@FirstChurchofJerusalem
Today's Early Church Wisdom
“I shall not hesitate also to put into ordered form for you, along with the interpretations, everything I learned carefully in the past from the elders and noted down carefully, for the truth of which I vouch. For unlike most people, I took no pleasure in those who told many different stories, but only in those who taught the truth. Nor did I take pleasure in those who reported their memory of someone else’s commandments, but only in those who reported their memory of the commandments given by the Lord to the faith and proceeding from the Truth itself. And if by chance anyone who had been in attendance on the elders arrived, I made enquiries about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and John the Elder, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from the books would profit me as much as information from a living and surviving voice.
~ Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60–130 AD) From the Preface to his lost ‘Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord’
This week's Psalm is Psalm 31 'My Rock, My Shield, My Song'

Characteristics & Consequences of Abiding in Christ

What then can we say about abiding in Christ? One thing is sure - abiding in Christ is not a passing devotion but a lifelong dwelling. At its very heart, to abide in Christ is:

•	to practice His presence in stillness of heart, and

•	to listen to His word, obey His word, and remain in His word

If we abide in Him, we will be those who:

•	feed on His body and blood by faith with thanksgiving, we will

•	pray without ceasing, and

•	repent without despair

… until slowly, quietly, like branches in springtime, our lives begin to bear the fruit of the Kingdom: love, humility, holiness, and joy. And when the world asks where such fruit comes from, we will answer with the words of Christ Himself: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But in Him, abiding always, the barren branch becomes a living tree in the garden of God. Let us be that tree (Psalm 1).