Daily Devo - John 15:16-17 by Matt Wydra

¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:16-17

Jesus is basically saying in the first part of this verse that we did not choose to have salvation in him of our own accord, but rather that He gave us the offer to have salvation in him by dying on the cross. Without Jesus’ decision to die on the cross to save us from our sins, there would be no option for us to dedicate our lives to him and be saved. This most likely isn’t something that most of us think about very often. However, this portion of the verse is absolutely critical to salvation. Without Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice His life for us, there would be no way for us to be saved. We would be certain to go to Hell with no hope of rescue. This, however, is not what Jesus wants for us. He has much bigger plans for us than allowing us to simply die and be separated from him forever.

If we make the choice to follow Him, Jesus wants us to go out to the world and spread the goodness of the Gospel. He also requests that we do good deeds in His name. Jesus teaches us another important life lesson here. Instead of striving to earn as many earthly things as possible, Jesus wants us to bear fruit that will last—even in Heaven—by doing good works for His glory. As we bear fruit, Jesus will equip us with whatever we need. This, however, does not exactly mean that we can ask for whatever we want for whatever reason.

Jesus specifically states that “the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” after one accepts Jesus into his or her heart. This means that we can ask for anything we want that will allow us to better serve Him, and it will be granted to us, one way or another. It doesn’t mean that we only get what will help us to serve him better, though. The idea of the passage at large is that we “remain in Him.” Basically, we can ask for anything, as long as we are lined up with Christ. As we are in tune with Christ, we will desire what He desires for us (Psalm 37:4). Things we ask for simply out of greed or envy, such as a 60-inch flat-screen TV or a million dollars, will not be given to us. Only those items that we truly believe will help bring glory to Him will be given to us upon request. A large amount of spiritual maturity is needed to determine whether the things we’re asking for are for our benefit or Jesus’. Sometimes it can be BOTH, though. Our benefit and Christ’s benefit are not mutually exclusive, and poor spiritual maturity can sometimes make us believe that what we’re asking for would actually honor Him.

In fact, we may not need to ask for anything to honor Him other than the ability to love others. One of the best ways to give glory to God is simply by doing what Jesus did—loving others regardless of what they do to us. Think about it—clearly Jesus loved us very much when he decided to give up his life for us, so what better way exists for us to love Jesus than for us to show that same love to others?

Questions:

1. What are some things that you could ask for to give glory to God?

2. Why do we rarely consider the fact that Jesus gave us the choice to believe in Him? Does this mean that we take for granted the option of salvation?

3. What are some ways that you can show Jesus’ love to others?

Prayer Guide:

Thank God for giving you the gift of salvation. Ask him to better enable you to show Christ’s love to others, especially when it seems like they don’t deserve it. Write down some things that you could ask for that would help you praise Him, and try asking Him for some of these things.

Daily Devo - John 15:10-12

¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

John 15:10-12

Jesus is very straightforward here. Check this out:

KEEP HIS COMMANDS = REMAINING IN HIS LOVE

What is His command?

HIS COMMAND = LOVE EACH OTHER

He then offers us a promise, if we love each other (which is keeping his command), we will have complete (mature) joy. All of us want joy in life, don't we? I don't know anyone who wants to be miserable (except maybe emo-kids). It seems to most of us believe that getting all we can will give us joy, but Jesus says the opposite. It is through giving of yourself (love) that you gain joy!!!

So, give it a try! Love someone today in a radical way.

PRAY and ask God to give you an opportunity to obey his command to love. Then, take every opportunity you can to love people. I will bet that you will experience more joy than you have in a long time!!!

Daily Devo - John 15:14-15, by Sarah Kenny

“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father, I have made known to you.”
John 15: 14-15

In Jesus’ day, servitude was common place. In fact, many of His parables use the character of a servant to illustrate how we must serve God. In these two verses, however, Jesus is not calling us servants, he’s calling us friends. So what’s the difference? Make no mistake, the change in word choice does not mean that we suddenly don’t have to follow God’s commands (Jesus even says, “you are my friends if you do what I command”.) or that He suddenly wants only a little piece of our hearts. The difference is that as “friends” of God, we “know our master’s business”. Jesus didn’t hold back his mission from his disciples or from the first Christians and he doesn’t hold it back from us now. His goal is to reclaim souls that he loves dearly. As his friends, we are Jesus’ allies in this quest. He shares his mission with us because we are his partners, and we have a part to play.

