Am I abiding in Christ?

I am the real vine; my Father is the vine-dresser. He removes any of my branches which are not bearing fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit to increase its yield. Now, you have already been pruned by my words. You must go on growing in me, and I will grow in you. For just as the branch cannot bear any fruit unless it shares the life of the vine, so you can produce nothing unless you go on growing in me. I am the vine itself; you are the branches. It is the man who shares my life and whose life I share who proves fruitful. For the plain fact is that apart from me, you can do nothing at all. The man who does not share my life is like a branch that is broken off and withers away. He becomes just like the dry sticks that men pick up and use for the firewood. But if you live your life in me, and my words live in your hearts, you can ask for whatever you like, and it will come true for you. This is how my Father will be glorified—in your becoming fruitful and being my disciples. - John 15:1-8 (Phillips)

Is Christ a part of my life, or is He my life itself, fully integrated into every aspect of how I execute this life?

As transformed followers of Jesus Christ, our purpose is to produce spiritual fruit. Jesus made it very clear that the only way that a Christ follower can produce fruit is by being fully integrated into the life of the vine. In other words, there is no fruit produced when Christ is added to your life, only when he is fully integrated into all aspects of your life. For example, with bacon and eggs, the chicken is involved, but the pig is fully committed. We must die to ourselves in order to live fully in the power of Jesus Christ and produce spiritual fruit.

What is the evidence of spiritual fruit?

Godly attitudes

The Spirit, however, produces in human life fruits such as these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance, and self-control—and no law exists against any of them. Those who belong to Christ have crucified their old nature with all that it loved and lusted for. If our lives are centered in the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit. - Galatians 5:22-25 (Phillips)

Righteous behavior

And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight, so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent [identifying the best and distinguishing moral differences], and that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead others away from sin]; filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God [so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized]. - Philippians 1:9-11 (Amplified Bible)

Praise

Through Him then, let's continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name. - Hebrews 13:15 (NASB)

Leading others to faith

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” - Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV)

To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communion with Him–to be always leaning on Him, resting on Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and using Him as our Fountain of life and strength, as our chief Companion and best Friend. To have His words abiding in us is to keep His sayings and precepts continually before our memories and minds and to make them the guide of our actions and the rule of our daily conduct and behavior. - J.C. Ryle

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,
filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,
every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne,
it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
ever, only, all for thee.

Be Encouraged to die to self and live ever, only, all for Jesus Christ.

-Jeffrey Thornton