Sunday, December 04, 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL

THE ROSE OF SHARON IS WISHING YOU ALL THE GREATEST SEASON IN CHRIST THAT LOVE CAN BRING. WE WILL BE CELEBRATING THE SEASON OF THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WITH OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND WILL BACK AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR. ALWAYS REMEMBER JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON AND HE GAVE HIS LIFE THAT YOU MIGHT LIVE.
AGAPE
ALL THE WRITERS.

THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

The power of the gospel 


"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16.
 
The gospel means "Good News." Paul preached very boldly about the plan of salvation because God gave him a special calling. This verse is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible and is quoted often.
 
Here the Word of God is very clear that people are to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. Our Lord made this so plain and clear on what a person has to do to attain salvation through Him.
 
Think about this for a minute. Jesus Christ was crucified for sinners and went through excruciating pain like nobody has ever endured in a given time frame on earth and He gave us the gospel so we can be redeemed through Him. 
 
For you thinkers out there I want you to ponder this truth in your mind and heart and see if you can grasp what God Almighty did for us by sending His Son to earth. You may come to the conclusion that the enormous love that Jesus Christ has for mankind is beyond comprehension.
 
We are talking about a holy God who did not have to do this and if He did not we would all get justice.This means we would all be in hell.
 
Why did God love us so much? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. This is what God did but why?
 
Can we even grasp this scripture? Here God looks down on a world that is very sinful and against His Holy Will yet God the Father sacrificed his only Son to die for our sins. 
 
The people of God have always walked with Him by faith. “For therein is the righteous of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall walk by faith.” Romans 1:17.
 
The Bible talks about many truths in Romans chapter one that are built into every human being and some pretty blunt issues but some of the chapter concerns Christians. 
 
A believer has to believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and died on the cross and shed His blood for our sins.
 
A true believer in Jesus Christ walks by faith which is crucial to being a born again Christian. ”For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
 
No man can work his way into heaven. It is a free gift of God which we do not deserve but God in His loving kindness extended mercy toward us while we were yet sinners and helpless in and of ourselves.The verses I just shared with you are good examples of what true salvation is in Jesus Christ. There are many other passages in the Bible but in an article I can only mention a few.
 
There is power in the gospel of Jesus Christ because that is how a person receives salvation in his or her heart. Someday we will have redeemed bodies that will not even be capable of sin. “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”1 John 3:9.
 
What is God saying to us? He wants us to believe in His Son because if we do not believe in Jesus Christ we do not know the Father.
 
If we do not have Jesus Christ in our hearts then we are still in our sins and will die in them because of our unbelief.
 
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same has not the Father; but he that acknowledge the Son has the Son also.” 1 John 2:23.
 
Any religious institution that preaches Jesus Christ is not the Savior of the world is a false religion. Pay close attention to this because most of these major denominations are a religion of works in one form or another. There is often a round about message that we can get to heaven by doing these exercises in life. 
 
Do not try to get to heaven by your own works. We can not work our way into heaven. If that were so then Jesus Christ would not have had to die on the Cross.“This is a faithful saying and worthy of acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15.
 
Paul the Apostle was teaching that he was the chief of all sinners because he persecuted Christians. God intervened when he was on a trip and eventually through his blindness was shown the light of Jesus Christ.
 
He was never the same after that experience. He went on to be one of the greatest disciples of Jesus Christ and preached all over the world.
 
Paul was chosen by God to go out and preach the power of the gospel so mankind could attain salvation through Jesus Christ. He did travel around the world on his missionary trips and told people of the wonderful plan of God through His Son Jesus Christ. This is the plan of salvation.
 
He had a special assignment from heaven. “Paul a apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.” 2nd Timothy 1:1.
 
Brothers and sisters in Christ around the world should also be witnesses for our Lord and tell people about the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ so they can have eternal life.
 
In every neighborhood, town or city there are people who don't know Jesus Christ. We need to get the gospel out to them so they can have eternal life through Jesus Christ. Everybody will live eternally in heaven or hell but very few will enter through the narrow gate ( Matthew chapter 7) of how the Bible defines true salvation. If you don't believe me try talking to somebody about the gospel and notice the resistance you will receive on the other end.
 
We need to tell them about Jesus Christ. He is the only one that can save us through Him. ”And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28. The only one that has the power to do this is Jesus Christ. 
 
