Live In Christ

John 15
4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
6 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
8 When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honoured and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

The message is simple. Abide, dwell, LIVE in Jesus Christ! Whatever your experience; Whatever your circumstance; Whatever your knowledge… Abide in Him! Get to Jesus and stay in Jesus! Let the fruit of your being be HIM! HIS life, HIS love, HIS heart…
The warning is clear. Don’t leave!! Not for anything!! Don’t leave His presence! Don’t let your eyes be taken by distraction. Do not let fear rule in your heart. Root out pride and wash yourself from its fetid smell! Guard your heart with all diligence that it might not be taken from His secret place of intimacy.
We are not commanded to abide in church, denomination or community. We are not called to abide in religious practice or high moral standards. No!! We are called to abide in JESUS ONLY AND ALWAYS! Hallelujah! What an invitation and opportunity! The fruit of such a life will be HIS ALONE! The fruit of such a life will be true fellowship, true unity, true love for the body of Christ, preferring and esteeming others above self!

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].

Where else would we go? Why would we want to be anywhere else?! Hallelujah! He is LIFE! And life more abundantly! Life overflowing, from streams within! Hallelujah! He has given us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and Godliness! In HIM we have all peace, all victory, pleasures forevermore and rejoicing in all things! As we abide in Him we can ask whatever we will!! Oh Lord stir our faith to partake of your abundance! Hallelujah!
Oh, we are so fickle and prone to wander away! We are so easily distracted at times. Oh, let’s be so careful to simply abide in Jesus. Let His Spirit fill us. Let His heart and His character be seen in our conduct and conversation! May others look at us and perceive that we have been with Jesus!! Let them perceive that we are WITH HIM!
When the enemy comes in like a flood, abide in HIM. When all is burned up, wasted and lost, abide in HIM. When all is well, abide in HIM. When you feel life is all so blessed and easy, ABIDE IN HIM! Recognise how utterly dependent you are upon Him, His Life and His provision. Recognise how dead you are without HIS life and run to Him!

Matthew 12
33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

If I am in Christ, I am not in my flesh. If I am in Christ I will not be focused on my self and my desires. Christ’s body was broken, His time was interrupted, His days filled with serving and He has not changed. Oh Lord, please teach us to abide in You and may YOUR fruit be seen in YOUR people. May my life be known by YOUR good fruit.

He Will Do It!

Psalm 138
8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever-forsake not the works of Your own hands.

Psalm 139
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

Jeremiah 29
11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you,says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

HE will do it! The Lord WILL perfect the plans and purposes that He has for you. He has plans for YOU!! He has plans four your children! You have been designed, formed, planned and created with eternal reason and purpose to the glory of God!! You have been born for such a time as this! Meditate on that! Let your faith in Christ be stirred! No life is insignificant to God! NONE!! He has a divine, eternal purpose for YOU!! Hallelujah!! Oh brother/sister, get to JESUS and abide in HIM! Do not limit what He can do with very little and nothing!! He gives beauty for ashes, He restores the years that have wasted! Hallelujah!!
Your responsibility is simply to abide in Him. Abide in His Word and in His presence! Jesus said that if we abide in Him then we will bear much fruit. (John 15:1-8) We are not commanded to bear fruit! We are commanded to abide! Free yourself from the burden of trying to accomplish what only Jesus can do! You abide… He, by His Spirit dwelling within you, will cause the fruit to come! Much is promised to those who abide!
God can and will do much with the man or woman who has learned to abide. Those individuals have realised how poor in spirit they are; they mourn with godly sorrow over sin; they hunger and thirst after righteousness; they remember that they have been forgiven much and so they are humble and meek and love much! Like Abraham they “call upon The Lord” daily for His will, His wisdom, His strength, His testimony… It is a life/lifestyle of calling upon The Lord and abiding in Him! These ones rejoice evermore for their names are written in heaven! They live in fullness of joy and peace that passes understanding!!

Philippians 1
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete ituntil the day of Jesus Christ;

Be confident believer! Be confident in Jesus Christ! Be confident in His Word! Be confident in His testimonies and His promises! Trust in His Goodness! HE will perfect the plan and purposes that He has for Your life! He will lead, HE will provide, HE will sustain and HE will glorify Himself! Hallelujah! He began the work in you and HE WILL complete it as you abide in Him!! Hallelujah! HE will do it! 🙌🏻🙏🏻
He has CHOSEN the foolish things of the world! So be confident believer in your weakness for HIS strength is made perfect right there in your weakness as you cast your care upon Him and abide in Him! Be confident in your inability and confess it before Him, for that is precisely where He is able to reveal Himself! Oh hallelujah! What a Saviour!
Oh brother/sister… abide in Jesus! Stay in His presence, dwell in His secret place and HE will produce the fruit!

