John 14:19-20 Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I
am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you.
John 14:21-23 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He
who loves me will be loved by my Father and I too will love him and show myself
to him
John 15:4-5 Remain in me and I will remain in you.....If a
man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
do nothing.
John 15:7 If
you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be
given you.
John 15:9 As
the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
John 15:10-11 If you obey my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have
obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so
that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 17:20-23 My prayer is not for them [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe
in me through their message [the church through the ages], that all of them may be one, Father, just as you
are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe
that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they
may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to
complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even
as you have loved me.
John 17:26
I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that
the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.
These scriptures are
overwhelming to read – yet we are often too busy to take these words of
Jesus to heart. We abide in him for five minutes and then go our merry way.
Today, I suggest we read the above words over and over. Ask God to help us obey
his commands. Ask God to teach us to remain in him, to abide in him. Ask God to
help us be in complete unity (as the Church) with each other and with Him. Ask
God to show us that we can do nothing without him. Books and lengthy discourses
have been written about the ideas here. Simply put, the Holy Spirit lives in
our hearts and guides us but Is hampered if we don’t fix our eyes on Jesus, follow him in all we do; abide in him.
Woodrow Kroll
questions why we give others so much access to our lives with our cell phones
and instant access. He says, “Some of us even allow our phone conversations to
be interrupted by other phone calls. We often fail to notice that our anxiety
for connection with others competes with a connection we can’t afford to take
for granted.” We are to abide in him as branches of his vine. We can’t live as
independent branches. This is a call for us to be dependent followers,
submissive to his will, clinging to Him.
Father,
Forgive us for not
abiding in you minute by minute and day by day. Forgive us for every dropped
connection and help us clearly hear your voice and do your will. You are the
King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and also the Lover of our souls. Without
you we can do nothing. Today we will abide in you, we will remain in you, we will live connected to your vine. We will keep
our eyes and heart focused on you minute by minute.
In the mighty name of
Jesus we pray, Amen.
