October 4, 2023

LET’S ABIDE IN JESUS

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

1 John 2:28-29 NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

There are three key thoughts in these two verses. I have simplified them with the words “abide,” “appear,” and “ashamed.” The first is “abide.” In our New Living Translation, they use “remain in fellowship with.” This is a good translation of the Greek word “memo.” Earlier in John’s letter he tells us: *If we say we abide in Christ, we should walk as He walked (1 John 2:6) *If we love our brother, we abide in the light (1 John 2:10) *If the Word abides in us, we will be spiritually strong (1 John 2:14) *If we do the will of God, we shall abide forever (1 John 2:17) This is a big theme for John stressing to us the importance of remaining in fellowship with Christ. This is called the abiding life. That is why being a follower of Jesus is more than a prayer we pray or a card we sign, it is a daily choice to stay in fellowship with Jesus. We learn in these first two chapters of his letter that to abide in Jesus we should have obedience, love, and truth. We will obey by walking as He walked. We must love by treating others the way Jesus treated people. We must live in truth because we take time to know God’s Word. Knowing God’s Word is the motivation for our love and obedience. We can’t obey and love if we don’t have the truth living in us. The second word is “appear.” John introduces us to the concept that Jesus is going to return. There is a lot of varying views on the timing and nature of the return of Jesus. But it is a clear teaching in scripture that Jesus will return to earth to bring justice to a broken world. John lets us know that if we are abiding in Him when He appears we will have confidence. This brings us to the third word “ashamed.” When we are abiding in Jesus we are looking forward to His return because we when He appears we will not be ashamed. There will be nothing in our lives that causes us to shrink back in fear. Let’s decide this day to practice abiding in Jesus. Let’s have continual fellowship with Him.

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit help me to open my mind and heart to a daily relationship with Jesus. Help me to stay in touch with Jesus through the Word of God, Spirit of God, and family of God.

“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”