"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). Isn’t it amazing that Jesus dwells in us (Gal 2:20)? The verse written above is just one verse from John 15:1-12 but this whole section is on the subject of abiding. God does not just want us to abide "with" him but "in" him. The word suggests taking up permanent residence; this is not a come and go relationship. What an honor to be in constant fellowship with God, every day, every hour, every minute!

So, how do you abide? It requires time and a decision of the will to abide in God's presence. We do this by spending time in his word and prayer and committing to be teachable and to allow his lordship in our lives. We need to constantly remind ourselves throughout the day that we are abiding in him. It is allowing oneself to be instructed and guided by him. It is enjoying God's peace (John 14:27), rest (Matt 11:28-30) and all of his promises (2 Cor 1:20), despite what is going on in our busy lives.

As we abide in him we will bear fruit, God will change us and use us as we grow in him (John 15:5). Abiding doesn't mean we can't do any of our normal daily duties, we can still abide in him no matter what we are doing. When your neighbor invites you in, you don't just stand outside do you? You go on in and enjoy their company. This is no different and it's that simple. We need to obey and enjoy walking in Christ.

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God calls all men and women to repentance (Acts 17:30). Jesus called sinners to repentance (Mark 2:17) Repentance is a prerequisite to salvation (Acts 3:19; 2 Cor 7:10). In Revelations Chapter 2 Jesus called several of the Christian churches to repentance. As Christians we will still sin but if we ask for forgiveness, God is fast to forgive (1 John 1:8-10). Forgiveness is hardly sincere if we don’t have a repentant heart but simply carry on sinning.

 So, what is repentance? Repentance is a quality decision to change. If we are walking in a direction displeasing to God (in sin) it makes no sense to simply ask for forgiveness but then continue on in the same direction. Repentance is doing a 180-degree change in our attitudes and actions. After forgiveness, we make that quality decision to walk in the opposite direction from the sin that we asked forgiveness for. God will help us through his grace and love and by the power of his Holy Spirit that dwells in us (Phil 1:6).

How do we know we have a repentant heart? Well, our lives will bear fruits worthy of repentance (Matt 3:8) and everyone will see.

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 “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col 2:15; KJV). This verse is good news as it tells us that Jesus defeated the power of satan in his victory at the cross. This is confirmed in Hebrews 2:14 where we read that Jesus destroyed the devil and rendered him ineffective. The meaning of the Greek word for destroyed is to make something totally ineffective or powerless.

How can we establish this victory in our lives? It's one thing to know what Jesus did for us but how can we benefit from this? God has given us authority over satan in order to enforce this victory as it says in Luke 9:1, when Jesus gave his disciples: “power and authority over all demons”. Also, when Jesus gave the last commission to his disciples (and to us) in Mark 16:17, he said they (we) would cast out demons: "in his name". James, the brother of Jesus, told us we should: “submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you”. The Greek word for resist means to take a bold stand and oppose.

“Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt 18:18). We have the authority to loose all the works of the devil from our lives and those of other people and we can bind them far from us.  We need to use our authority, prayer, and God’s promises in his word to: "fight the good fight of faith"(1 Tim 6:7), against the devil and his attacks. Always remember that we are resisting from a point of victory.

 “And every that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3; KJV) God is pure and we are called to purity of heart (2 Tim 2:22) and mind (2 Peter 3:1) and to exemplify purity for others (1 Tim 4:12). In Psalm 73:1 we are told that God is good to those of a pure heart and in Matthews Gospel we read: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8). To be pure is to be like God and to draw close to him.

So, what is purity? If you study out the three Greek words for purity in the Bible you see that a person of purity has no blemishes. To be pure is to be clean, morally faultless, undefiled and modest in all areas of life. The pure individual has no hidden motives and no mixture of good and evil. Our purity should be able to stand the test of Sunlight. When our lives are held up to the light of God’s word no flaws should be seen. This seems like a tall order but God is always there to help.

We were given a new spirit at salvation (John 3:3-8) but we are called to purify our souls by obeying the truth which is God’s word (1 Peter 1:22). We need to meditate on things that are pure (Phil 4:8) and wash our minds with the water of the word (Eph 5:26). The Holy Spirit reveals the word to us and works to help us change. (John 14:26; Phil 1:6) Don’t be condemned. Change is always a process that takes time, but the results are wonderful.

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I find it interesting that the first instructions that God gives us on marriage are found in the very first book of the Bible, in the first two chapters. In Genesis 2:24 God gives husbands and wives probably the most important instructions they need. He says: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall become one flesh" (KJV). These same instructions are also given in Matt. 19:5 and Eph. 5:31.

Husbands and wives must re prioritize relationships as they come together to make the new relationship their focus, independent of previous family connections. The meaning of the word cleave, suggests a relationship where husband and wife are cemented together in a permanent covenant or bond. In other words, next to God, our spouse should be more important than anything else in life.

The advantage that Christian marriages have over non-Christians is that Christians can love their spouses with agape love. This is the unconditional love with which God loves us; a love that has been poured into us by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). This is a love of choice which is not dependent on performance. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 the apostle Paul spells that out the characteristics of this love for us. We encourage you to read that chapter of the Bible.

With agape love in operation even the most seemingly impossible problems in marriage can get turned around. Of course, this is not something we can do in our own ability but with God's help and lots of prayer, it is possible.

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Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others.