Parresia · Beholding Jesus in His Amazing Grace, Session 14, “Jesus, our Restful Fruitfulness”

Introduction

Welcome to session 14 of Beholding Jesus in His Amazing Grace. This session is entitled, “Jesus, Our Restful Fruitfulness.”

Hebrews 4:11, AMPC – Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves]…

As I got into this topic of effortless, restful fruitfulness through Jesus, I accumulated way too many notes, so this is going to be a Part 1.

Today I want to share with you what I am learning about abiding from John 15, and how abiding in Jesus – the True Vine – bears fruit, effortlessly.

God called Israel “a vine”

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus shared His final words with His disciples, which are recorded in John chapters 13-16 – words that continue to this day to be words for us to live by. So John 15 is part of that conversation He had with His disciples.

Before we get to John 15, let’s see how John 14 ended:

John 14:31 – [Jesus said to His disciples – ]  “Arise, let us go from here.”

This is the point, when they left the upper room where they had shared the Last Supper together, and they began a walk which eventually would lead them to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus would pray, and later on that night He would be arrested.

It is speculated that they would have walked by the temple gates which were carved with large clusters of grapes hanging from a vine. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was referred to as a “vine.”

clusters of grapes – like the ones on the temple gates or the ones from the Promised Land in Numbers 13 that were so large that it took two of the spies to carry them a pole – was a picture of the fruitfulness that God desired for His people.

God set His beloved people up with everything they needed for success.

Isaiah 5:4, NLT – [God said -] “What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?” [Other versions say “wild grapes” – the Hebrew word means “stinking or worthless things, stinkberries.”]

What more could God do? He brought them to the land, gave them the land, and established them there. 

Jeremiah 2:21, NIV – “I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?”

So like the fig tree that Jesus cursed because it produced no figs, the “vine” of Israel in-and-of herself could only produce worthless fruit. Why was that?

God loved His people, but no matter how well He set them up, they still relied on their self-effort. They still wandered. They still worshipped foreign Gods.

“Thank You for setting us up well in this Promised Land, but we’ll take it from here.” Like at the foot of Mount Sinai when the law was given they boasted:

Exodus 19:8  – “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” [We’ll keep our end of this covenant! But they failed miserably]

So there is symbolism here – the fruitless vine was a picture of self-effort just as the fruitless fig tree that we talked about last session was a picture of self-righteousness. 

Jesus is the True Vine; the Father “takes away”

So perhaps Jesus and His disciples, on that fateful night, walked past the temple gates, carved with cluster of grapes on a vine, but even if they didn’t, the well-known symbolism was evident when Jesus said this in John chapter 15, verse 1 – 

John 15:1-2, NASB – “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [Jesus is saying, “YOU are no longer the vine. That arrangement didn’t work out. God found fault with that Covenant. You can’t produce the fruit that God desires from your bankrupt flesh. So I am the Vine now. I am the True Vine. And My Father is now the Gardner. He will oversee the vineyard directly. You will no longer be under the authority of the Old Covenant priesthood or the religious leaders. That system is changing. And I will be Your Restful Fruitfulness from within. In Me will you bear good fruit.” Verse 2, He says – ] 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He [the vinedresser] takes away;…”

Does that sound terrifying? For years this really passage challenged my security in Jesus. I felt pressure: “Are you bearing fruit? You better start bearing fruit.” There was a teaching that if you didn’t bear fruit, you would lose your salvation. There was even a teaching that people might die prematurely because they were fruitless.

So I would strive to bear fruit. But how can you make yourself bear fruit? Does an apple branch say to the apple tree, “I’m going to produce an apple so I can prove to you that I am worthy to be a branch on your tree?”

Now some scholars believe that this verse isn’t referring to believers because of the translation, “He takes away the branch.” But when Jesus says, “Every branch in Me,” He’s referring to Anyone who is IN Christ. A branch is someone who is IN Christ. If Anyone is IN Christ, he is a new creation. – spiritually reborn unto eternal life.

