John 15:3-7 – “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

God’s been pressing on me lately about what it truly means to abide in Christ, and pragmatically, how can we take steps to do that in our own lives.  The passage above reminds me of Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Jesus refers to Himself as “the Word” (John 1), He proclaims His disciples are clean because of “the word”, and lastly says if “my words abide in you” one can ask anything of God and it will be done.  Abiding in God is the same as abiding in God’s Word, because the Word reveals who God is.  If you wanted to really get to know someone, you would spend time with them, see what they acted like in different situations, and look at what they say.  If you really want to know Jesus, He has given you His Word to accomplish these things, to know Him.  Sometimes I imagine people praying to God, asking to know His will for their life, and God just points to the Bible sitting right next to them.  Romans 12:1 tells us “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”  2 Corinthians 3:15-18 tells us “Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.  But when one turns to the Lord,the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  The transformation by “renewal of your mind” and the “being transformed into the same image (of the Lord) from one degree of glory to another” are both from reading the Word.  Look again at 2 Corinthians 3, “whenever Moses is read” is referring to the scripture written by Moses (the Word of God), that was read.

So if you find yourself stagnant as a Christian or rather if you are falling away from God, there is usually a direct correlation to the amount of time you are spending with Him in the Word.  We know that in the presence of God, there is a fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11) so our abiding in Christ, our aligning our desires with God’s, is also a means for our own joy and peace.  Now, all of us are able to read your Bibles easily enough, but so often what we read gets lost soon after in the busyness of life.  My exhortation today is to actually press God’s Word into your heart with a discipline of daily meditation and scripture memorization.  I don’t want to tell you what to memorize, because I think God has everyone at a different place, and I don’t want to take something that should be joy-inducing and make it into a homework assignment.  You know what is on your heart, search God’s Word for something that speaks to you, and use that.

I’ll share one scripture grouping that if you really meditate on it word by word, and press it into your heart, will greatly help to safeguard your affections for Jesus day by day.  Ephesians 2:8-10 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Salvation is a gift from God, so we are humble.  We are made by God, a new creation in Jesus Christ, for good works, good actions, leading a life that is glorifying God.  No matter what happened yesterday, God has us where he wants us, he has works planned for us today to walk in.  One passage of scipture, memorized could press those truths into your heart, day after day after day, and be shared with others to the glory of God.  Consider that, and know that God will always bless your time with Him.

I hope all of you have a great Friday and weekend, and make the most of the time God has given you.

Grace and Peace,

Adam