“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
~ John 15:16
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you seen any of the prayer cards that your grandmaa and grandpaa have had made to give to guys and gals to remind them to pray for them and to possibly financially support them? Your grandmaa and grandpaa over the years have had several different prayer cards made. Ask your dad if he has one of the very first prayer cards that your grandmaa and grandpaa had made. Your dad was about twelve years old when your grandmaa and grandpaa had their first prayer card made. Your dad had long, straight blond hair when your grandmaa and grandpaa had their first prayer card made. A photo of a missionary who is not married or a missionary couple and his and her kids – if the missionary couple has kids, will normally fill up the front of a prayer card. Some of biographical information of the missionary who is not married or of the missionary couple – and of their kids if they have kids, will normally fill up the back of a prayer card. Missionaries who are not married and missionary couples will include a life verse as part of the biographical information on the back of their prayer card. Your grandmaa and grandpaa chose as a life verse for their prayer cards a verse that is found in John 15. Verse 16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Your grandmaa and grandpaa forty-five years after claiming this verse as a life verse are still claiming this verse as a life verse.
Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that their Father God specially elected or selected them to be His adopted kids before He formed planet Earth versus your grandmaa and grandpaa having had to decide that they wanted to be their Father God’s adopted kids. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that they have been created by their Father God to produce fruit. Some guys and gals think that the fruit that God – as God the Father, expects His specially elected or selected kids to produce are new Christ-follower guys, gals and kids. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that the fruit that their Father God is constantly birthing in their lives has as its root source their growing relationship with God – as God the Son. Your grandpaa believes that the fruit that God – as God the Father, has hardwired your grandmaa and grandpaa to reproduce through their life’s branches is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that they are to be reproducing this fruit in the lives of guys, gals and kids. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have claimed the promise that as they are producing and reproducing fruit for their Father God through their lives that He is hearing their heart concerns as they voice them to Him and that He is answering these heart concerns just as He has clearly said that He will.
Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that they are like the branches of a grapevine. Have you ever been to a vineyard? Have you ever seen grapes hanging from an arbor? Your grandmaa’s grandpa on her ma’s side of her family had next to his house in Maryland an arbor where Concord grapes grew. The Concord grape clusters would hang down from the arbor. Your grandpaa’s kid bro taught for a number of years in a school in Visalia, California. Your grandmaa and grandpaa found it very interesting while driving on roads near Visalia to see row after row of grapevines with large clusters of grapes hanging from the vines. Your grandpaa saw large vineyards of grapes when he was in Chile a number of years ago. Your grandpaa had flown to Chile to discuss with a Santiago, Chile church leader the possibility of implementing a Bible education program in Rengo, Chile. To insure a good crop of grapes the next year, the vines are cut back to almost to their roots after the grapes are harvested. God – as God the Spirit, breathed on John to use this illustration as to how God – as God the Father, constantly produced fruit in the lives of His specially chosen kids and how He is constantly producing fruit today in His specially elected kids who He chose to be His adopted kids before He placed in His universe an orb called Earth. God – as God the Spirit, also had John use this illustration of how God – as God the Father, constantly pruned the lives of His specially chosen guys and gals and how He is constantly pruning the lives of the guys, gals and kids who He specially elected or selected before He formed planet Earth. To produce fruit and to be pruned are integral to being one of your Father God’s specially chosen and elected kids. The fruit that is being produced by one of your Father God’s specially elected kids today is absolutely distasteful to the guys, gals and kids who are not in your Father God’s Lamb’s Book of Life. The faith that your grandmaa and grandpaa have unreservedly assures them that their names are recorded in their Father God’s Lamb’s Book of Life which only has in it the names of the guys, gals and kids who He specially chose and elected before He formed planet Earth. Your grandmaa and grandpaa believe that your names are also in their Father God’s Lamb’s Book of Life. Only guys, gals and kids who have been led by God – as God the Spirit, to make a decision of faith to accept what God – as God the Son, did for them on a cross had their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before God formed planet Earth. Only the guys, gals and kids who have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life can recognize Who God – as God the Spirit, is when God – as God the Spirit, arrives as the Counselor in the life of a guy, gals or kid to lead him or her to the faith/grace door – passing the cross to leave their sins there and then helping him or her to begin being sanctified which God – as God the Spirit, will insure will take place and then to the justification gift of eternal life. Are your producing fruit as your Father God prunes your lives?
John 15 (512)