Am I abiding in Christ?

I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit]. You are already clean because of the word which I have given you [the teachings which I have discussed with you]. Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the Vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified and honored by this when you bear much fruit and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples. - John 15:1-8 (Amplified Bible)

Authentic faith is evidenced by spiritual growth, growing in Christ-likeness. The fruit or evidence of salvation is continued service to Him and in His teaching. Spiritual growth can only occur when one truly abides in Christ. To abide in Christ, one must follow His example and yield completely to His plan.

Then Jesus said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. - Luke 9:23-24 (NLT)

A common misconception of "take up your cross daily" is that cross-refers to a burden(s) one must bear in life. The cross is not a burden; it symbolizes death—the most horrific and humiliating form of death. Jesus was making clear that authentic faith involves "dying to self". It's a call to absolute surrender. Self-denial. A complete 180 turn from my way to God's way every day.

Am I willing to die to myself daily and seek to execute God's plan for my life?

For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake, he is the one who will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success] and loses or forfeits himself? - Luke 9:24-25 (Amplified Bible)

Authentic faith in Jesus Christ is not executed without cost. It is not a decision that is made flippantly. It is not a free pass to live however we want in this life and still go to heaven when we die. It is a commitment to abide in Christ so that through His power we can execute this life in accordance with His plan.

When was the last time I meditated on God's Word for more than 30 minutes?

But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience]. - James 1:25 (Amplified Bible)

Do I make reading the Bible a daily priority?

Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take. Your laws are good and fair. I have promised to obey them, and I will keep my promise. - Psalm 119:105-106 (ERV)

Am I fully committed to abiding in Christ?

So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to Him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. Don't change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. - Romans 12:1-2 (ERV)

No matter how terrible they may be, the hardships and tragedies of human living that often befall Christians are not the crosses of which Jesus speaks. Such things as a cruel spouse, a rebellious child, a debilitating or terminal illness, the loss of a job, or the destruction of a house by a tornado or flood, may strongly test a believer's faith; but those are not crosses. The cross of a believer is not a mystical or spiritual identification with the cross of Christ or some "crucified life" idea. Such concepts are foreign to the context, and the cross of Christ was yet future when Jesus spoke here. The disciples would hear cross and think only of physical death. A cross is the willing sacrifice of everything one has, including life, for the sake of Christ. It is something that, like the Lord Himself, a believer must take on himself when it is thrust upon him by the unbelieving world because of his relationship to God.
- John MacArthur

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live. 

All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet, I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!

I surrender all. I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all. - Judson Van de Venter

Be Encouraged to turn from my way and execute God's way every day!

-Jeffrey Thornton