Abide With Me‏

Dearest Ones,

One of the most comforting hymns I know,"Abide with Me," was written by Henry Lyte, 1847 in England. It is a favorite hymn at funerals, weddings and even at sports events. I can only imagine the pain-filled body of this great man composing this hymn, as he lay dying of tuberculosis, with three weeks to live. As his world became darker, he asked our Lord to abide in him. Now he is with God, living in his light. Completely healed. These are just two of the seven verses:

Abide with me, fast falls the evening tide,
The darkness deepens, Lord with us abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies,
Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord abide with me.

(The other verses can be found on the Internet.) "Abide" seems like an old-fashioned word - it means to stay. It is one of the last words Our Lord used when he said goodbye to his apostles, his best friends. "Abide in me as I abide in you." He abides, lasts, endures, hangs on to us and in us. Abide is a strong word. It is a lasting thing. It's a plea for God to be present in one's life. If you will accept that Jesus is not someone "out there" but truly lives in you - if you truly accept His presence in every part of your life, every minute of every day, then He will abide in you, and your life will never again be the same. After all, He promised to abide in us. What a promise! Jesus wants to live His life through us because he knows we can't live it alone. As Christians, we are asked to let Him live through us. No believer can live the Christian life by himself. We don't need to understand this, because we can't! Just believe and yield to the Holy Spirit. It's not too hard for us to do or Jesus wouldn't ask us to do it. Every day, we should grow closer to the Lord Jesus. We get to know Him by reading His Word and spending time with Him in prayer. We sit quietly and rest in Him and then we will know that He is everything we need and more. James 4:8 "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." We are eternally secure because we have the Spirit abiding within us. Isn't that exciting? But we are most of the time totally unaware of it! That doesn't matter, He's still there! "Without Me you can do nothing." We must realize our dependence upon the Lord. In all our spiritual life, in conflict, especially - we need Him. Apart from him, we have no strength, no power, no joy, no peace, no happiness. That is why He says, "Abide in Me." What does it really mean? It means we must remain in Him by faith that trusts Him in everything. John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in Him, shall bring forth much fruit. If a man does not abide in Me, he shall be cast forth and men shall gather them and cast them into the fire." I don't know about you, but that verse scares me. I don't want to be cut off and thrown into the fire. Jesus was not talking about true believers, but to those who pretend to believe, simply saying words, but they do not really believe in their hearts. Jesus knows our heart. How does one know who is a dead branch and who is a living one? We know by their fruits - by good works, by kindness, love and compassion for our neighbor. If you abide in Jesus, then get ready for some trials to come your way. James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds." So many people grow discouraged when they have trials. They think God is punishing them for something they did - this is not true at all. Trials can be a blessing in disguise. The only way to maturity in your faith is through trials. All of Jesus' followers endured them, but when we get to heaven, it is the trials that we will be most thankful for."Father, help me to stay forever connected. Teach me how to walk day by day with the Holy Spirit. Give me the courage to walk closer to you and turn my back on the things that are not spiritual. I ask this in faith and in Jesus' precious name. Amen."

I love you!

Sister Francelle