Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Abide In Me: Being Fully Alive In Christ
    Abide In Me: Being Fully Alive In Christ
    Abide In Me: Being Fully Alive In Christ
    Ebook116 pages2 hours

    Abide In Me: Being Fully Alive In Christ

    By Douglas J. Early

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The scriptures of the Christian faith speak of a life qualitatively different from that which we see portrayed on videos, movie screens, and the pages of magazines. The Scriptures proclaim that we can experience the "life of God" here and now. Most of us long for such a life, but have discovered that experiencing this life of God is not simply a matter of following seven specific steps or nine important principles. In this book, Rev. Douglas J. Early reminds us that the way to the fullness of life that God offers us has little to do with our own striving and far more to do with receiving what is already at hand. Using wisdom found in 1 John, Abide In Me serves as a guide to experiencing a life of joy, purpose, and love. Readers are invited to explore the breadth and depth of the life that comes from abiding in the presence of Christ and attending to the Spirit of Christ abiding in each of us. For anyone wanting more in life but tired of working hard and getting nowhere, this book offers hope for experiencing the life of God in Christ, here and now.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWipf and Stock
    Release dateAug 19, 2016
    ISBN9781498291125
    Abide In Me: Being Fully Alive In Christ
    Author

    Douglas J. Early

    Doug Early is an ordained pastor in the PC(USA) and has served the same congregation for nearly twenty years. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and his Master of Divinity from Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. In addition to writing sermons, Doug posts regularly on his blog, Hints & Guesses. He lives with his family in a leafy neighborhood of Seattle.

    Related to Abide In Me

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Fill Your Heart

      Mar 16, 2021

      Fill Your Heart
      1 min read

    • Article

      How God Is Using A Devoted Pastor To Further His Kingdom In This World

      Aug 7, 2020

      As Christians, we are called to be salt and light in society. We are called to be history-makers and world changers. We are called to be fruitful in our lives, to achieve much for the Kingdom of God. Our mandate on this earth is to go out into all na

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Parables Of Jesus

      Jun 16, 2023

      The Parables Of Jesus
      4 min read

    • Article

      Sunday, August 18

      Jun 18, 2019

      WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN to pray without ceasing? Does it mean we chant at the wailing wall in Jerusalem? Or is it more like the meditative murmurs of a cloistered nun? I used to think that was the picture of devoted prayer. Today, it looks like cons

      1 min read

    • Article

      Actively Seek the Lord

      Jan 16, 2021

      Actively Seek the Lord
      1 min read

    • Article

      Josh & Tara McCauley On A REDEMPTIVE Mission

      Sep 4, 2020

      Whilst his friends were out playing cops and robbers, a young Joshua would sit in the front row of church listening to the sermons of his dad (Rhema Church founder, Pastor Ray McCauley) blissfully unaware that one day he too would be standing behind

      10 min read

    • Article

      Take Control of Your Faith

      May 18, 2020

      Take Control of Your Faith
      1 min read

    • Article

      Guarding against Deception

      Apr 22, 2019

      Bearing in mind the season we are in, the article may help the Body of Christ to bring guidance on some principles of the miraculous and the supernatural. As believers, we need to understand that there are two sources that relate to the supernatural.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Your Pathway to Miracles

      Nov 16, 2022

      Your Pathway to Miracles
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Beautiful, Joy-filled Discovery Of Spiritual Gifts

      Jun 24, 2019

      It is a known fact that believers flourish in their service to Christ when they are serving in the area of their giftedness and in conjunction with their God-given uniqueness. Spiritual gifts are divine endowments and abilities given to us by God to

      2 min read

    • Article

      Be Filled With The Spirit

      Mar 16, 2022

      Be Filled With The Spirit
      1 min read

    • Article

      ‘You Grow Through All Your Experiences’ Thoughts From Nicky:

      Oct 30, 2020

      • A burglary is frightening but it’s good to recognise that you grow and mature through all your experiences • If you’ve experienced a traumatic experience, have trauma counselling if you can • Look after yourself physically and spiritually. I exer

      1 min read

    • Article

      God’s Power in Weakness

      May 18, 2020

      God’s Power in Weakness
      1 min read

    • Article

      Led By The Spirit

      Jan 15, 2022

      Led By The Spirit
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Power of God’s Word

      May 18, 2020

      The Power of God’s Word
      1 min read

    • Article

      Tune into God’s Blessings

      Mar 18, 2020

      Tune into God’s Blessings
      1 min read

    • Article

      Test Your Bible Knowledge GUESS WHO

      Oct 30, 2020

      See how many of these you can fill in before checking the answers on page 71. After you test yourself, try reading the questions aloud to a friend or family member and see how they do! 1. When Paul addressed the Ephesians about putting on the armo

      1 min read

    • Article

      Getting Unstuck

      Jan 3, 2018

      A Christian Science perspective: All of us possess the spiritual strength and dominion to prosper in our work.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Jan 14, 2022

      by Will Alexander This visionary act of “transpersonal witness” to a continent is an Afromodernist epic. It is first of all an act of repossession, as in the opening section’s dialogue with Nigerian novelist Amos Tutuola and closing homage to the Mal

      2 min read

    • Article

      Build Your Spirit

      Mar 16, 2021

      Build Your Spirit
      1 min read

    • Article

      A Prayer for October

      Sep 19, 2020

      A Prayer for October
      10 min read

    • Article

      Wrapping Our Prayers Around The Immigration Crisis

      Oct 22, 2019

      Strongly held convictions about immigration crises around the world can polarize and divide people. But prayer that seeks God’s answers brings less stridency and more listening, opens the door to wise and balanced solutions, and lifts thoughts from f

      3 min read

    • Article

      Understanding The Spiritual Side Of Business

      Sep 4, 2020

      “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12 After many years of learning