This verse describes the supreme authority of Jesus Christ because He is the judge. Nobody else has this power because He is the one true God.
 
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, The Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are One.” 1st John 5:7.
 
This verse is talking about the trinity of God and they are One. Each one has different duties than the other but they all share the same purpose in their functions as God.
 
The Word is Jesus Christ. The Father has given Him the judgment of our souls because that is one of the roles of our Lord. The Holy Spirit does not do this but has many titles in the Bible. That would be a whole different subject. 
 
The Gospel is like a two edge sword. It pierces the heart and soul of a person with conviction but the truth and righteousness of the Word of God change our lives through Jesus Christ. 
 
It can convict a person who is not right with the Lord. It can bring a people to salvation if they are willing to allow Jesus Christ to redeem them out of sin, it can bring a person peace, love and joy or it can change the life of a person full circle to the point where their whole demeanor changes through Jesus Christ. I just had a lady confess to me how she was nasty before she became a Christian. 
 
Satan knows the power of the Gospel and he will do everything in his authority which is limited to discourage Christians and make them fall away from the truth of knowing Jesus Christ. His ways are very clever but we don't have to help him.
 
He can appear as an angel of light to deceive and when we are not girded in the Word of God we can fall into all kinds of temptation.”And no marvel; Satan himself is transformed into a angel of light.” 2nd Corinthians 11:14.
 
God gives us the tools to overcome Satan by reading the Bible so we know who the enemy is and how to fight the evil one. Ephesians chapter six is a good chapter to start because we are supposed to put on the whole armor of God.
 
The more we read, study or memorize the Bible the better equipped we are to be strong in Jesus Christ and not give in to the flesh. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to guide and teach us all things so our strength in our Lord will be consistent in our everyday walk. 
 
The devil hates the power of the gospel because every time someone gets saved through Jesus Christ they get their names written in the Lambs book of life. He gets very angry about this because he wants all people to be on the evil side and go to hell but yet he could care less about us.
 
Jesus Christ loves us and wants to be part of our life and eternity. The angels in heaven rejoice every time a person comes to the Lord. Satan knows that he has a short time so the evil one is doing everything in his limited power to stop this from becoming a reality.
 
The devil knows that God has place time limits on him and in the future he will not be able to deceive people. “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiiters of the earth and of the seal for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he has but a short time.” Revelation 12:12. When the devil is thrown into the bottomless pit during the millennium Jesus Christ will rule and Satan will not have the ability to engage in deception.
 
Everyone that comes to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith through the repentance of their sins will spend eternity in Heaven. This is the grace of God.
 
People that did not want to be bothered with the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ will spend eternity in hell. We are given a choice and God will not force His will on anyone. God is no respecter of persons so there will be no excuse. 
 
You should take some time to think about the grand plan of God and remember what Jesus Christ went through so you can be saved through Him. 
 
The love that Jesus Christ has for human beings can not be comprehended. It never ends so I am urging people to choose Jesus Christ to be their very own Savior and Lord and I can assure you it will be the best decision you ever made in your life because it is for your eternity. 
 
Bob D.
 

Saturday, November 26, 2016

JESUS CHRIST OUR DELIVER

Before Jesus Christ ever physically walked on this earth the Bible has some things to say about the Son of God on how He delivers us in our daily routine of life. "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." Isaiah 61:1.
 
Can we break this verse down? If Jesus tells us a biblical truth who would He most prefer to talk to? This passage is saying ... "To preach good tidings unto the meek." They are open in their heart to learn. When I talk to a meek person there are no barriers in their spirit that have to be plowed through to get to the Person of Jesus Christ. This should give us a clue as to what spirit we are to have when our Lord the great teacher of all time is trying to impart a message to us.
 
Jesus Christ has always desired to bind up the brokenhearted. The Bible says that God is close to this type of person. He even reiterates this principle in Luke 4:18. If a person's soul is in pieces there is almost no greater miracle than God coming in and mending everything together. If an individual gets cremated does God know where every molecule is from that person? The answer is yes. In like manner Jesus Christ desires to bind up the brokenhearted. We have to be open to allow God to do this but through our willingness the Holy Spirit absorbs our pain in His righteousness.
 
The last part of this verse says ... "To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." We live in a world that is held captive by Satan. According to 2 Corinthians 4:4 he is the god (With a small g) of this world. When most people walk through life they feel some kind of binding spirit.
 
