Where Do You Stay?

John 15:1-4

¹ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

Growing up in California we thought everyone in Texas spoke with that famous Texas drawl we saw depicted in the movies.  To our surprise we found that most Texans our age don't have an accent at all.  There are definitely different words and expressions used here that we didn't hear growing up.  Like the word "fixin" means preparing or getting ready.  People say, "We are fixin' to go to the store."  The expression "That dog will hunt" means "it's possible" or saying "That dog won't hunt" means "it's impossible."  An example of this could be someone saying, "I think the Lakers are going to win the championship."  Your response might be "That dog will hunt!"  The expression, "Where do you stay?"  took us awhile to understand.  What people were asking is "Where do you live?"

As we think about how God transforms our lives when we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the later expression makes a lot of sense.  In John 15:5, the greek word for "abide" is the word "meno."  It means "to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy)."  Many of us understand this because we know that "there is no place like home."  We "visit" our friends homes but we "stay" in our own home.  Home is where you spend quality time with your family.  It's a place you cherish and make life long memories with Dad, Mom, brothers and sisters.  As we "stay" in Christ we are positioning and connecting ourselves to the source of life.  How do we do this?  We do it by "staying" in faith, "staying" in His Word, and "staying" in fellowship with other believers.  The evidence of "staying" is that your life will begin to bear fruit.  The fruit of the Spirit evidenced in your life is a testimony of God's awesome transforming power at work today!

So, "Where do YOU stay?"

Have a great day!  God bless you.

Louis & Elisa Quintana