John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
Why does Jesus choose people to be His friends? Does He need more friends? He has millions of friends already. Jesus chose you and appointed you for a specific purpose. He said, I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. What exactly does that mean?
We have been chosen by Jesus to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. To bear fruit means to share the Gospel of Christ, causing more people to be saved and born again. But Jesus took it one step farther. He said, that your fruit should remain,
God wants His children to stay connected to Him every minute of every day of their lives. He does not want any of His children to fall away or become weak in our faith.
At the beginning of this Chapter in John, Jesus declares Himself as the Vine and we as the branches. We are to be forever attached to the Vine so we can bear fruit. A branch that is cut off or separated from the vine quickly dies and will no longer bear fruit. This is what it means to be constantly attached to Jesus, the Vine.
This Passage of Scripture, spoken by Jesus, paints the picture of what being a true, born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is all about. Take time to read and meditate on Jesus’ Words.
“I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. 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.
“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. 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. If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My Disciples.
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My Commandments, you will abide in My Love, just as I have kept My Father’s Commandments and abide in His Love.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My Joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My Commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My Name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.
Abiding in the Vine will........turn the tide.......in your life.
Abiding in Him, Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
