Abiding in Christ
Week beginning: 8th September, 2019 | By Mark Mullins | London
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:4 (KJV)
As we return from the summer holidays, we will probably quickly forget that we have had a holiday at all. Yet there is a rest, or an abiding, that the believer is to maintain at all times. Sometimes as lawyers we are weighed down by the complexity and time pressure of some of our cases. We can be squeezed to the limit of our endurance. When oranges are squeezed, juice comes out. When we are under pressure what comes out of us? That will depend in whom we are abiding.
The Christian is to abide in Christ: that is to rely upon the Lord: that means letting his word abide in us (v7). It is a wonderful thing to be able to ask the Lord for wisdom and be confident of an answer (James 1:5) when we are faced with an intractable problem. When we are worried, we are to present our requests to God (Philippians 4:6). And, when it is our client who is worried and without hope in this world, to hold out to them the word of life (Philippians 2:16).
Let us take this new quarter as an opportunity actively to maintain our rest in the Lord Jesus day by day, and to look forward to the fruit this will produce.
Prayer Points:
1. Let us give thanks for the holidays and in particular time spent in Christian fellowship;
2. Let us pray that we would learn to abide in Christ; asking for wisdom and praying in place of worrying;
3. Let us pray for Gospel opportunities.