You can be a child of God who is not producing fruit. Peter wrote about the believer who isn’t producing fruit. He said if a believer is “barren or unfruitful,” – 

2 Peter 1:9 – [He] is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Remembering that we have been cleansed from our sins is critical to bearing fruit! Guilt, condemnation, and shame will put a stranglehold on fruitfulness. That’s one reason we talk about it all the time. 

So let’s look at what this passage is actually saying. The Greek word for “takes away” is “airō” [ī’-ro] which means “to raise up, to elevate, to lift up.”  As in – 

Luke 17:13 – …they lifted up their voices…  [airō, or -]

John 11:41 – …Jesus lifted up His eyes…[airō, and there are many, many other scriptures like these where airō is translated raised up or lifted up.]

So here’s a better translation of verse 2: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, My Father LIFTs UP.” 

When a branch falls to the ground into the dust, it won’t produce fruit, so the vinedresser lifts it up and puts it on a trellis to get it out of the dirt and grime and bugs. 

When I think of the trellis, I see the cross. The Father lifts us up and “puts us on the cross with Jesus” – we identify with Jesus as He identified with us and bore the judgment that we deserved. 

John 12:31-33 – “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, [on the cross] will draw all peoples to Myself.” [the word “peoples” is not actually in the text. I believe what Jesus is drawing is “all judgment to Himself,” like a lightning rod on the cross. I think that is confirmed in the next verse – ] 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

Just as we identify with His death, we also identify with His resurrection life – the Father lifts us up, puts us on the trellis, because Jesus is our life-line. He is our True Vine.

The Father “prunes”

But what about the next part of verse 2? It sounds very uncomfortable – and painful.

John 15:2, NASB, cont. –  …and every branch that [does] bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

So I used to read verse 2 like this: “If we don’t bear fruit, He takes us away, and if we do bear fruit, He cuts us.” Sounds like a no win situation. 

It is very common for Christians to think that God inflicts painful discipline on them, He makes them suffer, and even causes them to be sick to “prune” them.

But in reality, the Greek word translated “prunes” is the verb “kathairō” [kath-ī’-ro] which actually means “to cleanse.” It’s a reference to washing off the deposits of insects, dust, dirt, and parasites that would infect the plant.

In session 1 of this series I talked about how Jesus, on this same night in John 13, washed the dust off the disciples’ feet. The first mention of dust in the Bible is in Genesis 3 – Dust is the devil’s food:

Genesis 3:14  – “on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.”

The devil’s food is to condemn us. His food is to tell us that we’re failures. We’re hopeless and helpless and worthless. The odds are against us. No one cares. God doesn’t even care. 

God doesn’t want us slimed with the dust that kills, steals, and destroys and feeds the spirit of this world. So the Father, our vinedresser, washes us from the dust of the enemy’s lies, and the bugs and the insects – the irritations of this world and the parasites that suck the life out of us.

How does He cleanse us? [we know we are already clean – “in Christ”, but we need a daily washing] With the washing of the water of “the word.” Remember Ephesians 5:25 -“The Word” is the gospel- “He gave Himself for her”? We see that in verse 3 

John 15:3, NASB – “You are already clean [This is our position in Jesus. The Greek word here is katharos – the adjective form of kathairō used in verse 2 – and it means cleansed and unstained with the guilt of anything. Jesus said, “You are already clean – why? – ]; because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

What was “the specific word” He is referring to? “The word” was summed up earlier in the night when He instituted the Lord’s Supper. Let’s look in Matthew’s account: 

Matthew 26:26-28 – And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” [He’s speaking of giving Himself for them]

What is “the word” that made them already clean, unstained with the guilt of anything? Again, it’s the gospel – “He gave Himself for us.”

So here’s that 2nd half of verse 2: “every branch that does bears fruit, My Father cleanses from the dust and bugs and parasites with the washing of the water of the word: ‘He loved us so much that He gave Himself for us.’” He reminds us of this. Why?  so that we may “bear more fruit.

