In God’s Word: Abiding in the Lord

December 27, 2017 - As we approach this new year please allow me to speak to you about abiding in the Lord. Let us all be resolute in our determination to abide in the Lord in 2018 and beyond.

All throughout the Bible we read about (abiding). The dictionary says the word (abiding) means; “to have one’s abode, to stay, to continue, to have a relationship”. So, the word means we are to have a relationship in or with whatever we are to abide in.

That helps to answer the question; “do. I really need to study the Bible? I go to church when I have time, isn’t that enough? The Bible is our connection, our link to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teachings of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” (1 John 1:9) There, that is pretty clear and plain, if we are to live in the Lord we must study his teaching and we can only do that through regular study of the Bible. Without the teachings of Christ we will fall into the snares of the devil for as the prophet Hosea warns us; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) Lack of the knowledge contained in God’s Word can cause anyone of us to be drawn into the snares and traps of Satan and we will become children of the devil and not children of the Most High God. John continues to warn us against being lacking in our knowledge of the Word when he says this; “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.” (1 John 1:7)

John tells us straight away that the world is filled with deceivers, one even being the antichrist. If we do not follow Christ’ teaching through the words recorded in the Bible we will be deceived and lost in sin, forever.

John goes even farther, telling us we can lose what we have worked so hard to gain. “Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.” (1 John 1:8) Here he is speaking directly to those who have accepted Christ as Lord.

The Bible refers to our deeds as chaff, some of gold and silver, some of grass or straw and that when we stand before the Lord in judgment the chaff will be graded, the good, the gold and silver kept but the bad, the grass and straw burned up and cast away.

John the Baptist gives us this caution; “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12)

This is why we must study the Bible and do God’s will each day, that we will be found to be the “good wheat” and not simply chaff from the threshing floor.

So, I beg you today. If you are not studying your Bible every day, please, start today. Give yourself time in every 24 hour period to simply sit and pray and study God’s Word. Through study you will find your relationship with our Lord strengthened and enhanced. In time, you will find that if for some reason, you miss that time one day you will long to get back and get together with the Lord, missing his presence that day.

May the Lord richly bless you with His Word each day.