Daily Reader's Bible - Flipbook - Page 38
Jesus replied, “All who
love me will do what I say. My
Father will love them, and we
will come and make our home
with each of them. Anyone
who doesn’t love me will not
obey me. And remember, my
words are not my own. What I
am telling you is from the Father
who sent me. I am telling you
these things now while I am
still with you. But when the
Father sends the Advocate as
my representative—that is, the
Holy Spirit—he will teach you
everything and will remind you
of everything I have told you.
“I am leaving you with a
gift—peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the
world cannot give. So don’t be
troubled or afraid. Remember
what I told you: I am going away,
but I will come back to you again.
If you really loved me, you would
be happy that I am going to the
Father, who is greater than I
am. I have told you these things
before they happen so that when
they do happen, you will believe.
“I don’t have much more
time to talk to you, because the
ruler of this world approaches.
He has no power over me, but
I will do what the Father
requires of me, so that the
world will know that I love the
Father. Come, let’s be going.
“I am the true grapevine, and
my Father is the gardener. He
cuts off every branch of mine
that doesn’t produce fruit, and
he prunes the branches that do
bear fruit so they will produce
even more. You have already
been pruned and purified by the
message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain
in you. For a branch cannot
produce fruit if it is severed from
the vine, and you cannot be
fruitful unless you remain in me.
“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. Anyone who
does not remain in me is thrown
away like a useless branch
and withers. Such branches
are gathered into a pile to be
burned. But if you remain in me
and my words remain in you, you
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may ask for anything you want,
and it will be granted! When
you produce much fruit, you are
my true disciples. This brings
great glory to my Father.
“I have loved you even as the
Father has loved me. Remain
in my love. When you obey my
commandments, you remain
in my love, just as I obey my
Father’s commandments and
remain in his love. I have told
you these things so that you
will be filled with my joy. Yes,
your joy will overflow! This is my
commandment: Love each other
in the same way I have loved
you. There is no greater love
than to lay down one’s life for
one’s friends. You are my friends
if you do what I command. I no
longer call you slaves, because
a master doesn’t confide in his
slaves. Now you are my friends,
since I have told you everything
the Father told me. You didn’t
choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce
lasting fruit, so that the Father
will give you whatever you ask
for, using my name. This is my
command: Love each other.
CALLED OUT OF THE DARKNESS INTO HIS WONDERFUL LIGHT
You are coming to Christ, who is the living
cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected
by people, but he was chosen by God for great
honor.
And you are living stones that God is
building into his spiritual temple. What’s
more, you are his holy priests. Through the
mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual
sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures
say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”
Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor
God has given him. But for those who reject
him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”
[1 PETER 2:4-25]
And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they do not obey God’s
word, and so they meet the fate that was
planned for them.
But you are not like that, for you are a
chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy
nation, God’s very own possession. As a result,
you can show others the goodness of God, for
he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
“Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”
Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary
residents and foreigners” to keep away from
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