MEM

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches…

John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. (All Scripture from NAS unless indicated - bolding by MEM)

John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, 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. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

John 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. 17 This I command you, that you love one another.

There is much to learn from these verses about abiding in the true vine. This is not just for the disciples but all who are called (V 5); we are to bear fruit (V 16); no fruit - cut off (V 2); Apart from the vine "apart from Me you can do nothing" (V 5); ten times we are told to " abide".

Greek - Transliteration: meno - Phonetic: men'-o

- Definition:

- Origin: a root word

- Part(s) of speech: Verb

ménō [to stay, await],

OT - Toward God: Waiting on God or Cleaving to God. …God is the almighty covenant God on whom they can rely (Is. 51:5; Zeph. 3:8) Those who endure to the end will be saved (Dan. 12:12). The focus here is neither on the hostile forces nor on inward strength but on the power and faithfulness of God. Yet this divinely oriented hypomonḗ confers courage (Ps. 27:14). This is the strength of cleaving to God or waiting for him (Is. 40:31). [F. Hauck, IV, 574-88]

A key instruction concerning our walk and our salvation

Ps 15:1 O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill?

Ps 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good, So you will abide forever.

1John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

1John 2:24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life… 27 And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

John 8:31 … "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

The purpose of abiding in the vine is to bear good fruit (of the Spirit):

Matt 3:8 "Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance;

Matt 12:33 "… for the tree is known by its fruit.

Matt 3:10 "And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matt 21:43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it. (Fruit of the Kingdom)

Rev 22:2 in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Psalms 1:3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Rom 7:4 … that we might bear fruit for God.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Phil 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Andrew Murray: Intercessory Prayer

John 9:33 "If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."

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

(* editing is done to shorten length - you are encouraged to read the full commentary where applicable)

Proverbs 1:31 "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way…

Proverbs 12:14 A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words…

Proverbs 18:20 With the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his lips.

Proverbs 8:19 "My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield than choicest silver.

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.

YHVH, may we choose to bear fruit thru Your righteousness.

Philippians 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Phil 4:8 Lamsa Finally, my brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Ephesians 5:9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

Almighty One - surely our desire is to be known by the honesty of Your righteousness.

1. Some people accused Yeshua (Jesus) of driving out demons by whose power?
2. Which Pauline epistle was a masterpiece of Christian courtesy and intercession?
3. On what mountain did God give Moses the commandments?
4. What happens when perfection comes? (1Cor 13)
5. During the fight with the Amalekites, what happened to Israel whenever Moses lowered his hands?
6. Whom did God choose to replace Saul as king of Israel?
7. Who said, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote"?

"Humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself." T. S. Eliot

John 12:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Yeshua, may we humbly yield to Your example - to be in Your image.

Great is Thy Mercy

2Chr 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did evil… 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he also erected altars for the Baals and made Asherim, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them… 2Chr 33:7 Then he put the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God…

2Chr 33:9 Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel. 10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.

2Chr 33:11 Therefore the LORD brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and took him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

2Chr 33:14 Now after this he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate; and he encircled the Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. 16 And he set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.

2Chr 33:18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh even his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of Israel. 19 His prayer also and how God was entreated by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of the Hozai.

Glorious YHVH may You be entreated by us when we humble ourselves as did Manasseh.

It is easy to fall in line, follow suit, not make waves and be like those around us.  We tend to want to fit in and emulate the world’s heroes, but what does God want us to do?

And be not conformed to this world: but be all of you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that all of you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom 12:2)

Yeshua (Jesus) says unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Material in this section is based on various prayer diaries.

In the 
1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed 
to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. 
Hence we have 'the rule of thumb' (hum?)
------------ 
Men can read smaller 
print than women can; women can hear better. 
------------ 
Coca-Cola was originally green. 
------------ 
It is impossible to lick your elbow. 
------------ 
The State with the highest percentage

of people who walk to work: 

Alaska 
------------ 
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%

The percentage of 
North America that is wilderness: 38% 
------------ 
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: 

$ 16,400 
------------ 
The average number of people airborne over the U.S.

in any given hour: 

61,000 
------------ 
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.. 
------------ 
The first novel ever written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer. 
------------ 

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National 
Monuments. 
------------ 
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 =

12,345,678,987,654,321 
------------ 
If a statue in the 
park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, 
the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in 
the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. 
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died 
of natural causes 
------------ 
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson.