I am thinking of what Jesus said in John chapter eight. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32. We should seek Jesus Christ everyday because He is the truth. What is our reward if we apply this biblical principle? "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:36.
 
Some Christians say there is no law in heaven because we were saved by grace. I believe there are laws in this perfect place but I don't feel we will have any problem following this in Paradise. The Apostle Paul talks about this when he said, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2. Which law do you want to be under because it is either one or the other? I like the way that sounds. "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus" is what is going to set me free with whatever is binding me in a bad way. This law takes captive the law of sin and death. Two laws but only one will set us free. Why? Because "Now the Lord is that spirit: and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty." 2 Corinthians 3:17.
 
"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Romans 6:22. Look at the incredible order of this verse. First we were freed from our sins through Jesus Christ then we became servants of God. We got busy for Jesus Christ but at the same time we sowed the fruit of holiness in our life. We started thinking right, we started living clean because a righteous life in service to Jesus Christ became very special to us as Christians. The last part of this verse says ... "And the end everlasting life." We got saved, we became disciples of Jesus Christ, we live holy and we go to heaven in the proper timing of God.
 
Jesus Christ is our deliverer. We may have a heavy yoke on our soul or a burden that is just so heavy. I have felt very oppressed in my life over many things but I realized that Jesus Christ is the answer. Matthew chapter 11 talks about the Son of God being our deliverer with our heavy yoke but the Old Testament talks about this principle also in Isaiah. "For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian." Isaiah 9:4. This comforts me because in this world we are bound to have a heavy yoke in our souls but not without the promise of God that He will deliver us through His Son Jesus Christ.
 
I am going to quote a verse but there will be temptation to think of the faith healer that has the gift of the effecting of miracles in the name and power of Jesus Christ. Some are sincere and some are charlatans. "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19. If a demon or demons are attacking us all we have to do is cast them out in the name of Jesus Christ. They have to come up to get us unless we gave them enough that they have spiritual legal ground against our lives. Then we need to cry out to God for deliverance in the power of Jesus Christ. We have authority in the Son of God when we got saved through Him. 
 
Everything I just wrote about in this article only applies if we are faithful to Jesus Christ in obedience to Him. To be delivered by God is one thing but to be an overcomer in Jesus Christ is an elevated step in our growth and journey through our life. I don't want to settle for deliverance because I desire to be victorious in my Savior and Lord through my testimony for Him. I like when the martyrs in the book of Revelation stood strong in their faith for Jesus Christ." And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Revelation 12:11. They were delivered by Jesus Christ and were victorious in Him because of their faithfulness and obedience to the Lamb of God.
 
When the Apostle John poured his heart out to fellow believers in Christ to try the spirits whether they are of God he finally says, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world."1 John 4:4. 
 
Dear unbeliever in Jesus Christ would you like to have the Son of the living God living inside you who is much stronger than the devil? The Bible says ... "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." Wherever you are today/tonight accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your very own Savior and Lord by repenting of all your sins based on what He did for you on the cross. 
 
If you just made that decision you have been delivered from your sins and can be victorious in Him because He rose from the dead on the third day. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory." 1 Corinthians 15:55.  
Love
Bob D.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

SUNDAY iNSPRITATION

Sunday’s Inspiration
God's Greatness
God is beauty and splendour,
Awesome and magnificent
He's full of awesome wonder
And is wholly omnipotent
But despite God's greatness,
He always has time for us,
Nothing is too great or small
That He won't want to touch
So praise Him for His greatness
And everything He is,
But also for the little things
That we so often miss.
© By M.S.Lowndes
Colossians 1:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
2 Corinthians 4:15 King James Version (KJV)
15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
Isaiah 41:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
1 Chronicles 29:11 King James Version (KJV)
11 Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

Wednesday, November 09, 2016

HOW TO WAIT ON GOD

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

LOVE


God not only loved us beyond comprehension by sending His Son to die for
 our sins but He loves us at present and will continue to love us for all eternity.
 
We could never go up to anyone else and say," On a scale of one to ten
God loves me a nine." The other person could never respond back to us 
and say, "Well in my case God loves me an eight.
 
There are different mercy levels God has for us depending on how
 bad we are hurting mentally, emotionally or physically as opposed 
to another person that is just coasting through life without any problems 
but the level of love God has for us can never be measured.
 
This love is not limited to His children but also to unbelievers. 
This is not even including love He has for all of His created beings.
 
