Encouragement and Tools to Abide in God's Word
More beautiful verses to memorize this week:
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:11-12
Jesus spoke often about joy and love for us and from us. Such good commandments He asks us to keep!
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Important words here! Even if you’re not memorizing John 15 with us this summer (details here), please read this week’s verses right now and soak in the love of Jesus for you.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
John 15:9-10
Isn’t this amazingly good news?
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Is there an area of your life where you especially need Jesus’ love? Please share if you’d like prayers.
Time for a break! No new memory verses this week from John 15.
Enjoy the time to abide in what you’ve already learned. Next week we’ll return with John 15:9-10. Links to full schedule and resources here.
Today is our Summer Link-Up!
Please share below YOUR posts on scripture memory and/or John 15!
What is Jesus speaking to you in these verses?
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
John 15:7-8
We’re continuing to memorize John 15. If you’d like to join us, here’s how: Register here for verses and tips, and join our “Hide His Word” Facebook group.
It’s time to link up!
Please share below posts from your blog on anything related to scripture memory and/or John 15. Visit and leave comments on others’ posts as you have time!
Here are some suggested topics:
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Take a minute to read these two verses. What message do you hear for you?
5 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.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
John 15:5-6
We’re memorizing John 15 this summer. It’s not too late if you want to jump in. Register here for verses and tips, and join our “Hide His Word” Facebook group.
NEXT MONDAY, June 23, we’ll open our Summer Memory Link-Up. Will you write something on your blog about scripture memory in general or about John 15 specifically?
Here are some suggested topics:
We look forward to seeing what you’ll share!
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Are you memorizing with us? How is it going so far?
WHAT’S YOUR PLAN?
What’s on your to-do list today?
Maybe you have an intricately scheduled plan. Or scribbles on a napkin scrap. Maybe your plans are just floating loose in your head. Regardless of how you keep up with them, most of us have some sort of list of actions to accomplish each day.
But here’s the problem: Other people get in the way. Life gets in the way. Interruptions, distractions, conflicts.
How are we to work efficiently with the clock when the world seems to be working against us?
Or in other words, as believers, how are we to be in the world, but not of the world?
When Jesus was talking to His Father on the night before His death, He said, “I don’t ask that you take them [the disciples] out of the world.”
Instead, Jesus sent them—and now us!—straight into the world (John 17:15-18).
For our sakes, He made Himself holy that we also might be holy (John 17:19).
DO YOU LOOK HOLY?
But does a Christian’s to-do list look any holier than anybody else’s list? Sure, we may add a few extras: Read Bible, Pray, Attend church. But otherwise, it’s similar: Take a shower. Pack lunches. Go to work. Put gas in the car. Wash clothes.
How are we set apart?
Because God’s Spirit lives inside us, we are different. We work from a higher power and with a different motive. Our goal is to love others in such a way that the world will know Jesus is real (John 17:21).
So perhaps we need to highlight something different on our lists. . . .
TRY THIS
Pull out your to-do list. Under each item, can you add someone’s name? Who are you loving through what you’re doing?
Each task now represents a person. A relationship. A soul to share God’s love with. Including ourselves.
It’s not the what on our to-do list that matters. It’s the who.
And it’s not the how. It’s the why.
It won’t come without a cost. You might not cross as many things off your list. But the dividends are rich. With greater purpose, you’ll have greater peace, more compassion, and reflect more glory back to God.
So when you make your next to-do list, ask better questions beyond, “What do I have to do today?” Also ask:
It might just set apart your to-do list—and your day—as holy.
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Are you a list maker? How do you prioritize your to-do list? Please share your tips and comments here.
More reading:
Read these two verses. Pray over what Jesus is saying to you. Ask how He wants you to abide in Him this week.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
John 15:3-4
We’re memorizing John 15 this summer. You can, too, one verse at a time. Register here for verses and tips, and join our “Hide His Word” Facebook group.
In two weeks (Monday, June 23), we’ll open our Summer Memory Link-Up. Be writing your blog posts now about scripture memory.
Want to tweet about this week’s verses?
“Want to abide more in Jesus this week? Give memorizing a try. Join us in Jn 15:3-4 @DoNotDepart http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2XT #HideHisWord”
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What helps you abide in Jesus? Please share.
Today we start memorizing John 15! We pray this will be a growing season for each of you who are participating.
But even if you don’t plan to memorize, read a couple of verses each Monday morning with us from John 15, meditating and praying over what Jesus is planting into your life this week.
Take a minute to slowly pray over these words straight from Jesus, really listening to what He’s saying to you.
