The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States Daily Devotional for Friday, 19 May 2017 "Keep Your Heart in Tune" Read John 15:1-17
John 15:1 “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch which is part of me but fails to bear fruit, he cuts off; and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. 3 Right now, because of the word which I have spoken to you, you are pruned. 4 Stay united with me, as I will with you — for just as the branch can’t put forth fruit by itself apart from the vine, so you can’t bear fruit apart from me.
5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.
7 “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8 This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.
9 “Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love. 11 I have said this to you so that my joy may be in you, and your joy be complete.
12 “This is my command: that you keep on loving each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask from the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This is what I command you: keep loving each other!
5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.
7 “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8 This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.
9 “Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love. 11 I have said this to you so that my joy may be in you, and your joy be complete.
12 “This is my command: that you keep on loving each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask from the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This is what I command you: keep loving each other!
-------Jesus said, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”[John 15:4 (NRSV)]I woke up one morning, singing a song that my classmates and I sang many years before at our preschool graduation ceremony. The song emphasized the importance of praying in the morning, afternoon, and evening to “keep your heart in tune.”* I wondered, What does it mean to “keep your heart in tune”? As I searched for answers, I thought about tuning in each day to the TV or radio. I have learned they work best when tuned to the right station.
As human beings created by God, we are at our best when our hearts are tuned in to Jesus Christ. In John 15:1-8, Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches to urge his disciples to stay connected to him as their source of life.
The verse quoted above reminds us that the life of the branch is guaranteed only when it is connected to the vine. Branches not only receive life from the vine, they share its identity. In the same way, believers connected to Christ, the vine, begin to mirror him as he gives them new life. Connection to Jesus enables us to be the people God intends us to be.
The Author: Maaraidzo E. Mutambara (Mutare, Zimbabwe)
Thought for the Day: I am at my best when I am connected to Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Dear God, help us to tune our hearts to Jesus Christ, the source of life. Amen.
As human beings created by God, we are at our best when our hearts are tuned in to Jesus Christ. In John 15:1-8, Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches to urge his disciples to stay connected to him as their source of life.
The verse quoted above reminds us that the life of the branch is guaranteed only when it is connected to the vine. Branches not only receive life from the vine, they share its identity. In the same way, believers connected to Christ, the vine, begin to mirror him as he gives them new life. Connection to Jesus enables us to be the people God intends us to be.
The Author: Maaraidzo E. Mutambara (Mutare, Zimbabwe)
Thought for the Day: I am at my best when I am connected to Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Dear God, help us to tune our hearts to Jesus Christ, the source of life. Amen.
* “Whisper a Prayer,” words and music anonymous.
Prayer focus: Preschool teachers
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Prayer focus: Preschool teachers
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