I hear this every once in a while but some people believe God does not 
love a reprobate sinner that goes straight to hell for all eternity.
 
This is not true. Nothing can change the fact that God will always love 
even the very worst sinner that is eternally separated from Him.
 
On the one hand His children will be learning about the love of God 
for all eternity but on the other hand God will never stop loving even 
the worst sinner in the other place. Their punishment will be measured
 exactly but sad to say he or she will not be learning about the love of 
God. Only hatred and fear will be present in this horrible place.
 
People have a choice. They will either accept the love of God through
 His Son Jesus Christ or reject it but this theology that God will force 
certain people to love Him is false.
 
We have a will and God will honor that because this is the best way to 
make a connection with God. The Bible says, "Let him who does not
 love God be anathema." 1st Corinthians 16:22. This is why our focus 
in our relationship with Jesus Christ should be love.
 
Most people are infants in regards to what true love for God and people 
are but this is part of our learning process on earth." And now abideth 
faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity." 
1st Corinthians 13:13.
 
One person once suggested that one of the reasons for this is because 
in heaven we won't need faith and hope but love will still be active
 everywhere we go in one form or another.
 
There is a warmth about love that stands out so different in life that other
 people can not help but notice because it is so rare in this world.
 
Our society has defined political correctness as love but that falls so
 short that it turns into fear which is just the opposite of love. We need
 to let God define love as opposed to the world because they always 
have a hidden agenda that is selfish.
 
We need to start with the origin of love to understand and practice this
 powerful emotion in expression back to Jesus Christ and other people.
 
"(10) Herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us, and sent 
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (11) Beloved, if God so loved us, 


we ought also to love one another. (12) No man hath seen God at any time.
 If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us
." 1 John 4:10-12. The number one act of love God did for us was to send 
His Son to die for our sins.
 
The Lord showed me something regarding love. As we look at the cross 
we see the vertical going up and we see the horizontal going across.
 The vertical represents our love for God and the horizontal represents 
our love for people.
 
There has to be a balance or there is not a cross in our life when it come
to proper love. One without the other is not well rounded but together they 
sing a beautiful song to God and people.
 
Is it any mystery that verse 11 says, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought
lso to love one another" ? There is incentive to love one another in a
 Godly way because that is proof that God dwells in us and then His love
 will be perfected in us.
 
Let me ask the internet viewers one question, "How imperfect are we?"
 In and of myself I am never satisfied but with the love of God perfected 
in me I am always full of warm closure in Jesus Christ.
 
There are so many times that Jesus instructs us to obey Him but it is 
always connected with His love." He that hath my commandments,
 and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me 
shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest 
myself to him." John 14:21.
 
If we want to experience the love of God in our lives the number one
 thing we can do is obey God. Jesus Christ will never fail us in life.
 He will show us His love by experience as we walk through our 
journey of problems, trials and hardships.
 
God is very to the point when it comes to the subject of love because 
Jesus Christ is love. The triune Godhead is the very embodiment of
 love." (7) Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God: and 
every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God, (8) He that 
loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."1 John 4:7- 8.
 
This world and society have so many renditions of what love is and 
as a result people are walking around confused in life. Love is a
decision that we are going to put God first and people before our
selfish needs.
 
We will get our needs and desires met but that is a whole other article.
 Waiting on God the biblical way is the path to go into but we need to
 train ourselves that the timing of Jesus Christ is perfect.
 
Putting God and others first takes courage because we say, 
"What about me?" God knows and He will never forget us. 
The result of us getting our needs and desires met can be
 manifested in numerous ways but we need to give God more
 credit than we do because this takes faith in Jesus Christ.
 
In John 15:14 Jesus explains, "Ye are my friends, if ye do 
whatsoever I command you." Once again the obedience comes
 first then the friendship. Obedience is not always easy because
 it requires faith in Jesus Christ. Then in verse 17 Jesus gets really
 specific by saying, "These things I command you, that ye love one
 another." John 15:17.
 
When John the writer of many books in the New Testament was old
 two Christians came up to him and asked who was right on a 
theological issue and John responded, "Little children please love one
 another." Did you ever notice that in the jumble of all the issues love
 seems to get stuffed somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
 
I don't know if many of the people on internet land understand
this but we are actually told to dwell in love because our Creator
 is love and as Christians we are supposed to mirror Jesus Christ 
in everything we do in this life. "And we have known and believed
 the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in 
love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16.
 
