John 15:1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and 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 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
We must start and end with Jesus. Every day. Apart from him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We can bear no good fruit.
We were created for a relationship with our Heavenly Father. From this relationship, we will be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Bearing fruit is both a natural outcome of any relationship and a direct command from God Himself, given from the very beginning. Being fruitful applies both to productive labor and to producing godly offspring (Malachi 2:15). The greatest command is for us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). The second is like it: to love our neighbor as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). But how can we possibly do these things?
It’s easy when the day is going well, the bills are paid, and our health is good. It’s easy when the family is getting along, parenting is smooth, and our marriages are strong. Work is going well, and life is good!
But that’s not the reality we live in on a daily basis. We live in a broken world. And Jesus tells us, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). So the only way for us to be fruitful is to abide in Jesus.
Welcome to Day 1 of “Walk as Jesus Did”! The focus of this entire series will be Jesus. It seems obvious that, as Christians, He should be our focus. However, with all the distractions of today, it's probably more tempting to be distracted than ever. We can all easily become the third type of soil Jesus speaks of as he sat on the boat on the lake:
Mathew 13:22
22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
It’s very possible for us to lose our focus on Jesus in the church and focus instead on other things. We can lose sight of the head—Christ—and concentrate on worldly issues, or conversely, avoid addressing the issues in the world that are causing distress to the congregation, failing to help members navigate what’s happening from a biblical perspective. We might even prioritize the congregation or its leaders (1 Corinthians 3:1–9) instead of staying connected to the head, who is Christ (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23). This was a challenge even in the first-century church (see Revelation 1-3). My aim with this series is to refocus on Jesus! He is our loving and almighty Savior, and we want to ensure we keep our love for Him fervent or restore that first love if we've lost it.
The solution to today’s problems and restoring your passion for Jesus is very simple (not 'easy'): look to Jesus.
What does this mean practically? Specifically, read, meditate on, pray through, and live the Gospels. In this series, you’ll likely read more of the Gospels in a short period of time than you ever have before. The aim is for His word to abide in you. I want you to be constantly thinking about Jesus’ way of life and modeling it—from the dining room table with your family, to your time in the office during your workday, to how you process the troubles in this world that weigh on your mind as you drift off to sleep.
When we do this, we will be increasingly transformed into His likeness. We will return to our first love and start doing those things we did at first, as the prophet Jeremiah says:
Jeremiah 2:2
2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
“This is what the Lord says:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.This transformation of heart will naturally lead to a transformation of the fruit we and others see in our lives (Matthew 5:16; 1 Timothy 4:15)—bringing glory to our Father in heaven. Although there is an accountability aspect to this series (if you are participating in the coaching program— not just the standalone series content), the main focus is on transforming your heart by helping you abide in Him. Jesus tells us that if you clean the inside of the cup and dish, the outside will be clean as well. He also says that the seed sown in our heart will determine what we produce, both in quantity (John 15:8) and quality (Matthew 13:1–23). We will be continually scattering the seed of His word in our hearts.
As we embark on this 12-week journey, our focus will be as follows: to read through all four of the Gospels (numerous times) in this order:
- 1John: Know Jesus
- 2Luke: Know Repentance
- 3Mark: Know Action
- 4Matthew: Know the Father
Included in the training lessons will be ideas, tips, and guidance on how to get the most out of the readings. These resources will help build (or rebuild) your faith in Jesus (Matthew 8:10), deepen your understanding of His word, and encourage the daily practical application of it (Ephesians 6:17).
Action Items:
- 1Acquire and Use a Print Bible: All reading, as much as possible, should be from this Bible. In addition to using the links to the passages provided in these lessons, make it a habit to use your physical Bible as much as possible.
- 2Physically Engage with the Reading: Use whatever methods help you to truly engage with the Word—whether it’s circling, highlighting, or writing notes in the margins. I encourage all of these.
- 3Set a Daily Reading Schedule: Dedicate a specific time each day to reading the Gospels. I recommend spending at least 30 minutes per day on this focused reading. The goal is for you to read through each of the Gospels without frequent pauses during your reading sessions, allowing you to grasp the bigger picture and context of Jesus’s teachings and life. This is what we are after!
- 4Set a goal to complete each of the Gospels. Be ambitious, but realistic. Break down the reading based on your available time, counting the pages and estimating how long each Gospel will take. For example, while on vacation, I spent 2-3 hours each morning reading through one Gospel per day, finishing all four in under a week. Find the time that works for you and set an ambitious yet achievable goal to complete each book.
Now that we have laid the foundation for this 12-week journey, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer, asking God to reveal Himself to you in ways you’ve never experienced before, as the loving Father He is (1 John 4:16). Pray that He would prepare your heart to be taught directly by the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) as you read His Word and seek Him in prayer, and that you would bear much fruit!
Grace and peace to you.
See you tomorrow for Day 2: Jesus | He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)