Abide in Me

John 15:4, NASB – [Back to John 15 – ] Abide in Me, and I in you. [Abide is the Greek word menō – to remain as one, continue to be present, to be held and kept continually]

“Abide in Me” and “to be in Christ” are two different things. We must be “in Christ” before we can “abide in Him.” Every born again believer is “in Christ” and is joined to the Lord in the Spirit. That is our spiritual union that can never be broken. Nothing can separate us from Jesus.

But our spiritual union is not what the word “abide” is referring to in this passage. “Abiding in Him” is practicing the presence of Jesus while we’re on our journey on earth.

Our union with Jesus cannot be severed, but “abiding” can certainly be interrupted.  We don’t always live according to the Spirit from within, do we? We can live according to outward pressures.

What does “Abiding in the Vine” look like in practice?

• Abiding is simply looking unto Jesus,
• setting our minds on Him and things above,
• being conscious of His love,
• being conscious of our union with Him,
• maintaining our constant dependency on His love,
• being conscious of “Christ crucified” and Christ risen again, Christ seated at the Father’s right hand, having finished the work,
• Abiding is exercising our faith in His word and His promises.
• Never giving in to pressures from the outside. Never giving up on His love. 

And the sap flows from within and produces the fruit. 

Attempting to produce fruit on our own

Abiding involves resting and trusting and waiting on the Lord. Waiting puts pressure on the soul.  And sometimes to relieve that pressure, we attempt to circumvent God’s ways and God’s timing , and end up bearing the fruit of our self-effort. 

Like Abraham whom God called the “father of many nations,” even though he was childless.  So Abraham tried to become through his own efforts who God said he already was.

He attempted with Hagar to force God’s promise to bring forth a son. At 86, when Ishmael was conceived, Abraham was not yet impotent – he could still produce on his own through self-effort; but at 99 when Abraham’s body was as good as dead, Isaac was conceived by God’s promise.

Sometimes we attempt to force promises and produce fruit our way and in our time and on our terms because of fear or unbelief or impatience or pride. When we do that, the sap – the strength – isn’t coming from within. It’s coming from pressures on the outside – but the fruit is bitter, sour, and worthless. [stinkberries!]

Resting in the finished work

What is the “sap” from within that I am referring to? What is the nourishment that produces the good fruit – the fruit that comes from God? It’s love. God’s love – demonstrated when He gave His Son. If He didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not with Jesus freely give us all things? 

If He gave us Jesus, how will He not give us – 

Deuteronomy 26:9 – He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

That’s the Promised Land of Canaan that God prepared for the children of Israel. For us, under the New Covenant, we call it the Promised Land of rest in the finished work of Jesus. From Hebrews 4 – we “enter the rest” of God because we believe the work for our redemption is finished, and therefore, all of our needs are provided through Jesus by pure grace – 

Deuteronomy 6:10-11 – [imagine – ] When the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, [God built them!] houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, [God filled them!] hewn-out wells which you did not dig, [God dug them!] vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant… [God planted them! That’s a finished work. “May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”]

When we hear the term, “the finished work of Jesus,” we’re referring to the work of the cross, right? So we can take that phrase, “the finished work of Jesus” and express it in one word: “love.” Think of these two 3:16 verses:

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,….”

1 John 3:16 –  This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

So instead of “resting in the finished work of Jesus,” I can simply say, “resting in His love.” Abiding in His love, and then Jesus becomes our restful fruitfulness.

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing

John 15:4-5, NASB – [verse 4 continued – ] As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you [we cannot bear fruit of ourselves!] unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. [“Do,” the Greek word poieō, and it means “to produce, to bear, to shoot forth.” The root of this word is one of my favorite words and the name of the ministry for young people that has been in my heart for a long time – it’s the word “poiēma.” We are God’s poiēma – we are the fruit that He has borne. According to Ephesians 2:10, we are His masterpiece, His workmanship, His handiwork.]