If we love God we are going to love our brothers and sisters but it 
does not hurt to pray specifically to God about this issue because 
we could forget especially in the hassle of life. "And this commandment
 have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.
1 John 4:21.
 
Once again notice the order. First we are to love God then we can
 love other people in the way that mirrors the Person of Jesus Christ.
 
We are to specifically love Jesus Christ because the Bible says,
 "For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, 
and have believed that I come out from God." John 16:27. This 
whole idea that we can love God apart from Jesus Christ is not 
in the Bible.
 
Our Lord Jesus Christ even refers to loving one another as a
 new commandment. This is a different way to phrase a truth
 but Jesus is driving home a point that He never wants us to 
forget because it is pivotal for the world to come to Him through 
this principle in the Bible.
 
"(34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;
 as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall 
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
" John 13:34-35. Jesus says three times in two verses to love one 
another. Do you think our Lord is trying to make a point?
 
If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your heart as your Savior
 and Lord then I want you to think about how unsure this world really 
is and then I want you to read these verses."(38) For I am persuaded,
 that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
 nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth,
 nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
 God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39.
 
The world can not promise you anything in life. In fact you are not
 even guaranteed tomorrow. God through His Son Jesus Christ can
 give you eternal life so consider coming to Him today/tonight and 
invite Him into your heart. God loves you and is waiting for you to 
come to His Son Jesus Christ. There may not be much time left in
 this world or your life so consider the open arms God has for you
 to come to Him.
 

Tuesday Inspiration

Beneath The Shadow Of Thy Wings
15 hrs
Tuesday’s Inspiration
What Is It We're Looking For
So often we try to fill the void
With what the world provides,
In hope that we will find contentment
For our dreary, empty lives
But listen my friend it's only temporary
And is like chasing the wind,
The things of the world simply won't fulfil
The unhappiness we have within
We mustn't look for our fulfilment
In pleasures that won't satisfy,
For we can never fulfil what's lacking
Unless Christ comes inside
For God has created us to need Him
And fills us with His love,
So we won't need more worldly things,
Nor crave for ungodly stuff
We need to stop and ask ourselves,
What is it we're looking for?
And can we truly be fulfilled
If we don't allow the Lord
To come inside and bring the change
That's needed in our lives?
So we will find that true happiness
Is only found in Christ.
© By M.S.Lowndes
Philippians 4:11King James Version (KJV)
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Proverbs 19:23King James Version (KJV)
23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
Psalm 90:14King James Version (KJV)
14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Hebrews 13:5King James Version (KJV)
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Have a Blessed week. May you walk in the Grace and Peace of God

