Hey Missio (and friends), Kevin here, I want to take a few minutes and reintroduce us to a key reality as disciples.
Here’s a few minutes read on what it means to abide in Christ. Together. But here’s a big ole’ spoiler alert I want to get to you before the real reading begins: Abiding in Jesus is a transformative invitation that, if accepted, has the power to change absolutely everything in your life.
First, remember this: Your life in God’s kingdom was never meant to be simply checking a box on Sunday, or Wednesday, or whatever day you get around to spending a slice of time with Jesus. But it was always meant to be living out a vibrant, daily connection with Jesus that transforms absolutely everything. Game. Changer.
Abiding isn't about rote, religious routines; it's a gritty, everyday partnership with the Creator.
Yes, we love spiritual practices. Yes we utilize an Examen. Yes we invite every member of Missio to consider what it looks like for them to awaken their hearts through ancient rhythms. Yes we think those are helpful. But abiding isn’t just that. I think it's waking up and saying, "Alright, Jesus, you're in this day with me." Or maybe better, “I’m in this day with you.” It's about doing life shoulder to shoulder with the one who knows us and our context far better than we ever could. And when we discover ancient (or modern) practices that help to keep us connected in an abiding life, we utilize them as gifts.
Think of it like this: weren’t ever meant to be lone branches floating around; that would be crazy. And slightly creepy. But we're called (In John 15 and other places) to be connected to the vine, drawing life and purpose from Jesus. It's messy, it's beautiful, and it's a profoundly True Story rooted reality. Abiding and growth takes place in the soil of everyday life, but connected to Jesus is where real life happens, not disconnected pursuing our own efforts to produce life.
Abiding in Christ isn't a solo act either.
So many times we read these verses as independent connections with Jesus. But it’s a plural command. “Ya’ll abide in me…” Just for my southern friends. Everybody else, that means it's a communal dance where we link arms with fellow disciples, creating a living, breathing expression of God's kingdom in our cities, towns, and across the world. As we abide, we become signs of the Kingdom, bringing hope, healing, and grace to a hurting world.
without abiding we quickly wither.
Don’t miss this. Our willpower can’t stand up to the scorching stories, temptations, and snares of the enemy. When we aren’t abiding we can have the best of intentions, but find our hearts quickly moving from partnership with Jesus to privatized kingdoms really quickly. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus offered a vibrant way to experience life now. Remain in Him.
Here’s the invitation of this holiday season,
Let’s step into the adventure of abiding in Christ — not as a religious duty but as a wild, transformative journey that shapes every moment of our lives. Let’s proactively abide and then arrange our calendars, budgets, and dinner parties out of an overflow of His love reigning in our hearts. Let’s abide in Jesus as we collectively long see his kingdom come, his will be done, in Phoenix as it is in heaven!
Want some help on that journey? Reach out to your MC leader OR Click below.
