**Daily Devotional** **July 12** *1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. - John 15:1-3 (KJV)* This truth is used many places in the bible, that Jesus is the vine, and we must depend on Him for our nourishment. Without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5), but if you are born again, you are not without Christ, as He lives within you (Galatians 4:6), and will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) – Praise God. The Father is the husbandman to the vine, and it is He that cares for the vine, and gives it life to grow unto. As with a branch of the vine, if we do not bear fruit we are taken away from the vine and cast into the fire. The fruit that is referred to is that we show the results of being in the vine by the life we live, and the deeds we do by obeying Jesus (Hebrews 5:9). Jesus said that our love, one for another, would show that we are His disciples (John 13:34-35), so our love we show for others must be one of the most important fruits we can show. The purging spoken of means He cleans us, as that is the meaning of the word translated purgeth in this verse. It does not refer to putting sickness and trials upon us as some teach, as they do not come from God (James 1:17). The word translated “clean” in this verse, means to be free from impurities, and that is done through the Word that is spoken, and not by any trials or sicknesses as some say. God uses His Word to clean and correct us (2 Timothy 3:16), so that we might bear more fruit. Praise God for His Word. Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.infinite-faith.com