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Day 1 –
God at the Center of Your Life (John
15:1-2, 4-6)Day
dde
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the
vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit
He takes away (can also be translated as “He lifts up”); and every branch that bears fruit He
prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
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.
Verses 1–2. God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ must be at the center of every
believer’s life in order for us to grow in respect to our salvation. As a
result, God will cause us to bear fruit. In contrast, if God is not at the
center of our lives, we cannot accomplish anything. Fruitfulness does not
always mean blessings. Sometimes the result will be seasons of pruning.
Obedience and abiding in God are not primarily to make life joyful for us (even
though we do experience joy, John 15:11), but rather to bear fruit for God. The
goal of growth is always God’s glory. Notice in verse 2 that Jesus says any
branch “in Me.” These unfruitful branches are Christians, and being “taken
away” does not mean salvation lost, but rather fellowship and blessings lost.
Verses 4–5. Five times in six verses, Jesus warns against failure rather than
success.
“Every branch that does
not bear fruit”...
“cannot bear fruit of
itself”...
“neither can you”...
“apart from me you can do
nothing”...
“If anyone does not abide
in Me.”
These excessive
warnings show the dire consequences of failing to abide in Christ and of not
placing God at the center of our lives.
Verse 6. The Bible often uses “fire” as a refining purifier
from God for Christians (see also 1 Corinthians 3:13, 15; Hebrews 12:29; 1
Peter 1:7). John 15:6 refers to spiritual fire—not “hell fire” for
unbelievers—since, as we saw in John 15:2, the branches are “in Christ.” The
point is that fruitfulness and abiding in Christ should be our goal.
Galatians 2:20 states
that since we have been crucified with Christ, we have died and are no longer
living for ourselves. Instead, Christ lives within us, and the life we now live
on earth and in the flesh must be lived by faith in God’s Son. When God is at
the center, He gives us the motivation to live in Him.
Jesus is not an impersonal force. He loves us and gave His
very life for us, and through His Holy Spirit, both Christ the Son and God the
Father live within us. John 14:21 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If
anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We
will come to him and make Our home with him.’” Jesus Christ gives us
His strength by abiding with us and living in us. Jesus is the True Vine,
giving us the nourishing power of faith to produce fruit.
Draw a circle in the space
below, and then trace another circle at the center of the outer circle. Just as
the hub gives power to the wheel, God will empower our lives when He is at the
center. The force generated from the center will spread outward through the
spokes to the rim, where the “rubber meets the road.”
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