 
(Not all content verified.)

I'm going to have to cut that number by six cents!

 Yes, I'm going to have to get by with $1999.94, but that's what sacrifice is all about.

I'll just have to do without some things, that are, frankly, luxuries like toilet paper, bread, milk, gas, etc.

Contractor Goof - ATM

*********

In an office:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER...... PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW

In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

Have a good day!

Michael Boldea Jr.

Most big losses come from small neglects.

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.

Happiness adds and multiplies as we divide it with others.

Build up good memories in the minds of the young in your midst.

None are so empty as those who are full of themselves.

People who expect the worst usually find it.

No joy is complete unless it is shared.

Particulars
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

 
Many people think that in the Old Covenant knowing God required keeping his rules, rules that no one could actually keep. They contrast this to their understanding of the New Covenant. Under this new system, they say, we can relate to God by grace, which, according to them, is based on God's unconditional love, meaning, because of what Yeshua did for us, then no matter what we do, God accepts us.
 
While there are smidgens of truth laced through this explanation, it actually misrepresents both Old and New Covenants. If under the Old Covenant, the only way to have a right relationship with God was to fully keep his rules, then no one had such a relationship, which is not the case. All the way through the Old Covenant writings, we find many people who truly knew God, imperfect though they were.
 
As for the New Covenant, the Messiah himself spoke of the narrow gate and hard way leading to life that few people find (see Matthew 7:14). Paul and the other New Covenant writers are clear that anyone who concludes that God's forgiveness through the Messiah implies that we can do anything we like, has completely missed the point (See Romans 6 for example).
 
Our (opening verse) describes the particulars of the mishkan (English: tabernacle). The mishkan was a tent-like portable structure that was to be the central place of sacrifice and worship for the people of Israel. It was a precursor to the permanent Temple that Solomon would build many years later. Many people who attempt to read through the Bible get bogged down when they get to passages such as this one, because they find the details uninteresting. It is understandable that people would find the narrative portions more gripping, but that doesn't make them more important. God is very particular when it comes to how we are to relate to him. He didn't tell Moses to make any old structure he wanted or that the people were free to sacrifice however they liked. Far from it! They were to follow God's directions very carefully. Every detail of the mishkan was designed to help the people know who God really was and what he was really like. Failure to stick to his particulars would lead the people to create a god of their own imaginations, instead of knowing the "I am" who revealed himself to Moses (see Exodus 3:14).
 
While there are significant differences between the Old and New Covenants they both are clear in their insistence regarding the need to stick to God's particulars. The ultimate purpose of the mishkan was to prepare Israel for the coming of the Messiah. To then think we can relate to the Messiah any way we wish is to undermine the essence of biblical teaching about God and his ways. Using a metaphor of a vine and its branches, Yeshua said, "If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned" (John 15:6; ESV). In order to be in right relationship with God, it is absolutely necessary to abide in the Messiah. But how does one abide in him? Yeshua himself tells us when he said, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (John 15:10; ESV).
 
What many don't seem to understand is that under both Old and New Covenants the only way to properly relate to God was through trusting in Him. Right standing with God could never be accomplished by our own moral and spiritual uprightness. We all have fallen short of God's standards and deserve judgment. It is only by his grace that people at any time in human history could truly know him. At the same time what trusting in him entails and how to maintain a right relationship with him has always been based on his particulars, whether it be the mishkan and the sacrificial system under the Old Covenant or the Messiah under the New.

*(This document may be edited for length)

The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High…)

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

1. Beelzebub (the devil) - Matthew 4:18-22

2. Philemon

3. Mount Sinai - Exodus 31:18

4. The imperfect disappears - 1 Corinthians 13:10

5. The Amalekites were winning - Exodus 17:11

6. David - I Samuel 16:1-13

7. Philip - John 1:45