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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Well, hey there, friends, I'm Jody Nisnik, and

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Speaker 1: I'm so glad that you pressed play on this scripture meditation.

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Speaker 1: I'm going to be a little more personal than I

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Speaker 1: usually am in this meditation, letting you in on some

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Speaker 1: of the work that God's been doing in my life

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Speaker 1: and how that's leading me to press pause on the podcast.

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Speaker 1: So let's take a quick break for a word from

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Speaker 1: our sponsors. Then I'll be back to share a little

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Speaker 1: bit more and we'll dive into today's meditation. Well, as

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Speaker 1: I said before the break, God is leading me to

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Speaker 1: press pause on podcasting. Now. I don't know if that's

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Speaker 1: a permanent pause or just an extended break, but I'm

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Speaker 1: doing my best to follow him and be faithful. So

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Speaker 1: for now, this will be the final meditation that I record,

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Speaker 1: and I want to tell you how I arrive here today.

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Speaker 1: In John fifteen, Jesus tells us that God is a

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Speaker 1: good gardener, and he cuts off branches that don't bear

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Speaker 1: fruit and prunes back fruitful branches so that they can

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Speaker 1: be even more fruitful. It's a passage I've probably read

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Speaker 1: hundreds of times. But as God does, he started to

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Speaker 1: speak to me through this very familiar passage, and all

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Speaker 1: of a sudden, I couldn't get it out of my head.

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Speaker 1: The main question rolling around was what does fruitfulness actually

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Speaker 1: look like? See? I've always measured fruitfulness by productivity. What

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Speaker 1: am I accomplishing for God? How busy am I getting

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Speaker 1: ministry work done? Are others noticing and commenting positively on

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Speaker 1: my efforts? Is their growth? Now? Some of these aren't

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Speaker 1: bad metrics, but they never tell us the full story.

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Speaker 1: God may call you to be faithful to two people

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Speaker 1: who show up, and He may not be at work

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Speaker 1: where thousands and thousands are present. So we have to

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Speaker 1: weigh growth and productivity with the spirit. Now, I do

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Speaker 1: believe God called me to all the work I've done,

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Speaker 1: and yet in this season, he is inviting me to

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Speaker 1: do something a little radical, and that is prune and

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Speaker 1: let him determine what fruitfulness looks like in my life.

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Speaker 1: He's asking me to choose abiding with Him over all

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Speaker 1: the other things. And I'll be honest, I'm a little scared.

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Speaker 1: It's ushered in a season of winnowing, of cutting back

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Speaker 1: branches that seemed pretty healthy and growing, like this podcast,

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Speaker 1: which recently crossed over one million downloads, which is truly

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Speaker 1: a mind blowing number for me to wrap my head around.

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Speaker 1: But even as I crossed that milestone, Jesus's words kept

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Speaker 1: becoming louder and louder. He cuts off every branch that

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Speaker 1: bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit

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Speaker 1: he prunes so it'll be even more fruitful. And he

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Speaker 1: was asking me, are you willing to let me prune?

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Speaker 1: And are you willing to let me decide what fruitfulness

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Speaker 1: looks like. In the past, I honestly thought pruning looked

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Speaker 1: like cutting back something so more of the same could grow,

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Speaker 1: but only bigger. But this time God is asking me

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Speaker 1: to let him define what fruit grows from a pruned branch.

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Speaker 1: Perhaps fruitfulness is not having a public ministry anymore. Perhaps

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Speaker 1: fruitfulness is being physically present to the people around me.

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Speaker 1: Perhaps it is quietly serving the local church or simply

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Speaker 1: loving those in need. Perhaps fruitfulness is a lot smaller

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Speaker 1: than I ever imagined. I'll be honest with you, this

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Speaker 1: is a little unsettling because I don't know what God

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Speaker 1: is inviting me into yet I am walking into an

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Speaker 1: unknown space. All I know is He's asking me to

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Speaker 1: let go, and it's taken me months to get there.

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Speaker 1: God has been patient and kind with me, and this

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Speaker 1: has been a process. And as I've prayed, I've asked

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Speaker 1: Him to help me change my heart to be willing,

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Speaker 1: and you know what he has now. I don't know

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Speaker 1: what you are facing today, but I'm guessing if you're

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Speaker 1: a podcast listener listening to scripture meditations, you long to

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Speaker 1: live a fruitful life too. And I wonder maybe fruitfulness

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Speaker 1: looks a little different than we've all been told. Maybe

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Speaker 1: it isn't measured by what we produce. Maybe it isn't

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Speaker 1: measured by numbers. Maybe it is simply measured by God.

