Permanently Residing in Him

John 15:4

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

In yesterday’s devotional, we read about Jesus being the True Vine and we are the branches. Today, we will continue to meditate on this truth-as we remain in Jesus, He will remain in us. The more He increases in us, the more evident it will be in how productive our lives are.  The fruits of the Holy Spirit will begin to manifest greatly in us. His very presence produces love in all it’s beautiful expressions, joy that overflows from our lives into the lives of others, peace that subdues all other negative thoughts and interferences, patience that endures the longest waits, kindness in action, a life of virtue that is charitable and compassionate, faith and faithfulness that prevails in the toughest situations, gentleness and humility of heart, self control and strength in our spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Jesus calls for a mutual relationship. So, when He says ‘abide’ He means obey, follow, stick to; as He refers to John 15:10 saying if you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. And that said in a different way is-‘if you don’t keep my commands, you will not remain in my love.’

The onus or choice is completely ours. As we act, we will see the Lord’s response. To every action of ours, there is a divine response. What that response is completely depends on what our actions are.  When the prodigal son returned to father, WHILE HE WAS STILL FAR OFF, his father ran and put his arms around him.

There is a promise of fulfilment and prosperity in the soul as we dwell in the presence of the Lord. May you experience the fullness and abundance of His goodness even as you continue to set your mind on things above!