Day 8 - Abide to Survive
21 Day Challenge - Through the Holiday's
Time with Jesus: Abide to Survive
By Susan Dixson
Time with Jesus is precious and necessary but it can be challenging. During the holiday season, this challenge is compounded by all the delightful distractions. How do we maintain our boundary of spending time with Jesus? 2 Timothy 2:15a (ASV) gives clarification “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God….” In the Greek Lexicon ‘give diligence’ means “to hasten, be eager, be zealous, to use speed, to make effort, be prompt or earnest.” This holiday season what can we do to be eager, prompt and make effort to spend time with Jesus? The answer to the question is, we must abide.
Here is an Acrostic to define ABIDE
• A- Assiduous- constant in application or effort.
• B- Busy- actively and attentively engaged.
• I- Intentional-performed by or expressing intention; deliberate.
• D-Diligent- constant in effort to accomplish something.
• E- Earnest- serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous.
Notice the active action involved in abiding. A good example can be found in Hebrews 4:11. “Let us, therefore, strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” In order to survive this holiday season, we must abide. In order to abide, we must ‘strive to enter that rest.’ Our time with Jesus will give us a readiness to obey, willingness submit, and a pliable heart to change. From RTM101 we affirm, “When we abide in the Word, we are divinely connected to His purposes for us, His will and mind. ‘Emmanuel-God with us’ wants to be GOD WITH US.
Let’s use the SOAP Method on John 15:4 to bring insight.
• Scripture: S
John 15:4 (ISV) “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
• Observation: O
I see the command to abide.
I see abide repeated 4 times.
I see the assurance of Jesus abiding with me when I abide with Him.
I see I cannot bear fruit unless I abide.
I see the example of abiding like a branch on a vine that cannot bear fruit on its own.
I see Jesus is talking to his disciples, and He is talking to us.
• Application: A
Abide-This imperative ( command) to me from Jesus is active, not passive. As Jesus is leaving He gives important last lessons to his disciples. I must see the importance of the word abide since the word is reaped 4 times in this verse. I must abide or die like a branch that fell or is cut off. Since Jesus is not any ordinary vine, He is The True Vine, I must stay connected. When I abide I am full of life because I am attached to LIFE. I must obey; I must be constant, and active to perform with serious intention.
• Prayer-P
Dear Jesus, Thank you for when you were leaving earth you gave good solid advice for all believers to follow. I confess and ask for forgiveness for putting you aside to do other things. Today, thank you for the command to abide because apart from you God, I can do nothing. Father, I rest in the blessed assurance that you are mine, and as I abide in you, you abide in me. Hallelujah! Amen.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE S.O.A.P.
Soap ONE of the following:- John15: 5; John 15:6; John 15:7; John 15:1-11: John 15:4-10.
@Judith @Janell