Abiding in Love (1 John 3:23-24)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09-25-04

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Abiding in love

 

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1John 3:23-24

 

            Message of the verse:  23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.  24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.  (NAS95)  23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.  24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

            John give a commandment, which is from the Lord, and that is in fact a wittiness to all who read this, that people are to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and those who have done this will love one another.  Believers are to have a love for other believers, and also a love for the lost that the Lord brings them in contact with so they can share Christ’s love with them. 

            John goes on in the next verse to talk about abiding and this is something that all true believers are to do, and that is to abide in Christ.  In John’s gospel he wrote about abiding in Christ in chapter 15, where he quotes Jesus’ Words as He taught what it is to abide in Him.  Jesus used the illustration of the vine and the branch in order to teach about abiding.  The branch cannot produce any fruit unless it is attached to the vine in a healthy way, and in the same way a believer cannot produce any fruit for the Lord is he does not stay in contact with the true Vine.  Abiding is something that a believer must do, and as he does it then He will have the power to live out the Christian life with power and love that can only come when he is abiding in Christ through His Holy Spirit.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The teaching on abiding in Christ through His Abiding Spirit is something that is of great importance to me if I want to have a powerful experience with my Lord and be able to love others as He loves others and also to be able to understand what His will is for me, and also to have the insight to pray about what He wants me to pray about.

 

The Word of God was convicting to my heart, and also was very instructive for me as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord with this family problem that is going on with John and Kathy.  The Devil loves to divide people, and he is doing a good job with this situation we find ourselves in.  I trust that the Lord will give me the insight to deal with this problem and also give others the insight who are involved in this to do the correct things in order to bring honor and glory to the Lord.