John 15
Devotional by Debbie Stephens
Read John 15
John 15
I Am the True Vine
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 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. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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. 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. 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. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 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. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. 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. 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. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
The Hatred of the World
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 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. 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. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 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. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 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. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
“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. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
Devotional
The first half of John 15 makes our lifelong assignment clear: we are to bear fruit. Regardless of your age, stage of life, location, status, or title, your assignment remains the same: bear fruit. It’s not a command; it’s an expectation—but not one we are left to fulfill on our own.
In fact, it’s impossible for us to bear fruit by ourselves. Just as a branch cannot grow if it is disconnected from the vine, we, too, can only bear fruit if we remain connected to our ‘true vine,’ Jesus. Jesus refers to this connection as ‘abiding in Him,’ ‘His Word,’ and ‘His love.’
Some translations may say ‘remain in’ or ‘stay.’ Abiding and bearing fruit go hand in hand. The ‘fruit’ Jesus refers to includes the results of a believer’s life that benefit others and glorify God. The Bible isn’t clear on what “abiding in” should look like in our lives, but as believers we know the importance of the practice of spiritual disciplines.
Daily, are you:
Connecting with Him? (through worship, prayer, or journaling)
Exchanging with Him? (reading His Word, confessing sin, listening to Him)
Living out your faith? (applying His Word to your life)
Abiding in Christ is not a box we can check, but a daily choice of living in him that nurtures a personal relationship with Jesus.
Would someone that you admire in the faith say that your life is one that bears fruit?
Connecting with Him? (through worship, prayer, or journaling) Daily I pray and thank my Saviour for my many blessings. I do this through breath prayers, morning prayers, nightly prayers, and prayers throughout the day. I sing and praise His Holy Name at all times throughout the day as I go about my daily routine. I post scriptures throughout my home to recite and remind me of His Word and to learn his scriptures. As I said before I recite the Lord’s Prayer each time I wash my hands. Staying prayed up is a must in my daily life.
Exchanging with Him? (reading His Word, confessing sin, listening to Him) As I talk with Him throughout my day I rely on His Holy Spirit to guide me with decisions I must make. I thank Him throughout the day for my many blessings and ask him to forgive me of my sins. I heard a minister say once, “ sitting in a garage all day does not make you a car! So sitting in church does not make you a Christian, you must work at it. “
Living out your faith? (applying His Word to your life) I follow His commandments in my life so that others may see and want what I have. I had a neighbor tell me once that she was crying and looking out the window. She thought what does she have that I don’t have. Why is she so happy? My husband and I were leaving home to go to church. She thought, that’s it—she goes to church and has God in her life. That’s how I live my life so that others may see without me even knowing.
Abiding in Christ is not a box we can check, but a daily choice of living in him that nurtures a personal relationship with Jesus. Would someone that you admire in the faith say that your life is one that bears fruit? I strive to bear fruit and witness to others. Helping others bear fruit and sharing the gospel is my ultimate lifelong goal.
Father, thank you for another day.
Lord Jesus, here I am, work through me.
Holy Spirit, let’s be focused on building the kingdom.
I WANT THE LORD MY GOD TO WIRK THROUGH ME. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO BEAR FRUIT FOR MY KING. THANK YOU LORD FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME. PRAISE THE LORD AND AMEN!!🙏✝🕊📖
How amazing to be called His Friend!
We are so blessed to be loved unconditionally by the God of the universe. He wants a relationship with us. He wants to be our friend and companion. What more could we possibly need or ask for? Thank you, Jesus, for Your indescribable gift of knowing You!
Lord Jesus thank you for being the vine that I can cling to. Show me the areas in my life that need pruning. How wonderful it is knowing You chose me to be grafted into Your family. You are my friend who stays closer to me than a brother. Hallelujah Amen.
