase “appointed you” makes it very clear that this is a job. I need to be bearing fruit for His Kingdom if I have a place in It. It is lifelong and I can never slack on that job!
12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
This is a grerat verse because it really shows the we need to love other just like Jesus has loved us. He was willing to to for us as we need to want or be able to die for our friend. We need to love others and be willing to share the gospel and show them love.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
This verse stuck out to me! I wrote this verse on my friend’s Christmas card! Anyways, loving one another is definitely great love! There are so many things to do that show love. I remember when Pastor Bobby asked us in one of his sermons is, “Would you die for your friend?” “Would you take a bullet for a complete stranger or someone you have never met?” This to me, is an example of what love is! Christ died for our sins on the cross, and an example of Christ’s love is if I were to doe for someone I have never met! Now of course God’s sacrifice was huge and the greatest, but there are many encouraging things to do for others that show love such as shooting out an encouraging text, facebook them, write them a letter, etc! I want to be someone who shows love unconditionally and consistently to my brothers and sisters in Christ, and who will love for God forever and ever! Maranatha!
Whoa! I just drove by the movies and they are packed! I wonder if that is why there aren’t as many people here on SOTD…
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Wow! This should make us all ask the question: How connected am I to Jesus right now? If we are connected to him we will bear fruit…even it goes on to say…fruit that will last! Our lives will be different and we will make a difference in the lives around us! But if we are not remaining in Jesus (ultimately those who dont’ stay standing in him)… then we do nothing. If you aren’t connected to Jesus right now then you can do nothing for him! Wow!
In verse 7 Jesus clarifies how we remain in him when he says that his words should remain in us. This is why I think SOTD is so important. Now just to have a website where people post, but because we need to remain in Christ. It is vital for our own fruit and joy as well as any ability to help others. We need to keep Jesus’ words fresh in our minds on a daily basis!
This is what we are going to talk about this weekend at True North…the importance of renewing our mind in God’s Word so we can do what he wants from us in 2010! Hope to see you there and praying for a revival here on SOTD!
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
mhmm This verse really stood out to me. Apart from Jesus I can’t do anything, that’s why I have to have an unsatisfied appetite for His word and stay connected by prayer and follow His commands. If I remain in Jesus, then He says that I will bear much fruit versus the branch that gets cut off and thrown in the fire.
14You are my friends if you do what I command.
YAYYYY! :))))))) I want to strive my hardest with His help to do all that He commands me to do.
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
I can do nothing with out Christ. I constantly need to remember this!
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
This reminds me when people say that they accepted Jesus, but we dont accept Jesus…. He accepts us and chooses us!
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name
We have absolutely no part in our salvation. God chose me, and he chose me because he wants me to produce good fruit (deeds)! The reason I have a mouth is so that I can use it for His glory! I need to remind myself of this every single moment of every day. My life here is temporary, and it needs to be spent bringing God glory- otherwise I’m wasting precious time. To bring God glory, I need to obey his commands. To obey his commands, I need to study his Word! One practical thing I can take from this chapter is knowing the importance of studying God’s word. The more I study it, the better I can obey his commands, and the more glory I can give Him! That is why I am here, and that is what I need to be encouraging others to do as well!
Hmmm… must be some very good movies Pastor Bobby.
John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
The best way to enable that is to pray, read, study and let the Holy Spirit guide us to do what He says! Please come soon Lord!
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
This is very scary so we need to be sure we are serving the Lord in every way we can and not cease in bearing fruit. Not only does God look for this but others judge us Christians by what we do and i pray that I can always make the right decision. Although i wont always do the right thing, i pray that I can please Him with my life.
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
this verse shows us the radical love that Christ calls us to. as Christians we are called to sacrifice and lay down our lives for our brothers. Jesus tells us that this is the greatest love of us all. we are to follow Christ’s example that He has given us. in my life i need to work on being more loving. i pray that God would help me be willing to lay down my life for my brothers and sisters in Christ. just as Christ laid down His life for me, so i need to be willing to lay down my life for the body of Christ.
8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As Christians we need to make sure that we are showing people that we are Christians!! We need to be showing through our actions and words that we are Christians! This is one of the best ways to show that we are Christians! There have been so many times that people have asked me why i dont cuss or do not do what everybody else does and this is such a good way to open up a way to evangelize!! So let us show others through our actions and words that we are followers of Christ!!
