ListenDaily - 21 May 2009: Abiding in Christ
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” John 6:53-58 NKJV (find any passage at www.Biblegateway.org)
Wow, there is power in these words -- convicting, creative, life-giving, eternal, true power.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." No one can say that Jesus could not be direct! He says here, quite clearly, that without taking part in Him, you are dead. Period. But the Good News is...
"Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." This is Good News! Taking part in Him leads us to eternity with Him.
"For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed." There is, obviously, much more to be said about the Flesh and Blood of Christ. But for our purpose today, it is sufficient to say that Christ provides the spiritual food and drink that we need to live. Without Him, our soul suffers the same fate that our bodies would without food -- first hunger, then starvation, and, eventually, death.
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. And so, here we are. Abiding. Abiding in Him -- and Christ abiding in us! A process of transformation and conformation, whereby we become more and more who He is; not just copying Him -- but becoming part of His Body. And this 'becoming part of the Body' is not a metaphor! It is...
...abiding.
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Questions:
1. What does 'abiding' mean to you? 2. How does 'abiding by' compare to 'abiding in'? 3. Do you have any questions?
INTERESTING THOUGHTS:
"The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil,
and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain.
No; it rests in union and communion with the vine;
and at the right time, and in the right way,
is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.
Hudson Taylor
"But the soul renounced shall abide in the boundlessness of God's life.
This is liberty, this is prosperity. The more we lose, the more we gain."
Watchman Nee
"If we then let the words of Christ abide in us,
they will stir us up in prayer."
Reuben Archer Torrey
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