THE VINEYARD: VINE & BRANCHES I am currently washing sheets and before placing them in the washer, I had to remove a few stains with Shout.  I thought about today's devotional reading from Our Daily Bread, the writer discussed stains that need to be removed; not just in laundry but in ourselves when we offend God, including each other.  The Scripture passage used was the book of Jeremiah chapter 2, verses 1-5 and 21-22.  At the end of the reading is a section called Insight discussing Jeremiah's words regarding the nation of Israel as the choice vine planted by God in which the people corrupted themselves turning their backs on God and going after idols.  As a result, God chastised the people but, God promised to bring them back to their land. Jesus used the image of the vineyard.  He told a parable, a story regarding a vineyard in which the tenants killed the owner's servants and eventually killing his son (Matthew 21:33-41).  Jesus, in John chapter 15...