“Remain in me, and I will remain in you.”
I bought my watch. It has an hourly chime function on it. This means that every hour it will “chime” and I will then ask God, depending on the day and hour, if I’m where he wants me to be doing what he wants me to do, thinking the thoughts he makes available to me, speaking the words that would honor him.
This will be interesting. I feel like my main mode of praying is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing mode”, but the hourly chime will reveal whether or not my mind is actually on God as often as I think it is.
I so much want, more than at any other time of my life, to “know Christ”, not only the “power of his resurrection”, but also the “fellowship of his sufferings”.
Kathy pointed out to me this morning the September 28 devotion from her devotional “God Calling”. In essence it said that we are built not for ourselves but for God and for others and inevitably that will mean unrequited love and much pain. Love is unavoidably vulnerable to suffering. Yet in the midst of that suffering exists moments of joy, moments of rest, moments of reward that are only available to those who choose to abide in him, regardless of the cost.
I hope many of you will do this experiment and see it through to the end. Don’t quit.
I would like to comment on today's scripture: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. . . a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5
ReplyDeleteI must have read that scripture 50 times in my life, if not more. Its one of those very familiar verses, so when I see it or hear it, I tend to quickly dismiss it thinking "I know that one". I went to click off the e-mail and the Holy Spirit stopped me. In the flash of a second, I saw it completely different! What a simple, life changing concept if I would only grasp it!! My life will be fruitful when I remain in Him! The areas of my life that are not fruitful, probably are areas I am not letting Him abide in! Apart from Him, I can't (shouldn't even try!) to do anything! Why would I even want to be apart from Him?
Caught up in the rush of one more business trip, I have not yet bought "the watch". I reflect on all those items I've collected to control the unexpected details that delay my trip, such as a GPS for navigating cities I am not familiar with. It occurs to me how efficient these devices are, yet they insulate me from needing anyone else. Now when I hear the voice telling me "re-cal-cu-lating" on the GPS, I starting to realize what that really means. NOW is the time recalculate the direction of my life, my desire to control the details, and to allolw the interruptions to be meaningful moments brought by a loving God.
ReplyDelete"allow the interruptions [in life] to be meaningful moments brought by a loving God." A powerful realization! Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI tried the timer, that didn't work, I tried on the hour, that didn't work, tried a few other things to remember each hour - but they didn't work either. so I changed my email password using GOD as part of the combination and it worked! I did this several years ago when my marriage broke up and it helped me each time I logged in. Because of my technology job, I type my password for email and many sites over 20 times a day, so actually I am checking in more than once an hour. This little trick kind of jolts me as I type GOD in my daily habits. A 10 second prayer or saying quietly "Am I where you need me to be Lord" makes that connection easier. And in a public school surrounded by children all day, it is my private connection to my God.
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