Imagine if Gandalf, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, had ordered the other members of the Fellowship to follow him to Mordor without them knowing the plan, or even the reason for their journey. Could they still be considered his friends? Similarly, when we plan something with our friends, we would normally fill them in on the details, so that we can draw on their strengths to make whatever we’re doing a success. Well, Jesus has told us his plan and made us his allies or friends, but how can we succeed?

John 15: 15 goes on to say that “everything Jesus learned from his father, he has made known to us”. Jim is right, Jesus didn’t have superpowers. He didn’t do any of his miraculous works alone. He had to call on His Father. If we are followers of Christ, then we have his Holy Spirit in us and are taught to be dependent on God and call on him for what we need, just as Jesus did. In our daily lives, as we try to live as Christ did and help spread the good news of Jesus, we need to be mindful of the fact that we can’t do it alone. The reason that Jesus makes what he’s learned from his Father known to us, is so we can depend on him, not to decrease our power, but to enhance it.

Think of a guitar. It doesn’t make much noise acoustically, but when plugged into an amplifier, it brings forth a great sound. When we try to live our Christian lives, without God, we can’t make much noise, but when we are connected to Him, as the guitar is to the amplifier, we can make a huge sound for the Kingdom. Or, consider something you’ve tried to do alone, for example, attempting to pray more regularly or reach out to a hurting non-Christian friend.

How does knowing that Jesus refers to you as His friend makes His mission and His love even more personal?

PRAY and thank God for considering you a friend and revealing His plans to you. Ask God to reveal what He is doing in your world (school, community, church, youth group). Ask God to help you “plug-in” to him when you are living the life he intended for you.

Daily Devo - 1 John 4:9-10

There was once a sick little girl who was in desperate need of a blood transfusion. As they tested all of the family members, there was only one match: Her five year old brother. Patiently, the doctors and his parents sat down with him and explained to them that his sister really needed his blood otherwise she would continue being very ill. The boy became very upset, but, looking at his older sister, said “Ok, I will do it for her.” As the doctors and nurses prepared everything for the transfusion to take place, he boy nudged the doctor and asked “Will it hurt?” The doctor said, “No, it will just feel like a pinch when I put the needle in”. “No” the boy clarified, “will it hurt when I die?” The doctor couldn’t help but be brought to tears. The little boy thought that he was giving ALL of his blood to his sister. The boy was willing to die so that his sister would be well. That is radical love.

This is very similar to what Christ has done for us:

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John 4:9-10

Jesus’ love is demonstrated in that He took on death so that we could have life.

PRAY and thank God for His sacrificial, life-giving love. Confess to Him the times you take His love for granted. Thank Him for being willing to die on your behalf.

Daily Devo - 1 John 5:1-2

As the doctor puts the thermometer in your mouth, you sit patiently waiting to see what the temperature will read. If it is high, then you have a fever and need treatment. The thermometer does not cause the illness, it merely tells you if illness is present. Read this passage and see what thermometer we have for our faith:

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God by carrying out his commands.

1 John 5:1-2

The “thermometer” given in this passage is this: loving God by carrying out, or obeying His commands. Just like a thermometer does make you sick, but tells you if you are sick, obeying God’s commands does not make you a Christian but tells you if you really are a Christian.

If the thermometer reads a high temperature, you will likely try to treat your fever. In the same way, if you are doing things you know are wrong, or if you are not doing things you know God wants you to do, it is time to treat the illness in your relationship with Christ. I am not saying that you are not a Christian, but that it is worth getting a check-up.

Try these 'diagnostic' questions as a check-up:

How are you doing in your walk? Are you obeying the commands that God has for you?

What are some changes you can make in your life to honor God’s commands?

Can you think of any “treatments” that would help you keep these commands (like an accountability partner or a book dealing with your particular issue)?

