1 John 2:28, 29 says...

Today's verses are 1 John 2:28, 29, which read,

v.28 - 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.

John tells his readers to "abide in Him" in another area.  Yesterday it was to abide in God's teaching.  Today one of the ways is to abide in Jesus' second coming.  Let's look at some of the words.

"appears" - to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way 
"confidence" - freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech 
"shrink away from Him in shame" - to disfigure 
"coming" - presence

Ones that I dearly love, remain in a love relationship with Jesus, so that when He makes Himself visible He will find us speaking openly and not becoming disfigured in the face of those who oppose the fact of His coming presence.  People over all of time have been saying and living like Jesus is not coming back but He says He is.  This is "straight from God" teaching that is truth and not a lie.  May God find us still speaking openly about this and our countenance would be of glory and not shame for Him.

v.29 - If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

Here is another thing to abide in Jesus about.  We are to abide in Jesus by living a life of righteous because He is righteous.

"righteous" - observing divine laws 
"practices righteousness" - to make, state of him who is as he ought to be 
"born" - begotten of a father

The genuine Christian is one who acknowledges that Jesus is the continual fulfillment of all that God has set up and that genuine Christian lives his life under the teaching of this righteous teaching of Jesus.  God birthed the person who does these things.  God reveals Himself and what He has done and it births in us faith to follow with total surrender and submission to Him who loves us so much.
The answer to any question of motive of what we do should be "because of Jesus."  Jesus birthed in us faith of who He is and we are following in step with the tracks He has set before us.  The genuine Christian speaks of His coming again and the genuine Christian walks a life that is a picture of the One he is following.

"Lord, I remember walking through the woods in the middle of the winter trying to keep in my father's footprints who was breaking the trail.  The snow was deep and it was hard going but I know by experience that it was even tougher to break my own trail.  My father was leading the way because he loved me and was assisting me to get to our destination.  Help me Lord to see Your footprints and know that this is the absolute best and only course to take me to the destination of forever with You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam
A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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