Apart From Jesus We Can Do Nothing!

John 15:4-8 KJV; Apart from Jesus we can do nothing to glorify God!

Without Jesus We Can Do Nothing

Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV; Our good works will not bring us salvation; however; our faith in the one who saved us will produce good works as we abide in him.

Producing Good Fruit

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

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.

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.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.                                                                                          (John 15:1-8 KJV)

Being fruitful; now there is a novel concept! When a tree bears fruit who gets to enjoy the fruit? It is not the tree. It is you and me.

So what is the purpose for us to bear fruit? Is it not, just as the tree, for others? 

Jesus expects us to bear fruit as is heard in these scripture verses from the Gospel of John. But, just as the branch on a tree we cannot bear fruit without the tree. The tree brings nourishment from it's roots to the branches so that from the branches fruit may be produced and harvested. As branches of the tree of life, who is Jesus the Christ, we cannot produce fruit unless we are connected to him. We must abide in Christ in order to bring good fruit for the nourishment and well-being of others.

May you abide in Christ and he in you that you might bear much fruit and glorify our Father in heaven.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Remain In Christ To The Glory Of God

“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. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:5,8 NIV

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. One of the first questions we might want to ask ourselves is what it is that we want to do? Jesus did the will of our Father in heaven, opening his arms on the cross; opening the Kingdom to all who would believe in him. Is our purpose to further the Kingdom of God or our own little kingdoms that surround us. Is the purpose of what we would do to glorify ourselves or to glorify God? If it is to glorify God then we must remember that without Jesus we can do nothing. We must abide in him so that he through us might continue to bear fruit, serving our Father by reaching out to a world in desperate need of being reconciled to our Father and one another that we might live in his peace.

Jesus said that he is the vine and we are the branches. A branch that is cut off from the vine will lie on the ground, dry up, and die. It will be good for nothing except to be burned in the fire.

May God help us to remain in Christ and Christ in us that we might bear much fruit bringing glory to God for without him all of our good works are like the branch that has fallen from the vine, good for nothing.

God's Peace - Pr. J