Verse of the Day 6/7

Verse of the Day 6/7

John 15:4-5

New King James Version

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, 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, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

For today's verses we come to John 15 where we find Jesus' 7th "I am' statement, "I am the vine".  The passage has to do with "abiding", or "remaining" in Him.  When we do so we remain connected to the vine.  As I'm writing this I am on vacation on the coast of North Carolina. Normally, when we think of abiding we think of a place that we live, it is tied to a certain location, but this type of abiding is a condition of the heart, not tied to a location but tied to the person of Jesus Christ.

My reading in the Psalms this morning was in Psalm 73 where we read:

Psalm 73:23-24

New King James Version

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.

As we abide, as we remain connected to the vine, Jesus is with us continually through the Holy Spirit living in us. He upholds us, holding us by the hand and guiding us as we walk. He instructs us in His word and draws us to Him in prayer.  At the end of this life we'll be prepared to be received by Him into glory.

May we be constantly abiding.

1. There's a peace in my heart that the world never gave,
   A peace it cannot take away;
   Though the trials of life may surround like a cloud,
   I've a peace that has come here to stay!
   • Refrain:
     Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine;
     Constantly abiding, rapture divine;
     He never leaves me lonely, whispers, oh, so kind:
     "I will never leave thee"—Jesus is mine.
2. All the world seemed to sing of a Savior and King,
   When peace sweetly came to my heart;
   Troubles all fled away and my night turned to day,
   Blessed Jesus, how glorious Thou art!
3. This treasure I have in a temple of clay,
   While here on His footstool I roam;
   But He's coming to take me some glorious day,
   Over there to my heavenly home!

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

John 15:1-7

New King James Version

The True Vine

15 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, 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, 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, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.