Abide in Him

     Our pastor gave one of his most inspirational sermons today. I think it touched me in particular because it was a confirmation of what the Lord spoke into my heart the other night. I woke up in the middle of the night and was asking God questions as I sometimes do. My concern was for the future and would I be able to handle the things that might come and the Lord seemed to speak to me, not in an audible voice, but in my spirit.
     I've always thought I needed to do things in my own strength and if I couldn't do it, then I was a failure. You can imagine how many times I've failed with that attitude. I was telling God that I didn't want to let Him or others down again and He said, "Then don't do it in your own strength, do it in mine."
     The pastor talked about how often as Christians we try really hard to do lots of great works, but then fail to "stand firm" when tempted. He noted that we have the idea that we need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and carry on, but in reality as believers, we should know we can't stand against the principalities of this world alone. We need to plug into His power, abide in Him, and simply enjoy a relationship with our Creator.

     

Ceilings in the Vatican, although beautiful, will not compare to the architecture in Heaven:)

^{John 15:4}  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
Luke 21:19 Stand firm, and you will win life.