Devotions from James Smith book, The Good and Beautiful Life

The secret to a vibrant life in Christ is to abide in Him. The way to wholeness and happiness is to live with utter dependence on Him, like the Vine and the branches. If we live apart from Jesus we are disconnected from the vine and cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit.  “ To abide means to rest and rely on Him, who is not outside of us, judging us, but inside of us, empowering us . The more deeply we are aware of our identity in Christ, and of His presence and power that are with us, the more naturally we will do this.” To abide means spending time with Him and doing spiritual practices that help nurture our relationship with Him. Over time we will notice that we are being transformed from the inside out.
Let us spend this ordinary day with our minds set on things above. May we not let our spiritual thoughts fade away but fuel our fire with prayer, frequent recollecting, basking in His peace, pausing between activities to be still and turning our thoughts to Him, and then end our day with self-examination.  These are helpful ways to live with God, but not the means to get God to like us for He loves us already unconditionally. Yes!