Stay In The Sunshine
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
Tommy's Thoughts:
Even Jesus Himself often took time to withdraw to lonely places, mountain and wilderness to pray and stay connected with the Father. Through this communion, Jesus’ soul reservoirs were continuously filled from the fountains that were on high. More so for us, like branches to the Vine, we need continually connected with Him, to be nourished, refreshed and fortified; to be fruitful. Staying close with Him give us the way to live a truly good life than we can on our own.
True and complete joy comes when we stay close and consistently with God, remaining in Christ and obeying His commands. A joy that transcends no matter how high or low our circumstances might be, keeping us level-headed. God’s command for us is to love others as He has loved us. There’re many ways we can express sacrificial love to others without expecting anything in return: like listening, caring, helping, comforting, encouraging, giving.
Lord Jesus, thank You for being my friend; I owe You my unqualified obedience. Lord, to obey and remain in You is to love You; apart from You I can do nothing. Make me be aware of the constant distractions and noises that might separate me from You. Teach me to know, do and practice everything that I’ve learnt from You; to bear fruit—fruit that will last. In Your mighty name I pray, Amen.
Bee's Thoughts:
The promise: "ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you" (v7).
The condition: obey Jesus to "love each other" (v10, 12, 17)
The way: willness to "lay down his life for his friends" (v13)
The reason: apart from Jesus we can do nothing (v5)
Sometimes we think we love others, yet when the real test comes for us to lay down our life or to sacrifice for our friends, we might not be able to do it. We can't, if we try to do it by our own strength. We need to remain in Jesus in order to let His love flows through us to love another (even for people very close to our heart).
Loving someone is suppose to be a joyful thing, yet very often loving is something very painful. I guess the reason is we tend to expect reciprocality in love, and when we don't get it we feel hurt. Thank God for His promise that when we remain in Jesus, He will give us whatever we ask or pray... for we will pray for things from a heart of love and not for selfish gain.
Dear Lord Jesus,
Let me draw strength from You as my "vine". Let me not be torn apart from You that I may love others the way You do. Amen.
.......the devotion of Bee & Tommy