Ephesians 2:10, AMPC –  For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art] Poiēma – the root of the word poieō – “apart from Me you can DO nothing.” But we are His “work of art” – ], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, [not dead works of the flesh, not self-effort, not stinkberries – but good fruit, good works -] which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

I have a scripture sign at the bottom of the staircase to the Parresia “office” downstairs that says, “God has amazing plans for your life.” As I go down those stairs I see the wall of the staircase covered with my kids’ childhood artwork. And I always think, “God has amazing plans for my family and for the ministry of Parresia.” Amen?

Sometimes I feel like Abraham waiting as the clock ticks, but the more I know Jesus, the more patient I become, And the more willing I am to go to bed at night, and leave His promises up to Him. 

Mark 4:26-29 —[The man should] sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how… 29 he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” [We don’t know how. But He does it, not us!]

I’ll talk more about that next week in part 2 of “Jesus, Our Restful Fruitfulness.”

So we can produce nothing good in-and-of ourselves – NOTHING. But WITH Jesus, we can do ALL THINGS!

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

If you look at a grape vine, you’ll notice that you can’t tell what’s vine and what’s branches. It’s all tangled up together. That’s the way we are with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:17 – …he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

“He is thrown away”

John 15:6, NASB – [Back to John 15 -] “If anyone does not abide in Me, [Wuest Expanded Translation: “If anyone is not maintaining a living communion with Me.”] he is thrown away [better translation is “cast forth”] as a branch and dries up;…

So this person is a branch. He is in Christ, but he will not abide; he will not rest in the love of Jesus, therefore any fruit he bears is is a dead work. Dead works are works of self-righteousness. They may look good on the outside, but they are stinkberries on the inside. So “as a branch”  he is “cast forth.”

His spiritual union is not severed, but he is set aside. This person who is not abiding and will not abide [determined to do it his way] is stripped of opportunity and true participation in the agenda of heaven agenda. This reminded me of Jesus’s words to the church at Ephesus:

Revelation 2:4-5, NASB – “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. [You’re not receiving the sap of My love] 5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, [down into the dust] and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.” [Unless you change your mind and return to your first love]

I also thought of when Paul pronounced a double curse on anyone who preached any other gospel than pure grace – let their ministry be doomed to destruction. He even included himself – “even if I or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel, remove me and let my ministry die.”

I asked the Lord, “But what about those ministries that seem to have so much fruit, but there is corruption, abuse, and greed, and when you see how the sausage is made, there is no love in it at all”? He answered me, “Tricia, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil seems good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable to make one wise, but it is not the fruit of life that I desire.  My ways are not man’s ways. Don’t be so fixated on outward appearance. And you may not know until the end when those works are burned up in the fire.”

John 15:6, NASB, continued – [Jesus goes on to say -] and they gather them, [which is literally, “THEY are gathered”, and -] and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

Do you see how precise the words of Jesus are? “They” and “them” (plural) are not referring to the person – “he” – which is singular. So what is being burned? I believe it’s the “wood, hay, and stubble” – the dead works.

1 Corinthians 3:15 – If anyone’s work [anyone’s fruit] is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire…

Jesus’s words:

John 15:7, NASB – [Next verse in John 15 -]  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

I’ve been on the road alot this week. I traveled to and from Memphis to care for one of my sisters who had surgery, and I also drove to north Georgia to help Frances with Maggie. On one of these drives, I was pondering this truth that Jesus is our restful fruitfulness, and I was meditating on that verse –

John 15:7, NASB – “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

And then a river of Jesus’s own words bubbled up from inside, so I picked up my phone, and I made a voice memo of the scriptures that were pouring through me.

Luke 6:38, NIV – “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.”

John 7:37-38, NASB – “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

John 8:10-11 – “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” 

John 9:3 – “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”

John 10:10-11, 27-28 – “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep… 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

John 11:4 – “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

John 14:12 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Mark 9:23 – “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” 

Matthew 19:26, NIV – “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 10:51 – “What do you want Me to do for you?”

