Abide in Love: Chosen, Not Assessed

May 10, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Chosen Before You Bloomed

Jesus compares Himself to a vine and His followers to branches. A severed branch still looks alive for a time—green leaves, firm stem—but death is inevitable without connection. His command isn’t “produce fruit,” but “remain in My love.” The sap flowing through you isn’t duty, but divine love—the same love shared between Father and Son since eternity. [25:44]

This love isn’t earned. Jesus says, “As the Father loved Me, I have loved you.” Your place in Him began before your first act of obedience. Branches don’t audition to belong to the vine—they’re grafted by the Gardener’s choice.

Many of us live like employees clocking in for God’s approval. But you’re not hired help. You’re a branch wired to thrive in His love. Where have you substituted “trying harder” for simply receiving what’s already yours?

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
(John 15:9-10, NLT)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for choosing you before you accomplished anything. Ask Him to help you rest in this truth today.

Challenge: Write “I was chosen before I was assessed” on a sticky note. Place it where you’ll see it hourly.

Day 2: In the Room Where It Happened

Jesus gathers His disciples hours before His arrest. Servants execute orders without understanding the plan. But Jesus says, “I call you friends, for everything I learned from the Father I have made known to you.” He pulls them into the inner circle, revealing God’s heart like a king confiding in trusted advisors. [44:03]

Friendship with God means access. Jesus doesn’t hide the Father’s intentions—He shares them freely. The disciples didn’t earn this through perfect theology or flawless loyalty (they’d soon flee!). Trust flows from love, not performance.

You might default to treating prayer like submitting reports to a CEO. But Christ invites you into the war room where strategies of grace are forged. What decision are you facing today that requires leaning into friendship, not just duty?

“I no longer call you slaves… Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.”
(John 15:15, NLT)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one aspect of His character He wants you to know more deeply this week.

Challenge: Identify one area where you’ve felt “outside the room” with God. Share it with a trusted believer today.

Day 3: Not Servants, But Friends

Jesus stuns His followers: “You did not choose me. I chose you.” In a world where value hinges on grades, job titles, and social metrics, this declaration upends everything. His choice precedes your achievements—like a coach selecting players before tryouts. [47:16]

This truth dismantles the fear of being “found out.” Servants worry about meeting standards. Friends rest in being wanted. When Jesus appoints you (John 15:16), He isn’t filling a role—He’s welcoming a person.

Performance culture trains us to hide weaknesses. But friendship with Christ flourishes in vulnerability. Where are you pretending competency instead of admitting your need for Him?

“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit.”
(John 15:16, NLT)

Prayer: Confess one insecurity you’ve tried to manage alone. Ask Jesus to meet you there as a friend.

Challenge: Text a friend: “Jesus chose you first. How can I pray for you this week?”

Day 4: Torchlight in New Norcia

A man walks through a dark field, guided only by a small torch and distant cottage lights. Jesus is both the light in his hand (present companionship) and the light ahead (future hope). The disciples felt this tension—comforted by Christ’s presence yet anxious about His coming departure. [28:28]

Jesus doesn’t promise floodlights revealing every step. He offers enough light for the next footfall. The same love that held Him to the cross holds you through life’s uncertainties.

We often crave blueprints, but Christ gives relationship. What practical worry keeps you from trusting His nearness today?

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
(John 8:12, NLT)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to highlight one area where He wants you to trust His guidance over your plans.

Challenge: Take a 5-minute walk tonight without artificial light. Notice how your eyes adjust to the darkness.

Day 5: From Servant to Friend

Servants focus on tasks. Friends prioritize presence. Jesus redefines obedience: “If you keep my commands, you’ll remain in my love.” The Greek word for “keep” means to tend like a fire—nurturing intimacy, not checking boxes. His command? “Love each other as I’ve loved you.” [52:41]

Agape love flows outward. You can’t manufacture it through effort—it’s the spillover of abiding. Trying to love without connection leads to burnout. But rooted in Christ, love becomes as natural as grapes on a vine.

Where have you reduced “loving others” to a chore list rather than an overflow of friendship with Jesus?