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
John 15:1-2
It’s not too late to register to receive our every-other-week eNewsletters with verses and tips, and join our “Hide His Word” Facebook group. We’d love to have you along for the journey.
If you’d like to share:
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What has pruning looked like in your life? Did you see fruit? Please share.
If you think you’ve lost your memorizing skills, remember this: We remember what we value and what we repeat.
We’d love to help you exercise your memory skills over the next few months. But for a higher purpose: to abide more fully in the true Vine, Jesus; to better love one another; and to bear more fruit that lasts.
We’ll keep it as simple as 1-2-3.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
But even if you don’t memorize with us this time, we pray you’ll still benefit each Monday morning here at the blog by reading the verses and perhaps using them for study or for journaling during the week. (You’re welcome to still register to receive the eNewsletters as well!).
Scripture memory is only one of many ways to help us abide in the Lord. If this is a way you’ve never tried, OR tried unsuccessfully and want to try again, OR tried and know it works for you, please join us.
We’re not aiming for perfection, just abiding.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
John 15:4
Register now and download free printables.
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Nobody wants a lazy, selfish kid. So we pray, we teach, we assign, we lead. (And sometimes beg, cry, quit—and pray a lot more.)
Teaching kids to be servants is not for the idle. Here are four questions to consider and ideas to try for training your child to better love and serve others.
1. WHAT DOES MY CHILD ENJOY?
Draw on your child’s natural interests and gifts. Is she creative? Let her draw pictures to pass out to the elderly at church, send to grandparents out of town, or take room-to-room at a nursing home. Does your teenager love being outside? Let him mow the lawn for new parents in your neighborhood or be a student chaperone at the middle-schoolers’ campout. A budding musician? My young friend Jamie recorded and sent her song to a young man bedridden with a fatal illness. It was so valuable to his family that Jamie was asked to sing the song at his funeral.
While we all have to serve in ways we don’t like (who longs to clean a toilet?), we usually get hooked on serving by doing what we do like. Discover what your child enjoys and watch them become devoted to serving that way.
2. WHAT ARE MY GIFTS?
Share how you enjoy serving. If you teach Sunday school, let your child assist you for a semester. If photography is your gift, arrange for you and your child to take pictures for families with foster kids. One of my passions is to serve the homeless so I brought my daughter to the simple wedding of some homeless friends. She brought her camera (her passion) and ended up creating a wedding album for them for free, a blending of both our passions.
If you enjoy what you’re doing as a gift, not a duty, your joy is contagious. It might slow you down with a child along, but service isn’t about efficiency; it’s about people.
3. WHERE ARE WE ALREADY SERVING?
Look closer where God is already working in your family. Maybe you don’t need a new venture, but can expand an existing one. If your daughter’s Girl Scout troop plants flowers at a neighborhood park, maybe you and she can follow up with weeding once a month. My kids had an annual service project with their classmates at a soup kitchen. But when we learned they appreciated volunteers any time, we went back as a family more frequently. When my sister-in-law brought her grandson to visit my mother in assisted living, she took him around to brighten the day of other residents as well. Even babies (especially babies!) can serve in that way.
Once you start imagining, many opportunities may unravel out of an existing one.
4. WHO NEEDS HELP?
Watch for needs in your own home, your neighborhood, and your world. Then find age-appropriate ways to help. Maybe you can’t travel overseas with your little ones, but your kids can pray for missionary families and write letters to encourage them. My area had an EF3 tornado rip through last month. While it wasn’t the place for young children to help, I saw many teenagers who were great servants in cleaning up the debris.
God prepares good works for us to do; we just have to see them and respond. (Ephesians 2:10).
WHO BENEFITS WHEN KIDS SERVE?
Obviously others will benefit as your child serves them. But don’t judge the value of the service by how many it reaches or how much appreciation is expressed (or not). Given with the proper attitude, all service is worship to God if it touches another soul with His love. When good works point toward God, He is honored by getting the glory He deserves (Matthew 5:16).
Your child will also be blessed (it is more blessed to give than to receive! Acts 20:35). Maybe they can’t see it immediately, but they will as they grow in compassion, in skills, and in Christ-likeness. When they invest in others, it grows their love for others (Matthew 6:21).
But you, the parent, will also profit! When my youngest wanted to go to Central America on a mission trip, I decided to go just to keep an eye on her. But I ended up being changed by the experience myself. While our serving prompts our children’s serving, their serving also enhances ours, allowing the Lord to work on our hearts and increase our own willingness to initiate service.
Serving together, after all, is how Jesus taught His own disciples to serve. He apprenticed His twelve apostles by living together for three years. They watched, learned, and participated in what He was doing, then learned to do it on their own once He left.