Pray and ask God to reveal ways that you can be more faithful and obedient to His commands.

Daily Devo - Luke 10:27

"...love your neighbor as yourself."

Luke 10:27

Dallas Willard said this: “there is a distinctive emphasis by Jesus on loving your neighbor, your ‘near dweller’, not upon loving ‘humanity’ or ‘everyone’. What this means is that our duty and our virtue is to love those with whom we are in effectual contact – those we can really do something about.” Knowing Christ Today, p. 86

Often times we, as Christians, become so overwhelmed by the idea of loving everyone that we choose not to love anyone. After all, if love is sacrificing yourself for another (as Sarah and Laura said this week), then it is crazy to think that we have enough to sacrifice for the whole world.

Loving the whole world is God's job. The job he gave us (as the passage says) is to love those with whom we come into contact every day.

PRAY and ask God to show you the opportunities He has placed in your life each day. Ask Him to reveal to you the 'neighbors' that you can love today.

Daily Devo - John 15:13, by Sarah Bobis

13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.- John 15:17

“I love you.” Pretty heavy words for a not-so-heavy meaning. The word love is thrown around so often that it’s easy to forget what true love is. It isn’t the warm fuzzies that you feel when someone is near, nor is it borrowing a dollar from an acquaintance for lunch and replying, “Thank you, I love you!” Well, if the world’s definition doesn’t work, then what is God’s idea of love?

Jesus answers this question in verse 15. Not only is he referring to his own life sacrifice on the cross, but He is also referring to the sacrifices we make for others. To love is to “lay your life down”; sacrifice by giving of your time, energy, and possessions for those who need it. Christ dedicated His life and His death to save us and to help us come to eternity with the Father. THAT is love.

So what can you do to really “love people”? Think about ways that you can make sacrifices for your friends and family, and remember Christ’s example on the cross. Maybe you could help your family around the house or help a friend study for a test. It won’t always be easy; in fact, sacrifice isn’t supposed to be easy. But there is no greater love than this.

Pray and ask God to show you opportunities in which you can love others, and meditate on the true love that God has shown us through Christ. Ask Him to change your definition of the word “love” and remember what it truly means. Pray for courage to help give others the love God has bestowed upon you to give.

Daily Devo - John 15:9, by Laura Shultz

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

John 15:9

Love is WHO GOD IS. He doesn’t have to choose to love us. Hecan’t help but love us. Love is His very essence. Check out this passage from the book of 1John:

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God…For God is love. ” -1John 4:7-8

A Christian author sums it up this way, “If we think God is a person who can divide His love, then we are thinking not of God but of ourselves. God is perfectly one, the perfect unity. We have love, but God is love. His love is not an activity. It is His whole self.”

The thought that came to me as I read and meditated on this today is that while for us, we can choose to love one another or not and we can choose to love God or not, God CANNOT choose to quit loving us. He loves us when we sin so badly that we think we don’t deserve His love. He loves us when we try to run from Him. He loves us when we are “too busy” and choose to ignore Him. He loves us when we let our pride keep us from thinking that we need to rely on Him. He loves us when we completely forget to thank Him for all the incredible blessings that He so freely gives us. He loved us long before we knew Him. He loved us long before we were even born. He loved us like crazy when He sent his precious, beloved Jesus to hang upon a cross. And Jesus stayed on that cross in all of the pain, not because of a theological doctrine of atonement, but because of LOVE. Insane, amazing, wonderous, LOVE. You see, for God, love is not an ACTION but it is WHO HE IS. It is his very essence. It is His name.

So, on Valentine’s Day, I am choosing to celebrate much more than just a Hallmark holiday. I am choosing to celebrate LOVE, which means that I am choosing to celebrate God’s essence. I am making my human choice to strive to embrace the love that God so freely IS in my life, because He can’t be anything else… and that, friends, is AWESOME. I am delighting in the whispers that He so often places in my heart and that on other days I may, in my humanness, choose to ignore. But not today…

My prayer for you is that you will DANCE today knowing that our God IS LOVE!!!! And because of that, He is the ULTIMATE Valentine. Listen to His essence today, and relish His incredible, unconditional love for you…

“I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you from the depths of the Earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hand and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. Has it crossed your mind that I am proud of you? I am proud that you have freely chosen me, after I had chosen you, as your friend and Lord. I am proud that even though you may have a few warts and wrinkles, you have not given up. After all, I never expected that you would be perfect. You see, it doesn’t matter… I love you. I am with you always- no matter what you have done. You are precious to me. I will never leave you. I love you. I love you. I love you. Nothing will ever change that.”