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Speaker 1: And maybe when we get to heaven and we get

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Speaker 1: to see what God saw all along, we will marvel

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Speaker 1: at how the quiet and faithful were the most fruitful

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Speaker 1: of all. So, today, as you meditate with me, ask

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Speaker 1: God to help you live into the fruitful life that

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Speaker 1: He has for you. I am praying for both of

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Speaker 1: us to follow where He leads. So let's begin as

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Speaker 1: we usually do, by taking a few deep breaths and

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Speaker 1: settling in. Go ahead and take a deep breath in

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Speaker 1: and slowly exhale. Take another breath in, and as you do,

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Speaker 1: notice God is here. He is with you, and as

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Speaker 1: you exhale, ask him just to hold whatever's weighing on

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Speaker 1: your heart, whatever feels distracting to you right now. He

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Speaker 1: will do that. Keep taking those deep in and out breaths.

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Speaker 1: Let me pray for our time, Lord Jesus, thank you

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Speaker 1: that you are the vine, and that we are the branches.

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Speaker 1: That you are the source, and that we can stay

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Speaker 1: grafted to you, and that leads to fruitfulness. We pray

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Speaker 1: that in these next few moments you would guide and

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Speaker 1: lead us, that you would help us hear from you

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Speaker 1: and hear from your word. And we thank you that

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Speaker 1: you are a good and loving father, and you are

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Speaker 1: with us. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Speaker 1: So today we'll be walking through the passage in John fifteen,

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Speaker 1: and I'm going to do it in a few sections.

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Speaker 1: I'll guide you each step of the way. For our

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Speaker 1: first reading, just listen to these verses John fifteen, verses

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Speaker 1: one through five from the New Living Translation. I am

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Speaker 1: the true grapevine, and my father is the gardener. He

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Speaker 1: cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit,

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Speaker 1: and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so

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Speaker 1: they will produce even more. You have already been pruned

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Speaker 1: and purified by the message I have given you. Remain

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Speaker 1: in me, and I will remain in you. For a

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Speaker 1: branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine,

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Speaker 1: and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes,

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Speaker 1: I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who

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Speaker 1: remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit.

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Speaker 1: For apart from me, you can do nothing. Before the

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Speaker 1: second reading, take a moment to reflect on what you

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Speaker 1: believe a fruitful life looks like and ask God if

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Speaker 1: this aligns with what He's inviting you to. And now,

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Speaker 1: as I read a second time, ask God to help

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Speaker 1: you notice what he has for you in the passage.

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Speaker 1: I am the true grape vine, and my father is

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Speaker 1: the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that

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Speaker 1: doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do

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Speaker 1: bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have

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Speaker 1: already been pruned and purified by the message I have

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Speaker 1: given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

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Speaker 1: For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed

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Speaker 1: from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you

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Speaker 1: remain in me. Yes, I am the fine. You are

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Speaker 1: the branches. Those who remain in me and I in

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Speaker 1: them will produce much fruit. For a part from me,

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Speaker 1: you can do nothing. Take a moment to reflect on

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Speaker 1: what you noticed and ask God, how does this apply

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Speaker 1: to your life today? After these verses where Jesus says

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Speaker 1: He's the vine and the father's the gardener, and we

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Speaker 1: need to remain in him to live fruitful lives, he

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Speaker 1: moves to something curious. He then says, remain in my love.

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Speaker 1: For our next reading, I want to read the next

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Speaker 1: set of verses. I think these are often overlooked. When

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Speaker 1: we pray through or study this passage, we stop at

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Speaker 1: remain in him being fruitful, and what does that look like?

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Speaker 1: But here it seems Jesus is telling us exactly what

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Speaker 1: fruitfulness does look like. So as you listen, ask God

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Speaker 1: to help you notice what He has for you in

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Speaker 1: these verses. This is John fifteen, verses nine through seventeen

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Speaker 1: in the New Living Translation. Remain in my love. When

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Speaker 1: you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just

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Speaker 1: as I obeyed my father's commandments and remain in his love.

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Speaker 1: I have told you these things so that you will

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Speaker 1: be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.

