No perseverance

Last night Dad downloaded some videos of Mark Driscoll's sermons on trials and perseverance. I started listening to the first on Perseverance Until Judgement, where he looks at 2 Peter 3:1-7, but didn't manage to persevere... I was about half way through when I gave up. Hopefully I'll persevere another night.

Mark suggests that so often in our culture everything is about instant gratification, and as a result we're not very good at persevering. I agree. Even my decision to stop listening to his message tonight fits with this idea - I wasn't hearing what I'd expected to hear so I gave up, I didn't persevere.

He talks about persevering through Scripture. This afternoon I met with some friends and we were discussing Psalm 1 that says as we meditate on God's Word day and night we will be like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit each season. If we're not seeking wisdom from God's Word, where is our wisdom coming from? Whose voice are we listening to?

Psalm 119 says, "I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You". It's really important that we meditate on God's Word, and "hide" His wisdom and promises in our heart. Then in the tough seasons, we can pull out those verses that have been hidden in our hearts.

As I was listening to Mark's first point about persevering with Scripture, I was thinking that this alone is not enough (not that Mark was suggesting it was). I remember someone telling me that one of their lecturers at uni knew the Old Testament back to front but wasn't a Christian. This shows that it's possible to "know" the Bible, but not know God or Jesus at all.

If we are simply reading God's Word to fill our minds with knowledge, what is the point? Psalm 119 is a great reminder to hide God's Word in our heart. I need to be asking God, by His Spirit, to transform me as I meditate on His Word, to help me hide it in my heart, so that I can live the way He calls me to live.

Yes, in order to persevere to the end, and bear fruit in every season, we need to be constantly spending time in God's Word, letting Him transform us by His Spirit.

Lord, help me to regularly spend time reading Your Word, and not just reading it, but hiding it in my heart and letting Your Spirit transform my thinking and my actions. Especially when I'm tired and struggling with life, help me to persevere in reading Your Word.