Abide in Christ - Confession

1 John 4:14-15 (NKJV) - "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."

In our present musings, we are considering what it means to abide in Christ. There are a number of items that the Scriptures give as ways to see that we are abiding in Christ. Each day I want us to spend time together musing over these points. It is vital that we dwell in Christ to have complete fellowship with Him. I want to help us understand that I am not talking about salvation, I am talking about fellowship and fruitfulness. No man can abide in Christ unless he first belongs to Him.

John in his letter to believers (1 John) tells us that abiding in Christ means that a person confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. By this John means that we must be saved to even begin to abide in Christ. For a person to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, first they must believe that He is who He says He is. One must believe that Jesus is God, He was in all eternity past, He is in eternity present, and He will always be in eternity future. One must believe that Jesus took human flesh and dwelt upon this earth. One must believe that Jesus Christ went to the Cross for them, to pay the penalty of their sin. They must believe that Jesus rose on the third day- victorious over sin, death, and Hell.

And then, they must take that knowledge 18 inches - from their head to their heart. They must come to Him, confess they are a sinner, and receive the free gift of forgiveness, the gift of having the penalty paid and making them free. They must see that God now comes and lives inside of them - they have exchanged their sinfulness for the righteousness of Jesus - and therefore can stand clean and pure before the Holy and Righteous Creator.

So, muse over the teaching that for one to abide in Christ, it means that they confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Abide in Christ

John 15:4 (NKJV) - "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."

We are going to embark upon a study of a very vital part of our Christian life and walk. That is the teaching of Jesus in John 15 about our being a part of the Vine. He spoke in John 15:5 (NKJV) - "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him..." This is an important issue that we need to make a part of our life daily. In the Old Testament the prophet Amos asks the question, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3, NKJV) And we know that the answer is in reality - No.

The word "abide" (Greek meinate) means to continue, dwell, endure, remain, or tarry. This word is used 120 times in the New Testament. What Jesus is speaking about here is that we dwell with Him, we stay in fellowship with Him continually. This verse can be taken in two ways. First, it is a promise - "You abide in me, and I will abide in you," or it can be an admonition - "See to it that you abide in me, and I will abide in you." Either way, Jesus is stressing the importance of us abiding, dwelling, in Him. In fact, following up from last week's musings - maybe one of reasons we don't share and see results is because we are not abiding in Jesus.

The Bible gives us a number of images and defining items that show we are abiding in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Over the next ponderings, we will consider many of these.

Today, take the time to read John 15 three or four times. Pause, listen - what is God sharing with you? Are you willing to apply what He is teaching you?

Sunday Prayertime - June 8

God, I know that You have begun a work in me. I'm trusting You to "carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Please keep my eyes open, that I will see what is Your work and Your will; that I will follow You and You only; that I will obey Your prompting and resist the detours and roadblocks that Satan will attempt to put in the way. Please give me wisdom and strength for the journey. With thanksgiving and praise for You, Amen.

Saturday Prayertime - June 7

Dear God, Sometimes I feel like I have poured myself into something or someone, and worked and fought for a cause, only to see no fruits for my labors. It all seemed in vain. But I know that You can work in all of that to fulfill a greater purpose. Please, don't let the labor of my heart and hands be in vain. I pray that all I do would be as unto You and for a good purpose and eternal value. Please bless the works of my heart and hands for Your glory. Please empower me with wisdom and insight through Your Holy Spirit. Please guide me every step and every day, to have a part in reaching this world for You and ministering to those I love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Four Simple Words - Told

John 4:28-29 (KJV) - "The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" (emphasis mine)

We are discussing that we often find it hard to share with others about Jesus Christ. We find in John 4 the account of a sinful woman meeting the Savior - the Messiah - and how He changed her life. By changing her life, she found it impossible to not share Jesus with others.

We are looking at four words - come, see, went and tell. We mused over the word "come." We discovered that the woman wasn't just saying that they needed to go and see Jesus - she was urging them to come with her. The word is used in the imperative form - she is really giving a command - "Come with me, now!" And in with this command was another - see - experience - find what I have found. And we pondered the word "went" - we are not to sit, soak, and sour - God wants us to go, grow and glow for Him.

We now will take time to consider the final word in this study - "saith" or told. This is from the Greek word légō (no, not the toy plastic blocks) - and it means to tell, to teach, to exhort. Jesus mission on earth was "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10). Our mission is set forth in Matthew 28:18-20 (Phillips) - "But Jesus came and spoke these words to them, 'All power in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. You, then, are to go and make disciples of all the nations and baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you and, remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.'”

We can't do this sitting in our pews - it demands that we are on the pathways of life sharing the experience that we have had with Jesus Christ.

A final thought to this set of musings - ask yourself today (search your inner self carefully) - "Do I have an experience with the risen Christ that  excites me to tell others about it?" What is your answer? If you do have this experience, why am we not sharing? If you must answer truthfully, No, then today is the day to establish your relationship with the King of Glory, the Savior - Jesus Christ.