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

HOW TO ABIDE IN CHRIST

How to Abide in Christ

How to abide in Jesus Christ


How do we know if we are abiding in Jesus Christ? In John 15 the whole chapter is devoted to this subject. As Christians we want to make sure we are abiding in Jesus Christ because our relationship with Him determines if we are walking with our Lord the right way.
John 15:1 says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” Here we see that Jesus represents the vine. A vine that is on a tree is big and strong. The branches that grow out of the vine are not strong. We are the branches and Jesus is the vine. We need to embrace Jesus Christ because He is strong and we are not.
John 15:2 says “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring more fruit.” Every Christian who is not bearing fruit for Jesus just gets pushed aside and thrown out because it has no eternal value. When we bear fruit for Jesus our Lord purgeth it so we can bring forth more fruit.
Bearing fruit for God is doing something of worth for the kingdom of God with the right motive. If we do what we are doing for the right reasons we will be glorifying and serving Jesus Christ to minister to other people in one capacity or another. We serve a God of abundance. He wants us to bring forth much fruit so He may be glorified as He observes us living in obedience to Him.
When we are bearing fruit God will add so much more (multiply) so it will be well pleasing to Him.
John 15:4 says “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.” Jesus is telling us that if you are not in Him (Vine) you can not produce fruit because you are not connected to Him in fellowship. The Apostle Pauls' favorite term was, "In Christ." We need to stay close to Jesus because we are just branches and they are weak. When you go outside how many branches do you see on the ground?
Verses 5 and 6 in John chapter 15 say if we are not abiding in Jesus Christ we can do nothing for God. Everybody does something but it won't be for the kingdom of God if we have no fellowship with Jesus Christ which includes loving people.
Christians can not do anything on their own and expect to be blessed because apart from Jesus Christ it is just a matter of good works on our own. This is not acceptable to our Lord and just like verse 2 says the branch will be taken away. I often think of Jesus Christ as my God who measures perfect. Everything we do is seen for what it is and it is either thrown out or purged which can be painful but we don't grow without hurt in our lives.
John chapter 15 verses 7 and 8 talk about the words of Jesus Christ abiding in us. If we are walking with the Son of God we can petition the Lord our needs. If it is in His will Jesus grants this for us and the Father will be glorified. God does hear the requests of His children and He answers but in His timing.
John 15:9-10, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love: if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
At this point in the chapter Jesus is getting into the meat of His word. He gives us the commandments of love. First to love God with all our heart and the second is to love our neighbor. Look at the order. We can not love our neighbor unless we love God.
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1st John 4:8.
In verse 10 of John chapter 15 obeying God is connected to abiding in the love of Jesus Christ. Our Lord then explains that this is the relationship He has with His Father and as a result Jesus is abiding in the love of Him. Not to repeat myself but this is what we are to be doing with Jesus Christ. 
When we continue in the love of God we can expect, “And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7.
In John chapter 15:11-14 these verses are saying if we keep the commandments of God our joy will be full and reminds us that He was going to die for our sins. This is the ultimate sacrifice especially in the way Jesus died for us (crucifixion).
Jesus explains even deeper that no man has greater love than this so remember my sacrifice as you obey me. Jesus calls us friends if ye do whatsoever I command you. Once again the issue of obedience is raised so Jesus is repeating Himself with multiple purposes in mind. We serve a great God and is full of love. He wants to impart this to us but it is through our obedience to Him. This is where the connection is made with God. 
In John chapter 15:16 the Bible says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it to you.”
God in His foreknowledge knew who would come to Him because He is God and knows everything. We have a saying in our house, "There is not one thing that God does not know."
The Holy Spirit mentions both predestination and free will in the Bible and I teach both but just because I can not reconcile the two together as one does not mean that I am not called to believe the Bible. God gives us the choice in our will to choose because He will never force anybody to come to Him. I am called to believe these two subjects on earth that on the surface seem to be a paradox (A seeming contradiction) but the reconciliation comes in heaven. Contrary to popular belief we were never told to understand these two opposing subjects as one as we walk through life. 
God desires our fruits to remain because we can drift away and lose our reward. When we have needs or desires we can go to the Father and ask Him. If it is in the will of God He will give it to us by praying the request in Jesus name.
In John chapter 15:17-19 these verses give us the great command that we love one another. He tells us that we are not of the world because He has chosen us out of this world; therefore, some people may hate you because you are not one of their own or recognizable in the kingdom of darkness. Jesus Christ was hated by the world and makes it clear that we may also get the same treatment.
In John chapter 15:20-22 Jesus tells us that because they have persecuted Him we also will be persecuted and go through many trials. Notice Jesus says these things after a long lengthy discourse on obedience to Him.
The world system hates Jesus Christ and is doing everything they can to destroy Christianity. True believers in Jesus Christ
are being slaughtered by the thousands all over world. We need to pray for these people.
In John chapter 15:23-25 these verses in the most basic sense say if a person hates Jesus then he or she hates the Father. Many people believe in the Father but deny the deity of Jesus Christ. The Bible does not teach this because it is taught in many verses but John 14:6 is one of the most popular. I am sorry I can not quote many of these verses but due to space I am limited. I need to go over this whole subject and Jesus has much to say in John chapter 15.
If we are abiding in Jesus Christ we will love one another and it is inevitable that we will have a devotion to God with all our heart. Jesus Christ is love.
This is what He expects because He died on the Cross for us and paid the ultimate price for our sins. He did not have to do this but He loved us so much that He made the supreme sacrifice so we can abide in Him. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord come to Him today because this is how much God loves you through His Son Jesus Christ.
Why not follow Jesus Christ and abide in Him? It is sometimes hard to love the Son of God especially in a world like this but we do this in obedience to Him. God loves you and has plans for your life and eternity through His Son Jesus Christ.
We should strive to be holy. “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1. God does not make it difficult for us to abide in Jesus Christ. The main theme in the whole chapter is love through our obedience in Jesus Christ.
The more time we spend with our Savior and Lord to have a relationship with Him the more Jesus Christ Himself will draw close to us
and our love for brothers and sisters in Christ will grow. Jesus is waiting but the real question is are we willing to abide in Him?
 God Bless,
 Bob D.

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