Tuesday, February 2, 2010

DO WE KNOW HOW TO “ABIDE?”

I don’t think I am alone in noticing that life in general is getting more difficult. It’s not just finances, jobs, and the accompanying situations but it’s interpersonal relationships and how we relate to each other, speak to each other, and respect each other. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong century, should have been born in the Victorian era…I may have fit better. I am also convinced that living a peaceful, fruitful life in our time frame, makes belonging to Christ imperative, I know I could not go on from day to day with general living, apart from relationship with the Lord. Years ago, John 15 made a big impact on me, the concept of “abiding” completely captured  my imagination and created a deep desire within me to know the Lord in this manner. I’ve pursued it passionately and have never been sorry for the time and effort I put into it. Lots of reading, prayer, “think time,” and applying have become a permanent part of my daily life. Of course the application moves it from a vertical relationship to the horizontal plane, my learning experience expressed to those I come in contact with. This blog gives me the opportunity to express what I’ve learned over the years. Who knows but that someone may read my experience or think my viewpoint has value, and put it into their life. I believe that is a part of discipleship!

Abiding in Christ requires time…how much? Good question…think about this, we all know that God asks us for a tithe of our funds to finance His work. Well, what about a tithe of our time to “finance” our growth and closeness to Him…a tithe of our time is 2 hours 24 minutes each day. Think about that for a minute, and ask yourself how close you come. If we took that seriously, we Christians would set the world on fire! Our love for God shows itself in the following ways, 1) time spent with Him 2) talking with Him 3) thinking about Him and what His Word says 4) our feelings for Him, and expressing those feelings 5) trust…do we REALLY trust Him? Interesting ideas, right?

So how can we know we are abiding in Him?

1. We are being obedient to Him, and acting on what His Word says

2. We produce fruit…the fruit of the Spirit, which manifests itself by changes in our character, our conduct and attracting others to the Savior

3. We experience the pruning of the Father…difficult times, difficult people, difficulty prioritizing our lives.

4. We see our prayers being answered in new ways, because our asking has been altered.

5. We find we love, and are more patient and tolerant of others, particularly difficult people.

6 We live in the joy of the Lord, regardless of our circumstances.

As we think about these things, we have to wonder about our love for Him, for each other, and living in the world the way we should as far as our testimony goes. Friendships are very important, and we need to be aware of with whom to develop a friendship and who we are better off leaving alone…next time I’ll share some gleanings I’ve developed over the years.

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