Week 1 Day 2: The Vine

John 15:1 "I am the true vine"

*Jesus (the true Vine) will be for me (the branch) all I need Him to be. He speaks, guides & works to give me divine life and vitality.*

prayer- Lord, open my mind to understand this illustration that You are the true Vine. Reveal the truth about Yourself to me.

o Jesus is the true Vine; true: that which is genuine/ authentic & not a copy; Jesus is the perfect & only heavenly Vine, all others are copies

o Come and gaze on heavenly Vine until eyes turn from all else and admire Him; come be still under the shadow of the true Vine & rest under it from the heat of the day :)

o Only Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, can help us experience Him as the true Vine

o Jesus alone can reveal Himself; He gives the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to gaze on Him, to open our hearts to receive Him

*Ask the Holy Spirit to help you come to know Jesus as the true Vine of your life & the    difference He can make

o bow down and be still, worship and wait, until the divine Word enters your heart & you feel His holy presence with you and in you

o the overshadowing of His holy love => perfect rest of knowing Vine will do all you need Him to do

Choose 1 or 2 things in the list below that you can begin to do to place yourself before Christ so that He can begin to reveal Himself to you as the true Vine

[ ] Develop a daily times that I spend with Him in private prayer
[ ] Begin to spend time praying with other believers
[ ] Take time to study His Word, asking the Holy Spirit to teach me
[ ] Learn to worship God in spirit and truth
[ ] Ask the Lord to help me learn to recognize His voice & obey Him

prayer:
Holy Lord Jesus, I pray to You. Reveal Yourself to my soul. Let the Holy Spirit, not only in thought but also in experience, allow me to know all that You, the Son of God, are to me as the true Vine.

Week 1 Day 1: Previewing the Parable of the Vine

John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for with Me you can do nothing."

*Jesus wants us to live in an abiding relationship with Him* :)

prayer: Lord Jesus, during the coming days and weeks, help me come to understand how I can have an abiding relationship w/ You that produces spiritual fruit.

o His death & resurrection brought one new relationship; union between vine & branch => deep, intimate relationship Jesus calls us to live w/ Him

o abide: to continue in, to dwell, to remains/ to stand
    - parable of the Vine shows x just this, but He wants us to solidly connect to Him
   
o illustration of vine & its branches reveal these truths & more:
    - vine & branch- same substance, same wood
    - branch grafted into vine sends fibers down into vine
    - vine send fibers into branch until they become one
    - branch needs vine in order to love, can not survive w/o sap from vine
    - vine needs branch in order to bear fruit, w/o branch vine x can produce fruit by itself

o vine & its branches experience oneness
o only hope for life found in true Vine; we as branches must choose to abide in the true Vine
o It's up to us! He will x force us- just gives us the choice
    - 2 experience relationship Jesus came to give you => choose 2 sink your life in Him & Him alone
o to abide in Him- means letting go of everything else & choosing to make Him your permanent dwelling place (home sweet home:}<3)

Abiding in Christ
1. Receiving Christ as Savior & Lord
2. Surrendering to Him
3. Living united w/ Him
4. Knowing Him
5. Being transformed
6. Knowing His commands & obeying Him
7. Loving Him & others
8. Relating to Him through prayer & His Word
9. Bearing much fruit

?  Which action is most difficult or challenging for you? #___
? Believing that Jesus is the One who is working in you to bring these to pass, which action would you most like to experience fully & why? #___

prayer-
Lord, thank You for offering me such a relationship. Open my eyes to what can be if I choose to abide in You. Make me an abiding branch of the true Vine for Your glory.

I'm right here child

Do you see Me?

Can you hear Me?

I'm right here with you

Can you feel Me?

You promised Me your heart

But did you forget?

Do you know how much I love you?

Do you know how much I miss you?

I showed you My love

I showed you My grace

I showed you My faithfulness

Yet how soon you forget

Why did you give your heart to another so quickly?

I see you weeping

I see you crying out

I know your heart is hurting

I am right here with you

Can you feel me?

