Abide

The passage about abiding in John has always been one of my favorites. I was able to read through this passage recently with some women and share what God has taught me through His Word, encounters with Him, and through His Spirit.

When I hear the word abide, it automatically inspires a deep inhale as if the word itself can offer rest and renewal. Being still and “remaining” are things I long for. For some of you, the thought of abiding and rest and peace seem far and foreign. I pray that as you enter this Christmas season, you breathe in the peace-producing presence of our God who longs for you to be connected to Him through the Vine, Jesus, who offers complete and ultimate satisfaction.

The word abide by definition means “to remain, to await, to dwell.” Some people find abiding hard to understand or complicated, when in fact abiding is simply making our home in and with Jesus. Jesus says He will come to those who ask and make a home within us (John 14:23). Then He invites us to make our home, abide, remain, dwell in Him. The way that we do that is to remain completely connected to the Vine.

Abiding is making much of Him and little of ourselves. Abiding is obeying not just believing. Abiding is surrendering our will to His, allowing the Word and His word to transform our hearts and minds and souls and desires. Abiding is us responding to God’s relentless seeking of us with a relentless seeking of Him.

Throughout much of my spiritual walk I have believed that I could do something to produce more fruit in my life. It has not been until more recent years that God has opened my eyes to the fact that Jesus says in John 15:1 that His Father is the Gardener. That means that He is the One responsible for producing. It is through my remaining connected to the Vine that God, the Gardener, produces fruit. Not only does He produce fruit, but when we abide in Him, He has promised to produce MUCH fruit, an abundance of fruit, which results in an abundance of life through being connected to the Life.

What a giving, provisional Father we have! Jesus continues in His teaching on abiding by revealing His and the Father’s heart….He says He wants us to know all of this, to follow this design, and to remain intimately attached to Him so that we may have HIS JOY and our joy may be COMPLETE! The path to true joy is the vital, life-giving, life-growing, life-sustaining, life-abundant connection to the Vine.

I encourage you to take some time to thank God for the indescribable and incomprehensible gift of connection with Him through Jesus, Our Vine. Spend some time reading and praying through John 15.

“I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener.” (John 15:1)

“…He prunes so that it will be EVEN MORE fruitful.” (John 15:2)

“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you…” (John 15:4, MSG)

“…apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

“My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit.” (John 15:8)

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” (John 15:9)

“If you keep my commands, you will remain intimately at home in my love.” (John 15:10, MSG)

“I have told you this so that my JOY may be in you and that your JOY may be COMPLETE.” (John 15:11)

“Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

“You are my friends…” (John 15:14)

“…I chose you and appointed you that you might go and bear fruit.” (John 15:15)

Make much of Him today. Respond to His awe-inspiring invitation to attach yourself to the Vine so that you may receive His life, love, and joy. Make Him your home and live abundantly in Him.

Shared with love,

Lindsay