I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

John 15:1-11

If we abide in Him, we can bear His fruit.  It is only in the place of His Spirit.

Consider the place of His Presence.  Some call it living in Him, some call it abiding, some call it practicing His Presence, but those who stay within the flame pay a price to do so.

There is always a cost to living anything, especially the Gospel.  It can be said that while Matthew 13:44 is more about the Worth of the Gospel, rather than it’s cost, it does also indicate a cost.  But, while some might emphasize the cost to elevate the self, it is merely in keeping with anything else.  But, in the end, the worth out weighs the cost on every level.

Madame Jeanne Guyon wrote about prayer and intimacy with God.  She talked about contemplative prayer, and praying and seeking until you felt His Presence.  And then, she said, lay the focus aside, whatever you were focusing on, and simply focus on His presence.  As we practice this daily, it becomes an anointing for prayer that lasts all day.  As we seek Him continually, day after day, it grows.

As the branch draws strength from the vine, so we draw continual strength from His Spirit within us.  The grace to stand, the grace to live, the grace to resist temptation and overcome the evil one.  This is the power of the Gospel, His ability within us, to both foresee, avoid, and resist evil in every form.  And to enjoy Him in this life.

The moment we lose that connection with Him, we must find it again.  The moment it backs off, we must seek it.  We must know what He is saying, what He is doing, and what He wants.

If only those who do the will of the Father enter the Kingdom, and even more, if Jesus only saw what He saw His Father do and said what He heard Him speak, how much more do we need the ever present leading of our Lord.

What is this abiding?  John tells us in His epistles.

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:16

And this should come as no surprise, for these are the first two great commandments of the Lord.

There is no nation upon the Earth that survives upon love.  Every kingdom of the Earth requires the laws and regulations of men, written down and enforced through agencies of government.  But, this Kingdom does not rule over one another.  Rather, this Kingdom is led by the meek.

Bless God in the congregations, even the LORD, you who are of the fountain of Israel.
There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
Your God has commanded your strength; show Yourself strong, O God, who have acted on our behalf.

Psalm 68:26-28

Benjamin, the youngest and smallest tribe of them all, of which there is nothing written of a ruler, is indicated as leading the nation.  It is not for lack of nobles of Judah, for they are there in the congregation, along with those of other tribes.  But, the first are last and the last are first, as God hid His wisdom from the wise.

A Kingdom like that of the Earth, with a new set of “stone tablets” was not in the design, but rather a Kingdom with laws written on our hearts, with the love of God to govern us (2 Corinthians 5:14).  A new way, through love in His Spirit, was provided.

We must be about the business of the Lord.  Those who love Him will obey Him, and if we obey Him, we will remain in His love.  The fountain goes deeper than at first we looked.  For, at first, we thought the touch we received was enough, and it was, and it is.  Yet, as our gaze is drawn down deeper in the pool, we begin to see the depths of love, the crush of passion, the exhilaration of desire.  We are propelled further onward, further deeper, into this exploration of His Heart.

What first began as a daydream, a passing through, becomes a legacy, and His sweet whispers become the hammers upon a heart of flesh (Jeremiah 23:29).  Beating with the rhythm of both ecstasy and driven-ness to obey.

Jesus, the man who was God, the God who was man, learned obedience by the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).  He learned to obey, simply to stay connected.  He learned to abide fully, not by sinning, but by the perfect discipline of the Lord, until He learned the Way, His way, The perfectness of obedience.

Jesus learned how to stay.  And, we learn to stay.

Sometimes, our open doors allow things to get into our lives that we don’t want.  Sometimes, our open doors are ways for us to escape the pressure of this depth so we can get away from ourselves for a while.  But, when the last door closes, and we are trapped inside, alone, with Him, can we survive?

The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Isaiah 33:14

Do you want to live with God?  Did you want that habitation you were eternally crying out for?  I hope so, because it’s coming. And, it’s going to be a fire, a mighty flame (Song of Songs 8:6).