By Pastora Monique Lopez Ong
Abiding means to stay, remain, await and endure. In Greek, it is MENO. It is your dwelling place, where one person remains close in a very nice and beautiful relationship that is sustained. The Bible, in the King James Version mensions the word abide 82 times in 77 verses. It must be so important for the Lord to keep reminding you to do so. John 16:4-5 says “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. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
God is a relational God. He wants to have a relationship with you. He made you in this earth and His first purpose is to have a relationship with Him. God enjoys spending time wirh you. He invites you to know Him and trust Him. He invites you to discover beautiful things about Him. He invites you to partner with Him and be more like Him. God only wants the best for you that is why He made a way. He knew man was going to be sinful, unable to have a relationship with Him because of sin. And that is why He sent His only begotten Son so you could have fellowship with Him. When you have a relationship with Jesus, you can experience heaven on earth.
Abiding is equal to intimacy with God. Abiding is not an event. You can be in church but out of church. It is how much time you spend with God. Abiding is running after God’s presence. Just like having a husband or wife and wanting to be with them all the time. As you walk with Him, you will see His glory and experience heaven on esrth. It is a special date when you talk, listen and have revelations from Him. His presence gives you His peace, love, joy, wisdom and understanding. When you spend time with God, you will be complete. When you abide, you do not think of sin because you do not have time to sin. Why? Because you are in His presence.
How intimate are you with God nowadays? John 15:6 says, “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” You will not experience God’s love and blessings because you are not aware of His presence. When you do not abide, you are actually a useless branch. You have no purpose, you do not know what you are doing, you cannot bear fruit, you cannot partner with God because you do kot know what you are doing. You cannot bear fruit. No abiding means no fruit and no worth. You can be in Christ but not abiding in Him. You can have Christ and not bear fruit. You live your own life and do not serve God. The Lord wants to bless you and use you because He has great plans for you. But you are saying “not now Lord.” Because really, He is not the Lord of your life. You are missing out on an abundant life. John 15:7 says “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
The more you walk with God, the more you know who you are. The more you understand you are a child of God, the more you a re like Him and understand the things of heaven and want heaven too.
When you are intimate with God, you will desire what God desires. But that comes with a love relationship with the King. Many want the Lord. But many do not want to pay the price. They do not want to spend time with Him. Abiding bears much fruit. But what does abiding look like? Abiding looks like walking with God because you have a great friendship with Him. It is a very supernatural lifestyle.
God wants to bless those who abide in Him. Abide in me, and I in you, and you will bear much fruit. It is a presence driven lifestyle. It is an unbroken practice of experiencing God’s presence.
What can you do to abide and bear much fruit? Pray, read your Bible, worship God with all your heart, soul and strength, go to church, be part of a small group, write a journal, talk to God and many other things.
God is a relational God. He will not only be there when you need Him. He is also there when you don’t. When you are intimate with the Lord you are also intimate with your loved ones. God wants to commune with you during this lockdown. Spend time with Him.
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