“Notes from Charles Stanley on “Abiding In Christ”: “Let the Savior work in me by abiding
—NOT STRIVING— but TRUSTING Christ for the POWER. Thus, RESTING in His unfailing love. I have to DECIDE—BE WILLING—to let my SAVIOR work through and in me. Here ‘s how it works: I DECIDE to follow the Holy Spirit ‘s promptings and then the Lord takes over. I make a decision to TRUST CHRIST ‘S POWER instead of focusing on my frailties. The answer is ABIDING, not striving. It ‘s His life flowing through us that produces fruit, not our self-empowered efforts.
“To ABIDE means to stay, dwell, rest, to remain. We can ‘t truly flourish unless we ‘re abiding in Christ. He ‘s the one who transforms our character, overcomes sin, and empowers our service. But, this doesn ‘t mean that we can sit back and do nothing.
Our responsibility in ABIDING is to walk just as Christ walked. Jesus wasn ‘t passive. He was very active, but He DID NOT WORK OUT OF HUMAN ENERGY. He lived the Spirit-filled life. The Son of God depended on the Spirit and placed Himself in subjection to the Father.
“So, to actively ABIDE in CHRIST, we must walk as He did—NOT in our own strength and wisdom, but in DEPENDENCE on the HOLY SPIRIT in SUBMISSION and OBEDIENCE to the Father and His Word. “The benefits of ABIDING in CHRIST are: rest for your soul, fruitful service, character, answered prayer, confidence in God ‘s love for you, and fullness of joy.
“Whenever I find myself feeling weary, anxious, and defeated, I CONFESS that I ‘m relying on myself instead of Him. As I RELEASE my hold and SURRENDER ALL my concerns to the Lord, His PEACE fills my soul. As I RELY on HIM, HE ENERGIZES me to handle whatever I ‘m facing. God never gives up or stops working in us. He ‘ll be faithful to complete what He ‘s begun in your life.
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