• Devotions

    Obey My Commandments

    When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, . . .  John 15:10-12           How do you feel about being obedient to God and what He asks of you?  Do you clench your jaw a little or a lot??  Well, let’s dive in a little about this today! When Jesus said, obey my commandments, you remain in my love, He wasn’t/ isn’t putting us behind jail bars.  He was putting up guardrails to keep us from going off the cliff!  Keeping us from falling away from His love.  Obedience to Jesus keeps us in the staying power.  It keeps us on the road to…

  • Devotions

    Remain In My Love

    “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.  This brings great glory to my father.  I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.  Remain in my love.  John 15:7-9           Do you remain in Jesus’ love?  Do you struggle to remain in His love? We don’t always see the threats to our spiritual health, which doesn’t mean that they aren’t real and shouldn’t be taken seriously.  First, Peter 5:8 says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great…

  • Devotions

    Jesus Love For Us

    I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.  John 15:7-9 How does the Father love the Son, Jesus?  Let’s find out from the following scriptures. Matthew 17:5 -While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him. Listen to Him! Mark 1:11 John 3:35 – The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands. John 5:20 John 10:17 – This is why the Father loves Me because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. John 17:24 Colossians 1:19 –…

  • Devotions

    My True Disciples

    When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.  This brings great glory to my Father.  John 15:7-9 Jesus is Truth and the True Vine.  God’s word is true and trustworthy.  In John 15:8, we learn that God makes true disciples yield much fruit.  As a result, God gets the glory.  True disciples are the kind of follower-abiders who make a difference and produce hearty, lasting fruit.  However, what about the hypocrisy that has caused walls to be built up against Christ. We need to live our lives in authenticity.  We need to be as real about who we are in Christ behind closed doors as much as we…

  • Devotions

    May you ask

    “you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” John 15:7-9 Do you know what your heart desires?  Does it line up with God’s desires?  In John 15:7, Jesus made an astonishing statement.  You may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted.  Is this the full access of a life abiding in Jesus means?  Well, we have to remember the word “if.”  The condition to having full access is tenaciously abiding.  We have to remain in Jesus at all times. When we do this, our heart’s desire should be what God the father’s desires are.  Look at John 3:22, “and can receive whatever we…

  • Devotions

    Remaining In God-His Words Remain In You

    “But If you remain in me and my words remain in you, . . . John 15:7 Do words matter to you?  When people give you a compliment or a negative word, does it stay with you?  Well, when we study God’s word, the bible, His words will remain in us.  They take root and remain in us when we commit His word to memory when we sing His words, when we meditate on His words when we dig deeper to study His words when we hear His words through sermons, podcasts, and books.  His words remain in us when we uplift others with His words.  His word remains when…

  • Devotions

    Those Who Remain In Me

    Those who remain in me,  and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15: 5 Do you know what is important to God?  Here is a slight hint, it’s what he repeats.  This is the time that you really want to pay close attention to these moments.  Jesus wants us to understand something significant than an intriguing illustration.  So let’s zone in a little deeper to the vine, the gardener, and the branch and see what the outcome is.  IT is the fruit produced. The fruit is good for us.  It gives us nutrients that our bodies need.  And it tastes,…

  • Devotions

    No Producing Fruit Or Producing Fruit

    “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit, so they produce even more.  John 15:1-3 Pruning!  I think this would be the hardest part of gardening.  I have plants, I have learned that the dead leaves are to be removed, and the plant will be healthy again.  Sometimes I wonder if I am pruning my plants right.  I wonder if God feels the same way when He has to start pruning in our lives?  What is His motivation for pruning in our lives?  Why is it so…

  • Devotions

    My Father the Gardener

    “I am the true grapevine, and My Father is the gardener.”  John 15:1-3 In the first verse of John 15, Jesus says that He is the true grapevine and that His Father is the gardener.  Jesus says this, so we know who is the gardener in our lives.  God the Father is the Gardener who cultivates our souls with a father’s tender heart.  We know that God is our creator.  He was the gardener since the beginning.  Read Genesis 1: 11-12.  Then skip to Genesis 1:29-30.  It says that God planted a garden in Eden. Throughout scripture, God shows up in a variety of ways as the divine gardener.  Read…

  • Devotions

    Jesus The True Grapevine

    “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  John 15:1-3 How much do you know about vineyards?  I know nothing about vineyards.  In ancient times it was common in Palestine to have vineyards.  The people would even ornately the temple with grapevines.  In the Old Testament, God used the vine as imagery to describe Israel.  Read Psalm 80:8-9 As we know, the Israelites became a wild vine because they wandered away from God’s covenant relationship with God.  God makes a few comments, referring to His people as the vine and being planted.  Look at verses Jeremiah 2:21 and  Isaiah 5:1-2.   When we are not abiding in God,…