Abiding

Shirogawa-go

I know I am supposed to be on a blogging break, but just had to share.  I am working on memorizing John 15 as my summer memorization project along with Do Not Depart.  I am also working my way through the Taste for Truth Bible study with a private group.  The Lord has brought these two projects together in an amazing way in my life.  I love when He does that!  One of the ladies shared the excerpt below.  I read this book in the past, but may have to pick it up again soon.  I trust it will be a blessing to you!

Excerpt from “Abide in Christ” by Andrew Murray:

“And if you ask what exactly it is that you now have to believe so that you may abide in Him, the answer is not difficult. Believe first of all what He said: “I am the vine.” (John 15:5) The safety and the fruitfulness of the branch depend upon the strength of the vine. Do not think so much of yourself as a branch, nor of the abiding as your duty, until you have first had your soul filled with the faith of what Christ as the Vine is. He really will be to you all that a vine can be – holding you fast, nourishing you, and making Himself every moment responsible for your growth and your fruit. Take time to know, set yourself heartily to believe, “My Vine on whom I can depend for all I need is Christ.” A large, strong vine bears the feeble branch and holds it more than the branch holds the vine. Ask the Father by the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what a glorious, loving, mighty Christ this is, in whom you have your place and your life; it is the faith in what Christ is, more than anything else, that will keep you abiding in Him. A soul filled with large thoughts of the Vine will be a strong branch and will abide confidently in Him. Be much occupied with Jesus, and believe much in Him as the True Vine.

And then, when faith can well say, “He is my Vine,” let it further say, “I am His branch; I am in Him.” I speak to those who say they are Christ’s disciples, and on them, I cannot too earnestly press the importance of exercising their faith in saying, “I am in Him.” It makes the abiding so simple. If I realize clearly as I meditate that now I am in Him, I see at once that there is nothing lacking except just my consent to be what He has made me, to remain where He has placed me. I am in Christ: this simple thought, carefully, prayerfully, believingly uttered, removes all difficulty as if there were some great attainment to be reached. No, I am in Christ, my blessed Savior. His love has prepared a home for me with Himself, when He says, “Abide in My love,” and His power has undertaken to keep the door and to keep me in, if I will but consent. I am in Christ. I have now but to say, “Savior, I bless You for this wondrous grace. I consent; I yield myself to Your gracious keeping. I do abide in You.”