John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

 

In the 15th Chapter of the Book of John, Jesus commands us to abide in Him. Abide means to live or to dwell. How can we do this? When He was alive here on Earth, the people could stay with Him. The Apostles did abide with Him but how are we to do this today when He is sitting at the Right Hand of the Father in Heaven?

 

We do this through faith in Him and what He accomplished on the Cross of Calvary for us. We cannot live with Jesus in the natural because He is no longer here on Earth, but we can live with Him spiritually. We do this by our constant and continual faith in Him.

 

Every person is created by God with a spirit, soul, and body. Our spirits and souls will never die. Our bodies will perish and return to dust but our spirits and souls will live forever somewhere. God is also a spiritual being. Actually, He is Three Spiritual Beings in One. He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Together they make up the Godhead. We know this as the Trinity or the Triune God.

 

Because God is Spirit, He connects to us through our spirits. We do not have a natural relationship with Him, we have a spiritual relationship. His Spirit communicates with our spirit and draws us to Himself. God loves us and He wants us close to Him. He is our Father. He is our Savior. He is our Teacher, Counselor, Healer, Provider, Protector, and Guide through this life. He is our everything if we believe He is.

 

It all comes down to our faith. What do we have faith in? What do we believe? To abide in Christ is to totally believe in Him for everything. To abide in Christ is to trust Him in regard to every aspect of your life.

 

The enemy (Satan) works very hard to rob us of everything Jesus went to the Cross for us to have. The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan does this through communicating with our minds which penetrates our spirits and results in our sinful actions. Every sin begins with a thought and every sinful thought is the work of the enemy in our lives. He does not want us to be faithful to God. He wants us to fail, be faithless, and die and he works very hard to accomplish this.

 

Jesus went to the Cross to break Satan’s power over us. Jesus shed His Perfect Blood so we can stand against the attack of Satan. I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Abundant life is not a life of sin. Abundant life is a life of faithfulness which results in Righteousness. Jesus died on the Cross so we can live faithful lives; abundant lives; Righteous lives.

 

God created us to have such lives but sin separates us from Him. Our ONLY access to God the Father and abundant life is through our faith in the Finished Work of Christ on the Cross. It was there that He paid the price for all sin. Whatever you struggle with in your life, Jesus nailed it to the Cross. He died for ALL sin. Nothing Satan has was left untouched by the Blood of Jesus. All sin has been atoned for and every evil spirit, demon, and fallen angel has been totally disarmed and stripped of their power. (Colossians 2:15)

 

If you believe this and NEVER lose sight of these facts, you can maintain your faith in Christ and Him Crucified. This is how you abide in Christ. It’s your spirit making a permanent connection with the Holy Spirit of God which is done ONLY through your faith in what Jesus did for you on the Cross.

 

 

 

Faith in Christ Crucified will…...….turn the tide……….in this world.

 

Abiding in Christ,         Doreen

 

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