Thank you for the Blood, and it is indeed a Blessing to know that you love us enough to die for our sins. I will continue to work on my relationship with God and I look forward to being his friend. Bless it be the name of the Lord. Amen 🙏
A true friend doesn’t deny the friendship
A true friend does all in his power to help the work needed of his friend
A true friend cannot wait to meet his friend and update him on milestones and failures
A true friend invites him to his house and he can not wait to be at his House
I have been a bad friend but Jesus has chosen me. I will abide in his name
Thank you Lord for the many blessings you bestow upon your children. Help me today to abide, remain in your Word and live it out in my daily walk. 🙏🏾
The concept of bearing fruit has been on my mind a lot lately. Cultivating my relationship with Jesus daily is easy after exploring the things of the world so freely in my 20’s and learning that they will never fulfill me the way He does. I used to be actively engaged in my community by hosting and leading women’s circles where I had the opportunity to see the fruits of my labor. However, since becoming a mother I often feel limited in how I “bear fruit”. I’m learning that children are the most direct way to bear fruit for the kingdom of heaven, but one won’t see them ripen until they become adults. We are each called to a different purpose within the family of God and we must be humble and courageous enough to say “here I am Lord” when He calls us into a service, no matter how large or small it may be. As someone who has always been in leadership (outside the church) it has been humbling to be placed to serve in the children’s ministry. Now that I’ve been doing it for over a year I see how God is using me to plant the seeds of his fruit amongst the little ones. It is a great honor actually, because they are the church of tomorrow! So no matter where or how we bear fruit God is using it to develop, prune and polish our character for His kingdom and glory. Just say yes! 🙌🏼
Lord, it was just about this time yesterday that I was waiting in the frigid cold for the start of the Austin Half Marathon. Being somewhat long in the tooth at 2 months short of 77 yoa, I wasn’t sure that I would finish under the 4 hour time limit. But I did, barely. So, I am sitting her this morning thinking that, if I could spend the effort required to run in a worldly race, surely I can give you, my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, a lot more of my time and effort in spreading your word and serving others in your name so that I may finish the spiritual race which is clearly the most important race of my life. “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world.” 1 John 4:16-17
My daily prayer is that God will allow others to see Jesus in me and place someone in my path that I can share the love of Christ with. In this current climate there are so many people that are lost and looking at and for politicians and others to solve our daily problems/struggles (the economy, personal finances, homelessness, health issues, etc,) and not looking to the one that controls it all. Keeping my focus on Jesus daily eliminates stress, fear and anything else that Satan tries to use to take me away from what I know is true. Waking up being thankful everyday and also hearing my mom’s voice reminding me that I can never out give God with my time or finances keeps me in check with please Jesus. Finally, when there is a problem always run to Jesus because he has
Lord, apart from YOU, I can do nothing. My fruit, my joy, my productivity, my value, my giftings … all come from YOU. Help me to converse with You frequently throughout the day and rest in who You are.
These days I believe that answer would be an astounding yes. I say that due to the stark contrast from my former life and the way I lived it. I was hell bound and had lost hope in ever having real change. BUT GOD! Thank you Lord for saving me. Help me to continue to abide in you and you I’m me. I don’t want to go back. Help me to eat much fruit for Your kingdom and thrive in this life for your glory!
From the vantage point of a “seasoned citizen,” I can attest that the fruit changes with the seasons. As we go through many stages of life, our circumstances change. We need to be ready for the fruit to change as well. Often leaving one fruit behind for another may tesult in grief, especially when producing that fruit has been so meaningful and rewarding for us. We must be willing to pass the baton when the time comes. Then we can enjoy the blessings to be shared and received by the next fruit we produce in our lives. May the cycle continue until our lives transition to Heaven.
Thank you Lord for choosing me to be yours. I want to glorify you everyday. I want to be fruitful for your glory and honor. May your overwhelming love spill over to impact this world.
I love seeing and being reminded that part of our abiding is the exchange that we experience with the Lord: listening to his voice, confession of sins and worries, reading His word. I never thought of those actions as a two way street but it makes so much sense. Keeping these things in mind makes my time alone with the Lord even more dynamic and exciting. Praise God!
Would someone that you admire in the faith say that your life is one that bears fruit?
I think it needs to be in the fact that you pray to God about the fact that you want to have someone meet you so you can give your pointers on how to have a strong faith and walk in God’s word. If you ask God to have someone meet you and that you admire their faith in God. Your better question is that you pray to God about meeting someone so they can speak to you in the Godly manner about how you understand their point of view. And that you understand their point of view, because God wants us to share the knowledge on his word and being a witness to the ends of the Earth
Acts 1:8