Thursday, April 16, 2009

Abide, Live, Remain In The Word

As He (Jesus) was saying these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
(John8:30-32)

Wow, I love these verses! Jesus was telling a group of people who He was, that He is God, that He always existed came to earth and would die and then rise from the dead for their sins. The result was that people believed in Him. Jesus also taught them that He is the Light of the world and whoever believes in Him must not walk in darkness (John 8:12).

So how is this possible? Jesus tells un in John 8:31 & 32. He says, "If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." Basically if you are truly a student of Christ a Christian, you will continually live in God’s Word the Bible. Then and only then can we stop walking in darkness because we know the Truth the Light and that frees us from the darkness. This is not automatic it is something each of us must be intentional to do. The word abide in the Greek means to stay in a place to live in and not depart. We all must live in the Bible the Word every minute of the day. This is possible by first by having a new heart that desires the Bible that new heart is given to us by God alone. Then you have to read the Bible and you have to study the Bible.

But you say I can’t study 24/7. Your right, but you can take a note card with a Bible verse that you studied in context and memorize it, think about it and apply it to your life by living it out 24/7. See, when we study and read the Bible we have a tendency to put it down and go through our day without even thinking about what we have studied. But when we intentionally memorize and look for way to apply what we studied and continually abide in the Word that is what will change us that will free us to live the life Christ wants us to be living.

I challenge you to abide in the Word, don’t leave it, and live it out daily, hourly no matter where you are or what you are doing. Be careful, be very carful that you do not twist or distort God’s Word. You must know the verses you are memorizing and taking with you throughout the day, you must know the context of those verses so you will not use them wrongly. Many believers in Christ memorize verses out of context and thus have false promises. When those promises do not come about they are disillusioned and become discouraged and think God failed them. You must know what you are putting in your head and the best way to do that is to discover truth for yourself. The way you discover truth for yourself in by studying the Bible inductively. To find out how to do that check out Precept International. Therefore, brothers and sisters in the Lord I challenge you to know the truth of God’s Word for yourself by constantly live in the Word of Truth the Bible. Start today and you will find yourself free to serve Christ with out any of the things of the world holding you back and that is a great way to live!