Whatever

"Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me." (John 15.4)
The word translated as "abide" in this passage in the original Greek is "meno." It means: "continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry." Jesus is saying that if we want to bear good fruit (do the good works that God desires for us) then we must dwell, stay, abide, live in him.
What are you living in today? I went through a stage when I was a teenager when I had this persistent sense of anger. I really couldn't figure out where it was coming from until I went to an F.C.A. (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meeting one night. The speaker talked about the influences that we allow in our lives. Suddenly, I realized that some of the music I was listening to was really angry stuff. I thought, "well, duh" (or whatever the 1980's version of "duh" was) "no wonder I'm angry."
There were some researchers who found several years ago that angry music makes you angry. Depressing music makes you depressed. Duh! (or whatever the 2009 version of that is!) My grandma said it a different way: "if you lay down with dogs, you're going to get up with fleas."
How about you, are you dwelling in something today that is leading you astray?
The Apostle Paul had great advice when he wrote: "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4.8) That's still as relevant and even more so in our information overload age. What are you abiding, dwelling, living in today?