March 20, 2026
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in our Lenten readings from “The Life of Jesus”? Here’s today’s reading:
Lent 2026 – Day 17 in the Book: “The Life of Jesus“
The Week Jesus Dies
Read Sections 5.34 through 5.35 (pages 163-165)
This book is an account of Jesus’ life and teachings told in chronological order from the four Gospels to create one continuous story.
*If you do not have a copy of the book please contact the church at (401)667-0775 and we can get you a copy.
Love each other, almost impossible to do on our own due to our flesh and selfish, sinful nature. However, when we abide in God, we become a vessel for His love to flow through us. It is a process to abide, a process of clipping away what is dead and even pruning back what is growing that needs to be less so other things can be more. The picture of the vine and branches is my favorite because it is the clearest way to see what our lives should look like in Christ, connected but also a constant process of growth and change. We cannot sit stagnant, we cannot think we are ever complete, there is always more work for God to do IN us and THROUGH us so we can truly love others the way He loves us!
Lent 2026-day 17
How important it is to maintain a connection to Jesus and bear fruit in His name, in His power and to His glory. When we do that, we will be more like Him and bear fruit in the character we have and the people we influence. We must consider the things that draw us away from Jesus and the things that draw us to Him and recognize the things that God desires to prune away. And to think that a primary way to remain connected to Him is to remain in His love and recognize that love is expressed from Him in the things He would have us do and not do. And the love we have for and from Him translates to the love we have for each other. But one place we will not find love is from the world. We should not be surprised that we are rejected by them in the same way they rejected Jesus. We should still seek to share Jesus with the world, but more and more that will be the reason the world rejects us.
I have felt the rejection from those I’ve attempted to reach about belief in God. Of course I blame myself for not communicating well, but pray for them that it will at least spark curiosity in them to find out more. It seems that because of the shape the world is in that they have given up on the presence of a loving God. I’m not sure how to respond to that.
Well the world is not evil because of God, but because of man. And the reality of God as our creator and the truth of Jesus’ death and resurrection supersedes all else.
Day 17. Jesus identifies himself as the true vine, the spiritual nourishment, and God the father cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit and he trims the one that produces to prepare for more growth. We can do nothing without Christ. We must abide in Christ by being in a constant relationship with Him to produce fruit. He tells the apostles He has loved them as his Father has loved Him. He says love each other as I have loved you. His command is to love one another. You did not choose me I chose you. It’s the same for us. We have to remember “Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world”, the world will hate us for our love for Christ but we have the Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will guide us and remind us that we are here to draw people to Christ to produce fruits!
Lent 2026 – Day 17
How much I delight in reading this part of scripture, this whole scene where Jesus is speaking to the apostles at what we call the last supper. What analogies Jesus makes to comfort them, and also comforting us as he speaks of He is the vine, and His Father is the gardener, and the branches are all of us true believers who bear much fruit. But someone who just makes a superficial commitment will be separated from the vine. I never liked the words of pruning the branches, but if you don’t cut back and prune branches, then true growth can’t happen, a picture of God‘s discipline to us. I’d rather have that than to be cut off and become worthless. Recently had a friend that just said all she has to do is to be kind to other people and she’ll go to heaven, but Jesus says apart from him your efforts in your works are unfruitful. You have to receive the power and the nourishment from Christ, who is the true vine. Jesus mentions joy five times in this message. I guess I’ll always be learning to look beyond my feelings and circumstances, and not allow them to control my emotions. The joy is living with Jesus every day, no matter how high or low my circumstances are.
The world first hated Jesus. So of course we Will be misunderstood. I have relatives. They haven’t spoken to me in 40 years because of my relationship with Jesus. That’s fine with me. Others have mentioned that Cindy and I have been brainwashed by the churches we attend. In the end, they will know us by our fruit. Staying attached to the vine.
Fruit production only happens on vines that are connected. If I have a pepper or tomato plant and one of the branches breaks, I am so disappointed, that branch is no good now, it is not connected so it will not produce any fruit. It can look healthy but it will not produce fruit and ultimately it will die. Like plants we cannot just will ourselves to produce fruit. We need to stay connected to the vine and as we grow we will produce fruit. Some “fruit” you may not notice, it just happens as you walk in the Spirit connected to the Vine.
Lent Day 17
Psalm 93; Ezekiel 24; The Life of Jesus 5.34-5.35