Daily Devotional: Monday, April 20, 2020
SCRIPTURE READING
Scripture: John 15:4b (KJV) As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Have you ever seen a broken branch lying on the ground? Did it ever have green leaves on it? How long did those leaves stay green? Not for long, right? Within a day or two they turned brown. When the branch is broken off the tree, it dies and the leaves turn brown and fall off.
If the branch can’t stay alive, the branch can’t keep its leaves alive, either. All of it dies because it’s no longer attached to the tree. It’s no longer abiding in the tree.
Jesus says “the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.” He means branches have to be attached to the tree or the vine if they’re ever going to bear fruit. The branch eats and drinks from the tree, so when it’s cut off from the tree, it shrivels and dies.
Jesus says it’s the same with the Christian believer. If he doesn’t stay attached to Jesus, our True Vine, he can’t bear fruit. He dies.
We are only branches and we need the vine. Sometimes little boys get to thinking they don’t need their mother, so they run away. But pretty quickly they realize they aren’t the tree, but only a branch of the tree, and they need their Mommy and Daddy. So they turn around and go home and get back attached to the tree God birthed or grafted them to.
See the pear branch grafted into the quince tree? It’s abiding in its vine, isn’t it?
Don’t run away from Jesus. He loves you and even when He disciplines you, it’s because He loves you. Don’t get mad and run away. Stay attached to Him. Keep singing and praying to Him. Keep loving and obeying Him.
If you do these things, you’ll stay alive and bear a whole lot of fruit for Jesus. It will take a while, so be patient.
Scripture: John 15:4b As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
QUESTIONS
- What happens when a branch is broken off from its tree?
- Does a branch that’s broken off from its tree bear any fruit?
- Does the Christian who’s broken off from Jesus bear any fruit?
SONG OF THE WEEK
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of God’s unchanging love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Dear Father, I want to thrive spiritually; make me to abide in Jesus. I want to bear good fruit for You; make me to abide in Jesus. I want to love my neighbor as I love myself; make me to abide in Jesus. Apart from Him I can do nothing. I am but a dead and fruitless branch, good for nothing but the fire. But attached to the Vine, abiding in Christ, with Jesus’ life and vitality coursing through me, I am living, fruitful, and productive, pleasing to my Master. I want nothing more than to make You happy, O Lord. Make me to abide in Jesus.
OTHER PRAYER NEEDS
- Patience for those we’re cooped up with: children, spouses, siblings
- Endurance and comfort for those who are alone in this time
- Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
SCRIPTURE MEMORY THIS WEEK
John 15:3-4 (KJV)
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
