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Abide

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:48 pm
by logi bear
Another devotional from my church : )

Abide
February 20th, 2012

In John 15:1-5 we read, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 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.

Christian, you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Him. That’s what Jesus says. He is the Vine and we are the branches. Apart from the work of the Spirit of God and apart from the Lord’s leading, we can do absolutely nothing. The great commission that we are given in Acts 1:8 to be witnesses of Jesus, to the whole world, would be mission impossible unless we are led by the Spirit of God.

Sometimes Jesus asks us to do some crazy stuff, doesn’t He? He asks us to love our enemies. He asks us to good to those who persecute us, use us and don’t even care about us. He asks us to turn the other cheek when we’ve been slapped. He asks us to love our wives and our husbands and be faithful, in a generation and world where people don’t do that. Jesus raised the bar so incredibly high that it is impossible to you and me to obey and follow His commands apart from the Spirit of God abounding in our lives.

There’s nothing that any of us can do to be effective for God and His Kingdom unless He is in it with us. That’s why Paul said, that we need to make our calling and election sure. Make sure it’s God. When God calls you to do something, He does crazy things. He will blow your mind! Make sure He’s in it! He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent and able to do things that we can’t even fathom! It’s a wonderful ride when you know that God is calling you and leading you. It’s only aggravating and exhausting and stressful when you are not led by the Spirit of God. But when you are, as Zechariah 4:6 says, that it’s not by our might or our power, but by His Spirit. And we will be blown away by how He works.

Abide in His grace. Without Him, we can do nothing. Look to those verses. The only thing WE can do is make mistakes and mess up and blow it. But for the good, there is nothing we can do apart from Jesus. Cling to His Truth. Remember Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We can be used for His glory. Without God we can do nothing; with Him, we can do all things. Get busy this week about His business! Watch Him do magnificent things because He’s in it!

Re: Abide

PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:40 pm
by Mackenaw
Amen! Amen!! Amen!!!

God bless and keep you, Logi Bear.
Love,
Mack