Father?

Galatians 3
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

⁠Paul is writing to people who were once labelled: Jew, Greek, Gentile, Male, Female, Slave, Free… But now they are made ONE IN CHRIST JESUS!! (Ephesians 2:11-22) They are ALL Abraham’s seed!! All God’s children of faith! Not divided, not joined but made ONE! In John 17 Jesus does not pray for a bloodline but a faithline. All have been adopted! All are brought into the family! All have the privilege to call God FATHER! It is only faith that can begin to understand and appreciate the application this. All of us sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Not “Christians”, not “Jews”, not “gentiles” but ONE in Christ! Hallelujah! What a faithful, consistent, unchanging Gospel!

Galatians 4
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

We have here a beautiful picture of the trinity: GOD THE FATHER, sent THE SPIRIT of HIS SON into our hearts!! Oh, let’s give that some thought! The Spirit of HIS Son whom He sent to bear His wrath in MY place because of MY SIN so that I/we can call Him FATHER!! Oh praise His mighty name!! Truly this is the Glory of God! This is the Gospel! This is God’s GLORY!! The Father has sent the Spirit of His Son into OUR hearts so that we might call Him Father! Hallelujah!
HIS Spirit cries out to HIS Father. Do we recognise that cry in our hearts? The cry of HIS life? The cry of a child in love with their father?
Consider here the parable of the prodigal. To be His slave in God’s Kingdom would be blessed enough!! But we are HIS SONS!

Luke 15
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

We are so undeserving, but we are so incredibly blessed!! Daily! It is right to feel unworthy, but it is sin to not accept The Father’s invitation!
May we have the faith to live as His child. Not as a slave to law, not as fatherless and undisciplined, but as SONS OF GOD!
”If you go to God only by obedience, you are more slave than child.” The servant serves in the master’s household, but the child enjoys the Father’s embrace. The servant may please his master, but the child is the delight of His Father! The master provides for His servants, but He lovingly longs for and blesses His children! It is right fear God and to come before Him with reverence and humility but you will find that you pray very different when He is your Father as opposed to your Master.
Consider the joy of a child, the confidence of a child, the love, trust and admiration of a child. Consider also the dependence of a child, the obedience of a child, the beauty of a wise son. The Spirit of The Son Cries out FATHER!! It is His desire that we call upon Him! Call upon your Father for help, for HIS Life, for HIS Wisdom and blessing. Cry out to The Father to establish you in His Word and in His testimony! Enjoy Him!! Enjoy His love, His abundance and His presence!!

Fellowship In Christ

John 17
21 That they all may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.
22 I have given to them the glory and honour which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are one:
23 I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and plainly recognise that You sent Me and that You have loved them even as You have loved Me.

That they may be ONE! Jesus’ prayer to His Father is that we might be ONE. One people in Christ, One with The Father and One with each other. It is His heart’s cry and His purpose that we might be ONE! Hallelujah! What a blessed Hope! Oh how little we comprehend the love and longing of The Lord toward us! That we might have the invitation and opportunity to be ONE with God! Oh praise The Lord! Hallelujah!
Jesus does not pray that His people would be in agreement with each other, or united by a cause, but that we would be ONE, a bond far deeper than mere agreement. Jesus here is not praying that His people would all be of one denomination, wearing the same uniform, singing the same songs and standing in agreement with everything that YOU believe! NO! Man, limited in his revelation and understanding, can never produce life that is One with God! The flesh loves to esteem and elevate itself above other ‘lesser’ things. The flesh loves to protect and defend itself, assuming and justifying its own righteousness, and finding pride in attaining standards. No, the body of Christ will never be united by a man’s teaching or tradition. Fellowship is not in academic learning, it is in Christ! Fellowship is not in subscription, it is in Christ! A truth so simple it cuts through all pride of flesh yet the deep mystery of The Gospel!
It is the person of Jesus Christ ONLY AND ALWAYS! HIS LIFE! HIS SPIRIT! As each individual abides in HIM they are ONE! Abiding in HIS love, HIS humility, HIS loving kindness and tender mercies, HIS preferring of others, HIS lifting others up, HIS servant heart, HIS righteousness… As we each abide in HIM we abide close with each other.

