Abiding in Christ (part five)

Peggy — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:00:09 +0000

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every
branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John
15:2

Andrew Murray says in speaking of the vine, “Of all plants, not one
needs the pruning knife so unsparingly and so unceasingly. None is
so dependent on cultivation and training, but with this none yields a
richer reward to the husbandman.”

In the natural we know that when the weak, diseased branches are
pruned they grow back stronger. Some branches may be growing in
the wrong direction and are some what detached from the vine. They
need pruning to grow back tightly connected to the vine.

Once the pruning process is complete the branch is stronger as it
gowns back. It is now in a position to bear much fruit. We note that
the most heavily laden branches bow the lowest down. What a picture
of our spirits before the Lord. We bow low after we have been through
the pruning, seen the benefits of the pruning we endured, and see the
fruit that is coming forth as we reach out to the world around us.

Abide in Christ (part four)

Peggy — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 06:00:50 +0000

“ He that abideth in me, and I him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.
Herein is the Father glorified, that you bear much fruit.” John 15, 5, 8

It is delightful to enjoy a piece of ripe fruit on a hot summer day.
We can compare this to the joy of experiencing fruit bearing in the
spiritual. As we abide in Christ His life flows through us and out of us
to the hurting and needy world around us. All that the vine possess
belongs to the branches. All His fullness and riches are for the branch
who abides in Him. The branches exist to cling tightly to the vine and
to bear fruit. We learn to trust His love, His grace, and His promises.

He has made provision to renew our fallen natures by grafting them
into His own divine nature. God Himself becomes our security for
all we need or wish in seeking to abide in Christ. It is an awesome
possibility to those who will embrace the challenge to live out of Him
rather than our own fallen nature.

Abiding in Christ (part one)

Peggy — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:43:25 +0000

“If you abide in me and my words abide in you you will ask what you
desire and it shall be done.” John 15:7

I have been studying Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray, in which
he teaches about what it means to abide in Jesus. It is not abiding
partly in ourselves and partly in Jesus. It is learning to listen to the
inner nudges He gives, pour out praise and love on Him, and walk by
His commands. Then His life flows freely through us out to the world
around us.

The picture I received was of the vine (Jesus) John 15:1-8 and the
branches (the believer). The vine is very healthy and completely able
to sustain the branches. When the branches stay firmly attached to the
vine there is healthy fruit. Sometimes a branch decides to disregard
some of the more difficult commands in the Bible and they start to
go their own way. This causes them to partly detach from the vine.
They bend over and droop. Then the life of the vine does not freely
flow through the branch and the fruit rots and falls to the ground. The
branch loses its power to fully sustain a vibrant life abiding in the vine.

The joys of staying fully attached to the vine certainly out weigh
abiding in ourselves and going out own way. Having this picture in my
head has helped me to discern when I am trying to abide in myself
and not the vine.

Abiding in Christ (part two)

Peggy — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:31:14 +0000

“Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give

you rest.” Matthew 11:28

We are cautioned not to be so fully occupied that the abiding can not
happen. Abiding in Christ is the goal for every believer. We grow in
knowing how to abide.

Andrew Murray describes abiding as giving up of one’s self to be ruled,
taught, and led by the vinekeeper (Jesus) and so resting in the arms
of Jesus. He says doing so provides strength for every duty, courage
for every struggle, a blessing in every cross, and the joy of life eternal.

Abiding in Christ is for the weak. It is weakness entrusting itself to a
mighty one to be kept. Full surrender is to obey and trust. In so doing
we find safety, victory, peace, and rest.

Abiding in Christ (part three)

Peggy — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:27:07 +0000

“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

Is there any of us that does not take joy when we see fruit from our
life? Have you followed the inner direction you receive and are
amazed when you are able to witness in a situation that was totally
unexpected? Do you come across times when you just know you are to
offer to pray for someone even out in the market place?

