John 15:5

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 NKJV).



Other versions of this text use the word remain instead of abide. I like the NKJV because the word abide just seems like a deeper word. So, I looked abide up in the Strongs Complete Dictionary of Bible Words and found some Hebrew words for it. Here are the results of my findings:



Meno: to stay, remain.



Parameno: to be permanent, persevere.



Prosmeno: to remain: to adhere to.



As Christians we have the promise of the Holy Spirit living in us. "You, however are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9 NIV).



The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is the Spirit that abides in us....permanantly. He remains there, and so we must adhere to, and remain in Him...permanantly. (This is easier said than done when we have a mind and soul that is constantly pulling us in another direction.) That's why we have to focus and let His Spirit have control of our life... not our mind, not our fleshly desires, not our emotions. So, when life is overwhelming and it seems that nothing positive is happening and there is no light at the end ot the tunnel....search for the Light that shines from within. Focus on Him.



For the Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)



Child of God, do you have any strongholds stealing your joy?

Are you in a downward spiral that you can't seem to break free from?

Focus on the Spirit that lives in you...Abide in Him! It's a daily and sometimes a momentary thing that you have to do but if you keep your focus there, He will take care of the rest. And do me a favor, remind me of these words if you see in the future that I have lost my focus!



"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105)



The lamp is to our feet and a light to our path....at our feet. It only shines far enough for us to see where we are going...as far as we need to see to get to the next step. So we should focus on getting to the next step and trust God to get us to the destination...one step at a time. He knows the way.



"Don't worry about tomorrow. Today has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34).



"Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)



"Praise be to the Lord God our Savior who daily bears our burdens!" (Ps. 68:19).