Bible League: Living His Word If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.At first glance, Jesus seems to be offering His disciples in our verses for today a blank check to use for whatever they want. Think of the possibilities: no more sickness and disease, no more poverty and lack, no more hardships and persecutions, and no more waiting for anything anytime. When one puts it in such stark terms, however, the realization sets in that this interpretation must be wrong in some way. It seems to turn Jesus into nothing more than a genie obligated to grant our every wish. The key to resolving the issue lies in the condition that qualifies the promise: we will receive what we desire if we abide in Jesus and His words abide in us. First of all, then, we must abide in Jesus. Just as a branch must abide in a vine in order to bear fruit, so we must abide in Jesus in order to act like Christians (John 15:1-8). The whole point of being a Christian is not to get whatever we want, but to reflect Jesus in whatever we do. This includes what we ask in prayer. We must ask ourselves: would Jesus ask what we are asking? Secondly, the words of Jesus must abide in us. We may not ask for anything that contradicts the words of Jesus and, ultimately, the words of God. I John 5:14 tells us that our asking must be in accordance with God's will and James 4:3 tells us we will not receive anything if it is just for our own pleasures. True prayer reflects a unity of will and purpose with Jesus and our Father in heaven. None of this, however, should be taken as negating the power of prayer. After all, the point of our verses for today is to help us glorify God, bear much fruit, and be disciples of Jesus---and our asking is said to help us accomplish these things. Prayer can indeed remove mountains (Mark 11:23-24), but they must be mountains God wants to be removed. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJoshua 11, 12, 13 Joshua 11 -- Northern Palestine Defeated NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Joshua 12 -- List of Defeated Kings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Joshua 13 -- Canaan Divided among the Tribes NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 4:1-32 Luke 4 -- Jesus' Temptation; Rejection at Nazareth; Public Ministry; Healings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Give discernment to me, your servant;then I will understand your laws. Insight The psalmist asked God for discernment. Faith comes alive when we apply Scripture to our daily tasks and concerns. We need discernment so we can understand, and we need the desire to apply Scripture where we need help. The Bible is like medicine—it goes to work only when we apply it to the affected areas. Challenge As you read the Bible, be alert for lessons, commands, or examples that you can put into practice. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Hebrews 5:7 He was heard in that he feared.Did this fear arise from the infernal suggestion that he was utterly forsaken. There may be sterner trials than this, but surely it is one of the worst to be utterly forsaken? "See," said Satan, "thou hast a friend nowhere! Thy Father hath shut up the bowels of his compassion against thee. Not an angel in his courts will stretch out his hand to help thee. All heaven is alienated from thee; thou art left alone. See the companions with whom thou hast taken sweet counsel, what are they worth? Son of Mary, see there thy brother James, see there thy loved disciple John, and thy bold apostle Peter, how the cowards sleep when thou art in thy sufferings! Lo! Thou hast no friend left in heaven or earth. All hell is against thee. I have stirred up mine infernal den. I have sent my missives throughout all regions summoning every prince of darkness to set upon thee this night, and we will spare no arrows, we will use all our infernal might to overwhelm thee: and what wilt thou do, thou solitary one?" It may be, this was the temptation; we think it was, because the appearance of an angel unto him strengthening him removed that fear. He was heard in that he feared; he was no more alone, but heaven was with him. It may be that this is the reason of his coming three times to his disciples--as Hart puts it-- "Backwards and forwards thrice he ran, As if he sought some help from man." He would see for himself whether it were really true that all men had forsaken him; he found them all asleep; but perhaps he gained some faint comfort from the thought that they were sleeping, not from treachery, but from sorrow, the spirit indeed was willing, but the flesh was weak. At any rate, he was heard in that he feared. Jesus was heard in his deepest woe; my soul, thou shalt be heard also. Daily Light on the Daily Path Genesis 15:6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.Romans 4:20-24 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, • and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. • Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. • Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, • but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; Psalm 115:3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. Luke 1:37,45 "For nothing will be impossible with God." • "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord." New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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