Week 3
Discipline: SCRIPTURE
Word: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:11
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just 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. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
John 15:1-7
Reflection: ABIDING
Most of us aren’t very good at “abiding”. It implies that we have to remain somewhere or patiently wait in a place or state of being. Most of us live on the run in a world of fast food, drive through service, multi-tasking, and therefore are rarely doing much “abiding”. Some years ago there was a Bible published called “The One-Minute Bible”. I think it was advertised for people “on the go”. But, being “on the go” is very different that being “on the Way”. If scripture is a primary means by which we hear from God and enter into God’s presence, then like any other important relationship, time spent there can’t be rushed. That means for the disciple of Jesus there is no substitute for regularly spending unhurried time in “the Word”.
Learning to experience and listen to God through scripture is like immersion training in a new language. As we spend significant time abiding in the Word, eventually the Word begins to abide in us. We begin to think and hear God speak through the Word, even when we are not literally reading the Word. People who learn a new language say that a sign of real success is when they begin to dream in the second language. The same is true for disciples when we realize that in our daily lives the Word begins to come to us in moments of decision, discouragement, fear, or temptation. I think that is what he Psalmist means by “hiding your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Jesus not only was the “Word made flesh”, but he was so immersed in the written word, that through it God spoke to him in times of crisis. In the wilderness temptations it was scripture “hidden in his heart” that came to him to give direction, protection, and encouragement. The same can be true for us when we learn to abide in him and have his word abide in us. He says it is the key to “fruitfulness” as disciples and we will begin to receive what we ask for, not because we gain some manipulative power over God, but because we begin to “have the mind of Christ” and the desire of God’s heart becomes our own desire. Then we start asking more for that which is within God’s will than our own.
Practice: Two important practices in abiding in God’s Word are meditating on the Word (sitting patiently with a word or phrase of scripture waiting for God to speak through it), and memorizing scripture (pick a verse or two to commit to memory this week (hide it in your heart) and build on that each week.
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