19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
This verse is one of my very favorites. We do not belong to this world…what a powerful statement! After we are saved, we no longer belong to this sinful world. This verse convicts and comforts me. I should not love the sinful things of this world, like friends, possesions, etc. but i do and sometimes they come before God(which i really need to pray about and work on). But it also comforts me. I have no place in this world, it hates me because I love the Lord. I am supposed to stand out, meant to be mocked and put through trials for the Lord. So whenever something bad happens, this verse runs through my head and so does 1Cor 10:13
MARANATHA!!!!!!
19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
As Christians, we are supposed to live for Christ… (duh) As we do this, there will be alot of people that dislike you. They see the difference that Christ has made in you and they can tell that you are not of this world. Jesus promises us that the world will hate us for not joining in their sinful activities. THIS IS GOOD!!! Jesus also promises us that we will be blessed when persecuted….so were good!!
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
This is such a great verse! We need to constantly be rooted in the Lord and never go out from Him because if we want to grow and bear fruits, we need HIM!!! No one can be good on their own – they need the Lord!
8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I want to be bearing fruit for my Lord. i love how it reminds me in one verse about how baring much fruit is giving glory to God. I am so excited for the day that i will be in heaven and will be in Gods glory 24/7. i want God to be pleased with my actions here on earth with the things He gives me.
1″I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I want to make sure that i am bearing fruit always, and that my life is a good example of what Christians should behave like. Without fruit, it says God will cut you off, and i know that is definitely not something i want to happen to me. I need to make sure im bringing God the glory, and acting like one of his disciplies not just some of the time, but all the time.
12. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
This verse is very convicting! Even as a Christian, it is easy for us to stir up some tension with one another. However, we should not forget this verse! Christ loved us so much, that He died on the cross for us. In return we must have the mind-set to be willing to die for one another! We must also love them, as to serve them with all we have! That’s exactly what Christ did, he gave 100 percent of Himself, because He loved us! How awesome is that!?
So, the next time we start to get upset with one another, let us remember this verse, and quickly change our attitude! Love each other as Christ did, He commands it! It’s NOT an option!
this is a legit chapter!
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.—This reminds that God chose us and we did not chose him! We didn’t accept Him into our hearts, He chose us to live for Him and carry out His will! He choose us to bear fruit! I need to work on actually going out there and showing why God chose me! I am so thankful that he chose me and turned my life completely around. It was only through Him! God did everything. It is all about him! I really need to be working REPRESENTING Christ and bearing more fruits!!
MARANATHA!!!
excited to be spending new years eve at CBC!!! praying for 2010!
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
I love this chapter!
I love how He says you did not choose me but I chose you! So many people believe that we accept the Lord into out hearts but really Christians are chosen by God. Others will know that we are Christians by our life and fruit that we bare. It is hard to believe that someone is a Christian that does not bare fruit. I want to take this verse in and remember that my life is an example and I need to be baring fruit!!!
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
I can do nothing good on my own, but I am so grateful that through Jesus’ work in my life, I can be found pleasing in God’s eyes. LORD, please help me to truly be remaining in you because apart from you we can not bring you glory. Please help me not to slack from reading my Bible or praying so that I would grow close to you and truly be living for you like you want me to.
This chapter is so rich in great verses so applicable to my life. The one that stood out to me the most was…
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
So many people think that the Christian life will be easy and a walk through the park and everything in their life will turn all good and perfect. This verse, through a parable, talks about how God “prunes” you, or puts you through trials. In James 1 it talks about how God will put his people throguh trials to test them, and this verse says that it helps us bear even more fruit when we have passed the test. I need to rejoice more in the trials God puts me through and make sure I pass them so I can bear more fruit.
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
This verse stood out to me alot. Today the world interprets love as mostly things that are sexual. Which is totally WRONG! Love is a passion that is from the heart. And even though we are constantly getting mad at people we just need to remeber what Jesus has done for us and how people treated him. We need to understand that what people do to us today is not nearly as bad as it was for Jesus and yet he LOVED THEM. So we need to Love more…and loving is alot easier than hating. But remeber that true love is from the heart! :)
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
This is a pretty familiar verse but i think it puts into perspective about what we do and how much it matters. Either A, this verse is saying we are SUPER dependent on God and we need HIm for everything, or B, we need God’s help to do anything that’ll last until the newkingdom. Basically, i take that i need to pray more.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
I love this verse because it says how God can empower people if they believe and love Him. I think that is so cool how God can help us be better people with more prosperous lives with a simple belief in Him. God is great and I think everyone should believe and love him because all he can do is good in your life :)
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
This verse shows me how I need to be have fruit or I will be cut off. It also makes me excited that if I do have fruit God will make it more fruitful. that is so cool that i can be more fruitful.
