OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY
April 4, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Devotional Message || ODB for Tuesday
READ TUESDAY ODB DEVOTIONAL, OUR DAILY BREAD 4TH APRIL 2023 WRITTEN BY WINN COLLIER (OUR DAILY BREAD MINISTRIES)
TOPIC: At Home in Jesus
BIBLE IN A YEAR: uth 1–4; Luke 8:1–25
KEY VERSE: Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:4
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
John 15:1–11
INSIGHT FOR TODAY
One of the central emphases of the gospel of John is on the incarnation—God becoming human to be with us (John 1:14)—as a gift of God’s love (3:16–17).
While church tradition and other evidence suggests John the disciple was likely the author of this gospel, the author is intentional about being identified only as someone “whom Jesus loved” (21:20), whose testimony is trustworthy (v. 24). What’s most important is that the gospel points us to Jesus as the One through whom we can rest in God’s love (15:9).
Our Daily Bread Devotional 4th April 2023 MESSAGE
Several years ago, we brought home an adult black cat named Juno from the local animal shelter. Truthfully, I only wanted help thinning our mice population, but the rest of the family wanted a pet. The shelter gave us rigorous instructions on how to establish a feeding routine that first week so Juno would learn our house was his home, the place he belonged and where he’d always have food and safety. This way, even if Juno might roam, he would always eventually come home.
If we don’t know our true home, we’re forever tempted to roam in vain search for goodness, love, and meaning. If we want to find our true life, however, Jesus said, “Abide in me” (John 15:4 esv). Biblical scholar Frederick Dale Bruner highlights how abide (like a similar word abode) evokes a sense of family and home. So Bruner translates Jesus’ words this way: “Stay at home in me.”
To drive this idea home, Jesus used the illustration of branches attached to a vine. Branches, if they want to live, must always stay at home, tenaciously fixed (abiding) where they belong.
There are many voices beckoning us with hollow promises to fix our problems or provide us some new “wisdom” or exhilarating future. But if we’re to truly live, we must remain in Jesus. We must stay at home.
REFLECT: What pulls you away from your home in Jesus? How has Jesus shown Himself to be your true source of life?
PRAY: Jesus, I like to roam. I’m pulled in all kinds of directions. But I want to stay at home with You. You’re my life. Help me to abide in You.
Our Daily Bread Devotional 4 April 2023 || ODB for Tuesday Message . Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY