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John 15:5 - Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing.

John 15:5 - Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing.

John 15:5 (NLT) "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those 
who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart 
from me you can do nothing.  

   What Jesus calls us to do is impossible. It's not merely 
difficult. It's not simply a struggle. It's not just hard. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! 
"For apart from Me you can do nothing." Not a little. Not a few 
things. NOTHING. 
   This should come as good news.... No one can live the 
Christian life apart from Christ...  
   If you do not learn to abide in Christ, you will never have a 
marriage characterized by love, joy, and peace. You will never have the 
self-control necessary to consistently overcome temptation. And you will 
always be an emotional hostage of your circumstances. Why? Because 
apart from abiding in Christ, you can do nothing. 
   As the branch draws its life from the vine, so we draw life 
from Christ. To abide in Christ is to draw upon His life. (From The 
Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life by Charles Stanley) [Inspirational SB] 

   The Presence is everything in the Christian life. Maybe that 
seems like an overstatement. Surely obedience is important, along with 
bearing fruit, being loving and compassionate, praying, growing in 
faith, overcoming obstacles, dealing with relationship issues, and so 
much more. That's why so many books are published and so many sermons 
preached about these things. Christian living is a vast array of 
disciplines, attitudes, and activities, and we have to know how to approach 
them. Right?  
   But think about it. What happens to your attitude when you 
have a palpable sense of God's Presence around you? How fruitful does 
your prayer life become? How strong does your faith grow? What 
obstacle seems large when you're aware that God is in the room? How hard 
is it to obey when He is present to empower you? How hard do you 
have to try to bear fruit if He is spilling out from within you? What 
relationship issues remain unyielding when His power overwhelms? The truth is 
that His Presence working within us is the key to everything, and 
without Him we can do nothing.  
   That's why cultivating both an awareness and an ongoing 
experience of His Presence is vital. When God shows up, miracles happen. 
Life comes out of death, beauty comes out of ashes, dancing takes the 
place of mourning, futility gives way to fruitfulness, confusion is 
replaced by order, and obstacles bow to His will. Even the hard side of 
His Presence - the convicting and correcting truth we don't want to 
hear - eventually gives life. When God is at work in and around us, 
everything changes.  
   Zealously, relentlessly, passionately pursue God's Presence. 
Every endeavor in the Christian life is futile without that. But with 
it, everything is possible.  
   Jesus, I need You - Your Spirit, Your life - in me and around 
me. I'm not content just to know about You or to believe the right 
things. I want to experience Your Presence. I know You want that too. 
Please, Lord, let me sense You always. [The One Year Experiencing God's 
Presence Devotional by Chris Tiegreen re v. 5] 

   When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I kept seeing "dance" 
at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is 
a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels 
right.  
   The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is 
quite uncomfortable and jerky.  
   When one person realizes and lets the other lead, both bodies 
begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a 
nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. 
 
   It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance 
takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and 
gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to the word 
GUIDANCE. When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i. "God, 
"u" and "i" dance."! God, you, and I dance. This statement is what 
guidance means to me.  
   As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would 
get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God 
lead. My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be 
upon you and your family on this day and everyday. May you abide in 
Him as He abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting Him to 
lead and to guide you through each season of your life.  
I Hope You Dance !!!!!!!!!!! [unknown]

   All the kids called him "Grandpa." He was a plumber with an 
eighth-grade education. But no one was more articulate about Jesus Christ 
than Grandpa Craig. 
   Kids from all over spent a lot of time with Grandpa--eating 
popcorn in his living room, having Bible studies, praying, just 
"shooting the breeze." No matter where the conversation wandered, though, 
Grandpa would always bring it around to Jesus. 
   Whenever we were talking about school or dating or the 
future, Grandpa would say, "That reminds me of something Jesus said....." 
or, "That's just like when Jesus......" and he would reveal new 
insights to us about Jesus. 
   Grandpa's life was filled with the reality of Jesus' 
presence. On Saturday afternoons, we would sometimes take long walks with 
Grandpa. He would point to the countryside and say, "Now, that's Jesus' 
way of showing us how much he loves us. He made all these things for 
us to enjoy." 
   Grandpa saw Jesus in everything around him. "See how the sun 
goes down so faithfully every evening?" he would ask. "That shows how 
faithful Jesus is to us. Just like the sun, he never lets us down." 
   When anyone wondered how to act toward a new kid in school, 
Grandpa would ask, "How would Jesus act if he were in school?" Problems 
with parents? "What would Jesus do in your shoes?" His advice was 
always simple: "Focus on Jesus. Figure it out from there." [Youth SB re 
John 1:1-18] 

My dearest child,
It breaks my heart to see the way you struggle and struggle in 
your own strength. So often you feel depleted. You push and fret and 
end up feeling burned out and alone. There is no need for you to go 
on like this. I long to give you inner strength. Draw on my 
resources and live as you were designed to live--as a branch attached to 
the vine of my eternal love. All that you require will flow from my 
abundance to your need. And when my life has filled your emptiness to 
overflowing, it will branch out into the lives of those around you. I am the 
vine; you are the branch. Come to me and live.  
Abundantly yours,
God [Postcards from Heaven by Claire Cloninger]

The Christian life is a supernatural life, flowing from Jesus to 
us. It can be experienced only as we live in intimate fellowship 
with our LORD. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

GREAT LINK TO REVIVE - THE EXPERIENCING GOD SERIES CURRENTLY IN 
PROGRESS: 

THE FIRST OF NINE PRESENTATIONS BY NINE INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS:


http://sda.biggytv.com/watch/Revive!_-_Dwight_Nelson:_Experiencing_Gods_Grace/revive/