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
These two verses are so great because they tell us that we really need Jesus and the Father. We cannot do anything without them, and that to produse fruit and have the fruit of the spirit we need Him.
12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends
what a great verse describing sacrificial love! so many people today especially high schoolers don’t know what true love is!! God loves us so much he sent His Son to DIE FOR US! now I’m no parent or anything but i would think that if I had a son it would take a lot of love for me to send him to die! I can’t even imagine how deep God’s love is for me!!!!! My loving Father is commanding me to love others even when I think they don’t deserve it (which is lame because I don’t deserve anything)..
How deep the Fathers love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would give His only Son
Make a wretch His treasure
8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
This is such a rich chapter about how if we are in Christ we will obey what he says! I really like how this verse says that the fruit of our obedience is to the Father’s glory. God is so majestic and glorious and there is no way that we can add or improve that at all! And yet our obedience is brings him glory because we are trusting him and putting ourselves under him who alone deserves that! I definitely want to bring the Father glory by bearing fruit. I know that I could be doing so much more in my daily study and prayer time, tonight I’m thinking about that and I want to step it up and bear fruit in disciplining my time to be obedient to him by reading his Word and being faithful in prayer every day!
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
This verse is great. I really like it because it reminds me of two very important concepts. One, is that with Christ we are able to achieve anything, and through him we will become the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be. It also reminds me of how close my relationship with God truly is, here, me, a mere mortal is so close to the one and only God. That is something I really need to treasure, not take for granted, and work hard to strengthen. This verse also reminds me that without God we are nothing. This motivates me to bring others to the Lord, so they can reach fullness in their life.
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
At my old house, my backyard was filled with rosebushes. And every now and then, they needed to be pruned, so that they would continue to grow. it seemed counterintuitive to me, that cutting branches off would make the plant grow more; but yet it worked, and the flowers flourished as a result. It is the same with our lives as Christians. There are definitely times when we feel like we are being pruned, as we are put through trials. Everything going on with my shoulder has definitely been one such trial for me. When I come across something like this, I have a few options: I can merely survive it, being content to come out alive and to not grow from it. Or I can view hardships as an opportunity to mature spiritually, and to grow closer to God in His strength in times that I am weak. I need to view all such trials in this way, knowing that the testing of my faith develops perseverance, and resolving to use all situations for God’s glory.
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I cannot bear fruit without Christ. This is a great reminder that whether I choose to acknowledge it or not, I AM dependent on Christ. Therefore, I always need to be expressing this dependence through abiding in Christ by praying, reading his word, and keeping his commands!
THIS STUFF IS AWESOME! SOTDDDDDDDDD!
once again GREATTT CHAPTER! (:
19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
As a Christian, I know that Jesus has called me to be separate from the world. It is not my home, but rather heaven is my eternal home. Being a disciple for Christ and having people hate me here on earth is way better in comparison to spending an eternity in hell! I want to be living my life as a stranger in this world and looking forward to the day Jesus returns when I can be with him! I’m praying that I would be standing out from the other kids at my high school and that they would know I am a follower of Jesus Christ with no compromise!!!
10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
Jesus has made this connection several times in the last two chapters. To love God is to obey His commands. We remain in His love when we obey his commands. His main command is to love (v.17). Jesus is the ultimate example of an obedient life lived out of love. There is no greater love than to lay down their life for others (v.13). Thus to remain in Christ’s love I need to obey His command to love people. This means thinking a lot less about myself and more about other people and how I can practically and sacrificially love them.
8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Obedience is to God’s glory. I want to be obedient and glorify the Lord! I want to be bearing fruit like this chapter takls about. I need to be in God’s word daily and in prayer so that I may obey and bring glory to God!
