Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

John chapter 15, verse 5.

Jesus says, I am the vine.

You are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him.

He it is that bears much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing. I distinctly remember when I first

studied this passage as a teenager, and I am reading it, and I was reading somebody who had written

on it, and they specifically point out, I just, I don't

know why, I distinctly remember this, but they specifically pointed out that as a follower of Jesus,

my primary responsibility was not to bear fruit. I remember kind of being struck by that,

like, ah, I thought that's what I'm supposed to do. I want to do good things for

Jesus. I want to do this and that and have an impact for his glory. But I remember learning

this verse calls us not to bear fruit, but in this verse, Jesus calls us to do one primary thing,

to abide in him.

I'm the vine, he says, you're the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I and him, he it is that bears much fruit.

In other words, you abide in me and I will bear my fruit through you.

You don't have to worry about fruit bearing if you are abiding.

The problem is when you're not abiding, apart from me, you can do nothing.

Oh, let that soak in.

Nothing.

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