Isn’t that what you want for your children? Let them watch, learn, and participate with you now. Then when they’re on their own, by God’s grace, they’ll keep it up themselves.
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Give us your advice on helping kids serve.
What has worked for you? Not worked? Let’s share with each other.
Let’s memorize John 15 together!
Whether you’re a faithful memorizer or you’ve never memorized a Bible verse before, this memory challenge is for you.
Soaking in these familiar words of Jesus is a great way to spend time with Him and grow in faith, even if your goal isn’t to memorize every word. We’ll concentrate on an average of two verses a week (print your schedule here) with two built-in week breaks, all beginning June 2.
For extra options, we welcome you to join our Facebook community where we actively encourage each other to stick with it. We tweet using #HideHisWord and practice the verses using Scripture Typer.
RESOURCES
Print these free resources now to get prepared. Resources are now in 5 versions! Memorize in the translation of your choice.
INVITE OTHERS
Will you help us spread the word on your blog or your favorite social media?
“Memorize John 15 with @DoNotDepart. Details here http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2Vv #HideHisWord”
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Link-up coming here June 23 for your blog posts on why you’re memorizing John 15 or anything about scripture memory.
Questions? Comments? We’d love to hear you’re joining in!
REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED
How about all red letters? John 15!
We’ll memorize one to two verses a week, treasuring these important words Jesus spoke before He died and rose again: vine and fruit; abiding in His love; full joy; the Spirit of truth; and more.
Registration is now open, beginning May 19, here at the blog. We’ll begin memorizing two weeks later, June 2.
If you’ve never memorized a whole chapter before, it’s easier than you think. Pray now about joining us for this no-pressure, slow-paced, but richly rewarding memory journey.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
John 15:9
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Questions? Please ask below.
You’ve had a hard day, or maybe a hard season. Maybe I can’t change any of your circumstances, but one thing I can do is encourage you in them.
To encourage—parakaleo in the Greek—literally means “to call near, invite, comfort.” So to encourage you, I deliberately come beside you as an invitation to God. Maybe directly with a prayer of blessing or through a Bible verse. Or indirectly through actions (clean your kitchen, give you a hug), through words (a phone call, a text), or through gifts (a book, a candy bar—it works for me!).
Encouraging others is a true gift of the Spirit. While some are more naturally gifted at it than others, encouraging is one gift we all have opportunity and ability to exercise.
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is . . . to encourage, then give encouragement.”
Romans 12:6,8 (NIV)
But why should I encourage you? The short answer is because I want you to feel better.
But deeper reasons are because I want what’s best for you, what’s best for God, and even what’s best for me.
HERE ARE 5 REASONS TO GIVE GODLY ENCOURAGEMENT.
I encourage you . . .
1. To make you stronger in faith
The best gift I can give you is another reason to trust God and His grace (Colossians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:12). So when I see specific ways He’s working in your life, I should tell you, especially if it will help you stay strong in a difficult situation or make a course correction if needed. The goal of encouragement isn’t to build your self-esteem in what you can do, but to increase your faith in what God can do through you.
I encourage you . . .
2. To make me stronger in faith
The gift of encouragement has a rebounding effect—when we give it to another, we receive it back ourselves (Romans 1:12). When I look for God in you, I see Him clearer myself. That strengthens my own beliefs in His power.
I encourage you . . .
3. To help you rejoice
When you’re discouraged, it’s hard to find reasons to celebrate. But someone else might see things you can’t. While I don’t want to offer empty clichés to simply placate your pain, (those often make us more discouraged!) I do want to offer genuine hope and reasons to be joyful. True encouragement should result in more joy than you started with (Acts 15:31-32).
I encourage you . . .
4. In obedience to God
God wants me to encourage those worthy of praise and exercise my gift of encouragement (Proverbs 31:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:11). If I see godly character in you, but I’m too stingy or proud to commend it, I’m failing to do the good I know to do (James 4:17).
I encourage you . . .
5. For God’s glory
The highest purpose in using any of our gifts is to glorify the Father through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:10-11). I give Him honor when I point out the work He is doing or intends to do in you (1 Corinthians 14:25).
More verses on encouragement
Acts 13:15; Acts 14:22; Acts 18:27; Romans 15:4-5; Ephesians 6:22; Philippians 2:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 1 Timothy 5:1; Hebrews 10:25
Ultimately, I can’t rely on my own words or wisdom to properly encourage you, but I can trust the Holy Spirit to activate the gift I want to give you.
Through Him, you can receive hope, be reminded of God’s goodness, and trust His grace to cover every situation.
