"Keep My Commandments"

Each Wednesday, I am posting another verse of John 15 (Vine and Branches). I will "recite" what we have learned so far. If you wish to join me in this challenge of learning this chapter verse by verse, you can either email your "recitation" or post it as a comment. (Let me know if you see any mistakes that I miss.)


(without looking at my Bible)

John 15:1-9

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

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

3. Now, ye are clean through the Word, which I have spoken unto.

4. 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.

5. I am the vine and 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.

6. 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.

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

8. Herein is my Father glorified that ye bring forth much fruit; continue ye in my love.

9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; so shall men know that ye are my disciples.

CORRECTIONS: got "stuck" twice (had to look) vs.3 "you", vs.8 "bear"



~ NEW VERSE ~

John 15:10
"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."

After nine verses of warnings and promises, the Lord tells us what we need to do to abide in Him. We should be really listening by now with anticipation.

How do we abide?

What do we have to do?

"Keep my Commandments"

From the beginning of the Bible, we see that when God's people obey Him, He is pleased and blesses them. Abel chose to obey; Cain didn't.He wanted to do things his own way, not God's way. But the Bible is full of people who obeyed God even when they didn't understand. Look at Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel...the list goes on and on.

Look at Job. Even when everything in his life had turned upside down, he did not deny God. He knew that God was infinitely wiser than himself, and that He must have some reason for things.

When we love someone, we want to fulfill their every wish. When a pregnant woman craves watermelon in the middle of the winter, her husband will search until he finds it because he loves her.

If we love the Lord, we won't want to disobey His commandments. It doesn't mean just the 10 commandments, although a good place to begin; but many, many other commandments throughout the Bible. Each time we find a new one, we should feel pricked that we hadn't obeyed our God. We shouldn't justify it with our "common sense". Who are we to disagree with God?

Also, there are areas in our life that aren't mentioned in the Bible, things pertaining to our culture; TV, clothing, music, etc. When we are seeking God, we will begin to know Him and His ways. When you were a child, you often knew what your parents would say before you asked them permission to go somewhere. Why? --because you knew them.

The biggest reason to obey the Lord is because He gave us the example of obeying His Heavenly Father. Jesus gave up His glory, to come to earth to redeem us. He obeyed God, so should we.

Dear Lord, help us to have tender hearts, listening to Your voice. Help us to obey You, without question, without delay. Teach us more and more about You, until we know You and how You would want us to live. In Jesus' Name, Amen