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. (John 15:4 KJV)
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| From https://brandinicolejm.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/john_15_4.jpg |
In the last few years, I
have seen many posts on choosing a word to focus on for the year—for those of
us in Christ that should be a word the Lord give us as we seek Him for His
desire for us. This year, I decided to
reveal the word I believe the Lord desires me to study, to focus on, and to
understand more fully from a Christian perspective. The word I was directed to could really
change things for me and my life as a Christian. (As an aside, last year’s word was trust, as in God saying, “Trust
Me.”)
My word for the year is abide.
Abide. Abide in Jesus and not
leave—stay in Him.
Webster’s
Dictionary of 1828
defines abide like this: “1. To rest, or dwell. .... 2.
To tarry or stay for a short time. ... 3. To continue permanently or in the same state;
to be firm and immovable. … 4. To
remain, to continue… To wait for; to be prepared for; to await. ... To endure or sustain. …”[1]
Other words
for abide, for my context, are: dwell,
submit to (humility), remain, continue, and stay.
Knowing the synonyms is helpful in gaining understanding of exactly what
it means to abide.
When we abide in Jesus we have the strength to do what we have
been called to do; strength to face incredibly hard days. It when we abide that we can do all things—something we cannot do if we
only have an intellectual faith or depend solely on our mind, our own strength
to live as a Christian.
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. (John 15:5 KJV)
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| From https://shadowlilies.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/john15_5.jpg |
It is when we abide in Jesus that we bear
fruit. When we wander away from Jesus,
from the vine, we suffer; we dry up and produce nothing noteworthy. What we produce in the flesh will not
last. Ultimately, without abiding in
Jesus we will wander away from the faith when things get difficult.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath
not seen him, neither known him. (1John
3:6 KJV)
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| From http://image.slidesharecdn.com/slidesharedailybibleverse201502060545-150206074634-conversion-gate02/95/1-john-36-bible-verse-of-the-day-1-638.jpg?cb=1423208833 |
Abiding in Jesus, being firmly attached to
the vine, empowers our Christian walk.
It is a matter of heart. No
amount of intellect will assist us here, in fact, it may be detrimental. Abiding with Jesus, truly abiding will change
our lives in ways we cannot begin to imagine!
Last year, I read three books by Corrie
ten Boom (The Hiding Place impacted
me deeply). I was amazed at the depth of
faith in the ten Boom family. They along
with many other Dutch Reformed Christians determined to stand up to the Nazis
and did all they could to protect the Jewish people in Holland. Due to their faith, they paid a very steep
price: imprisonment, getting sent to
concentration camps in Germany (almost certain death), and in some cases they
paid with their life. That is the type
of faith I desire!
I do not know about you; I know that I
want to be ready, willing to give my life for Jesus! My hunch is that my word for the year, if I
truly focus on it, may be crucial in my preparations for when I face
persecution due to following Jesus.
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| From https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/4d/75/0b/4d750bc9f777f28fa93f736d2d91af2e.jpg |
He that dwelleth
in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. (Psalm 91:1 KJV)
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| From https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfa1/t51.2885-15/s320x320/e15/11357669_1612891885655218_318992201_n.jpg |
Ahh…dwelling in the secret place… I cannot not think of a better place to
dwell, to abide.
What word has
the Lord directed you to for the year?
How are you
abiding in Christ?
Please join with
me in prayer:
Dear Heavenly
Father: As we embark on this year, show
us how we are to abide in Jesus. Draw us
more and more to You, as we seek Your face and desire to do Your will. In many ways we know that we need to abide in
Jesus if we expect to do much of anything, yet it is so easy to wander off at
times. Thank You for all the times You
wooed us back to You after we wandered away from Your side. Cause us to seek to dwell with You in the
secret place, where will find such protection and provision, we will do things
we never dreamed were possible. In
Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
From My Heart to
Yours,
Kim
Lovely! You have picked a God-breathed word that I am sure is going to bring you peaceful dwelling in that secret place of the most High. Last year my word was 'content.' Content to be completely who God made me. And this year it is 'confidence' to use my unique gifts and talents God has given me.
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn, thank you so much for stopping by and commenting! I'm looking forward to all that God has to teach me this year about abiding--dwelling in that secret place of the most High. I love your word from last year and your word for this year.
DeleteBlessings on your weekend!
Kim
Hi Kim! First of all, I love all the images that accompany your post today. So pretty and inspiring!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finding your word for the year! I think 'abide' is such a peaceful, yet challenging word. You mentioned that it allows you to stay firmly attached to the vine, and that's a great picture in my mind. Abide does mean stay, and keep company...at least to me. And what else would God want for you but that?
I have read Corrie Ten Boom's book, and my small group all went together to see the play of The Hiding Place. It was such an amazing story, how can someone be so strong?? It has to be the Lord.
Have a great weekend my friend, abiding in the love of the Lord,
Ceil
Hi Ceil! Thank you for your kind comments. It's a true struggle to find the images for my posts, yet I know it gives some "color" to my posts.
DeleteYes, abide is, as you said, "peaceful, yet challenging". For me, the idea of abiding is a two-way street (Scripture seems to indicate this)--we're in Christ and He is in us--communication occurs.
The play of "The Hiding Place" had to be amazing and challenging. A movie titled "The Hiding Place" came out in the early to mid 1970s (from World Wide Pictures)--I think it has been updated rather recently. You're correct, the ten Booms' strength was from the Lord--from abiding in Him.
Blessings on your weekend!
Kim
As I've mentioned before to you, Kim, I love the word you have chosen and how wonderfully it fits you for the year. May 2016 be the year we all seek to abide firmly in Jesus!
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, Thank you for your kind comments. I'm enjoying, thus far, studying the word/Scriptures regarding abide (and some synonyms)--just started this week. Yes, may we all seek to abide firmly in Jesus!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Abiding in Jesus. You're right, Kim. There is no better place to be. My word for this year has to be faith. I'm working through The Faith Project as God leads me . . . trusting He is drawing me closer and helping me live in and with love. God bless you!
ReplyDeleteDeb, Thank you for your kind comments. You're word is great too. Where would we be without faith? It's so amazing to have God draw us closer, ever closer to Him.
DeleteBlessings!