Abide with Christ

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:23 NKJV

Dwelling with the Lord Jesus isn’t a small thing.

Yet, the scriptures tell us it is possible and that those who are called by His name should be living daily with Him.

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 14:21 NKJV

Jesus, told His disciples that their actions would prove what was in their hearts and promised to manifest Himself unto those who love Him.

He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
John 14:24 NKJV

Our love is shown by the choices we make, the priorities we set; whether we live for Jesus or not.

1 John 4:15-16 KJV — Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

This dwelling with the Lord begins at our surrender to Jesus and acceptance of His forgiveness for our sins.

But it doesn’t end there, rather it continues into each day.

For those who have believed, they exchange their allegiance to sin and Satan for the Lord Jesus.

As His servant, we should be continually going to the Lord for His will, obedience being the natural response for the heart devoted to their Savior.

If a person was to give their life to save yours, you would want to show your gratitude and no gift would seem to large.

Jesus Christ died to save us from sin and judgement, then He rose again, ascending into Heaven to prepare a place for those who would believe and accept His gift.

Along with these enormous blessings, He sent the Holy Spirit to reside in us, that we might daily become more like Him as we continually relinquish our lives before the One who paid the highest price for them.

It is no small thing to abide with Christ, but it is the promise to those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for these promises and truth. Lord, please continue to hone my heart that love might grow daily. Lord Jesus, thank You for abiding in me through Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for teaching me to relinquish myself and walk in submission to Your Word. Lord, rebellion is choosing pain, suffering, and death and I don’t want any of that, ever. Lord, I want to live with You in beautiful fellowship and joy at Your commands. I want to be filled with gratitude no matter the circumstances. Lord, I want to trust You without a hint of doubt. Lord, thank You for teaching me so many things and for blessing me so greatly. May my life be a reflection of You. Amen.

Beginning with prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV — pray without ceasing,

It’s one of many instructions given to the Thessalonian church.

The message is profound, but often questioned.

“How do I pray without ceasing?”

It’s a two fold instruction.

First, we are to live our lives completely surrendered to Jesus Christ, we are to abide in Him.

John 15:4 KJV — 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.

We abide in Jesus by following His commands and growing in our relationship with Him through time in His Word and prayer.

This abiding isn’t a now and then thing, but something we do throughout our day.

It’s a life which is dependent upon Jesus Christ, not their own efforts.

Proverbs 3:5-6NKJV — Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

We should not stop seeking our Lord’s will, no matter our activities or location.

Yet, the other part of this is our responsibility as children of God to intercede.

Prayer without ceasing means we lift up those requests the Lord places on our hearts until He answers.

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:1‭-‬8 NKJV

Intercessory prayer is a response to the Holy Spirit’s leading and should be an out pouring of our love and devotion to Christ.

For Jesus, Himself, prayed for others. (John 17:6-26)

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
John 17:20‭-‬23 NKJV

Both abiding and intercession begin with praying.

Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV — “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Let us begin each day with prayer and be blessed by offering Him the first fruits of our day.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for Your Word and Your instruction. Lord, thank You that You want a personal relationship with each one of us. Thank You for the privilege of prayer. Lord, to be able to seek Your face daily and to stand before You lifting up others is such a wonderful gift! Lord, please help me not only to look to my own interests, but to the interests of others. Please help me to begin and end my day with prayer, seeking You throughout. Lord, please help me to be honorable and loving before You and others. Lord, please keep me from those things which grieve Your Holy Spirit. Lord, please help me to be wise and discerning, not blind to sin or my own areas of weakness. Lord, please protect me from the snares of the enemy. Thank You for Your love, Your righteousness, Your faithfulness. Please teach me today and help me to be an example to others, that they might long to be closer to You. Thank You, Jesus! Amen.

Who may abide…?

Lord , who may abide in Your tabernacle?

Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

He who walks uprightly,

And works righteousness,

And speaks the truth in his heart;

He who does not backbite with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

In whose eyes a vile person is despised,

But he honors those who fear the Lord ;

He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

He who does not put out his money at usury,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

Psalms 15:1‭-‬5 NKJV

I want to dwell with the Lord.

My heart wants to live with God each and every day.

And I can!

Through Jesus’s sacrifice, my salvation is secure.

The Holy Spirit resides in me, giving me my heart’s desire of dwelling with the Lord.

Of course I still long to be physically present with Him, but that time will come.

In the interim, I look to scripture daily as my guide and direction for the fruit of a life surrendered before Him.

Therefore, I love these verses.

Words of guidance: walk uprightly, work righteousness, speak truth in my heart, be careful of my words, be cautious with my speech.

Words of comfort: “He who does these things shall never be moved.”

My physical place of residence has changed many times, but my spiritual dwelling with the Lord is secure.

John 10:28 NKJV — “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

What comfort!

To know my soul is safe in the hand of Jesus.

Thus I dwell in today as His bondservant, dead to my personal short-sighted dreams and alive in Christ and His plans for me.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for Your Word. How great and wonderful it is to live daily for You and with You in my life! How great a comfort and assurance there is from knowing nothing on this earth can snatch my life from Your hand. Lord, I am Your humble servant, do with me as You see fit. My life was nothing before You and I know it is only through Your sacrifice that I find salvation and safety. This day is Yours. Please help me to walk in Your ways, keeping Your Word, living unto You in all things. Lord, please put a guard on my lips, that I might not sin against You. Please place a hedge of protection around my mind, that my thoughts might be only truth. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Abide

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 NKJV

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.’” John 8:31 NKJV

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4 NKJV

Strong’s definition for the word abide used in John 15:4 as copied from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3306&t=NKJV

“μένω ménō, men’-o; a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):—abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for)”

The other definitions of the word abide in John 8:31 and Psalm 91:1 all are similar.

The idea is to remain, live, permanently stay.

To abide is to choose to continue in something.

He said it Himself, this abiding means to be in the Word, living it.

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:9-10 NKJV

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7 NKJV

If our hearts’ desire is to follow God’s commandments, to love God more than anything and to love others as ourselves, then He will give us the desires of our heats.

He will teach us how to love.

He will hold us in His paths and guide us in His truths.

His Word will become more and more a part of our every day and more a part of who we are.

Just like the branch of a vine must be connected to the main vine to have life so we, as Christ followers, must be connected to Christ Jesus.

It is a beautiful picture.

The branch can do nothing apart from the vine.

We can do nothing apart from Christ.

It is not a list of rules which need to be checked off daily.

It is a flow of love, communion, and conversation between Jesus and each of us.

Out of that, fruit is born.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for these verses. Thank You for encouraging us to abide in You. Lord thank You for the wonderful truths we see throughout scripture, that You never intended us to simply “try harder” to earn Your love or Your forgiveness. Instead it is a free gift and with that comes the opportunity to live in You. To walk and be who You created each of us to be before sin marred and stained it. Lord, we often forget to dwell in You. We get off plan and tread into dangerous areas, in those times, please bring us back. Let us not wander far, but bring us back quickly. Lord, we know that there are often things which happen that cause pain, suffering, and loss. In those times please remind us of these truths all the more. Help our hearts to dwell in You and to obey Your Word. Thank You. Amen.