January '25

 

Happy New Year!

Before we dive into the devotion, I want to take a moment to introduce myself to our new readers!

My name is Emily.

There was a time that I struggled with that very sentence due to a traumatic brain injury.  The full story and some yearly updates can be found here, or under the My Story section above.  I am the only girl among 3 brothers, the owner of a service dog, and a wannabe artist.

Thank you for being here.  Thank you for your support and your prayers.

Jesus is getting me through things I never expected to see on this side of heaven.  I hope and pray this blog is a source of encouragement that points you towards our great Shepherd.

 

 

If you want to receive a monthly reminder about these devotions and you didn't get the email this morning, please let me know.  It is optional, of course.  Just a reminder on the 1st of each month that there's a new devotion to go along with the calendar.  Occasionally I'm late getting these things posted, so you'll be the first to know when a devotion is published.

Enough about me...onto the devotional

"I am the the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can  you unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." -Jesus
John 15:1-5

I have been sitting on this devotion for months (since I knew we were going to have a 2025 calendar) and I've struggled with every step to come up with any words of encouragement.  Quite frankly, I think my own heart needs to hear these verses right now.  I've also been battling lots of physical pain recently, so I just feel really drained.  I normally have more thoughts to share, but this month I just can't seem to get it together.  

So, let's break it down sentence by sentence.  

With each sentence ask yourself:

What does it say about  Jesus? 

 What does it about me?  

What does that mean in light of today?

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser..."

"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

"Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you."  

"Abide in Me, and I in you."  

"As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can  you unless you abide in Me."  

"I am the vine; you are the branches."

"Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

I would love to hear your thoughts on this verse- and I encourage you to reflect on the symbolism behind the living trees in the painting that have bare branches in winter.