Formation - Abide: Learning to Walk in Intimacy with God (GROW Devotional Series)

By Dr. Joey Rodgers

Jesus said --- I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; while apart from Me, you can do nothing. John 15:5 In John 15, somewhere between the Upper Room and the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus shared with His disciples His most essential (and final), lesson on followship - the lesson of abiding . To abide in Christ is to remain in Him. It is to live in alignment under His influence and authority. It is to be grafted into intimacy through salvation so that the source of your life is the Holy Spirit. Often in the Gospels, Jesus used familiar analogies to illustrate important lessons. Such is the case in this passage. Just as a branch depends entirely on the vine for life, growth, and sustenance so that it might bear fruit, so too must every Jesus-follower depend completely on the Lord for their provision as well. This is the heart of abiding. Abiding is about maintaining unbroken and intimate communion with God. It is to be in a constant state of connection. Imagine an apple tree full of apples hanging from its branches, yet at the base of the tree is a single branch that has been severed from the trunk. Will that branch ever again produce apples? Of course not! Because the limb is no longer connected to the trunk; and is now incapable of producing fruit because it is no longer able to receive the life, growth, and sustenance necessary to bear fruit. The same is true regarding our relationship with God. Life with the Father begins at salvation, yet to bear fruit, we must remain in the vine. Thus, as the Holy Spirit is deposited into the believer's life at salvation, that person is now called to walk in continual submission to the Spirit to become the workmanship of God (see Ephesians 2:8-10) --- and this requires an active pursuit of surrender where a believer determines to trust and obey God's Word and leading. The result of such intimacy results in supernaturally bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Over the next twelve weeks, you are invited to join with others on a journey to abide in Christ to put into practice the spiritual disciplines and actions necessary to thrive with God. The intent of this devotional pathway is to assist the reader in learning the fundamentals of spiritual formation to enable them to commune with God, hear His voice, and follow His leading into the Great Commission. Enjoy!

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BKS611FS
• ISBN13: 9798360871514
• Release Date: October 2022
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 160 Pages
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.4" x 8.5"