Abide in the Word

John 15:7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you...

I have been listening to J.Piper on this verse and it is totally convicting and encouraging at the same time.

Convicting; how can we defend ourselves against the devil if we are trying to do his without Scripture? We can't. He is a million times smarter and stronger than we are and the only thing he has no defense against is the Word. We must hide God's Word in our hearts so that we might not sin against God. The Word is our encouragement and also our encouragement to others when they come to us for counsel. We can't give logic as our answer. We must memorize Scripture so when we are in trouble or burdened we can bring it back w/o having to go to the Bible if it is not available.

Encouragement; His Word is true and is always right. There is never a time that His Word is not applicable and relevant. He always keeps His promises. He promises to bless those who fear Him. We cannot say that we fear Him if we don't keep His Word within our hearts.

Let me encourage you to, along with our small group, select a passage of Scripture and memorize it. Have some accountability and then just go and do it. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. We have selected Romans 8, the entire chapter, and are going to try to memorize it in 2 months. There are numerous excellent passages that are not too long and can be of great encouragement to you along the way if you hide them in your heart.