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Abide in Me
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it shall be done for you. --John 15: 7
Abide in me. The three words with which Jesus invited his
disciples to place their faith in His love as they walked to the
Garden of Gethsemane that last fateful night. He wasnt just
talking to the disciples though. No, He was talking to us, too.
And these three simple words, if understood and acted upon, can
make all the difference in a Christians life. The problem is
that many of us have never really even noticed they were
spokenmuch less taken their message to heart.
JihadJihad Jesus spoke as much about Heaven as He did about Hell. What I would like to do is a little comparison of the .....
What does abide mean anyway? According to Websters
Dictionary, abide means to remain. That makes sense, remain
with Me, stay with Me, stay by My side. Ah, but Jesus doesnt
say with, He says in. Simply put Jesus is not saying He
wants us to walk with him, or be with Him. He is saying He wants
us to remain in Himas close as we could ever get to actually to
Him without being Him.
This is just semantics, you say. A play on words. What possible
significance could such a tiny distinction make? I can tell you
that in my life, it has made all the difference.
I must confess first that until recently I didnt put words to
this phenomenon. I knew it was in my life, but explaining it
wasnt easy to do. At the time I called it faith. As a writer,
I put great faith in the belief that God would light my path,
that if I surrendered the project to His care, I would have the
right words at the right time.
The opportunities to use this faith were boundless. For example,
when my two year old deleted five pages of the new manuscript I
was working on, I distinctly remember saying, Well, I guess God
didnt want it said that way. Or when my publicist threw a
major curve into my plans by saying the cover for my second book
(which I had chosen) would never work, and we had no choice but
to change it. True it took me awhile of being furious with her
before I realized that it was God, not she, that had a better
idea. Once I surrendered to that understanding, the new cover
came into focus, and it was far and away better than the
original.
For several years these were the types of ways I tried to abide
in Him although faith was probably the better term because I
A Path To PeaceThe root of discord and violence between people and nations comes from our tendency to forget our humanity. We "forget" our true nature ..... was still relying on some outside entitynot a spirit that
permeated me.
Recently, however, I came into contact with Bruce Wilkinsons
Secrets of the Vine, and my understanding took a giant leap
forward. In Secrets, Wilkinson talks about the phrase abide in
me and what Jesus really meant when he spoke those words. After
reading that book, I was having a discussion with a friend about
my writing. For the first time ever this friend is getting to
experience the writing process with me as she is reading the
book I am working on as I am writing it.
The strange thing is: it is not just she who is growing through
this project as I am now getting to experience the writing
process in a whole new light. A light which has opened my eyes
to what has been happening for years. When it would happen in
the past, however, I couldnt adequately explain it to anyone
else and therefore it was easier to overlook or to not take the
time to really examine. Nonetheless, I believe this experience
is the best definition for abiding in me around.
A couple of examples: during the course of writing my current
book, I was introduced to two songs that so embody the book that
their entrance into my life could not be called mere
coincidence. Also, I received an email that depicted the exact
kind of person characterized in the book in a way that visually
detailed the precise message I am trying to portray. A sign
possibly that I am on the right track?
Perhaps most intriguing I received a magazine which gave me in
perfect form the insight I needed to understand why this
character was acting the way he was. Of course, everyone
receives magazines every day, and it was one that I was
subscribed to, so that shouldnt be all that noteworthy. Except
for this: the post office had changed our address and that
particular magazine was one I hadnt changed the address on yet.
I hadnt received that magazine for four weeks, and when that
copy got here, it had the old address, which the post office had
said they refused to deliver to anymore. More than that, I
havent received either of the next two editions although I have
now changed the address. So, why then did that one come through
with exactly what I needed despite every obstacle against it?
I think the answer can be found in those three words: abide in
me. Tell me honestly, do we really think that some little post
office crisis can keep Gods plan from working out in our lives?
If you do, then I challenge you to question how many of these
coincidences in your life you are either missing out onor
overlooking right at this very moment.
Christian Yoga?There is an interesting article in the September 5th issue of Time magazine. This particular article ..... As a firm believer in these words, I can tell you that if you
will take them to heart If you will accept that Jesus is not
just an out there entity that you can have faith in but truly
a spirit that permeates your very life If you will truly accept
His presence in every aspect of your life, every minute of every
day, then He will abide in you, and your life will never again
be the same.
After all it was His promise.
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