{"id":25094,"date":"2015-03-25T00:20:45","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T04:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=25094"},"modified":"2015-03-25T00:05:56","modified_gmt":"2015-03-25T04:05:56","slug":"fellowship-through-the-vine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2015\/03\/25\/fellowship-through-the-vine\/","title":{"rendered":"Fellowship Through The Vine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SeekingHimLogo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM<\/em><\/strong>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

I AM<\/strong> The Light of the World
\nI AM<\/strong> The Bread of Life
\nI AM<\/strong> The Door <\/em><\/span>
\nI AM<\/strong> The Good Shepherd
\nI AM<\/strong> The True Vine <\/em><\/span>
\nI AM<\/strong> The Way, The Truth, and The Life<\/em><\/span>
\nI AM<\/strong> The Resurrection and The Life<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him<\/em> blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus\u2019 revelation of Himself as I AM<\/em><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus\u2019 sacrifice\u2014His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death\u2026and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead. \u00a0We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them. \u00a0And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus\u2019 words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~ \u00a0 \u2665 \u00a0 ~\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u271e\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~ \u00a0\u2665 \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

I AM<\/span><\/em> <\/strong>the Vine<\/span>; you are the branches.
\nIf a man remains in Me and I in him,
\nhe will bear much fruit;
\napart from Me you can do nothing.
\nJohn 15:5<\/p>\n

Listening to K-LOVE as I drove home from work yesterday, something sparked a conversation with God about the difference between relationship <\/strong>and fellowship<\/strong><\/span> with the Lord. I felt I was being told that I should write about this for my devotional…to which I promptly responded that I didn’t know what the topic is this week, but I’d see if it fit in. \u00a0Silly me, right? \u00a0(If the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, I do believe He knows what He is talking about.)<\/p>\n

The conversation continued. \u00a0I pondered the difference between relationship <\/strong>and fellowship<\/strong><\/span>. \u00a0Relationship<\/strong>, although very basic, is a distinguishing factor of Christianity. \u00a0(Without a dictionary in hand) I concluded that it is possible to have a relationship<\/strong> with someone, but not be in fellowship<\/strong> <\/span>with them. And it seems very unlikely, if even at all possible, to be in fellowship<\/strong> <\/span>with someone and not have a relationship<\/strong> with them.<\/p>\n

But now, I have my NLT dictionary\/concordance handy and have the proper definitions:<\/p>\n