Remain

John 15:4 says, "Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

An interesting choice of words, to be sure. Jesus instructs us to remain; some translations use the term abide, or dwell. These terms all appear somewhat passive, which would seem to contradict the busy, frantic pace of doing that many believers (yours truly included) fill their days and nights with.

As I read this passage today, the question had to be asked: Am I remaining in Christ? I feel as though much of my Christian life has been spent reaching for Jesus, striving to be like Him, rushing to do more for Him, pressing forward to get closer, etc. But here, Jesus explains that only by remaining, abiding, dwelling in Him will we live a life that results in fruit.

Could it be that we've had it backwards? Is all of the doing, pushing, striving, working, telling, going... pointless? It sure looks that way, if we aren't remaining in Him. The Psalmist wrote, "Cease striving and know that I am God." I cannot accomplish anything for His kingdom by working hard first, then giving Him my attention 'when I have the time'. Not only am I not too busy each day to do so, but I cannot afford to miss it, if I am to do His will.

Praise God for this powerful reminder! I need first to abide, to dwell, to live in Him, and then the fruit will follow. He will reveal to me what He wants me to accomplish, even as I sit quietly and wait for His instruction, reading and thinking about scripture, praying and asking Him to speak.

How about you? Are you remaining in Him? Do you dwell often in His presence? Are you making excuses not to?

Deep-end-ence

As I drove to the church early yesterday morning, I was feeling pretty tired. We'd had family in town for the weekend, and that meant lots of 'adventures' with our kids and their cousins. Good times, but definitely enough to wear this middle-aged dad out!

In addition to our busy weekend, I had difficulty sleeping on Saturday night, so I headed into work on Sunday morning running on fumes. I began to pray, "Lord, help me; I really need You this morning." Then, I stopped myself short.

See, I realized halfway through my opening sentence that I was about to express a misguided idea that I've carried around for many years. My need of God, my dependence on Him, is not momentary, circumstantial or changing. It's only my perception of that need that shifts.

Now, I realize that God knows my heart and understands my intentions when I pray "I really need You", but those words still belie a way of thinking that I believe I need to change. I ought to be praying every morning, "Lord, help me; I really need You. I need to overcome sin today. I need to face fears. I need to reach out to others. I need to die to myself. I need to do Your will. I need to breathe, to eat, to sleep, and I can do none of those without You."

Realizing this, I'm making it a personal goal to tell God every day how much I depend on Him.

How about you? Have you recognized your need before God today? Maybe you need to do it right now; take a moment and recognize your total and desperate need for Him. You'll be glad you did!