For an excellent book on encouraging others, read Sam Crabtree’s [amazon_link id=”1433522438″ target=”_blank” ]Practicing Affirmation[/amazon_link]: God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God. Read a short excerpt here.
Tweetables
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Who can you encourage today? (Hint: Who will you be near?) Who has encouraged you this week? Please share here.
It’s our last week memorizing Isaiah 55 together. Thanks to all who have journeyed with us in this amazing chapter.
And what a verse to end on! Isaiah 55:13 is a beautiful image of restoration and metamorphosis that we experience now in part, but will experience later in full.
As you read these words leading up to our celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Sunday, thank God for His power to transform ugliness to beauty, uselessness to purpose, and hardships to victory. May our praise be a memorial to His grace and goodness for all to see, now and forever.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Isaiah 55:13 (ESV)
Tips for memorizing Isaiah 55:13
Tweet this:
“Good things are coming! Memorize Isa 55:13 with me. http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2OT @DoNotDepart #HideHisWord”
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Look over all of Isaiah 55. What was your favorite verse? Did you memorize any? Please share.
You’ve got a song in your heart. I know because I do, too. These songs can come out when we reminisce about a past experience, or run into an old friend, or uncover a new challenge.
If it’s a good song, it will help us. God will see to that. But if it’s not, it becomes a hindrance, a soundtrack we can’t turn off, bringing up negative emotions and unhealthy thoughts.
Music can use us. Or we can use music. The songs we listen to today matter not only for today, but also for tomorrow.
While we rarely can choose which new songs will come our way (although we can choose genres, artists, radio stations), among those available, we can choose which ones we’ll listen to over and over.
Here are 3 WAYS TO USE MUSIC to build our faith, using the song “Cornerstone” as a model. It’s a modern hymn (2012, Hillsong) based on an older hymn (1834, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” by Edward Mote).
[Worship with it here. Also hear why it was written.]
1. TEST THE LYRICS
While some songs appeal to us immediately because we love the tune, we don’t want to embed them in our hearts if the lyrics are bad. Examine the words you’re singing to make sure they are true and God-honoring.
In “Cornerstone,” these verses remind us to depend solely on Christ’s righteousness. Even in our doubts, these are lyrics we can sing to bolster our faith in what Christ has done, not in our own works.
Verse 1
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus’ nameVerse 2
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
My anchor holds within the veil
2. DO A BIBLE STUDY
Often the writers use a Bible passage as a base text. Look it up in context. But even without specific references, we can study general themes to flood our hearts with God’s truths.
Writers Reuben Morgan, Jonas Myrin, and Eric Liljero likely pulled from Ephesians 2:20 (“Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”) for their chorus and theme of “Cornerstone.”
Other Biblical references related to this song for study might include: Psalm 118:21-23; Isaiah 28:16-17; Matthew 21:41-43; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Hebrews 11:1; 1 Peter 2:6.
Chorus:
Christ alone Cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Savior’s love
Through the storm He is Lord
Lord of all
3. WORSHIP THROUGH IT
Whether you sing it with others or in the car with your kids or at home alone, use the words as personal worship to God. If you know an instrument, learn the chords so you can play it. Introduce it to your church’s worship team. Download it to your iPod.
When our church sings “Cornerstone” on Sunday mornings, the praise is powerful. Who can’t relate to times of darkness, or the need for more faith, or the profound truth that we stand faultless through Jesus’s righteousness?
Verse 3
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless stand before the throne
Music touches us in places that words alone cannot. Let’s use those connections wisely to praise our Lord in every way we can. He is something to sing about!
Tweetables:
“The songs we listen to matter not only today, but also for tomorrow. http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2SK @DoNotDepart #SingPraise”
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“Music can use us. Or we can use music. http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2SK @DoNotDepart #SingPraise”
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QUESTION:
What song will you put in your heart this week? What is one of your favorite worship songs? Please share here.
For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12 (ESV)
All creation is called to express joy. That includes you and me!
While we may not always feel full of joy, we can always find reasons to express our gratitude anyway. Look back over Isaiah 55:1-11 and remind yourself of multiple gifts you’ve been given.
Then tell God thank you for them–perhaps even by singing and clapping your hands.
This is our next-to-last week to memorize Isaiah 55. If you’re still memorizing and meditating, rejoice in that as well.
Tips for memorizing Isaiah 55:12
Tweet this:
“In joy & peace, sing & clap to your Creator. We’re memorizing Isa 55:12. http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2OR @DoNotDepart #HideHisWord”
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What song of praise is in your heart this week? Please share.
