Abide in Me
Jeremiah 31:7-9
7 For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud
with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of
Israel.’ 8 See, I am going to
bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts
of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in
labour, together; a great company, they shall return here. 9 With weeping they
shall come, and with consolations and I will lead them back, I will let them
walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Summary: This reading from Jeremiah is meant to encourage and
assure those in captivity, that God will bring them to freedom, peace, honor,
greatness and joy by sending the Messiah. These promises have been fulfilled
through God's blessings as His kingdom and Will were restored to Earth as they
are in Heaven.
Our Messiah
(anointed one) has come … (John 15) He is the vine and we are the
branches. We must connect to the source of spiritual life (i.e. we must abide in Christ) in order to live in
God's Kingdom and to receive His multitude of blessings. Without Christ, we can do nothing. In return, Jesus will abide in us and God the Father will prune our branches
so we can produce much fruit. God's love will flow to us through the vine,
helping us to produce the fruit of His Spirit. Our trust, love and obedience
will glorify God. We abide in Christ by obeying His command to love God and to
love each other as He loved us. This love will show the world that we are truly
disciples of Christ. Whatever we ask for will be done. We will have the power
of God’s Spirit and the authority to defeat the enemy. "Behold,
I have given you authority ... over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
shall hurt you." (Luke 10)
“… and receive from Him anything we ask,
because we keep His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. The one who
keeps God’s commands lives in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us. ” (1John 3:22-24)
“As we abide in Him we will bear the fruit of
righteousness. This means to become more like Christ and reflect the fruit of
the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22–23).
Jesus said, "If
you abide in my word, you are truly
my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
(John 8:31)
“Abide in Him, and He
will abide in you. He who began a good work in you will complete it.” (Philippians 1:6).
In the Name of Jesus, we pray.
Abide in Me