Remaining in the Word
Yesterday at City of God we looked at John 8:30-36. In that passage Jesus instructs that true disciples will "abide in his word." We didn't have time to look at this yesterday, but I wanted to give some practical steps for becoming someone saturated with scripture. How do we get God's word rooted into our lives?
1. You have to plan the when
Anything that's important to you you'll make time for. How many of us have wanted to read scripture regularly, and end up putting it off so many tmes during the day that we read a couple of verses before bed so we don't feel guilty? Sit down on a Sunday afternoon and plan out during the week when and where you're going to spend time in scripture. This way it becomes an appointment you schedule around, and not something you try and squeeze in to your schedule.
2. You have to plan the how
If you're going to be soaked in scripture you need to have a plan for reading from all of scripture. If we are left to ourselves we'll typically default to reading our favorite parts of scripture. Find a good Bible reading plan that will get you into all parts of God's truth during the week. Here's a couple of good examples:
Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan
3. Plan to memorize scripture
One of the greatest tools we have when trials and temptations come is scripture that we have put into our heart and mind. As we memorize parts of scripture it becomes ammunition for the Holy Spirit as we encounter the attacks of Satan. Here are some practial steps for memorizing scripture...
1. Day one: Start with one verse and read it 10x including chapter and verse number. Then cover the page and repeat it another ten.
2. Day two: Begin the day repeating yesterday's verse ten times looking back if you need to. Then take the next verse and repeat the steps from day one.
3. Start with day two's verse. Then read day one and two together looking back if you need to. Then move on to a new verse with day one's instructions.