[Thursday's Devotional] - Abide

Abide Jesus adds: 'Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.' John 15: 4 [NIV] Christ remaining ('abiding' in old money) in us, means having Christ within us all the time, constantly guiding, upholding, comforting, and strengthening.  We need to turn back a page in Johns Gospel to throw some light on this: If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.'  John 14: 15 -18) [NIV] I love the image of the Holy Spirit being the sap rising from Jesus the Vine into the branches giving life and vitality to his disciple.  The symbiotic relationship, remain in me as I remain in you, is essential for that process of life affirming, live giving discipleship. Pray for a fresh outpouring of God's Holy Spirit into and through us.   Guy Mowbray   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!