-James Bryan Smith, Embracing the Love of God

Daily Devo - John 15:5-8

Today I want you to do something different. I am want you to spend a few minutes reading through the passage from the past two weeks. Think about what Jesus is saying, reflecting on what you learned from the devos and asking God to reveal new things to you:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:5-8

Now, I am going to format this into a prayer. Pray this to God:

“Jesus, YOU are the vine; I am a branch. If I remain in you and You in me, I will bear much fruit; apart from You, I can do nothing. ⁶ If I do not remain in You, I am like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If I remain in You and Your words remain in me, I know that I can ask whatever I wish, and it will be done for me. ⁸ This is to our Father’s glory, that I bear much fruit, showing myself to be Your disciple.”

PRAY about anything on your heart.

Daily Devo - John 15:8b

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:8

Jesus ends this verse by saying we ‘showing yourselves to be my disciples’ when we bear much fruit. We want to be careful to say that the fruit does not make us disciples, but reveals to the world that we are truly His disciples.

Being a disciple is an attitude of the heart. You have given your heart to Jesus and long to bring the Father glory (see yesterday's devotional). You desire what He desires (see Monday's devotional). These inward, heart commitments to Jesus produce fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control . Its not the fruit that makes you a disciple, but your heart. However, if your heart is committed to Christ, it will be revealed through fruit in your life.

Are you bearing that kind of fruit?

PRAY and ask God to reveal to you the areas of your heart where you are committed fully to Christ. Ask God to reveal to you the areas where you are not fully committed to Christ. Ask Him to change you from the inside out!

Daily Devo - John 15:8a

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit…”
John 15:8

Jesus tells us that, as we live IN HIM and IN HIS WORD, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be given to us. THIS brings the Father glory. When you think about it, everything we do in life is to bring the Father glory. What does that mean?

To ‘give something glory’ means to ‘acknowledge its high value, worth’. So, if I had a $2,000,000 diamond, I ‘give it glory’ by treating it like the precious gem that it is. I would clean it, protect it, and make sure that I use it in a way that would demonstrate its high value. I wouldn’t leave it laying around or play catch with it in the front yard because it is too valuable for that.

Our God is worth way more than that diamond. Our entire lives should be focused on acknowledging His high worth. We do that by ‘spending’ our entire lives on Him. He is worth our time, our energy, our thoughts, even our actions. When we turn our hearts to other things, we are saying they are more valuable than Him. When we DO bring the Father glory, it shows people just how valuable He is!

PRAY and ask God to show you the vastness of His Worth. Ask Him to help you to bring Him glory in everything we do.

Daily Devo - John 15:7b

“ ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7

Jesus makes the promise that we can ‘ask whatever we wish, and it will be done for us’. We looked a bit at this promise yesterday, but notice here that he makes a condition for this promise: We must remain in Him AND His Words.

What are Jesus’ words? The easy and simple answer is the Bible. It would be easy to read this as if it were saying that if we just read the Bible each day, then we can have whatever we ask for. But, there is more to say. Let me explain.

Jesus was “the Word become flesh” (John 1:14). In other words, the Word of God was not letters on a page, but a living, breathing person who walked around and did incredible things.

The same is true in our lives. The Word of God in our lives is not about reading words on a page, but in our living as we walk around and do the incredible things God has for us. The Word of God is only ‘the Word of God’ when it is performed through our lives; it exists in the world only when it is lived out by you and me who live in this world as followers of Jesus (who is the Word of God).

So, to ‘remain in Jesus’ Word’ (as the passage says), we must live out what we read in the Bible. In that way, YOU become the Word of God to the world around you.