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Speaker 1: This is my command. Love each other in the same

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Speaker 1: way I have loved you. There is no greater love

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Speaker 1: than to lay down one's life for one's friends. You

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Speaker 1: are my friends if you do what I command. I

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Speaker 1: no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide

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Speaker 1: in his slaves. Now you are my friends. Since I

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Speaker 1: have told you everything the Father told me. You didn't

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Speaker 1: choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go

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Speaker 1: and produce lasting fruit so that the Father will give

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Speaker 1: you whatever you ask for using my name. This is

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Speaker 1: my command. Love each other. Take a moment to reflect

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Speaker 1: on how fruitfulness and loving others are intertwined, asking God

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Speaker 1: how he is inviting you to love others. Today, for

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Speaker 1: our final reading, I'm going to read a few selected

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Speaker 1: verses from the passages that we've read today, and as

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Speaker 1: I do, ask the Lord to help. These be words

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Speaker 1: directly from Jesus to you, allowing Jesus to speak to

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Speaker 1: your heart and remind you that you are deeply loved

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Speaker 1: by God, that he wants you to live a fruitful life,

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Speaker 1: and perhaps that fruitfulness looks a lot like love. Yes,

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Speaker 1: I am the vine you are the branches. Those who

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Speaker 1: remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit.

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Speaker 1: For apart from me, you can do nothing remain in

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Speaker 1: my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in

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Speaker 1: my love, just as I obey my father's commandments and

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Speaker 1: remain in his love. I have told you these things

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Speaker 1: so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes,

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Speaker 1: your joy will overflow. This is my commandment. Love each

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Speaker 1: other in the same way I have loved you. You

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Speaker 1: didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to

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Speaker 1: go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will

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Speaker 1: give of you whatever you ask using my name. This

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Speaker 1: is my command. Love each other, Lord Jesus, Thank you

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Speaker 1: for your words. Thank you that you spoke these so

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Speaker 1: long ago, made sure they were recorded for us today,

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Speaker 1: so that we can settle in and hear what truth

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Speaker 1: you have for us. Lord. We want to live fruitful lives.

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Speaker 1: We want to be branches that remain in you, the

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Speaker 1: source of everything. Lord, Would you help us understand what

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Speaker 1: does fruitfulness really look like? Would you help us to

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Speaker 1: stop making our own determinations of what fruitfulness looks like

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Speaker 1: and judging our lives by that, but instead settling into

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Speaker 1: you and letting you determine what is fruitful in our lives.

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Speaker 1: And would you help us to settle in to what

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Speaker 1: you have told us. What you have revealed to us,

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Speaker 1: and that is fruit looks a lot like love. So Lord,

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Speaker 1: we ask, would you help us be more loving today?

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Speaker 1: Would you help us love others, especially those that are

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Speaker 1: difficult to love. Thank you Lord, that you are a

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Speaker 1: good and loving father. You are a good and loving gardener,

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Speaker 1: and you have good for us. So we pray all

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Speaker 1: of this in the name of Jesus the True Vine. Amen. Well, friends,

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Speaker 1: thank you deeply for joining me on this journey. It

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Speaker 1: has been a true joy guiding you into God's word,

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Speaker 1: helping you discover more of the peace that God is

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Speaker 1: offering you. This has been my offering of love, my

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Speaker 1: way of loving you, even though I don't know most

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Speaker 1: of you. And today I cling to the truth that

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Speaker 1: God will define what a fruitful life looks like. And

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Speaker 1: while I don't know everything about what that looks like,

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Speaker 1: there are two things I do know. It is founded

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Speaker 1: on love, and it fills us with the joy of Jesus.

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Speaker 1: This is a promise to cling to. So while I

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Speaker 1: may not know my next steps, and you may not either.

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Speaker 1: We do know that remaining in Jesus leads to flourishing

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Speaker 1: and fruitfulness. As I'm signing off, I wanted to point

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Speaker 1: you to something that may fill the space for you

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Speaker 1: that You've created for me, a space to be guided

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Speaker 1: into God's Word. Your Daily Bible Verse is a podcast

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Speaker 1: that examines one verse each day to help you learn

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Speaker 1: more about God and his Word. You can follow and

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Speaker 1: subscribe on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and to make it

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Speaker 1: easy for you, I've placed links to the podcast in

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Speaker 1: the show notes and as always, don't forget these meditations

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Speaker 1: will stay right here in this feed. There are over

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Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty meditations that I've recorded for you

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Speaker 1: to choose from. So when you need some quiet space

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Speaker 1: to be guided into God's Word, they're here for you.

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Speaker 1: Anytime you need them, Just settle in and press play. Well, friends,

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Speaker 1: that's all from me, So may you go in peace.

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Speaker 1: You are dearly loved