7-52 Voices February 17, 2014
The C3 Leaders devotion is a peer weekly reflection from business leaders related to their journey with Christ. Each weekly devotion will be written by a different author from among the C3 Leaders community, 52 unique authors to be exact.
As we go through this next year together, we pray that these words and reflections will encourage you in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
This devotional is from Bob Lonac CEO/President of Crista Ministries
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
John 15:4
Although this is a clear admonition from the lips of Jesus to abide solely in Him, it is by no means an easy task. The idea of remaining in Him is far more than a tip of the hat to God in our morning devotions. In actuality, it is an all encompassing, personally transforming, minute-by-minute experience of putting our trust in God every second of every day.
But “religious” activity doesn’t have the aroma of abundant life to which Jesus calls me; only the Spirit of God working through me — helping me remain in Him — will quench the inner vacancy in my (and each person’s) heart.
At C3, we are working to encourage leaders to abide in Christ, fanning the flames of God’s work among us and through us. At a recent forum meeting, one of our members overheard someone say, “My faith defines me.” Wow. What a revolutionary statement.
We spent some time digging into those words, which led us to John 15:1-17. In John’s parable, we found there are practical steps we can take to abiding in Him:
- Expect and welcome pruning.
- Know God’s Word. Keep his Word in your heart and claim it as truth. In this way, He remains in you, and you in Him.
- Accept God’s love, and drink it deep into your heart.
- Love others as God loves them.
- Follow the Lord’s commands.
- Ask the Father, and He will give it you.
C3 desires to be “Spirit-led leaders impacting every marketplace.” If we’re not allowing Christ to take over every part of our life — abiding in Him every day — we can’t live out this mission. Apart from Him it’s impossible; but with Him, all things are possible.
Bob Lonac,
You can contact Bob at: Rlonac@Crista.net