Abide

Something to think about

Abide

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. 5 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. John 15:4-5

The analogy of the vine illustrates our total dependence on Jesus. We need to be permanently connected to Christ.  Notice we are not the fruit we are the branches. And the fruit we bear will be grafted into the vine which is Jesus, not us. If we separate from Jesus, we become dried out dead branches which cannot bear any fruit. We become useless.

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Abide

Something to think about.

Abided

⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 

This is not a verse about you receiving everything and anything you want in your life. Rather is about you receiving everything that glorifies God in your life. The prerequisite is that you be in Christ before you even ask.  The result is that you bear fruit or lead people to Christ, and by doing so you prove that you are a disciple of Christ. "Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you," is limited to those things that will help you to accomplish verse eight.  In the end, these verses are about us being empowered to glorify God, and to exemplify Christ and to identify ourselves as His disciples.

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