Abide in me

When we believe in our minds, we are required to constantly put forth effort to stay focused on anything. It is incredibly demanding and frustrating to constantly remind ourselves of how we are supposed to live. The mind constantly jumps from one subject to another based on where we are placing our attention.

When we believe something in our heart, The heart affects our sense of identity. If I know I’m a duck, no one has to mind me to quack! When I have established my identity in my heart, we move from visiting with the Lord to abiding. In this state, we don’t have to remind ourselves of what to do. It effortlessly stays in place, guiding our every step.  Chapter 11 Establishing your heart.

These two paragraphs just lay it out so perfectly. If it walks like a duck,  quacks like a duck it’s probably a duck.

One thing I have noticed in myself over the years is that I’m always making this statement to myself “that’s not who you are.” Or I’ll have men tell me that’s not who you are. Those statements need to go away. If I am living my life abiding in Jesus , I don’t believe I would hear those statements anymore for myself or from my friends.  I have long periods of time where I do abide in him, but I want it to be all the time.

John 15:4-5 (ESV) 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

We are not becoming something new; we have been made something new. Transformation is where we actively experience transformation by putting off the old man and putting on the new man. Chapter 11