Saturday, May 2, 2020.
Hi! The wonders in the readings today were too much to not share. I knew it when I read the second one that this was meant to share today.
The first was among some I read this morning in John 15. John, the apostle. The beloved disciple. One of the three always pulled with Jesus into special events. The one who reclined next to Jesus in the upper room on His last night with them. The one who was known by the leadership so he could stay within sight of the trial. And the one who Jesus chose to take care of his mother when He was on the cross. Many other happenings were also this man. He’s the one who wrote Revelation while exiled on Patmos. And he’s the one about whom Jesus said…
“If I will that he remain till I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:22)
I take that line in particular to mean that we are all known, individually. There are ‘good works’ God has prepared for each of us to do. That’s why faith is so important. You cannot do what you are meant to do without it.
John 15:7-8
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15 is all Jesus talking. And he’s breaking down the connection between “remain in Him” / “abide in Him” and “obey Him” means. The promises in these two verses are astonishing. Yet they do not say ‘ask for whatever you want’. They’re conditional promises.
If
you remain in Me
and
My words remain in you
then
Ask whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
This is to My Father’s glory.
You will bear much fruit.
Showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Firstly we have to remain in Him. Now you ask, how do I get there? Faith. Ask for Him to come. Which He loves to do as this is the biggest thing you can do, make the choice to come back to Him. Invite Him into your heart, into your life, into every moment of your day and have faith that He is indeed right there. Then read. Let His words so fill your mind that there’s no room for fear or worry or stress.
Fruit. Spiritual Fruit. Not the kind you eat. We don’t literally become trees. This fruit is all spiritually produced. You can find the list of them in Galatians 5:22-23a. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Forbearance is patience is long-suffering. They all mean the same thing.
I find it rather strange that everyone will tell you not to pray for patience because you’ll end up needing it. And yet it’s a gift of the Spirit. So, why wouldn’t you want to produce this kind of fruit? For one thing, we need patience to await His return.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
This is our confidence: remain in Him and keep His words in us.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: He hears us.
Of course He hears us. He’s closer than your next breath close and He’s in your heart. And He’s going to hear you whether you speak it out loud or just think it. We’re talking about this, in another way, in Bible Study on Tuesday. I do hope you come back to study with us then. Every Tuesday. This next one is Romans 2.
That if we ask anything according to his will… we know that we have what we asked of Him.
It’s another way of saying the same thing Jesus said in the reading above. Yet confidence is another benefit of faith. It only comes through faith. None of this happens without faith.
Remain in Him and let His words remain in You, then you can ask whatever you wish, because it will be according to His will, and you can know that you have what you’ve asked of Him.
Thank You, Jesus.