How do you spell abide?

“The iron is in the fire, the fire is in the iron.”  

This is the idea of what it means to be abide in Christ.  Jesus said, Abide in me and I in you . . .  I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in me and I in him , he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.  John 15:4-5

The secret to the life of Christ - His words, His wisdom, His works, His fortitude, His compassion, His endurance et al came from His unbroken fellowship with the Father.  And Jesus is now telling His disciples in John 15 that they must learn to remain in fellowship with Him!  

There is no cookie cutter methods or a formula for abiding in Christ.  Christianity is not a formula.  It is a relationship!  We all connect with God differently but there are somethings we have in common.  

How do you spell “abide”?  T I M E.  We must make time, invest time, spend time with Jesus.  This is the idea of the iron in the fire and the fire in the iron.  In order to have the fire in the iron, the iron must have time in the fire.  It is then that the iron is moldable.  The blacksmith is able to bend, mold, and shape the iron when the iron abides in the fire and the fire abides in the iron.  

Time in the Word - John 15:7.  Not just reading the Scripture but meditating, ruminating, contemplating, deliberating on Scripture so that we submit to it, yield to it in order that it might teach us, reprove us, correct us and train us.  2 Tim 3:16-17.  Here the idea is to get in the Word in such a way that the Word gets in you.  Just as the iron is in the fire and the fire is in the iron.  

Time in God’s love - John 15:9.   God has a special affection for you — you are beloved by God.  1 Thessalonians 1:4.  Are you aware of God’s love.  I don’t mean that you know intellectually that God loves you but that you know (personally, experientially) God loves you.  Ephesians 3:19.  How have you experienced His love, or sensed His love?  What declarations of God’s love from Scripture do you know?  How are you dwelling or remaining in the love of God?  What does that look like for you?  

How do you abide in Christ?  What will you do to improve your abiding in Him?

in the grip of His grace,