Abiding in Christ - Fruitful

John 15: 5 (KJV) - "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

We are continuing in the study of what Abiding in Christ means, we have come to the understanding that abiding in Christ means that a person walks and is in fellowship with Him. We already noted the words of the prophet Amos - "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" If we are in fellowship with God, we are walking with Christ in an intimate and continual way. Our verse minds us that if we are abiding in Christ, we will be fruitful.

Many people discuss what it is that Jesus means when He says that we bear fruit and live a fruitful life. Some say that Jesus is speaking of making other believers, while others say He is speaking of the Fruit of the Spirit. I believe that they are both right. When we consider bearing fruit - I think that as we abide in Christ, we will be seeking to share the gospel and help lead people to the Savior. We will be looking for ways to have the opportunity to converse with people about finding Jesus and accepting His free gift of eternal life. I also believe that we must have a fruitful life - in other words we should be living in such a way that the Fruit of the Spirit (shown in Galatians 5 - we will look at these in the future) shines out of our day-to-day living experiences.

For a person to claim to have fellowship and abide in Christ, and not show forth the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives - well, they might need to do a spiritual checkup. After all, if we are truly dwelling IN Christ, then He will be shining OUT of us.

Muse today over whether the Fruit of the Spirit identifies your life. And if not, if we are failing somewhere in the list, what can we do to allow Jesus to develop what is lacking, and shine through us.

Abiding in Christ - Koinonia

John 17: 21 - 23 (KJV): "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."

We are continuing in the study of what Abiding in Christ means, we have come to the understanding that abiding in Christ means that a person walks and is in fellowship with Him. We already noted the words of the prophet Amos - "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" If we are in fellowship with God, we are walking with Christ in an intimate and continual way. Our verses at the start, John 17: 21-23, remind us that abiding in Christ means that we live in love, unity, and fellowship with other believers.

Jesus and the Father lived in perfect fellowship with One another. They have perfect harmony. They have perfect unity. And, this is Jesus prayer (part of His High Priestly prayer in John 17) for all of the believers. That's you and me. Notice, He prays the we "may be one, even as we are one...." We are to seek to be just like Christ, and if we dwell in Him, we need to be in unity and harmony with our fellow believers.

Today, consider how you have been doing in the fellowship with other believers part. Are you at odds with anyone? Is there a quarrelsome relationship going on? If so, what would God have you to do to make it right. It is not up to the other person, it is up to each of us to do what  God has shown us - and He will take care of the other person.

Abiding in Christ - Power to Live

We are continuing in the study of what Abiding in Christ means, we have come to the understanding that abiding in Christ means that a person walks and is in fellowship with Him. We already noted the words of the prophet Amos - "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" If we are in fellowship with God, we are walking with Christ in an intimate and continual way. Our verse on the left - John 15:7 causes us to muse over the factor that having the Word of God abiding in us, gives us the power to live our lives as we should.

When Jesus was speaking these words to His disciples, He was talking in a metaphoric way using the picture of a grape vine. Possibly they were standing in the midst of a vineyard, and thus the picture was very clear to those He was talking too.

They were looking at a vine - and they could see His imagery of His words very plainly. Jesus compared Himself to the vine - that part of the plant that connected with the earth and brought the water and nutrients to the branches - who then took it to the fruit. As long as a branch remained connected to, attached to the main vine, it received the power to continue living. And, with this power, the branch is able to produce the fruit that is expected from it. The grapes (fruit) received its life from the branch, which received it from the vine.

A Christian is to produce fruit - we find the description of this fruit in Galatians 5:22-23 - and this fruit is Christlikeness. We are incapable of truly being Christlike under our own power. We need to receive this power from somewhere - and that comes directly from Christ. For us to have the power to live our lives as we should, we must be abiding in Christ. To be Christlike, we MUST receive the power to do this from Jesus Himself, and we must abide (fellowship) with Him completely.

Today, muse over the ways that you abide in Christ - and seek for the power to live life as you should.

Abiding in Christ - Holy Spirit Presence

1 John 4: 12-13 (NLT) - No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

We are continuing in the study of what Abiding in Christ means, we have come to the understanding that abiding in Christ means that a person walks and is in fellowship with Him. We already noted the words of the prophet Amos - "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" If we are in fellowship with God, we are walking with Christ in an intimate and continual way. Our verse at the start of this musing speaks to us that a proof that we have that we are abiding in Christ is the experience and witness of God's Holy Spirit living in us.

I remember when I received Christ as my Savior in 1962 at the age of 10. I can still see the place, and the people there. It was a real experience, and I can know that I know for certain that I have Eternal Life. God's Word makes it clear that when we have received Christ, we have Eternal Life and it is permanent. That is because we have been sealed by the Spirit of God - Ephesians 4:30 (NKJV) - "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." We are Saved by Christ, Sanctified by Christ, and Secure by Christ.

Going back to my remembrance - it was just a couple of weeks later that I went to my Pastor, Rev. Cecil Anderson, and told him I didn't think I was saved. He asked me why I felt that way. I told him it was because I was sinning so much. He asked me what I had been doing, I shared with him, and then he asked if I had been doing these things before I was saved. I said Yes, and that was why I thought I was still unsaved. He then asked me a profound question - "Did I sense that these things were wrong before I was Saved? Did they bother me then?" As I thought I realized that no, I wasn't even aware of the things I was doing.

He told me, that this seemed to point to the fact that I was saved - because I had the Holy Spirit living in me, and now He was causing me to sense those things that were wrong. He said that according to 1st John, that was a good sign that I had received Christ.

So, today, consider if you know that the Spirit of God is living in you? How do you know? I'm not talking about feelings, but what proves that the Holy Spirit is in you? How does He make His presence felt in your life? In line with this, tomorrow's devotion will talk about having the power to live life as we should. See you then.

Abiding in Christ - Word Dweller

1 John 2:14 (HCSB) - "I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you, and you have had victory over the evil one."

Continuing in the study of what Abiding in Christ means, we have come to the understanding that abiding in Christ means that a person walks and is in fellowship with Him. We already noted the words of the prophet Amos - "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" If we are in fellowship with God, we are walking with Christ in an intimate and continual way. Our verse at the start of this musing speaks that we ought to dwell in God's Word - and more importantly - it should dwell in us.

"God's word remains in you...." What a great statement to be given to a believer. I desire above all other things that people recognize me as a person that the Word of God dwells in them. I know that I have failed (miserably at times) to display that I have God's Word dwelling (abiding) in me. I have many times gone to my knees and asked God's forgiveness in not displaying Him in my actions or words.

Here the apostle John says that those who are mature in the faith are to remember that they have accepted Jesus Christ - the message given from the very beginning (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) that Jesus is the Son of God, He died and rose again, and offers us salvation, forgiveness, and reconciliation to God the Father. This is the first most important step anyone must take to be accepted into God's family. Then John goes on to say to the growing Christian that they are strong when God's Word is dwelling in them. When they read, study and apply God's Word, then it will live inside of us. And this dwelling of God's Word will give us the ultimate victory over the evil one - Satan.

How do we have the word dwell in us? Start by reading it. Then memorize the Scriptures. Everyone can memorize Scripture. To say we can't is making God a liar. Psalm 119:9,11 (HCSB) says - "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word. ¹¹ I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You." And we see in Colossians 3:16 (NKJV) - "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom...." 

Today, make a commitment to God to memorize at least one verse every month. and each verse means that God is dwelling (abiding) in your heart, mind and person.