August 19
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KEEP MY COMMAND AND YOU’LL ABIDE IN MY LOVE
“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 bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are 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 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also 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 so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. – John 15:1-11
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In this verse, Jesus explains to his disciples and compares Himself as the true vine and the Father as the vinedresser. It is a picture of how the Father cares for all the branches of the vine and prunes each branch so it can bear fruit. I love gardening and as a gardener, we want to ensure growth of the plant or tree we sowed or planted so that it can bear fruits. Pruning is one of the most important things a gardener does because it is like disciplining the branch to propagate and train it to follow, which direction he wants the branches he will cut to grow. God is the gardener and Jesus is the main vine and we are the branches. He prunes all the dead twigs so that new growth may come out of the vine. He does this so we can bear fruits of the Spirit. There is a condition for bearing fruits mentioned in verse 7 and that is to abide in Jesus. He says that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we will be able to bear much fruit so it will glorify God. By abiding, He meant to obey his commandments and to stay in His truth which only comes from the word of God. Jesus is also called the word in John 1. Abiding in Him, means that we obey His word as well. It is the only guarantee to bear fruits. Without Jesus, we can’t produce any fruit at all.
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REFLECTION
• Why is obedience to God’s word essential to produce the Spirit’s fruits?