Read John 15:1-8
The Vine and The Branches
Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener….we (you and I) are the branches……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.”
Read more about ‘Staying Connected’ to ‘The Teacher’. Click on the link below.
http://butterflybiblestudies.com/the-disciple-day-16-staying-connected/
Read John 15:9-17. What a wonderful teacher, we have in Jesus. He is the Master illustrator. If anyone else were to speak to us like Jesus, we would call them manipulators (those who try to control for their own advantage). But because Jesus places his statements in the proper ‘order of things’, we can know and believe in His love for us. I will try to explain. Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love” and “You are my friends, if you do what I command” and “You did not choose me, I chose you“. Get it? If you do this, this will happen, and if you do what I tell you, you are my friend, and I picked you, you didn’t pick me. We would call anyone else a manipulator. But Jesus, well, anyone who knows Him, knows that He is the Savior of the world…willing to give His life (no one made Him do this) for you and for me. What Jesus really said, is this…”If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remained in His love” and “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……and, I now call you friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you….you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…that will last…Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name….my command is that you love each other.” Jesus’ teachings were always insightful and he knew how to say ‘I learned from my Father’. Insight is “the act or outcome of grasping the inward or hidden nature of things; or of perceiving in an intuitive manner” (Merriam-Webster online dictionary). Remember I said that the Word causes me to engage. Jesus’ teaching penatrates my heart. Manipulator? I think not! Teacher of insight to God, and engaging me to make the choice to BELIEVE and FOLLOW Him? Absolutely!
John 15:18 ~ 16:4
The Choice: The World ~ Or Jesus
The sign of BELIEF in Christ comes not from our mouths, but comes from how we live our lives. We have a friend in a foreign land, who is being persecuted for the sake of Jesus Christ. He has been in prison for a long while now for his BELIEF in Jesus, not because of saying he BELIEVES. He is persecuted for the way he is living his life. He was putting his faith into action by spreading the Gospel of Christ in an outward manner. I know that is very vague, but it is for good reason. I have several friends in this foreign land who are daily, literally, putting their very lives in danger for the sake of Christ. I cannot tell you, what a powerful witness this is to me. I am very fortunate to personally know these BELIEVERS. Just as the Word impressed me when Jesus said to His Disciples, “BELIEVE me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or AT LEAST BELIEVE on the EVIDENCE of the miracles themselves.” I am impressed upon by the EVIDENCE I see in my friends in this foreign land. Their BELIEF and their LIVES help me to understand the EVIDENCE of BELIEF.
These passages of scripture tell us that the world will persecute those who Believe, because of His name, for the world does not know Him. And because the world has heard Him, seen the miracles and does not Believe, the world is guilty of sin.
Matthew Henry’s Commentary says, “The name into which Christ’s Disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. The clearer and fuller the discoveries of the grace and truth of Christ, the greater is our sin if we do not love Him and Believe in Him.”
Jesus says (John 16:1), “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray“. The persecution of our friend cannot be a comfortable place to be. I have heard stories of our friend’s mercy and grace (and sharing the Gospel) toward his fellow prisoners. He is not focused on his persecution. He is focused on the name of the One he is persecuted for. The EVIDENCE is very clear, in front of me.
You and I may never be presented with the persecution I have just spoken of. I will however ask myself, and I ask you……What EVIDENCE would we present in the situation? What EVEIDENCE do we present in our daily lives…those times when we’re hurt, or angry, or stressed, or etc. etc.? Do we bear EVIDENCE to Jesus Christ and His Salvation?
Thought to Ponder: Even in the light of possible persecution, my joy is STILL found in the Lord. I pray He will help me to show EVIDENCE of Him, no matter what my situation or emotions are. I need His help! I pray I will remember that Jesus does not just “show up” when the need arises. He is always with me through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. Amen!
Scripture to Ponder: John 16:33
The remainder of Chapter 16 will be posted in the morning.
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