The Difference Abiding Makes
From Zero to Everything
"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." John 15:4-5
There are certain abiding principles that we must continually reaffirm in our daily lives, particularly at the dawn of a new year. One of those key principles is Abiding: staying constantly connected and desperately dependent on Jesus. Abiding in Christ is recognizing that we bring nothing to the table except our nothing and our faith. Our late friend Mike Wells abided in Christ more intimately while he lived on the planet than anyone I have ever known. As we begin this year, I thought it would be good for all of us to ponder what Mike left us in the article below. Enjoy!
Add a One to All Your Zeros
By Mike Wells
“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
While I was in India speaking at a school, one of the dorm parents asked to talk to me. He turned out to be a great blessing to me as he sat sharing about so many things. He had been a Brahman, one the elite of Hinduism, worshipped as a god. He had always been taught that there were many ways to God, and yet he began to wonder, “Do I have the right way?’ It was this questioning and the Holy Spirit that brought him to Jesus. Once he confessed his faith, he was banned from going to his house, and after 16 years, his father died without reconciliation. He is now tolerated and allowed to visit his house, so long as he does not stay. He really does not care, for he has found Jesus. The most interesting point he made was about writing on the chalkboard his qualifications for being a Christian. Under talent he put zero. Under ability he put zero. Under intelligence: zero. Under people skills he put zero. He looked on the board and all he had written was a line of zeros. Then a man said to him, “Let me show you something. All you have are zeros, six to be exact. Now we will add one to all the zeros, the only ONE that matters. We will add Jesus to all your zeros.” The man then put a one at the front of all the zeros and said, “See? When I added the ONE to the front, we’re Jesus belongs, your zeros have now become one million. Add Jesus to your zeros and your weaknesses become your strength.”
My Weakness for His Strength, Volume 1, Day 2, Page 4
