Let His Word Take Root and Bear the Fruit of JOY

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Let it soak deep into your heart so that you will radiate with the JOY of the Lord.

            In John 8:31 (VOICE Bible) Jesus said:  ^"If you hear My voice and abide in My word, you are truly My disciples;”

              ABIDE in His Word… Do you think that means memorizing scripture?  Well, though that’s a very good thing…it is much more than that! Even Satan knows what the scripture says. Remember that he quoted it to Jesus in the wilderness when he was trying to temp Him (Matthew 4: 1-10).

               Abiding in God’s word is allowing the words to take root and bear fruit in our life. It’s living out the Truth in every area of our thoughts, our words, our actions. It’s relinquishing our plans to His will and trusting that He knows best…even when we don’t understand..    

            John Piper explains it like this: “The abiding of Jesus’ word in us means that his words find a home in us. They fit. They belong.  When the word abides in us, it’s not foreign. It belongs. You move other things around and even get rid of some things so that the word has room and ‘feels at home.’ ” 

          So, in a nutshell, “abiding of His word” means that the words of Jesus take root and bear the fruit of faith and holiness….which of course, leads to JOY in Him!

            If we hear His voice and abide in His word, we are truly His (joy-filled) disciples.