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
(John 15:11, NLT)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for one person who modeled His love to you. Ask Him to renew your joy in loving others.

Challenge: Do one kind act today without telling anyone—let it be between you and Jesus.

Sermon Summary

We belong because we remain in the love that is the life of Christ. We stay connected not to a set of religious tasks but to a relationship defined by agape, the deliberate, unconditional love between Father and Son that now flows into us. We keep his commands as a way of tending what we already have, not as a way to win something we lack; obedience becomes the natural fruit of being held, not a means to earn belonging. We move from performing for a distant judge to sitting at the table as friends who know the heart behind the words, because the one who calls us friend has already laid down his life for us. Our status comes from his choice, not from our results; that choice reorients prayer, purpose, and mission so that we ask as those already invited into the inner room. This membership carries an appointment - we are placed for a purpose - and it sends us back into the world to invite others into belonging. Practically, we root ourselves in the simple truth that we were chosen before we were assessed, return to that truth often, and let that reality free us to love others without the strain of performance. The table of communion becomes the recurring reminder that belonging is received and celebrated, and it anchors us to the light that is with us and ahead of us.

Key Takeaways

1. Abide within Christ's love We locate our life in the relational space of Jesus’ love rather than in practices alone. When we remain in that love, our actions flow from security, not from anxiety about adequacy. That rootedness reshapes how we pray, decide, and relate. [32:13]
2. Keeping means tending, not obeying The verb Jesus uses points to tending a fire or guarding a promise, not submitting to orders. We understand commands as ways to nurture the love that already holds us, which produces faithful action from gratitude rather than compulsion. This redefinition frees us to steward what we have been given. [33:50]
3. We are friends, not servants Friendship means being invited into the reasons, into the “why,” not merely executing tasks from the margins. As friends we receive knowledge and purpose; we share table and story, and we are entrusted with mission. This shifts our identity from expendable labor to trusted participation. [44:03]
4. Chosen before being assessed Our standing with God originates in his elective love, not in any evaluation of our performance. Because he chose us first, we enter prayer, vocation, and witness from a place of belonging, not bargaining. That fact reorients how we carry failure, success, and waiting in life. [47:16]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[06:01] - Series intro and gospel focus
[23:12] - Reading John 15:9-17
[25:19] - Branch illustration of connection
[26:01] - Monastery: seeing the light
[29:02] - Hearing about Jesus to being known
[32:13] - Abiding in love explained
[44:03] - Friendship in place of servanthood
[47:16] - Chosen before being assessed
[54:05] - Practical step: hold the truth
[59:19] - Communion invitation and table
[70:37] - Prayer for mothers and send-off

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 15:9-17 (NLT)
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.”

Observation Questions

In verse 12, what specific command does Jesus give, and how does he define its scope?
How does Jesus contrast the relationship of a "servant" and a "friend" in verses 14-15?
According to verse 16, what two actions does Jesus say He took toward his followers, and what is their purpose?
The sermon described "keeping commands" as "tending a fire" rather than submitting to orders. How does this analogy align with Jesus’ words in verse 10? [33:50]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Jesus emphasize that his followers are "appointed" (v. 16) and how does this connect to the idea of being "chosen before being assessed"? [47:16]
How does the shift from "servant" to "friend" (v. 15) change the way we understand prayer and obedience?
Jesus says, "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends" (v. 13). How does this statement challenge cultural definitions of love or success?
The sermon described agape as "a decision, not a feeling." How does this definition reshape our understanding of Jesus’ command to "love each other" (v. 17)? [39:54]

Application Questions

If obedience is about "tending" love rather than earning approval, what is one practical way to reframe a daily habit (e.g., prayer, serving others) to reflect this mindset? [33:50]
How might writing the phrase "I was chosen before I was assessed" in a visible place help combat feelings of inadequacy or performance anxiety this week? [54:05]
What would it look like to approach God as a "friend" rather than a "servant" in a current situation where you feel pressure to perform or prove yourself?
Who in your life needs to hear that belonging is a gift, not a reward? How could you intentionally share this truth with them through words or actions? [56:17]
The sermon described communion as a "recurring reminder" of belonging. How can regularly reflecting on Jesus’ sacrifice deepen your security in his love? [59:19]
When have you experienced love as a decision (agape) rather than a feeling? How might this shape the way you respond to someone difficult to love right now?

