I love this verse in John Chapter 15, Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

I refer to this idea as “abiding presence”. It is the practice of living within the awareness of the presence of God. I admit I am not always sure what that means, however there are times in my life when I experience such an abiding presence. It usually happens in the midst of worship or the experience of some divine appointment where you can only explain what happed as a God moment.

In reality God moments happen all the time, our problem is becoming aware of how they happen and when they happen. Jesus gives us some insight into this idea when He encourages His followers to remain in Him, and He will remain in us.

I could say a lot about that passage but there are three main thoughts which I want to discuss with you today.

The first is the practice of worship where I empty myself, where I release my anxiety and fears and come before God in awe. In worship we enter into relationship so that we can connect at a deeper level.

The second is the practice of sustained remaining. I use this term to express my belief that to really know someone you do it through the long-term. God is not into short term relationships.

The third idea is fruitfulness. Unless we are in the practice of fruit producing, (which is defined as growing in grace) we tend to lose the ability to do any of the above mentioned things.

So the question is this. What kind of worshiper are you? Do you have an abiding presence? Do you come to worship to empty yourself? Are you producing fruit?

Now granted these are sometime difficult to determine but they are marks of a worshiping follower of Jesus.

Tell me what you think.

Blessings

Pastor Rip

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