Over the next several weeks, the Word of the Week will focus on some simple rhythms Jesus gives us to help us walk with Him. We’ll talk about reading Scripture, praying, fasting, gathering, giving, and going. But before we talk about what we do, we need to remember where everything begins.
Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you… apart from me you can do nothing.” — John 15:4–5
To abide simply means to remain, to stay, to make your home somewhere. Jesus is inviting us to make our home in Him—to live every part of our lives in continual dependence upon and fellowship with Him.
That means spiritual disciplines aren’t ways of earning God’s favor or proving how serious we are about following Jesus. The goal of the disciplines isn’t discipline. The goal is Jesus. We read Scripture because we want to know Jesus. We pray because we want to talk with Jesus. We fast because we want to hunger for Jesus. We gather because we need to follow Jesus alongside His people. These rhythms are simply ways of putting ourselves near the Vine again and again, because branches don’t produce life—they receive it.
So before we ask, “Am I reading enough? Am I praying enough? Am I disciplined enough?” maybe we should ask a better question:
Am I abiding in Jesus?
This week, begin each morning with one simple prayer before you reach for your phone or begin your day:
“Jesus, help me abide in You today. I can do nothing apart from You.”
Then carry that truth with you. In the car. At work. At school. While making dinner. Before a difficult conversation. Keep returning to Jesus. Because the Christian life isn’t primarily about trying harder for Jesus.
It’s about staying near Jesus—and allowing His life to bear fruit through ours.