I am the One who will always love you

I am the One who will never fail you

I am the One who will carry you

I am the One

Turn away from the world

Turn to Me

Please know that I am here

I am your deliverer

I am the healer of the broken

Just surrender your whole heart to Me

I will mend it

Let My love heal your hurt and your wounds

I will overwhelm you with love

I am right here child

I have plans for you

Do not worry, do not fret

Even though it hurts now

Now that it is for the best

I will guide you through it all

For I am always with you

Please remember Me

Remember how much I love you

Remember that I sacrificed my son on the cross for you

Because I loved you

Because I love you
Because I will always love you

Hope these short bible excerpts & notes will help encourage my fellow brothers & sisters in Christ in their walk with Him!

Philippians 2:12-30

my bible highlights:)
12-15 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights of the world.

notes from NASB life application bible:

- "work out your salvation"- may mean entire church was to work together to rid themselves of divisions & discord
- God has not left us alone in our struggles to do His will- wants to come alongside us & be within us to help!
     o God helps us want to obey Him
     o then gives us power to do what He wants
     o submit to God's control & let Him work, *ask God to help you want to do His will
- to be like Christ => must train ourselves to think like Christ
- to change our desires to be more like Christ we need
     o power of the indwelling spirit
     o influence of faithful Christians
     o obedience to God's Word
     o sacrificial service
- often in doing God's will we gain desire to do it
- A transformed life is an effective witness to the power of God's Word
- when you are totally committed to Christ, sacrificing to build faith of others => joyous reward
- Don't let schedule & concerns crowd out your Christian service to & love for others

-------
Many times I try to work so hard to make myself a better person. But I always come up short and grow tired and weary. I know now that I can't rely on my own strength, but need to allow God to work in me- to give me the desire to do His will & power to carry it through. God is the only one who transforms lives supernaturally. Let His love work within your heart and you'll be amazed by what He does!

This year, I want to delight in His word & meditate on His statutes day & night, night & day!

Philippians 2

my verse highlights:

2:2-5 Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, unity in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

and do nor merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others, 

Have the attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Being found in appearance as man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

Notes from NASB Life Application Study Bible

- Paul stressed spiritual unity- when we work together, caring for problems of others as if our own problems => demonstrate Christ's example of putting other's first => experience unity

- considering other's interests as more important than our own => links us w/ Christ- the true example of humility

- Paul encourages us to guard against any selfishness, prejudice, or jealousy that might lead to dissension

- servant's attitude- serving out of love of God & for others x out of guilt or fear; you can approach life expecting to be served or look for opportunities to serve others; lay aside our rights in order to serve others

- should develop his attitude of humility as we serve, even when x likely to get recognition for our efforts; are you selfishly clinging to your rights, or willing to serve?

Notes From What it the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert, Part 1: God the Righteous Creator

What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert, Part 1: God the Righteous Creator

2 maint points we must make clear from the get-go: God is Creator & He is holy and righteous

God the Creator

- book of Genesis opens with story of God creating the world
- all of it came about through His spoken word, all of it came from nothing
- bible tells how creation testifies to God's glory and power
Psalm 19:1

Roman 1:20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are with out excuse.

- We are not all there is!
- God created light, the sea, land, moon and sun, birds and fishes, animals, then man & woman

Genesis 1:27
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God created the world & created you => everything in the universe has a purpose- including human beings
- we are not an accident, x just a results of random chance, genetic mutations, gene reassortments, chromosomal accidents
- we are created, everyone of us- the result of and idea, plan & action of God himself! => meaning & responsibility to human life
- we are not autonomous *key fact to understanding gospel; we are created, made, therefore owned
- b/c God created us He has the right to tell us how to live- in garden of Eden told Adam & Eve not to eat of tree of knowledge of good & evil

Genesis 2: 16-17
The Lord God commanded the man saying, "from any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

- God x on power trip, He knows what is best for His people- gave laws to increase happiness & well-being
(gospel is response to bad news of sin: a person's rejection of God's Creator-rights over him)

GOD CREATED US, AND THEREFORE OWNS US

God the Holy and Righteous One

How to describe God's character in a few words?- loving, kind, compassionate, forgiving? yes, but also holy & righteous

Exodus 34:6-7
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished visiting the iniquity of fathers on children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."

- God's love does not cancel out His justice & righteousness
Psalm 89:14; 97:2
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.

Habakuk 1:13
Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor.

* to understand just how glorious & life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ us- we have to understand that this loving & compassionate God is also holy & righteous- He cannot overlook, ignore/ tolerate sin