Monday – John 15.1-11
Meditation: What will the life of the believer look like? As Jesus prepares to go away, that is exactly what he talks to his disciples about. This week we will look at how vital our relationship to Christ is for our spiritual life. Without him, we are nothing more than dead branches that are to be thrown in the fire. Could you say you abide in Christ? As we read and review what Jesus is saying, ask yourself everyday this week, “Is my life lived in Christ?”
Tuesday – John 15.1-11; 2 Corinthians 12.9; 2 Corinthians 10.17
Meditation: The main point of this passage is that Jesus alone is our life. With Jesus, we live and bear fruit. Without him we are withered branches, dead and lifeless. We live in a world that believes there are so many talismans that can fix our relationship with God: going to church, praying, being a good person. But none of these can actually bring us life. Jesus is the vine, our source of life, and as branches if we are going to prove ourselves to truly be his disciples then we must abide in him. There is humility here as well as Jesus reminds us that without him it’s not that we can only do little things. Without him, we can do nothing. Ask God to show you if that is how you are living.
Wednesday – John 15.1-3; 2 Timothy 3.16-17
Meditation: One of the roles of the vinedresser is to clean/prune the vines so that they are the most healthy and are able to produce the most fruit. The tool he uses: the word of God. The Bible is God’s tool to lop off sin in our hearts and to cause our hearts to produce an abundance of godly fruit. If you and I seriously want to get rid of sin, want our temptations pruned off and gone, then we must be fervent in the word. It is God’s word that he uses to mortify sin in our lives and lead us to greater growth. John Owen said, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” As branches we kill sin by the power of God that rests in his word.
Thursday – John 15.8; Ephesians 2.1-10
Meditation: Who am I seeking to glorify with my life? I don’t know about you but Jerry’s sermon on that very question in John 14 really struck me. So I asked myself, “How can I glorify God?” Well, here God gives us an answer. We glorify God when we bear fruit and prove ourselves to be his disciples. If someone told you they could bring the dead to life, you’d probably scoff at their ridiculous claim. But if people started coming out of their graves you would marvel that they were telling the truth. That is what our fruit does. It shows all creation that our God can do the impossible: give life to dead hearts. The proof: our fruit. What does your life testify? Are you bringing glory to God by the fruit in your life?
Friday – John 15.1-11; Psalm 37.4
Meditation: Farming is a difficult and tedious job. And our need to grow fruit of the Spirit might seem like a burden, an objective that we must sacrifice the happiness of our lives to achieve. Yet Jesus wants us to know that nothing could be further from the truth. Life in the vine, cared for and pruned by the vinedresser, is the only life of real joy. The Christian that bears fruit is sacrificing nothing and will end up gaining everything.
Saturday – John 15.12-17
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