WEEK 2
Monday
Read: 1 John 2:28—3:10
SOAP: 1 John 2:28–29
And now, little children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back. If you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by him.
When something is important to us it tends to often come up in our conversations. It seems that the subject of “abiding” is a truth that John was very passionate about. He wrote more extensively on it in John 15, and again here in 1 John 2.
To abide means to “dwell” or “live” somewhere. Spiritually speaking, we are to abide, or dwell, in Jesus. We are to be so closely tied to Him that our thoughts and hearts are set on Him before anyone or anything else. It means that we love His Word, His ways, and His works. One way to know if we are abiding is to ask ourselves, “Am I bored with the gospel message?” If we are abiding, we will not be bored with Jesus and all that He has done on our behalf.
Those who abide will have confidence when He returns, because they know that their priorities were right, that their faith was strong, and their hope was steadfast as they were closely tied to Jesus.
Lord, I confess that sometimes it is easy to get swept away by the ways of the world or the business of life or the hardships of my circumstances. Help me to keep my eyes on You. Help me to love You with all my heart, mind, and soul so that Your Word takes priority. Make prayer a joy and a comfort in my life and help me to see the importance of abiding in You. Amen.