Journal Entry ~ 12/12/17

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. - John 15:7-8

Genuine saving faith is demonstrated by abiding in Jesus’ words, bearing fruit, and becoming one of His disciples.  When we abide in Him, and He in us, we live out our faith for others to witness, and He is glorified.

To be an authentic disciple of Jesus, you must abide in His Word.  He wants you to know His truth as He dwells in you and you in Him.  The reality is that if you are NOT abiding in His Word regularly, on your own, in quiet devotion, it’s not possible to be an authentic disciple of Jesus.  There are Christians who go through the motions and act as if they are disciples, but we know the road is narrow.  And to get on that narrow road, you need to abide in His Word – regularly, on your own, in quiet devotion.  It is only then that we can truly become a disciple of Christ, and we can glorify Him by representing Him well to others.  It is only then that we can abide in Him in our actions so that others see Him in us.  The more you immerse yourself in Scripture, the more you will find yourself abiding in Christ and discovering the freedom He bought for your life.  You will not find freedom from that which binds you unless you get alone and get with His Word every single day, without exception.

I have truly loved spending time in this verse this week - in fact, I've really loved spending every day of the week in the same scripture. Spending the time meditating on His Word in such a thorough way has not only deepened my understanding of our Lord, but it's allowed Him to do a mighty work in my heart in one specific area each week. On the final day in this verse, I'm reminded of how we are to ask for whatever we wish in prayer. As Pastor James has taught us from scripture, we are to get alone, in a position of humility, out loud, with a list, and pray fervently. I've wanted to increase my intimacy with the Lord in my prayer life for years, but I have always failed to follow through on a consistent basis. I pray often - I've always been a consistent pray-er, but I don't always pray fervently or in a position of humility. If I am being honest, it's the spiritual discipline that I've grown the least in over the years. I love learning, so my quiet time has predominantly been time in His Word, processing and learning. My prayer time tends to fall to the end or even get cut short if I need to move in in my day. I've prayed that He would increase my intimacy in my prayer life for some time, yet I've failed to make the effort  or commitment to change that. These verses are changing and growing my prayer life in a way I haven't allowed Him to grow me before, and it's impacting other areas of my life in beautiful ways. His Spirit is moving in me in ways that He hasn't been able to move before - it's hard to describe. I'm finding peace where I've struggled to find it, I'm more sensitive to the temptation to sin in my life, so I avoid it, and His words are breathing out of me into relationships in my life in surprising ways. He is faithful when we are obedient. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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