Matthew 9:28 – “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

 Mark 5:34 – “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Luke 12:7 – “The very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Matthew 6:27 – “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Matthew 6:34, NIV – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Luke 12:32 – “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Mathew 7:7-9 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

After I put all those scriptures in my notes, I found these words of Jesus from The Message paraphrase:

John 16:33, The Message – “I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”

Words of Jesus.   Words of life! 

Ask whatever you wish

John 15:7-8, NASB – [Back to John 15 -] If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [WHATEVER! If His words abide in us, we can ask WHATEVER we wish and it will be done for us!] 8 My Father is glorified by this, [our Father is glorified – doxazō – honored, celebrated, esteemed – when we ] that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 

What is the fruit that Jesus is specifically talking about? I don’t think it’s hard to figure out – in the context. If the Vine is love (Jesus is love, right?), and the sap is love, then the fruit is love.

We abide in Love, His words of love abide in us, and God’s expected response is for us to draw on that love. How? We ask whatever we wish. And He responds by granting those requests. Why? Because He loves us. And I believe answered prayer is itself the fruit of abiding in love. 

And we don’t have to worry about whether we are asking according to His will. If His words are abiding in us, there’s no need to tack onto our prayers, “If it be Thy will.” His words are His will.

1 John 5:14-15 – Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

In John 15, Jesus was focused on the greatest fruit that there is: love. There is “Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV)

Faith and hope will remain as long as we are here in these earthen vessels contending with time and space, but we won’t need faith in heaven. Hope will be realized. But love is eternal. Love will remain forever. 

Faith isn’t our Source of fruitfulness. Hope isn’t our Source of fruitfulness. Love is our Source of fruitfulness. Faith and hope are fruits that spring forth from love.

John 15:7-8, NASB, again – If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, [faith and hope spring forth from abiding in love] and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 

The more we abide in Him, the more His words abide in us, then the more we will ask. The more we ask, the more we receive. The more we receive, the more the fruit we bear, and the more we glorify the Father and the more prove that we are His disciples.

We don’t prove we are disciples by striving to produce fruit. We prove we are His disciples by believing His word and receiving His love.

John 16:24 – [The same night, Jesus said – ] “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, right? But it’s number 2. Love is number 1. When we receive the love of Jesus, His words [those words are seeds and they] come alive and flourish within us, compelling us to we ask whatever we wish.

And do you know what we are doing? We are we participating in heaven’s agenda. His words are His will. And nothing brings more joy this side of heaven than answered prayer – particularly for those we love.

And with that joy comes peace, and with that peace comes patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Love abides in us, and there are no limits to the fruit we can bear.

Galatians 5:22-23 – the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Conclusion

His ways are not our ways. We strive. We push. We pull. We rack our brains and pull out our hair trying to figure out a way when there seems to be no way. 

His ways are ways of mercy and grace and love. We rest. He works. We have a hard time fathoming it. As I was pondering this the Lord said, “Tricia –

Proverbs 4:7 – get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 

Ephesians 1:17 – [Pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him… [Jesus]

Here’s the knowledge of Jesus I want to understand – back to John 15 –

John 15:9, NASB – Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 

Jesus’s love is unchanging. It is not affected by our ups and downs. But our enjoyment of His love depends on our abiding in it. The measure of His love is the cross. Abiding in His love always takes us back to the cross. And He loves us just as dearly today as He did then because He never changes. 

So we occupy ourselves with His love and count on it with everything in us. Our love fluctuates. Focusing on our love will make us miserable, but fixing our hearts on His love that “passes knowledge” will fill us with thanksgiving and praise and joyful confidence.

So the only question that remains is, “Do you know and believe the love that God has for you? Can you receive that love?”

Once Von was praying for her daughter-in-law, Marianne to be healed from sickness during pregnancy, and when Von was praying, the Lord said to her, “Von, I will do this because I love Marianne, but I will also do this just because I love YOU!”

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• The Message, Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson