John 15:1-8 New American Standard Bible
Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He [a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already [b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, [c]and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit [d]of itself [e]but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him [f]bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so [g]prove to be My disciples.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
https://hymnary.org/text/nearer_my_god_to_thee_nearer_to_thee_een
The Christian life is meant to be marked by union with God. By the powerful sacrifice of Jesus, from heaven to earth, to show the Way, the Truth, the Life and back to Heaven again – leaving an indelible physical presence with us all.
Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. The Holy Spirit now dwells within us—longing to make his nearness known. He longs for his perfect love, peace and wisdom to be the foundation of everything we do, think, we feel.
Brother Lawrence wrote about a life lived in continual communion with God in the book, The Practice of the Presence of God.
He said
“I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of GOD. For my part I keep myself retired with Him in the depth of the centre of my soul as much as I can; and while I am so with Him I fear nothing; but the least turning from Him is insupportable.” The more we grow in our knowledge of the profound union that exists between our spirit and the Holy Spirit, the more we will discover our great need of his tangible, constant presence.
Maybe, individually, we are at a place where we don’t feel like we really know God. Maybe we believe we know of Him, know some small things about him, but don’t know him like a friend. Perhaps our churches are in that mindset?
In describing the process of coming to know God, Brother Lawrence wrote,
“In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our hearts will be with our treasure.”
Ponder the imponderable! An amazing transformation takes place in our hearts as our long sleeping souls awake to our union with God. The truly immeasurable depths of His love, of His ultimate sacrifice in the face of his enemies, has that power to ignite us toward a lifestyle of seeking a greater communion with him.
In so many ways our God is infinitely more knowable than any other person.
Because God is spirit and now dwells within the hearts of believers, He is now perfectly able to reveal himself in deeper, more intimate more knowable ways than we can possibly have that measure of complete access to with anyone else.
He has the ability to reveal his thoughts, feelings, power, love, and will moment by moment and in ways that far surpass the miscommunication that language often brings. He speaks straight from his Spirit to ours that we may truly know him to greater depths than anyone else. The question is not can we know God, but are we willing to center our hearts and lives around the knowledge of him.
Pondering the imponderable! Take time in guided prayer to experience union with God. Ask Him to test your thoughts, reveal his nearness that you might know him in deeper, more tangible ways. May our moments be marked by God’s presence and love moment by moment as we seek to walk with Him in all we do.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on Scripture about God’s nearness.
Allow the word of God to build up your faith to meet with God.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139:7-10
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
2. Do you, will you, live in moment by moment union with God?
Is your whole life marked by his nearness? Know that God has the fullness of grace and mercy for you no matter what your relationship with him looks like.
Tell God to investigate your life, to rigorously test you and know your thoughts, reveal to you if there is any wickedness that desperately needs to be removed.
Offer that ultimate sacrifice of yourself, greater and greater still the greatest depths of your selfishness to desires that you’ll know his love to greater depths.
3. Ask God to reveal his nearness to you.
Take time to simply seek a greater knowledge of him. By straining the eyes of your heart and your soul, ceaselessly, relentlessly seeking only his face you will open your heart to experience that everything that comes from union with him.
Psalm 27:7-9 New American Standard Bible
7 Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
God of my salvation!
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:12-14
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Your God is both patient and kind. He longs to be with you so you might know his peace. Jesus is ALIVE! He longs for the foundation of your life to be his love.
Seek his face throughout your day today that your life may be marked by his nearness.
Don’t settle for an ordinary day, strive for the fullness of life God has for you.
May your life begin His Way, His Truth, His Life; to be marked by a moment to moment knowledge of God’s most intimate measures of His nearness and love.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 27 New American Standard Bible
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the [a]defense of my life;
Whom should I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 If an army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord
And to [c]meditate in His temple.
5 For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His [d]tabernacle;
He will hide me in the secret place of His tent;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer sacrifices in His tent [e]with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
God of my salvation!
10 [f]For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me Your way, Lord,
And lead me on a level path
Because of my enemies.
12 Do not turn me over to the [g]desire of my enemies,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent witness.
13 I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 