Devotional Notes Psalm 127+John 15

Blogging will be rather sporadic as we are selling the house and moving.

MORNING

Psalm 127

B1 What does this mean?

C1 God builds His own house and His own kingdom. One principle that is needed to build is found in Proverbs 24:3 NKJV Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established. All of God’s doings are in wisdom, knowledge, love, and holiness.

C2 Our effort is needed, but with God’s blessing there is success.

C3 Bread of sorrows: Whedon writes: Bread of sorrows—Bread procured by bitter labours and cares. The allusion is to Genesis 3:17 : “In sorrow shalt thou eat. ” Excess of care should be rolled upon God: forethought and diligence belong to us, in reliance upon his guidance. 1 Peter 5:7.

C4 God loves children. The sorrows children face and have faced is usually due to the bad choices of the parents. Think about the children that died in Noah’s flood. The parent’s decision kept the youngsters out of the Ark. God help us all to make godly decisions.

C5 There is something wonderful about family. There is no greater family than the family of God, our brothers and sisters everywhere in the world.

B2 How do I apply this to my life? Rely on God’s help. He wants to help and will help us. That doesn’t mean God will make everyone rich financially but will be rich spiritually.

EVENING

John 15

B1 What does this mean?

C1 Jesus Is the Vine

D1 Fruit. All people have fruit in and from their lives. It may be bad fruit or good fruit.

E1 Matthew 7:15-20 NRSV Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.

E2 Bad fruit. See Galatians 5:19-21.

E3 Good fruit. See Galatians 5:22-24.

D2 Remain attached refers to our need of God’s help, strength, and wisdom to live the life that the Lord Jesus wants us to live.

D3 Verse 5 ...for without me you can do nothing. This refers to that fact that we need God’s help.

D4 Verse 7 and asking refers to one who desires and does God’s will. An example of answered prayer will be: James 1:5-6 NRSV If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6 But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind;

D5 Verse 10 shows the conditions. If we obey, we are blessed. If we do not obey, we will be chastened. This happened to the nation of Israel many, many times.

D6 Verse 11, God wants us to be filled with joy. Only God can give joy when life is troubled and miserable.

D7 Verse 16 is specific for the Apostles but much can be applied to every believing sister and brother.

C2 People Hate Disciples Because They Hate Jesus

D1 The righteous are hated for no reason other than believing in Jesus. Compare:

E1 Psalms 34:21 GNB Evil will kill the wicked; those who hate the righteous will be punished.

E2 Psalms 35:19 GNB Don't let my enemies, those liars, gloat over my defeat. Don't let those who hate me for no reason smirk with delight over my sorrow.

E3 God has been hated for a long time: Numbers 10:35 NKJV So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: "Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.

D2 Jesus’s message and life has been a perfect witness. There are no excuses.

C3 The Work of the Holy Spirit

D1 There are two witnesses today—the Holy Spirit, who opens the hearts and minds of all people for the Gospel, and the believers, who speak and live God’s way (His lifestyle, His worldview, and His desires).

D2 The People’s New Testament gives this comment on verse 27: Ye also shall bear witness. The apostles had been "with him from the beginning," and knew all the facts. If he was true, they knew it; if he stilled the waves and raised the dead, they knew it; if he rose from the tomb, they knew it. They bore witness to him by word and left their words to us. They bore witness by life, gave up all for him and died for their testimony. Such testimony is the strongest human testimony ever offered to any fact.

B2 How do I apply this to my life? Are we living the Christian life and His rules? Are we relying on God’s help to live it? Are we witnessing about Jesus?

I hope to have a devotional every day on John’s Gospel starting with the last chapter of Luke’s Gospel. This is the way I do my devotions. You may notice grammatical and spelling errors. It is my hope you will also start or continue in your daily reading and thinking about the Scriptures. I do this Monday through Friday. It is a 3 year plan of reading and thinking on 1 chapter in the Old Testament, which takes 3 years, and reading and thinking on 1 chapter in the New Testament once a year for a total of 3 times. So, I read through the Old Testament 1 time and the New Testament 3 times over a period of 3 years. I do this Monday through Friday and use Saturday and Sunday for other devotions.