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Great chapter! It was so hard picking the verses i wanted to copy. As it says, i am one of the many branches on the vine! No branch can bear good fruit on its own, it must remain in the vine! I must remain and follow Jesus because without him i can do nothing and i cannot bear the fruit he desires. If my branch does not remain in the vine, it will be picked up and thrown into the fires of hell. If my branch bears good fruit and remains in the vine, then i will get to be in heaven with the vine and the gardener for eternity! (: that sounds amazing. Not only must the vine remain in me, but also the words and teachings of the vine. I cannot read scripture and just let it go in one ear and out the other. I must keep them and apply them!
Verse 19 shows me so many things. If i ever get discouraged about the world hating me or the world continuously persecuting me, i must remember that the world hated Jesus First! I cannot belong to this world because it will love me and change me to the way the world is-one satans team! I was chosen by God and i do not belong to the world, i am on Gods team and i am loved by God. In this chapter, it also talks about love. NOt only must i love others, i need to love them as you have loved me! That is intense and deep love but i will pray that i can love each other as Christ loved me. <3
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
This is the greatest example of love: Laying down one’s own life for the sake of his friends. And this is demonstrated by Jesus. He humbled himself to become a human to come and die for a bunch of dirty, rotten sinners. It is one thing to die for the sake of friends, but Jesus died for the sake of his enemies. No human had done anything to be a friend of God. All have sinned, thus falling short of God’s standards for perfection. Yet Jesus came and lay down his life so that sinners may be saved from the eternal damnation their sins deserve. Looking at this example layed by Jesus, I need to respond to his act of love with my love for him. Just going out and dying isn’t going to do anything, though. I can’t die on a cross like Jesus did and experience the whole pain of being forsaken by God the Father in bearing the sins of the world. I can’t mimic or try to recreate what Jesus already accomplished on the cross. However, I can use my life right now to make an appropriate response to all that God has done for me. Jesus was a sacrifice on the cross for me, and so must I now live my life as a sacrifice to him, a living sacrifice. I have layed down all that I am to pursue a life of living for God. “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” The first part is right now, that my life is defined by being fanatical in bringing God glory. As Jesus was a sacrifice for me, I need to always be living as a sacrifice to God, that my life isn’t to please anybody or meet any worldly expectations, but that I am living to bring glory to God.
9″As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
In the ESV, it says abide in my love. I love that word abide and in this chapter alone it is used eleven times. To abide, or to remain, is much deeper than simply being connected to. And I love how Jesus is so logical and does not call us to blindly abide in him. Rather this abiding is based off of the love shown from the Father to the Son and from the Son to us. Then, the only question that remains is how? I want to abide in Christ but how do I do that? Answer = the next verse
10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
So clear, obey His commands. The imagery of this chapter truly shows our complete dependency on the Father.
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
i have a problem where i far to often try to live for God with out leaning on God for the strength and every time i try this i fail. i need to know that i cant bear fruit by myself. i need to lean on God for the strenght and power to live for Him.
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Wow what a sobering verse.
When I read this I thought of those who think they are saved because they had an experience or said a prayer back in there youth, but as an adult have walked away from the Lord, but Christ is saying if you dont remain in me then you are destined for hell. The key word is remain. The way we know we are saved is if we remain in Christ if we obey his commands and follow him until our dying breath. It is never ok to slack off in your walk or choose to continue to sin, and say “Oh I walked away from Christ for a while but now I am back. It is clear Christ is saying you are either with me or you are not. Don’t let the “christianese of today fool you” Either Christ is your whole life or he is not!
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
I know that there are times in my own spiritual life where I become complacent with my current spiritual growth. I look back at the growth in my life and become proud of how much I have grown since becoming a Christian. However, I love the awesome reminder of continued fruitfulness in this verse! It doesn’t just talk about bearing some fruit, but talks of a pruning process so that the branch can be even more fruitful. I need to be always seeing to be more fruitful. The pruning comes from a continual study of God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit revealing areas of sin in my heart. I pray that in 2010 the believers in True North will bear even more fruitful!
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
I need to make sure that I am bearing fruit in in my life to show that I am a Christian. I do not want to be the person that is cut off from the tree. I need to be following the commands of the Lord and doing what He has told me to do. I want to be one of the branches that is continually pruned so that it may continue to grow. I want to see constant growth in my relationship with the Lord.