Sermon Clips

56s

#ChosenNotAssessed

“That you don't have to earn your way back to Jesus because you were never assessed to be out of Jesus. And if you're still working out what you think about Jesus, if the performance review image, I suppose, hits closer to home than the friendship one, here is the question worth sitting with this week. And the question is this, what would it mean to explore a relationship with a god who says that you are chosen and not assessed? What would it mean to explore that kind of relationship? Not a god who grades you, not a god who waits to see you perform well enough to be let in, but a god who chose you from before you knew anything about him, who moved towards you first.”

47s

#HeldByJesus

“And I want you to understand this, that Jesus is strong enough to hold you, and he chose to be broken for you. That's what this looks like from the inside. The greater love is not a metaphor. The greater love is Jesus. But here's the difference, I suppose, the difference between what Jesus did and what Hamilton did in this in the musical. Right? Aaron Burr, he wanted to be in the room. He schemed for it. He watched for every door to try and get in. But you, each and every one of you, you you don't have to do that. It doesn't have to be that way.”

52s

#ChosenBeforeResults

“Perhaps it was a course offer. Perhaps it was a visa decision. Perhaps a a job application or a team selection. Do you remember what it felt like to wait, to wonder if your name would ever be called? You know, some of you, I think you remember exactly what it feels like when you when your name wasn't called, when the job that you applied for was rejected, when the course that you wanted to get into, you didn't get into. But here's the difference. Jesus says this, before any of that happened, I chose you. Not based on your results, not based on what you had to offer. It was based on nothing you did at all.”

62s

#FriendshipNotSacrifice

“Jesus isn't just declaring them as friends. He is being a friend to them right now at that table the night before his everything falls apart. Now in verse 13, this is where we pay off something from last week. Verse 13 says this, greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. And I wanna make sure that you don't turn this principle, don't let this become a principle about sacrifice. Jesus is not illustrating a concept. What's he doing? He's narrating what is what will happen to him later that night.”

45s

#LifeDeathResurrection

“He paid for it through his life, his death, his burial and resurrection. Jesus chose you. That's what his life, death, and resurrection means. His love for the world, his obedience to the father. Right? This is the foundation. It's not a target. It's not a reward. Jesus is the foundation for our lives. And so as I close, I wanna take you back to the image at the beginning where I stood in the paddock in New Norcia. Right? Pitch black, no moon, no lights anywhere, Just the Milky Way above me. And the light of my cottage that was ahead of me. Right? In my hand, a torch.”

52s

#RemainInLove

“You're not remaining in a discipline. You're not remaining in a routine. What you're remaining in is love. And the sap that runs through the branch, last week we said it was the life of Jesus. And this week, we find out that life what this life is made of, it's made of love. The same love that has always existed between the father and son now overflows into each and every one of you. In verse 10, I wanna show you something, and it's very important detail because there's two words in this verse that may, if you've thought about it, may have already created some distance between you and the rest of the passage.”

45s

#WriteItDownChosen

“Oh, not this sentence. I want you to write a sentence, somewhere where you'll see it. And the sentence is this, I was chosen before I was assessed. I was chosen before I was assessed. I want you to write it down, read it once, and that's all. That's the whole step. That's all I'm asking you to do. Write it down. Put it somewhere where you can see it, and put it away. Right? This is not about something to to generate a feeling, but this is for you to understand as a fact to return to.”

49s

#OriginOfFriendship

“Why? Because the my third point is this. Why? Because Jesus says, you did not choose me. I chose you. Right? You did not choose this. He did. Verse 16. Third teaching point. Jesus says there there are two things that happened in rapid succession, and both of these matter. First one, he says this, that you are his friends. That is your status, that you are declared as friends. Then immediately Jesus says, no. You didn't choose me, but I chose you. And I want you to understand this is the origin of your status as friends.”

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What is the location of abiding according to Jesus

How does Jesus redefine obedience versus keeping

Why is friendship chosen not earned by performance