Abiding in His Presence 1-20-05

Thursday, January 20, 2005 -- Morning by Morning Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Vine; I am one of Your branches. Let the life of Your Spirit flow through me as I abide in You. Let my life bear fruit for Your glory this day. ... "Abide in Me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in Me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples" -- John 15.4-8. Sometimes we feel withered or drained. Sometimes it is hard to see the fruit and meaning of our lives. This is the mercy of Your call to abide once again in You. A branch cut off from its vine cannot bear fruit; in fact, it cannot live long. When our spiritual life is withering, when we do not sense the flow of Your life and Your Spirit through our hearts and our lives, we know we are not abiding in You. Teach us how to abide -- how to open every level and depth of our being to You, with no restrictions and no resistance. Like the branch of the vine, the more life we receive from You, the more mature we become through the abiding flow of Your Spirit in us and through us. As we grow in spiritual maturity, our capacity to receive more of You and abide more in You grows. The more we grow, the more fruit our lives will bear to the glory of our Father in heaven. Our thoughts become more like Your thoughts; our will becomes more like Your will; and our lives reflect more of Your life. Then whatever we ask and whatever we do comes out of our abiding relationship with You. This is the fruit You desire to bear through the lives of Your disciples. As we abide in You, our lives bear fruit; and when we don't, we wither and die. Let it be life and not death that we choose as we learn to abide in You. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for us. Our teaching and ministry is being very well received in New Mexico as the Lord is healing hearts, changing lives, and stirring a passion for His abiding presence. Please keep us in prayer as pray for each of you! To subscribe/unsubscribe/reply please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com God bless you!