PRAY and ask God to help you LIVE OUT His Word in your life. Ask Him to reveal to you ways that you can be the Word to others.

Daily Devo - John 15:7a

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

Jesus makes a promise in this passage. If we remain in Him and in His Words, we can ASK WHATEVER WE WISH, AND IT WILL BE DONE. How can Jesus make such a promise?

One of my favorite passages is Psalm 37:4 which says “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires/wishes of your heart.” The secret to ‘getting what we wish’ is wising for the right things. As our hearts align with Jesus and His Words, our desires/wishes do too. So, we ask for things that are in keeping with what Jesus would want for us.

What would that be like? To only want good things and to receive everything you ask for? That is an amazing promise and a life worth pursuing. And, let’s face it, if Jesus said it, IT IS TRUE!!!

PRAY and ask God to help you believe this promise. Ask God to align your heart with His heart so you desire/wish for good things!

Daily Devo - John 15:6b

⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
John 15:6b

Many have read Jesus’ words and assumed that it means we lose our salvation if we do not remain in Him. That is not what is being said. Our salvation is not dependent upon what we do in our relationship with Christ. However, as we choose to connect with Christ in relationship it does determine the quality of our life with Him. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. Here Paul is making the same point as Jesus, but instead of a Vine/Branches analogy, Paul uses building (our works) and foundation (Jesus) analogy.

¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

While we cannot lose our salvation, the quality of our life in Christ is determined by where we place our priorities. If we place our priorities on things of earth (money, clothes, drama, material things, etc.) life will be somewhat meaningless. If we place our priorities on Jesus and the things that are important to Him, we will be rewarded for that. Either way we are saved. But, one life will be better than the other.

PRAY and ask God to help you shift your priorities to what is important to Him. Consider things that you can ‘let go’ of to focus on that which is important to Christ. Maybe it is to text less and pray more. Maybe it is spend less on clothes and more on giving to others in need. Whatever it is, you can know it will be a better life!

Daily Devo - John 15:6a

⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers…

John 15:6a

Have you ever met a person who is spiritually lifeless? Have you ever experienced that yourself? Jesus’ command to remain in Him comes with a consequence. If we do not remain in Him, we will end up lifeless. In other words, the spiritual vitality, energy and passion will fade and we will be left dry.

Make sure you understand, though, that this is our choice. Jesus always stands ready to be with us and give us life in Him. However, if we walk away, it will have its effect on us. This should encourage us to daily remain in Christ.

PRAY for God to renew you with the life that can only be found in Christ. Pray for those who have found themselves ‘lifeless’. Maybe you are feeling lifeless. Spend some time asking God to renew your heart and bring you life.

Daily Devo - John 15:5c

“If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit”

John 15:5c

Today I want us to consider what KIND of fruit we will bear in Christ. Often we think of good works. While that is definitely important in our walk, what Jesus has in mind is for us to be like Him in His character. Since He is the perfect example of how humans should live, we want to be like Him. We are told what type of fruit that is in Galatians 5:22-23:

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

As we walk with Christ we bear this kind of fruit. It ends by saying ‘against such things there is no law’. The idea is that, if you have this type of character, you don’t even have to think about sinning because you are living a Spirit-filled life of perfection. That is fruit worth cultivating!

PRAY through the list and ask God to develop each of these in you so that you can bear fruit! LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL.

Daily Devo - John 15:5b

“apart from me you can do nothing”.

John 15:5b

At youth group, we talked about the fact that Jesus was not superhuman. He was fully God, but we have good reason to believe that Jesus, while still God, gave us a genuine model for how to live the average human life as a follower of God.

Philippians 2 says “(Jesus) did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Jesus, though God, limited himself to things only humans can do to show us how to live. William Barry said “If Jesus is ‘Superhuman’, then I can admire Him, but I do not have to take seriously His call to (be like) Him. I can never be a superhuman being.” Jesus did limit himself to only human activities, though.

So, how could he perform miracles and healings? He did it in the power of God. That same power that Jesus had to perform miracles and healings is available to you.

PRAY and ask God to help you believe that you have the same access to His power as Jesus had. Thank Him for sending the perfect example of human living in Jesus Christ.