1 John 1
3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
…
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

It is as we walk in HIS Light that we fellowship. Our fellowship with each other is with The Father and His Son Jesus Christ! As we walk in HIS Light as HE is in The Light it is then that we have fellowship together. It is there that we are ONE! Too often these days men “fellowship” over pet topics rather than Christ. They look for others to walk in agreement with their preferred doctrine rather than to know if they are in Christ and therefore ONE. Man is always seeking to identity himself with this one or that one but fails to simply be identified with Christ alone! In all circumstances, in all trials, in all conflicts, confusions and arguments identify yourself with Christ! May He be identified/seen in us, in our conversation and in our conduct. How does Jesus treat the brother you disregard or despise? Know for sure that if you cannot be ONE with you brother then you cannot be ONE with Christ!
Consider sitting at The Lord’s communion table, enjoying the incredible wonder and blessing of His voice and presence and His sweet fellowship. Now imagine the brother that you are careful to separate yourself from enters the room, is lovingly welcomed, embraced and joins you at the Father’s table. Oh, give that some thought. What complaint will you give to the all knowing Father? What will your conversation be then?
We will always find that we disagree on interpretations, revelations and understandings, but those things are not where we unite! Jesus is that Light! He is The Way, The Truth and The Life! Whatever your doctrine or theology or understanding of eschatology… get to Jesus! Abide in HIM! Long for HIM, hunger and thirst for HIM, yield and surrender to HIM. In Him WE ALL live and move and have our being! Our joining together as ONE body is only as we are IN HIM!

1 Thessalonians 4
9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

God’s Spirit within His people is teaching them to love. Can we consider ourselves good students? Can we acknowledge and confess the divisions in our own hearts and seek The Lord to free us from such pride and selfishness? We can be so quick to spot lack and disappointment in others and not see them with the heart of Christ.
Oh may we learn what The Lord is teaching us. May our hearts be as His heart with loving longing for His people, serving with humility and interceding with all His heart and soul that we might be ONE!

For I care not what church you belong to,
If on Calvary’s ground you will stand,
And if you love The Lord just like I do,
Then brother please give me your hand.

Light In The Night

1 John 1
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

God is LIGHT and there is no darkness at all IN HIM! Jesus calls us to abide in HIM, to abide in His light and to walk with Him in that Light. We have that invitation and we have that opportunity. Whether we walk in light or darkness is entirely up to us!
God’s children will never walk in the darkness of ignorance, fear or confusion. God’s children walk in His Light as He is in the Light! They walk WITH HIM! They walk on the water during the storms of life, looking unto Jesus, rejoicing evermore, giving thanks in all things and enduring all things by faith in His love. Those who walk in darkness walk in unbelief, lust, fear, pride and rebellion.
God’s Word tells us that seasons of difficulty are ordained, tribulations are promised and we should count it all joy to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s name. In this world we will be surrounded by darkness… But God’s children will walk in HIS Light! Hallelujah!

Psalm 108
1 O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
2 Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn.

The psalmist here is singing of being in the night. Though darkness surrounds him on all sides, it is not dark in his spirit. He has chosen, by faith, to walk in the light! He will choose to look to The Lord, He will choose to praise!
I love this line “I will awaken the dawn” as it is a powerful truth that should greatly encourage us! The writer of the psalm knows that as he praises The Lord the daylight will begin to come! Just as Paul and Silas praised in the prison cell (Acts 16:25), they had no thought of an earthquake and loosed chains but they knew that Salvation was ahead of them! They awoke the dawn! Hallelujah! May we have such faith to rejoice, praise and trust so that we shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. As we abide in His Light and praise Him by faith the Light will become all the brighter around us! Abide in the Light of The Lord and praise Him for His Salvation! Don’t allow your heart to be troubled, don’t be discouraged by the worldly, fleshly things that surround you but determine with grateful rejoicing that you shall yet praise Him for the help of His presence!

Isaiah 60
1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
…
19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory.
20 Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended.

This is a beautiful picture of The Gospel message. Isaiah is telling God’s people that their light has come! Jesus Christ, The everlasting, eternal Light of the world, has come but it is we His people that are to arise and shine! Our light has come and we are commanded to let His Light shine out through us! We are to be moons reflecting outward the glorious Light of the Son!
Born Again believers, redeemed citizens of heaven, joint heirs with Christ… Arise and let your light shine!! Abide in The Light and let HIS Light shine through you! Let HIS Life live through you! Oh may we truly be lower lights in this dark world pointing people to the rejoicing joy, the songs of thankful praise and the abundant Life and Light of Jesus Christ!