Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Apart from Me You Can Do Nothing

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. 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. 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. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  John 15:4-7
 
Cut off from food, water, nourishment we cease to exist. That is how it is for a branch removed from the vine—it ceases to exist. That how it is if we are spiritually cut off from Jesus—we’ll cease to exist. The Merriman-Webster dictionary defines abide as to accept or bear, to stay or live, or to remain or continue. I’ve always considered that to abide means “to live” in Christ…and He lives in us. What a comforting thought. Living with Christ. That is His promise again…to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). I keep coming back to that—everyday…all day. His promise in these verses in John are certainly ones I will claim regularly… ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Jesus promised this also in Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Another promise that He made… Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. John 16:23  This just shows us how much Jesus loves us…and that if we show that we love Him, too, He will give us our hearts desires. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4. Do you abide in Christ’s love…and focus your attention on His words? Jesus is offering you promises. Do you live for Him and His words? How will you respond to Him today?
 
Prayer~ Jesus, Thank you for answering my prayers…for the healing that has taken place in this year since Jerry’s hip surgery. He is doing so well because of Your touch on his life and his hip. May You continue to hear our prayers and give us the desires of our hearts—love, joy and peace. Restored health, protection, healing, grace and the ability to make good decisions with our family and friends.
 
Happy Birthday, Jerry! May God continue to bless you.
 
© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm

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