We May Have Confidence and Not Shrink Away
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We May Have Confidence and Not Shrink Away
We’ve probably all experienced a time when we did not live up to what was expected of us. For some it might have been the completion of a homework assignment or a project at work. For others, it might have been returning an important phone call or some other responsibility. It’s embarrassing to have nothing but a lame excuse. A lame excuse is no excuse. We just want to get away from the person who is demanding a valid reason as to why we didn’t live up to such reasonable expectations.
God has some very reasonable expectations of His children. 1 John 2:28, tells us,
And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
So, how are we living up to this reasonable expectation? Our Lord is simply asking that we “abide in Him”. That means that we are to take time each day to grow in His word and grace. We study God’s word — because — it leads us in His truths, so that false teachers don’t bamboozle us away from God’s truths. That is only sensible, because God’s truths are precious, and they alone lead us to eternal salvation. If we seriously want eternal salvation, we must “abide in Him”, because there are so many different false preachers salivating to take us away from Christ and have their own following.
We also “abide in Him” by obeying what we learn in His word. So, that would mean that we remember that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus alone. We can’t let anyone take us away from that truth because that is God’s repeated promise. And, we can’t let anyone fool us into thinking we aren’t forgiven when we confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. If we’ve been fooled into imagining we have to work our way into heaven — that is an indication that we have not been abiding in the word of God. Those who think they have to work their way to heaven are essentially calling God a liar. They are not understanding or refusing to believe God’s given holy promises of grace — full and free, because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.
When we faithfully “abide in Him” we gradually learn all sorts of wonderful things about God’s grace, eternal truths, promises, holiness, trustworthiness, love, forgiveness, and on and on. God is so almighty and great in love towards us. We simply have to “abide in Him” so that we are enabled to grasp the truths of God’s love for us as individuals.
If we lazily refuse to “abide in Him”, we will be duped into thinking God doesn’t care about us; that we can’t be forgiven for what we’ve done; that we have to try harder to work our way into heaven; and that the intriguing false preachers are more valid than God Almighty.
Then, when it’s our time to meet our God, we will be so ashamed of how we lazily let the world deceive us into all sorts of falsehoods. We had a chance to live rightly and let God be our strength and teacher, but we were too lazy to do so. We’re still breathing. We have another chance to abide in our Lord.
As we enjoy the blessedness of abiding in our Lord, we say, “Hallelujah! Lord, in You we are free to see and understand the holy joys and comforts of Your salvation in Jesus Christ. Always draw us close to You.”
Love,
Margaret
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A Christian devotional to glorify the LORD of lords and God of gods
This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
The word of the LORD is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
Psalm 18:30
Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Psalm 33:1
How blessed are those who dwell in Thy house!
They are ever praising Thee.
Psalm 84:4
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:13
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 107:1
Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
Psalm 105:3
Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that
I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12
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