Abide in me

John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

 …………………………………………………….Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, “Yes, Lord, just a minute— I still have this to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all right, Lord. I will abide then.” Get moving— begin to abide now. In the initial stages it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort. Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future. O.C.

Can you relate?  I have been hear so many times.  I remember almost thinking those exact same thoughts.  It is a very dangerous place to be in I think.  One way of looking at this could be pride.  I got this Lord my way will be better than yours.  Besides I don’t agree with you.   I will listen next week.  (what if there is not a next week?)

If you are not abiding in Him,   then just how well do you think your fruit will taste?  Will anyone want any of your fruit?  I want abiding in Him to be as much of my life as sleeping, eating or speaking.

Getting up in the morning and saying “YES LORD”  I am yours.

Be Blessed today

Ephesians 5:31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

So I have a question.  If you believe in you heart that you are hearing the lord about a situation in your life.  A situation that directly affects your spouse.  Do you immediately go to your spouse and say “This is what I am hearing from the Lord about what we are supposed to do, what you think?”  or maybe it goes like this,  you hear from the lord about something and you don’t  say anything and you wait to see if the Lord puts it on your spouse’s heart and then they come to you.  What if you wait and your spouse never says anything?   Do you still proceed?  Here is my point; if you feel like you are supposed to do something then you should be in agreement with your spouse.  Don’t be a Lone Ranger. Being a Lone Ranger will get you shot.  You must have Tonto.

Here is another question, If you feel like you are hearing from the Lord about a job and your wife says “I don’t feel good about that job I don’t trust them.”  Do you still take the job?  If your spouse says, I feel like the Lord is telling us to move, what do you do?  I think the first thing you do is pray about it.  Pray together and separately but pray.  So what happens if you are hearing stay and your wife is hearing move.  Who is hearing the Lord?  Maybe you both are.

One more scenario:  If you feel like you are hearing the Lord and you speak with your spouse about it and she does not agree with you and you go ahead and do it anyway ........... what is that?   If the decision you made without your spouses approval is going south  .........   why do you suppose that is?

Here is what I know for me.  My wife and I must be in agreement.  I talk to her all the time about my clients.  If she gets a bad feeling about an estimate that I am doing then we talk about it and if I need to  then we cut them loose.  We always collaborate on everything.  We do our best to be in agreement or to live as one flesh.

So hear is another view  (I have written about this before)  Widows and orphans.  If you don’t listen to your spouse,   could you be making him or her a widow in your home?  It is my opinion that if you are in agreement with your spouse then you are ministering to her.

 How many times as men, especially those of us who are married are so quick to minister outside of our home before we minister inside our home.  Holy Spirit showed me through a man that I was making my wife and my children widows and orphans in my own home.  I said that is ridiculous I am alive!    He said “I understand that”  “here is what I mean; you are always doing outside of your home …. Church, men’s group, Serving on Quest, Helping other people, but when it comes to your family, they get the crumbs or they do not get anything from you.  Well that did not sit well with me …… again.  As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.  A couple of nights went by and I was sitting at the table and my wife was helping me with memorizing this passage.  I told her what I just shared with you and said “are you a widow in this home?”  She looked at me and said without blinking an eye.  Yes I am pretty much a widow.  Then she said, “I never get the minister voice that I hear you speak to other men on the phone,   I want you to talk to me that way and you never do.  It was a sad day for me but a good day.  Now I look for opportunities to minister to my wife.  

So basically to me what verse 26 means is if you don’t minister in side of your home then what you do outside of your home is worthless  ( doesn’t taste good)

Verse 27 means minister to your family then you will be pure and unblemished in the sight of God and there will be not a widow or any orphans in your home (taste really good)

James 1:26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart; this person’s religious service is worthless (futile, barren).

27 External * religious worship [* religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.