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit
wow this verse should scary all non christians because God cutts off all branches that do not produce good fruit, but right after that it says “while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ” so he then says that he is going to make those who bear good fruit prosperous in bearing more fruit, so this is warning us not to not produce fruit and tells that if we do produce fruit he will make us produce more
c u all at the new years eve party
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
This is such a legit chapter! This verse is incredible and so true. It is so easy to see and apply this verse to our everyday lives. It says that if we are not reading the word and praying daily, we are much more likely to fall into sin and separate ourselves from the Lord. It is sooo vital to be in the word daily and although it can be difficult… its verrryyyy important. I pray that we all would make war against sin and be in the word and praying DAILY!!!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!
Ok, this post will be long. Just fyi…
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
WHOA! This is scary. Before I was a Christian, I had no idea about Christians bearing fruit. It was just this unknown thing that I hadn’t come across. The coolest thing is that now I can see the fruit in my life as well as others! The pruning process is the trials we are faced with. Some will collapse under trials, but as Christians we have to persevere so that we can grow in our walk from God. Hence the connection with the increased amount of fruit.
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
This is another great verse. The way I like to think about it is that without the vine, the fruit spoils quickly and is easily destroyed and stepped on. But when on the vine, the fruit continues to grow and ripen. If we keep our 100% trust in God, he’s like the ultimate preservative. Anything containing Christ cannot spoil. Its helps us have confidence in our future in heaven and future growth in God.
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
One of the awesome things about being a Christian is all the love that I have towards the people around me. I used to be bitter and hateful to many of my friends, but now I have a sincere love and respect for all the people around me. Especially God! The ultimate display of love is sacrificing your only son for a sinful life!!! THAT is true love.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
This reminds me of 1 Peter 1: 1-2
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
As this verse confirms, we are chosen by God. This was very shocking to me when I first read it and it made me feel loved and gave me a humble attitude. What a loving God he is to use a useless, sinful teen and transform him into a servant and disciple of his!! I am so grateful for my salvation. It’s the only thing I own that noone can take away. Our God is an Awesome God.
All these excellent verses better equip us to serve God in new and better ways. Let’s be thankful for God’s gift of salvation! It’s the gift that keeps on giving!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!! Romans 1:16!
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends
Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of love because he laid down his life for us while we were still sinners. He made it possible for us to have a relationship with God who is Holy and Sovereign. Without that sacrifice it would be impossible for us to be confident that our sins can be forgiven if we repent and put our faith in Jesus. This love is truly amazing and as Christians who have somewhat grasped this love, our lives should be different from the world and we should actually follow the instructions in the Bible because we are so grateful and want to bring glory to God in all we do.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
Jesus is calling his disciples to continue to abide in Him, the vine. I am also commanded to do this! I need to be abiding in God’s Word each day so that I may bear much fruit and that my fruit may be a witness of God’s glory. Something I can do to work on this is to read God’s Word earlier, and not waiting till 11:50PM to read, but instead read in the morning, mid-day, and at night so that I am constantly thinking about God’s Word!
Maranatha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I read…
I liked verse 5… “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
In this verse, Jesus tells us plain and simple that without Him, we are nothing. We need to follow Him to even be capable of producing frequent good fruit. I pray that we would not fall away from Christ and into the lure and temptations of this world, but that we would always follow Christ.
19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
hahaa i saw this verse on summer’s facebook and loved it!!!!
it feels so good knowing that God has chosen you to be the one hated on earth. It sounds really weird but to be chosen to be loved in heaven is wayyyyyyyyyyy better to be loved on earth!!!! i cant waittt!
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
One of the main ways I can remain in Christ is through reading his word. I feel like I have been really slacking on bible reading lately, and I can tell that I am being tempted much more easily. I need to dig into the Word way more than I have been recently. It is so good, and I have been missing out. I need to be constantly growing stronger in my walk with God!
MARANATHA!!!!!!
18″If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Yep! There are definitely days that I feel like an alien! When you are in the light and someone is in the dark, there will always be tension! When we shine bright for Jesus, people notice and feel convicted, making them hate you. And God tells us that this WILL happen. Think about how many people we are surrounded by each day. Talking about Jesus would bring a lot of discomfort to some. But when this happens, I am reminded that if the world hates him, they’ll hate me too. And persecution is part of life. As long as we are faithful, God will honor that and he is the one we answer to, not the world.
27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
we must testify and tell our story about how we met Christ and the path we took and we must tell of Him and be disciples of all nations