Pondering Point

Jesus here values remaining in Him. How would you explain “remaining” in Jesus to another person? How about “My words remain in you”? While I don’t think the Lord is looking for perfection here before blessing, it does seem He is looking for the practice of His precept as part of the plan.

Prayer Thoughts
Chapter 7
Remain

Historian Ruth Tucker summarizes the theme of [missionary Hudson Taylor’s] life:

“No other missionary in the nineteen centuries since the Apostle Paul has had a wider vision and has carried out a more systematized plan of evangelizing a broad geographical area than Hudson Taylor.”

At one period Hudson Taylor’s morale became very low in China. He began to question himself and he thought he was dogged with failure. He had constant conflict and failure instead of victory. How could he preach with sincerity to others when it was not in his own experience? His life was on an emotional roller coaster ride between joy over being a saved sinner and sad over his sinning and failures. He was strong and yet weak. He prayed for faith but it seemed not to come. How could his barren branch become a portion of the fruitful stem?

This is when he encountered the scripture where Jesus calls Himself the vine and believers the branch. Hudson Taylor finally understood that One life reigns throughout the whole vine and branch to bear fruit. It was and is Christ’s life; not his faith but God’s faithfulness that would make him significant. He was to abide, remain, and stay connected to Jesus. Hudson Taylor was to trust Him for the power to bear fruit.

Got his book?  Read pages 50-53 in Keep Me and Keep All, Smith.

Also check out Pastor Bob’s answer to Prayer Question #14 on page 255: “What does it mean to pray in the Spirit?”