Journal Entry ~ 12/06/19

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. - John 15:5

Letting His words abide in us isn't just reading scripture or listening to a sermon on the weekends, it’s more than that. It is intentionally seeking the Word of God as living and responding to it.  It means we do everything we can to allow His living Word to impact our lives, our relationships, our emotions. 

The reality is this can be more than challenging in this fast-paced and chaotic world that challenges the truths we learn in Scripture. When we're alone with Him, or we're in community with other believers, we feel His very presence and His Truth permeates our souls; but as soon as we step out into the world, it seems we are slammed with the demands and expectations of this broken world, and the negativity and lies can be overwhelming. 

How do we stop that?  We need protection, and one of the ways we shield ourselves is memorizing scripture. When we take His living Word with us, it's literally our armor in the battlefield of life. When I memorize scripture, His living Word is active inside of me, which allows me to stand firm against temptations and the enemy's attacks. We are weak when we are not filled with the Spirit, and memorizing scripture fills us with the Spirit. Memorizing scripture guards my mind. It allows me to detect the lies of this world rather than getting pulled into them. 

When I memorize scripture, I can be meditating on His Word anywhere - we know that meditating on scripture brings us to a deeper understanding of God and His ways. It also strengthens my faith - faith comes from hearing the Word - and when I am replaying a passage in my head during the day, He is strengthening my faith. When I memorize and meditate on scripture, it changes my perspective of the world and my situation to His perspective - I tend to see things from an eternal perspective rather than a situational one, and I don't get lost in the lies of this world. When I am meditating on His Word, I am given the strongest and sweetest words for loving others, and helping those in need. And meditating on His word provides me constant fellowship with Jesus all day long because it is how He talks to me. 

We can't make memorizing scripture something we do to prepare for small group, a box we check to be obedient, it is so much more than that. Take His Word with you throughout the day, write it on notecards and put it in your car, on your desk, in your kitchen, wherever you move during your day, and allow His living Word to abide in you. 

Because I have spent so many years memorizing His Word, I have a number of verses stored in my heart. They have been critical to the peace I have found in my trials. Even when I am physically weak, my heart remains strong because I know His promises. Whenever I falter, whenever my thoughts go to that dark place, I’m already prepared for the battle because His Word is stored in my heart. It doesn’t take long for the Spirit to prompt a verse or two to challenge my negative thinking and change my perspective.  With that verse comes a very real sense of His purpose and the supernatural peace that surpasses all understanding. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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