They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I think it's true.
Sometimes, one word attached to one photograph can weave its way into your thoughts and take root there. That's what happened with this photograph:
Remain. Abide. Dwell. Stay. Live.
Simple words.
And why does the follow-through so often elude me?
"Remain in me," Jesus says, "and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine." (John 15:4, NIV 1984)
"Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you..." (Amplified Bible)
"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you...you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me." (The Message)
"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." (ESV)
Live. Stay. Dwell. Abide. Remain...
...that all I do would be only His work in me.
...that the fruit of my life would be sweet and good because the source is right and true.
Remain.
Around the web, Ann, Lisa, and Emily have been talking about their one word for the year, about the best habits for all these days ahead.
Sometimes, one word attached to one photograph can weave its way into your thoughts and take root there. That's what happened with this photograph:
photo credit: Louie Giglio
Several months ago, Louie tweeted that picture with just this word: Remain. And I've been thinking about it ever since . . . about what it means to remain . . . to abide . . . to dwell . . . to stay firmly rooted.
Remain.
Miriam-Webster says that remain means:
1. to be a part not destroyed, taken, or used up
2. to stay in the same place or with the same person or group
Remain.
I find myself wanting to chase "this idea" or start "that fun project." I want to figure things out or make them work on my own. I want to do things my own way in my own time and by my own strength.
But the Lord reminds me, "Remain."
He says this:
"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. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing." John 15:4-5, NLT
Remain. Abide. Dwell. Stay. Live.
Simple words.
And why does the follow-through so often elude me?
"Remain in me," Jesus says, "and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine." (John 15:4, NIV 1984)
"Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you..." (Amplified Bible)
"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you...you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me." (The Message)
"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." (ESV)
Live. Stay. Dwell. Abide. Remain...
...that all I do would be only His work in me.
...that the fruit of my life would be sweet and good because the source is right and true.
Remain.
Around the web, Ann, Lisa, and Emily have been talking about their one word for the year, about the best habits for all these days ahead.
I know my word.
I know the habit that most needs forming in me.
I know the habit that most needs forming in me.
Now to do what I know.
Remain in me, and I will remain in you...
For apart from me, you can do nothing.
John 15:4-5, NLT
