Word of the Week - Abiding
I am the vine you are the branches, if you abide in me I will abide in you and you will bare much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing John 15:5
Abiding in Christ - I truly believe that a daily abiding relationship with the Lord is the single most important thing we can do after we make a decision to follow Christ and receive salvation. This is where our faith becomes active and we receive the power and benefits of our faith. The word Remain is used synonymously with Abide in several translations, simply put it means to stay connected and become one with the Lord. What is interesting about this quote from Jesus, is how He makes it clear that there is a condition for us to stay connected to Him, we must go first and be the initiator/pursuer. He says that if we Abide in Him, then He will reciprocate and Abide in us. God wants to be our first priority. “Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and all things will be added unto you” Matthew 6:33. I am convinced that abiding is an active process that manifest in daily actions of pursuing the Lord, which allow us to respond in love to what Jesus did for us on the cross. Abiding is not just an idea or a nice thought or feeling, it is truly a passionate pursuit to engage with the Lord and remain in deep ongoing relationship with Him.What it looks like to Abide - So what does it mean to Abide in the Vine of Christ and how do we actively connect with an invisible God. Similar to connecting with another person, there is no one right way to abide in Christ, the biggest thing is that we make it a priority and daily pursuit. Here are a few examples of how we can abide in Christ:1) talking with the Lord daily and intimately – Prayer, 2) telling Him how great He is and how much we appreciate what He has done for us – Praise & Worship, 3) learning about His very nature and what He cares about – Reading His Word/Bible, 4) making a point to care about what He cares about – loving and serving others, 5) telling people about Him and how great He is – discipleship/evangelism, 6) encouraging each other in our walk of faith – fellowship of believers / church body, and 7) simply thinking about Him and meditating on who He is and who you are in Him.Fruit of Abiding in Christ - The best part of all of this is that the Lord blesses us with amazing fruit/blessings when we stay connected to Him in an abiding relationship. These are fruits/gifts that we cannot manufacture for ourselves, they are simply a byproduct of His very nature at work within us. They include but are not limited to: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control. Who would not want these wonderful gifts that are the fruit of God’s spirit being produced in us so our lives become a blessing that produce Kingdom fruit. “Therefor by your fruits you will know them” Matthew 7:20. The spiritual fruit of our lives is truly the evidence of God power at work within us.I had the privilege of serving at the Birmingham Outback https://www.jhoutback.com/ this weekend (an amazing family focused ministry that I love and highly recommend), and was reminded of what God has done in my life and my family over the past 20 years since I gave my life to Christ and began abiding. For the first 33 years of my life, I was not abiding in Christ and I cannot point to any spiritual fruit from that period of my life (nothing). By the grace of God and being part of great ministries like JH Outback, Church of the Highlands, Heritage Forum and others, God has produced amazing spiritual fruit in my life, family, ministry and business over the last 20 years. There is no doubt in my mind that this is all God’s work and the byproduct of making God a daily priority, and abiding in the vine of Christ.“God will do immeasurably more than you can ever ask or imagine, in and through you, by His power at work within you” Ephesians 3:20, but this only happens if you remain connected to the vine of Christ.Sincerely,Duane