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Abide In Me

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Abide In Me - Douglas J. Early

      9781498291118.kindle.jpg

      Abide In Me

      Being Fully Alive In Christ

      Douglas J. Early

      9549.png

      Abide In Me

      Being Fully Alive In Christ

      Copyright © 2016 Douglas J. Early. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Wipf & Stock

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      paperback isbn: 978-1-4982-9111-8

      hardcover isbn: 978-1-4982-9113-2

      ebook isbn: 978-1-4982-9112-5

      Manufactured in the U.S.A. 09/19/16

      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Permissions

      Preface

      Acknowledgments

      Chapter 1: A Substantial Faith

      Chapter 2: The Light of the World

      Chapter 3: Fess Up

      Chapter 4: Hope is a Person

      Chapter 5: Let It Be

      Chapter 6: Embracing the Family Name

      Chapter 7: Love Is a Verb

      Chapter 8: Christian Spirituality

      Chapter 9: Love Is a Noun

      Chapter 10: Real Life

      Bibliography

      For Andrea, Bronwyn and Ben—without whom, being fully alive would not be possible.

      Permissions

      All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

      Stanza 24 from the poet Bhartrhari as it appears in Poems From the Sanskrit, translated with an introduction by John Brough (Penguin Classics, 1968). Copyright © John Brough, 1968, reprinted with the permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

      Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Copyright © J.K. Rowling 1999, reprinted with the permission of the Blair Partnership.

      Excerpt from St. Thomas Didymus by Denise Levertov, from A Door In the Hive, copyright ©1989 by Denise Levertov, reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

      Excerpts from Burnt Norton and The Dry Salvages from Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot. Copyright 1936 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company; Copyright © renewed 1964 by T.S. Eliot. Copyright 1941 by T.S. Eliot; Copyright © renewed 1969 by Esme Valerie Eliot. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

      Love (III) from The Country Parson; The Temple, by George Herbert. Edited by John N. Wall Jr. Copyright © 1981 by Paulist Press, Inc. New York / Mahwah, N.J. Used with permission of Paulist Press. www.paulistpress.com

      Excerpt taken from Connecting by Larry Crabb, Copyright © 1997 by Larry Crabb. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

      Preface

      Years ago I read a line from John Calvin that sparked in my mind so powerfully it felt like an electrical current ran through my body. Calvin wrote, When Christ is preached, the Kingdom of Heaven is opened to us so that being raised from death we may live the life of God. ¹ Some days, I’ll confess, I’m lucky to be raised from bed. So as I read this line, I stopped and pondered whether I really believed this to be true—not in a theoretical way but in a shake-up-my-life-and-cause-my-family-to-worry-for-my-sanity kind of way. As I looked back, I realized that through the years I had been fortunate enough to be raised from death by the words of certain preachers and teachers who opened my soul to an electrifying awareness of the presence of the living God.

      Since I preach on a regular basis, this line from Calvin also caused me to evaluate whether I was doing the same for my own congregation—opening the Kingdom of Heaven in a way that raised them from death to live life in full. Unfortunately, I realized that some Sundays I was lucky just to raise a few people from sleep. Yet Jesus calls us all to far more than somnambulism.

      At about the same time as I read that line from Calvin, I was lucky enough to find another preacher who opened the kingdom of heaven to me, who helped raise me from death, to live, at least more than before, the life of God. That preacher was the Apostle John. When reading John’s First Letter, I found a person who spoke in a way that awakened my soul. His images, his personality, and his thought processes opened the door on my slumber and led me into the fuller light of day.

      Not wanting to keep this good news to myself, I preached a series of sermons from 1 John to the congregation of Queen Anne Presbyterian Church in Seattle, the church I serve as pastor. Over several months, the congregation and I received inspiration from John’s letter. What follows in the pages of this book got its start in those days of study and reflection. As I have given John’s words additional scrutiny and reflection in the process of writing this book, I have become even more convinced of the value of John’s wisdom for our time.

      One of the main reasons why I believe John’s wisdom is helpful to people in our age can be summed up in a line of thought I once heard Eugene Peterson share in a class at Regent College. Peterson asserted that most of us don’t need any more information in our lives, what we need is transformation. Alain de Botton notes in his book, The News: A User’s Manual, More data flows into the [European control room of one global news organization] in a single day than mankind as a whole would have generated in the twenty-three centuries between the death of Socrates and the invention of the telephone.² And virtually all that same data can be accessed by anyone with a smartphone within seconds. As a consequence, I would venture to guess that many of us, at least at times, feel buried under this avalanche of information. So, I offer this book in hopes that God might use it as one of the means to help lift readers from this rubble of data. I offer this book in the hopes that God might use it in your life to open the door to the kingdom of heaven. I pray that these pages might help you share more in the life of God.

      The good news in all of this is that the hard work has already been done. Experiencing the fullness of life that God desires for us is not a matter of us lifting ourselves out of the avalanche of information in order to find God. Nor is it a matter of finding new disciplines or working harder at the ones that we already know. John reminds us that kingdom of God is already with us, even within us. John witnessed Jesus raised from death to new life. John himself heard the words from Jesus that provide hope for us all. If we want to be fully alive, Jesus says, Abide in me. It is not a matter of finding something new or working harder than ever before. It is a matter of attending to what already is.

      One final note about gender in language throughout this book. My quotations of scripture come almost entirely from the NIV translation. I use this version primarily because it is the version our congregation had in the pews before I even started there. While the newer version has made progress in removing many of the male, gender-specific nouns and pronouns that need not be specific, they have not yet made it as far as I would like. In addition, several of the authors I quote also used male, gender-specific nouns and pronouns in their original writing that might be written differently today. I have tried to be respectful of the translation and

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1