Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 127

May 7;    I John 2:6;    127/260(II);    ‘Abiding in Jesus’

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

The word abide means to dwell with, to spend time with.  Abide is a decision that is made to be with another and get to know them.  It is possible to spend time with someone and after a period of time getting to know them, you decide that you do not want to spend time with them any longer.  That decision could be made for any number of reasons.  When we decide to abide with the Lord Jesus and learn His ways, this is one of the most important decisions that we will ever make.  How do I abide with my Lord Jesus Christ?  By spending quality time in the Word of God.  The Bible is written so that we can see Jesus in the entire Word of God and get to know His character, especially in the gospels.  The Lord Jesus came to die a substitutionary death for our sins and sicknesses on the cross.  We all needed this, so that by believing this truth and receiving the Lord Jesus into our spirit, we could have eternal life.  That is a one time decision that is made and once the Jesus is accepted as your Lord and Savior it is forever in place.  The gospels reveal to us the character and nature of Jesus as well.  As we see the love of Jesus and the way He treated people, a desire to be like Him begins to grow and we choose to abide with Jesus through the Word.  We also abide with the Lord in prayer.  Prayer is not only making requests to the Lord for needs to be met, but we can spend time in prayer fellowshipping with Jesus.  A close, intimate relationship can grow by these wonderful times of fellowship.  By abiding with Jesus the desire of our heart is to become just like Him.  Glory to God we can.