God has been teaching me a lot these past fews weeks. I was thinking about how to mentally prepare for ministry. The Holy Spirit reminded me of John 15, our team’s inspiration for our name. While looking it over I noticed four things that Jesus tells us to abide in.
He says in verse four, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” I think this is the most important point. If we do not rest in Jesus, then what is the point of ministry? Who are we doing ministry for? Ourselves, the people we minister to? I think this is the difference in going out into the world “helping” people. People who aren’t believers go help orphans, give people money, feed the poor, etc. All this is great, but as believers this is not our purpose. Our purpose is to go out in Jesus’ name. As a World Racer I can go out everyday and do all the above things and even preach Jesus name, but if I’m not resting in his presence and who He is, I am not doing it for him.
The second thing Jesus says to abide in is his words. Jesus says in verse seven, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” It is hard to remain in Jesus if we don’t know who He is. I think a lot of times we can make assumptions about who Jesus is based on what we’ve heard from other people. The reality is that a lot of what people think Christianity is has nothing to do with what the Bible says. The Bible is where Jesus’ “Word” is found. It is where we see what Jesus has done and said and the truth about WHO he is. In order to abide in Jesus we must abide in his words. We must allow the Holy Spirit to live in us through the Word so that Jesus will be alive in us.
The third thing Jesus says is in verse nine. He says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” Jesus is love. He shows us love and we in turn should show his love to others. If we remain in his love, then his love in us will extend to everyone around us.
Jesus and love are the same! Part of abiding in his love is letting Him love us. This is something that I have struggled a lot. I have lived with lies that God is dissapointed in me or that He loved me, but just because He has to. At launch, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that those were lies. In order to love others you must let Jesus’ love be real to you.
Jesus also says, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” The way we remain in Jesus’ love is to obey his commandments, particularly to love each other (vs. 12). This does not mean that if we do not obey Jesus that he will not love us. However, we do not fully abide in love if we do not love others. In turn, as I mentioned earlier if we abide in his love, it will naturally flow through us to love others. Yes, we mess up and still sin. However, the more I abide in Jesus, his word, and his love the easier it will be to abide in his commandments.
Please pray for me that I will continue to be influenced by what Jesus says in John 15. I believe the Holy Spirit is now making our team name a significant part of my spiritual journey. Pray that I will let the Holy Spirit do his work in me in order that he can do all he wants through me. This is the only way that people will recognize that it is not us doing good works, but Jesus in us, building up his Kingdom.
I would challenge you to read John 15 fully and see what the Holy Spirit is telling you through it. I have found that Scripturecan take on a whole new meaning when we look at it with fresh eyes. Thank you for your support and for listening to what I have to say.
Amy
P.S. God has really provided for me through your financial contributions. As of right now I have $10,100 of support. My next deadline is $12,000 by April 1st. Please pray that God will continue providing for my team. Please pray that we will take the opporunites given us to demonstrate Jesus’ love to others, especially as we continue on to Malawi tomorrow. Thank you!
