John 15:5; I John 2:28; II John 9
Abide – to dwell, to rest to continue, to stand firm.
I John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
There is a place to abide. We are to abide in Jesus. All of our assurance and hope and every blessing resides in our abiding in Jesus. Abiding in Jesus indicates a close relationship. Our abiding in Him indicates that within His nearness, we have peace and re-assurance of His care for us and He is watching over us. I fear that sometimes He sees every moment of my life, whether it is joy or sorrow. He has experience all that I could ever experience in this life. He knows every step I take and every obstacle that hinders my walk. When I stumble, He is there to steady me. When I fall He picks me up and brushes me off and heals body and mind.
I cannot have confidence in this world and the rule of man. I cannot have confidence in government that they will always want the best for me. I cannot have confidence in fellow man that they will treat me right and never fail me or desert me. My confidence must stay on and with the Lord Jesus. He is always present when I need Him. I have confidence in His return to take me home one day. In His time, at the right time, I shall see Him in the air and hear the trumpet of victory sound and I shall meet my Lord in the Air. What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face . . .
My desire is to not be ashamed before God when I stand before Him. Therefore, I must abide. I don’t know when His return is so I must be ready at any time. I have confidence in his return as a thief in the night and because His appearance will not be announced, I must be faithful and true at all times. I must not be drawn away by worldly lusts or desires. I MUST abide in Jesus at all times.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”
Abiding is fruit-bearing. The place of abiding is in Jesus Christ the Son of God. Some choose to abide in the world, in sports, arts, education, politics, power or prestige. The propensity of some to always gravitate to worldly things is evident in what holds their attention and receives their time. These days of hectic activity of the world, we hardly have time for Jesus, much less abiding in him. Abiding means to spend time with him. We abide in our house that we call our home. This is where we eat, we sleep and basically live our lives. This is the hub of our life. Jesus should be the hub of our life.
With Jesus, we are “in Him.” We should be just as comfortable being in him as we are at home. Abiding in Him means that no matter where we are He is ever-present. Since we are in Him at work, we should be just as faithful in representing Him at work as we are at Church. Where ever we are, if we abide in Christ, we will produce, not just fruit but much fruit. Notice that statement “… for without me ye can do nothing. If we are not producing fruit, maybe we should examine ourselves to see if we are abiding.
II John 1:9 “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”
If we are abiding in Christ, we have an overwhelming desire to abide in His doctrine. Truth is so important in a time of lying and deceit. So many distort and twist the doctrine of Christ in this modern depraved age. The Bible says, “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” John 8:32. We areresponsible for diligently searching for the truth and finding it. Finding the truth tells of the love we have for Christ.
HEAVEN’S OFFER: A LIFE OF ADVANTAGE!
William Andrew Dillard
Enduring and mighty lessons spring from what many may see as strange and perplexing events in the Old Testament. Such is the case of the patriarch Jacob wrestling all night with an angel as recorded in Genesis 32.
In context, Jacob was returning from Padam-aram (modern Iraq) with his wives, children, livestock, and substance to his parental homeland. He was under a death threat from his brother, Esau who sold Jacob his birthright, but was extremely angered when Jacob engaged in trickery to actually obtain it. News had come to Jacob that Esau was coming with hundreds of armed men, so he assumed the worst and implemented a cunning plan of appeasement to preserve life and achieve peace.
Moreover, in the long night before meeting his brother, Jacob is said to have wrestled with an angel until the dawning of day. Refusing to release hold on the angel until he should be blessed, Jacob was given his blessing, and with it a change of name to “Israel.”
“Israel” is a composite of two words: “Sara(h)” “prince(ss), royalty, possessor of power” and “El” “God”; hence, one who has power with God and prevails. This new word became the name of the patriarch from that day forward. Moreover, that name was transferred to the aggregate of his offspring, the Hebrew people who were the Old Testament people of covenant with God, and through Whose power they prevailed often against impossible odds. They had a real advantage (inside track) with God, But it was not after the flesh, but of God’s choosing.
Today, the homeland of the Jewish people is referred to as Israel, but what made that name significant, the presence and power of God, was withdrawn upon their final rejection of their Messiah Who said of them, ”Behold, your house is left unto you desolate…” Luke 13:35.
Jesus had come not only to pay the sin penalty for mankind, which men could not pay, but to bring His covenant people out from under the dispensation of law into the marvelous New Covenant of Grace. A remnant did so follow the Lord, and He also graciously incorporated the nations of all who would believe and follow Him. Hence, the beloved apostle Paul tells us that the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Israel of God.” Galatians 6:16. So long as the grace of God is extended in this dispensation of time called “today,” men have the blessed privilege of being a part of that Israel, “One who has power with God and prevails, even His people of the New Covenant.” Do you have an obedient and talking relationship with God? It really is an advantage of blessings both in time and in eternity!
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