As I was reflecting on this passage that I’ve read a thousand times, I asked God for a fresh understanding of what it meant to abide. I spend so much of my life working and worrying, striving and stressing, and very little time being still and listening. So as I attempted to practice this somewhat elusive abiding that scripture speaks of, I let these words seep deep into my restless soul. “I am the vine and you are the branches,” Jesus spoke (and John writes). “Whoever abides in ...
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John 15: Learning to be a branch
We are not orphans
As I opened up my bible today, the first verse I read was John 14:18: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Immediately, my soul was filled with comfort.
And I can’t begin to imagine how comforting these words were for their initial hearers. These disciples had left everything behind to follow, and now Jesus has just told them He is leaving? They must have thought, “Yes, we know that You are going to prepare a place for us and that You yourself are the way, the ...
Jesus the Servant King
As I was reading John 13 this morning, I prayed for fresh eyes, that God would help me not read it as someone who already knows the ending. Jesus was having dinner with his friends, he as their fearless leader; then, next thing you know, he begins to take off his outer garment, a move no self-respected religious leader would probably do in front of their disciples. He then wraps a towel around his waist, kneeling before the disciples’ feet, almost resembling… a servant?
This must have...