Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Abide – Part 5
In this series, we have been talking about abiding in the Lord. In the first four posts, we were in the book of John. The book of John was written by John, one of Jesus’ disciples. All of the Bible verses we have looked at so far were words that Jesus spoke when He walked the earth. Today we are moving over to the book of 1 John. 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John were books also written by the disciple John. And while the verses in these books will not contain words spoken directly by Jesus, “All Scripture is God-breathed” as it says in 2 Timothy 2:16.
I want to look at 1 John 2:6 which says, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
The word abide here is the same Greek word which we have been talking about throughout this series.
I like the way this translation uses the word walk. This means “to regulate or conduct one’s life.” In this verse John offers some advice. When we claim to abide in Jesus, this should be noticeable by our actions. The New Living Translation puts 1 John 2:6 this way: “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
In the words of Dr. Charles Stanley: “To make a commitment to Christ is to make a decision to do what Jesus commanded us to do and to pursue with the whole heart, mind, and soul, the pure, wholesome, godly, and holy life that He lived. Jesus commanded us to be ‘perfect’ – which means to be whole. He commanded us to love one another. He commanded us to be diligent in keeping His teachings. He commanded us to be His witnesses at all times in all places. He commanded us to walk boldly by faith and to trust God to meet our needs, regardless of what those needs might be. Jesus gave all of Himself to us, and in return, Jesus requires all of us. That’s what it means to take up our cross daily and follow Him. That’s what it means to truly ‘walk the walk’ and not just ‘talk the talk’ of being a Christian.” [1]
Perhaps you think this is a lot to ask. How can we possibly do all that? We are not perfect, like Jesus. But as we have been studying the word “abide” we have seen that when we continually stay tethered to the Lord, we pull our strength from Him and He helps us to walk uprightly and produce the fruit of the Sprit in our lives.
As our relationship with the Lord continues to grow, with each passing day, our hearts also continue to change. We are being molded to become more like Jesus. And on top of that, out of our love for Him, we will want to walk in obedience.
In the book of Genesis, I love the way the Bible says that Enoch “walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 5:22,24). And the Bible also tells us that Noah “walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). We too can make it a practice to walk with the Lord, every day. And as we walk with Him, we will walk like Him.
If we abide in Jesus, daily, we will naturally grow to be more like Him. God will lovingly mold us, like an experienced potter who molds the clay into a masterpiece. We just have to show up, every day. Spend time with Him. Make Him our number one priority. We will never regret it. We will find so much peace and joy in life when we learn to abide in Jesus.
Dear Jesus, thank You for revealing so much truth to us in Your Word. We learn so much about You when we read Scripture. We learn about Your character, and it guides us to become more like You. Help us to abide in You daily. And help us to walk like You did. We are so grateful for You, Jesus. And we love You! It is in Your amazing name we pray, Amen.
Gratitude Challenge for 2022
If you want to end 2022 on a positive note, then perhaps you will consider finding several things you are grateful for each day, through December 31. You can either write them down, or simply say a prayer of thanks. When we read about Jesus’ life, we see many instances where He gave thanks. If Jesus felt gratitude was important, that tells me that walking in gratitude is vital for us as well.
© 2022 Bridget A. Thomas
[1] When the Enemy Strikes by Dr. Charles F. Stanley. A must-read book!
Bridget A. Thomas 
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” – Words alone do not suffice, but the fruit of the spirit needs to be evident in one’s life.
And as we walk with Him, we will walk like Him – that is so very true. Sometimes we can think how are we ever going to be able to walk the way God wants us to but the beauty is we just have to be intentional in abiding in Him and being tethered to Him is what keeps making the change in us.
A wonderful picture to keep in mind. Blessings my friend.
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You are so right. We need only walk closely to the Lord, day by day. And He will do the work to change us from the inside out. How amazing that God paved the way for us. And Jesus gave us the answer when He urged us to abide in Him. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! Blessings to you too, friend! 🦋
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I enjoyed this Bridget. It is an encouragement to keep walking with Jesus because as we do, we are becoming more like Him. Sometimes we may feel progress is slow, but if we keep it up, we can be confident He is working in our lives and that we are becoming more like Him each day. Thank you!
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Dawn, you made a good point about how at times it feels our progress is slow. When we stumble over something or when we look at ourselves in the present, it can be difficult to see any growth. But when we look back over the years we have walked with Jesus, then we can surely see how much He has molded us. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!
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I am grateful for this series, Bridget (see what I did there?)
You are right that to become more like Jesus we need to spend more time with him. Abiding in Christ is such a beautiful thing.
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Nice Job, Rainer! 😁 I am so thankful that God gave me the words to put this series together. He is amazing. And you are absolutely right – Abiding in Christ really is beautiful. And it is the secret to heart change. We don’t need to struggle to change on our own. We need only to Abide in Jesus. What an awesome and loving Lord we serve!
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We can’t walk the walk in our strength. We will never be strong enough on our own. That’s why Jesus sent us our helper the Holy Spirit. We must ask for the strength and will to do His will. I like that Jesus told His disciples this:
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
We needed that gift, and we know that through this gift we can Abide in Him with the help of the Holy Spirit. We just have to be willing to ask for that help.
Thanks for a thought provoking post Bridget. 💖
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So true, Tina. We definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit. And it’s so amazing how God mapped all this out for us. He made a plan so we could succeed. But as you said, we have to ask for help. Many days we forget that and try to do it in our own strength. I’m glad He never gives up on us. Thank you for sharing your thoughts 🤗
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I love Charles Stanley’s words here: “Jesus gave all of Himself to us, and in return, Jesus requires all of us. That’s what it means to take up our cross daily and follow Him.”
So good to have those words make me pause and really consider the depth in them.
I love also what you wrote about being “tethered” to Him, as this is a word my counselor has used many times in sessions. I tend to tether back and forth in my worries but how beautiful to focus on tethering to Jesus only!!!!!!!🙏
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I agree! Those words spoke to me too. Taking time to pause and reflect to see where we are in our walk can help us realign as needed. And it is actually a comforting place to be. I feel close to the Lord when the Holy Spirit is working in me to help mold me, to remind me to take up my cross, and to nudge me in the direction of staying tethered to Him. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, friend! 🤗
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❤️❤️❤️
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“As we walk with Him, we will walk like Him.” Just ten words, but you’ve written strong truth there, Bridget! After walking with God for decades, I do believe He’s taught me to walk more like Him. There’s still room for improvement, but I’m not who I once was either. The fruit of the Spirit is a bit riper!😁
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It is so beautiful to look back on our lives and see how God has molded us to become more like Him. What a loving Father we have. Thank you, Nancy, for stopping by sharing your insight!
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This is such a wonderful encouragement to value a life walking well with God. ❤️
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I agree. It does bring comfort to lean on the Lord each day. 🤗
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