“Yes, I AM The Vine…”

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 NLT

John 15:1-5 NLT

In Romans, God tells us that He called us to Himself and He has called us for a purpose Romans 8:28-30 NLT .  He has called us into fellowship with Himself  1 Cor,1:9 NKJV.  He has called us to be His saints. 1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV.  He has called us with a holy calling for His works, not our own 1 Tim 1:8-9 NKJV.  He has called us and given each of us special abilities to serve others 1 Peter 4:11 NKJV.  He has called us to be witnesses, conquerors and overcomers.  How long will we keep using the excuse, “I wasn’t called to _____”.?   We were called to follow Jesus, When we follow someone, we do what they do and we say what they say.  Isn’t that what Jesus said?  “I do what I see my Father doing and I say what He says to say” (paraphrased).  When God calls us, we are no longer spectators, we are called to be participants.  We are called to produce fruit and we can only produce fruit, if we are attached to the vine and do what the vine instructs us to do.  If we are apart from the vine, we have no power to produce fruit that is like the vine.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

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“You Can Do Nothing”

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5 NLT

Branches

Jesus is the true vine. He has fulfilled the law and now we are branches grown from a new and different vine. We are in Christ Jesus once we accept the words Jesus has spoken. Jesus has removed all the old fruit from us and has made us clean. But we still need something more if we are going to produce good fruit. The flesh cannot of itself produce love, joy, kindness, long-suffering, or any of the other fruits listed in Galatians. There is no goodness in our flesh. For us to produce Holy Spirit fruit, we must have that Holy Spirit flowing through us just as a branch must have the sap from the tree flowing through it to be productive. When Jesus was here in the flesh, He could not physically be inside us, but the Holy Spirit can and does abide in us. That is why Jesus said that He must go to the Father so God could send His Spirit. As we we meditate on the word, the more fruit we produce and the fruit that we produce will be more like the vine.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 06-06-2020

We Were Called To Follow Jesus

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 NLT

John 15:1-5 NLT


In Romans, God tells us that He called us to Himself and He has called us for a purpose Romans 8:28-30 NLT .  He has called us into fellowship with Himself  1 Cor,1:9 NKJV.  He has called us to be His saints. 1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV.  He has called us with a holy calling for His works, not our own 1 Tim 1:8-9 NKJV.  He has called us and given each of us special abilities to serve others 1Peter 4:11 NKJV.  He has called us to be witnesses, conquerors and over-comers.  How long will we keep using the excuse, “I wasn’t called to _____”.?   We were called to follow Jesus, When we follow someone, we do what they do and we say wht they say.  Isn’t that what Jesus said?  “I do what I see my Father doing and I say what He says to say” (paraphrased).  When God calls us, we are no longer spectators, we are called to be participants.  We are called to produce fruit and we can only produce fruit, if we are attached to the vine and do what the vine instructs us to do.  If we are apart from the vine, we have no power to produce fruit that is like the vine.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 04-30-2019

Divine Nature

even-smaller-bug-light1

4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. — 1 Peter 4:4 NLT

God created Adam and Eve in His image.  They did not have the advantage of having the Holy Spirit abide within them. After we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are daily being transformed by the Holy Spirit.  As we learn to follow His leadership more closely each day, we become more and more like Jesus.  In this way, we can share in His divine nature.  It is only as we learn to listen to that still, small voice and heed its teachings that we slowly escape the corruptions that are caused by our human desires.  As we grow Spiritually, we become less like the world around us and more like Jesus.  We are a part of the body of Christ.  He is the head and the same blood that flows through the head flows through the body.  So, we are “partakers of His divine nature”.  We are forever connected to the Divine source.  Just as a branch can produce nothing without the nutrients that flow from the root through the vine to the branch, we can do nothing in and of ourselves.  It is only as we drink and eat the goodness of God that we can become more like Him each day. If we are what we eat then we need to feast daily on His word and drink deeply of His Holy Spirit.

Post 09-17-2016

“I Wasn’t Called to _____.”

even-smaller-bug-light1

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 NLT
In Romans, God tells us that He called us to Himself and He has called us for a purpose Romans 8:28-30 NLT .  He has called us into fellowship with Himself  1 Cor,1:9 NKJV.  He has called us to be His saints. 1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV.  He has called us with a holy calling for His works, not our own 1 Tim 1:8-9 NKJV.  He has called us and given each of us special abilities to serve others 1Peter 4:11 NKJV.  He has called us to be witnesses, conquerors and over-comers.  How long will we keep using the excuse, “I wasn’t called to _____”.?   We were called to follow Jesus, When we follow someone, we do what they do and we say wht they say.  Isn’t that what Jesus said?  “I do what I see my Father doing and I say what He says to say” (paraphrased).  When God calls us, we are no longer spectators, we are called to be participants.  We are called to produce fruit and we can only produce fruit, if we are attached to the vine and do what the vine instructs us to do.  If we are apart from the vine, we have no power to produce fruit that is like the vine.
Post 09-02-2016

Got Fruit?

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

1 “I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.​ ​5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.—John 15:1-5 (NCV)
​Jesus is the true vine. He has fulfilled the law and now we are branches grown from a new and different vine. We are in Christ Jesus once we accept the words Jesus has spoken. Jesus has removed all the old fruit from us and has made us clean. But we still need something more if we are going to produce good fruit. The flesh cannot of itself produce love, joy, kindness, long-suffering, or any of the other fruits listed in Galatians. There is no goodness in our flesh. For us to produce Holy Spirit fruit, we must have that Holy Spirit flowing through us just as a branch must have the sap from the tree flowing through it to be productive. When Jesus was here in the flesh, He could not physically be inside us, but the Holy Spirit can and does abide in us. That is why Jesus said that He must go to the Father so God could send His Spirit. As we we meditate on the word, the more fruit we produce and the fruit that we produce will be more like the vine.
*​****​*In yesterday’s blog, I used the word “interceder” which is really not a word, it should have been “Jesus the Intercessor”. My apologies.​****​
Post 02-04-2015

What Kind of Fruit are We Producing?

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.–Matthew 7:15-20 (NLT)
We need to remember that everyone, regardless of their lifestyle, bears fruit. Wrong thoughts, motives and actions produce the bad fruits. Right thoughts, motives and actions produce fruits for the Kingdom. When people observe our lifestyle, what kind of fruit do they see? If we are to produce the kind of fruit that Jesus wants us to produce, we must get our sustenance from the True Vine. Stay connected to Jesus by daily prayer, Bible reading, meditation, and singing praises. Then, we can be sure that we will produce good fruit and our actions will draw people to Jesus Christ.
Post 02-18-14