We do not have the ability in ourselves to know where to speak a
spiritual word, but we have the life of Jesus in the form of the Holy
Spirit to direct us.

Recently as we were checking out of a hotel in Hawaii. I felt led to
give a gospel tract, “Life Pathways”, to the porter, as I was waiting for
my husband to drive the car up to load the luggage. I am aware that
there are many diverse religions in Hawaii, so I had not a clue as to
his beliefs, but I was following an inner nudge. I gave it to him with
the statement, “I just want you to have this little booklet. It describes
the most important decision you can make in life.

Would you believe he said, “I have children and I have been thinking
that I need to find my way in what I believe.” The seed was sown. The
rest is up to the Lord to bring someone to follow up and water that
seed.

Freedom in Christ

Peggy — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:56:54 +0000

In previous blogs I have shared a number of topics I have addressed in my new book, Unshackled. The last chapter deals with no shame, no chains, free to know God in which I have written about the freedom to be found in our relationship with Christ as we embrace and live out His guidelines.

It is so good to experience the safety and provision of our good shepherd as we come to Him early in the day, lay our burdens down, and experience the peace that comes as we trust Him to work out the troubling situations we may be facing.

I give keys that we can use to help us. They are obedience, praise, prayer, the name of Jesus, and proclaiming the blood of Jesus.

Prayer

Peggy — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:55:14 +0000

The story is told of a man in a foreign country who kept a heavy suitcase on his lap thorough out a long train trip. When he got off the conductor asked why he had not put it down to which he replied, “I did not know those was a place to put it.” We, as Christians, know we have a place to put our burdens we just have to remember to do so.

The chapter on release the burden in my new book, Unshackled, has some thoughts on how to put our burdens down and leave them down. It can be quite a challenge to disciple ourselves to roll our burdens over onto the Lord and leave them there. In the book I share some true stories of those who have successfully left various burdens with the Lord.

Forgiving

Peggy — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:53:36 +0000

I have written about forgiveness in my new book, Unshackled. The most distressing story I have heard of unforgivenss was the account of a lady who said her mother hated her and left her a note when she died telling her how much she hated her.

Her brother intercepted the letter so his sister did not read it.

Forgiveness is not an option for the believer who wants to seriously follow Christ. He does not give us the choice to forgive or not to forgive. In fact our forgiveness hinges on our forgiving those who have wronged us. It is included in the Lord’s prayer; forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

When we forgive we release God to do his restoring work with the other person involved. We step from between God and the person. Forgiveness frees God to act on our behalf. We put the situation in God’s hands, and when we forgive in this way, we feel the release of a heavy burden, which brings us peace.

See the brochure on my web site for further thoughts on forgiveness.

Words

Peggy — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:52:23 +0000

Another topic I have addressed in my new book, Unshackled, is the power words have over us. Words, once spoken, never go out of existence and may linger in our minds for years. They may also resurface at the most inconvenient time and cause us great pain.

Words can encourage us or discourage us. They can have the same effect on those we talk to in our daily life. We will do well to stop and consider before we speak on impulse or in irritation or anger. The brochure on my web site has some helpful thoughts on this subject as well as the chapter in my book. Let us be careful in the words we choose.

Healthy Relationships

Peggy — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:52:02 +0000

Another topic I have included in my new book, Unshackled, is the importance of healthy relationships. This can be a real challenge as we are all needy in some area and may be inclined to try to get our friends or family to meet those needs. I am not talking about the basic consideration we should extend to each other. I am talking about trying to “draw” out of others to meet our need for self-esteem and affirmation.

True friends will not reinforce each other in wrong attitudes and thinking. They will guard against taking up offenses against anyone who has mistreated their friend and will encourage the friend in healthy and Godly ways to deal with opportunities to take offense. The brochure on my web site dealing with offense has some suggestions I have found helpful for resisting offense. In addition the book has tips that I have discovered in my struggles in this area.