DAILY DEVOTIONAL: THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020
SCRIPTURE READING
John 15:8b (KJV) and so prove to be My disciples.
Today we’re on the second half of verse 8 which reads: “and so prove to be My disciples.”
“And so?” What does Jesus mean “and so prove?” How do we prove we are His disciples?
The first half of verse 8 explains the second half: “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” Jesus is saying that our bearing much fruit proves we are His disciples.
This is a very hard saying for Christians today. We don’t want our works to have anything to do with proving we belong to Jesus. We know works don’t save us, so we refuse to talk about works at all. Ever.
But Jesus here says bearing much fruit proves we are His disciples.
Another time Jesus said “by their fruit ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). This statement of Jesus is sometimes called “our Savior’s rule.” We can’t know someone is a Christian just by whether or not he says he is. We can’t know someone is a Christian just because he goes to church. Just because he’s baptized.
Each of these things can be one piece of fruit, but Jesus doesn’t say producing one piece of fruit proves we are His disciple. He says it’s when we “bear much fruit” that we prove we are His disciples.
Do you see how many peaches this branch has on it? It’s bearing much fruit, isn’t it?
Do you bear much fruit for Jesus? Do you obey Jesus? Do you read His Bible? Do you pray to Jesus? Do you help older people? Do you visit the sick? Do you obey your father? Do you speak respectfully to your mother? Are you baptized? Are you memorizing John 15? Are you listening to these devotions?
These things please God. They are the fruit God is looking for in His sons and daughters. They are the fruit that proves to our Father and Mother that we belong to Jesus.
Scripture: John 15:8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
QUESTIONS
- What is the proof we are Jesus’ disciples?
- If Jesus were a peach tree and we were a branch of His tree, how many peaches would we have?
- What is “our Savior’s rule?”
SONG OF THE WEEK
Like a River Glorious
Like a river glorious
Is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious
In its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth
Fuller ev’ry day,
Perfect, yet it groweth
Deeper all the way.
Stayed upon Jehovah,
Hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as he promised,
Perfect peace and rest.
Hidden in the hollow
Of his blessed hand,
Never foe can follow,
Never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry,
Not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry
Touch the spirit there.
Stayed upon Jehovah,
Hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as he promised,
Perfect peace and rest.
Ev’ry joy or trial
Falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial
By the Sun of Love.
We may trust him fully
All for us to do;
They who trust him wholly
Find him wholly true.
Stayed upon Jehovah,
Hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as he promised,
Perfect peace and rest.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Dear Father, may Jesus be my Teacher, Master, Friend, and Guide through all the troubles of this earthly life, until by grace I come at last into the joys of Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.
OTHER PRAYER NEEDS
- Provision for those without work
- That we would trust God with the uncertainties of our future
- That we would learn to be content in every circumstance
SCRIPTURE MEMORY THIS WEEK
John 15:5-6 (KJV)
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
