WORK THESE WORDS INTO YOUR LIFE // A BLOG SERIES // PART 7
“Apply yourself to the whole text, and apply the whole text to yourself.” —J.A. Bengel
I love the way D.L. Moody described the purpose for the Bible when he wrote:
“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives… It wasn’t given for our INFORMATION, but for our TRANSFORMATION.” —Dwight L. Moody
Moody got that idea from the Bible. In fact, check out what the writer says in Hebrews 4:12-13.
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” —Hebrews 4:12-13 NLT
Do you get what the writer of Hebrews is saying?
He’s saying that God’s Word is a living Word. It’s active and full of power! It’s effective and it’s energizing! When we read the Bible, it reads us. It opens us up. It searches us in the deepest way possible, revealing our hearts, attitudes, inclinations and motivations. Sometimes it comforts us. At other times it convicts us. Both are necessary!
When we read the Bible, it reads us!
A.W. Tozer nailed it when he wrote:
“I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking.” —A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
When we open up God’s Word — whether to read it, hear it, meditate on it, memorize it or study it — God immediately goes into action. The Holy Spirit confirms in our hearts that this is not the word of men, but the word of God. The Spirit reminds us, “You can’t stay neutral. You’ve got to do something with what you just encountered. Put it into action and watch what God will do.”
In another place in the NT, Paul described God’s Word like this:
“All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” —2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP
Those two verses are loaded! God’s Word is useful and profitable for instruction. In other words, it teaches us how to think. It convicts us of sin. It corrects us of error. It helps us recognize the inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies in our lives. It straightens us out when we get bent out of shape. The Message says, “…it exposes our rebellion…”
I love the fact that God’s Word doesn’t just convict us and leave us there. It also expects us to change! It points us to restoration and obedience! It helps us to do the right thing, not the convenient or easy thing. It trains us to live God’s way. It shapes, fashions and forms us to the will of God. It prepares, forms, develops and equips us to live with integrity and moral beauty and courage. It inspires and energizes us to become everything God had in mind when He created us and recreated us in the first place! That’s the power of God’s Word! Apply it! Put it into action!
No wonder James challenges us, “…don’t just listen to God’s word. You must DO what it says.” —James 1:22
Remember what Moody said?
“The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives… It wasn’t given for our INFORMATION, but for our TRANSFORMATION.” —Dwight L. Moody
When we apply God’s Word, we actually grip the “sword of the Spirit” and put it into action! And one of the best ways to “grip the sword” is by creating a personal and practical plan of action when it comes to the passage you just read, heard, meditated on, memorized or studied.
Create A Personal + Practical Plan of Action
- Keep it PERSONAL.
At some point God may want you to share what you’re learning with someone else, but application and activation always begins with you and me personally.
How does this passage apply to you personally? What is the Holy Spirit saying to you?
- Make it PRACTICAL.
Sometimes there’s a temptation to get really mysterious and mystical when it comes to applying God’s Word to your life, but transformation happens when we get really practical with it!
God wants to get involved in the nitty gritty details of life. Every application needs to be practical. How does this Scripture apply to my relationships? My marriage? Family? Job? Career? Finances? Friends? Personal health? Relationship with God? Ministry?
- Describe your PLAN of ACTION.
How will you take action on what God just spoke to you thru His Word? Put it in the form of a simple statement or sentence.
Application is the key to “working these words into our life.” It’s essential to getting a firm grip on the “sword of the Spirit.”
While I know I don’t look like it, I place a huge value on physical fitness. In fact, I do some form of exercise practically every day. My goal isn’t to look like some celebrity. That’s never going to happen. But I do want to honor God with the body He has given me.
Some physical fitness experts talk about benefits of physical exercise as providing a B.A.S.E. They say that a balanced approach to physical fitness will aid you in the following areas:
B – BALANCE
A – AGILITY
S – STRENGTH
E – ENERGY or ENDURANCE
We need all four, especially as we get older. But this is also a great model for and reminder of what it looks like when we “build these words into our life” or strengthen our grip on the “sword of the Spirit.” It provides us with a strong B.A.S.E.
1. Biblical BALANCE.
Applying God’s Word helps us to stay balanced, especially in a world that is unstable, polarizing and unbalanced. God’s Word gives us stability and balance.
2. Biblical AGILITY.
One sports training center defines agility as: “the ability to move quickly and change directions while maintaining control and balance. Good agility requires a combination of speed, acceleration, balance, power, coordination and good reflexes.”
Biblical agility does the same for us spiritually. It will give us the ability to sort through multiple options quickly without losing self-control or balance because the Word of God is informing our intuition, intellect and decision making processes.
It gives us balance, power and coordination when navigating the complexity of life. Some decisions don’t have to be “made” because they have already been made by God Himself. We just need to trust Him.
3. Biblical STRENGTH.
God’s Word makes us stronger!
Daniel 11:32 says, “…the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”
We come to know God and His character through His Word. No wonder Jeremiah made this statement:
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” —Jeremiah 15:16 ESV
Jeremiah is describing his hunger for God’s Word. What’s interesting is that when he made this statement he was going through one of the most difficult periods of his life. He was tempted to doubt God’s goodness and to give in to feelings of discouragement and despair. He was struggling with depression.
But Jeremiah realized that God’s Word isn’t just for perfect people. It’s not just for people who “feel” strong. It’s for “real” people. It’s for weak people. It’s for guys like Jeremiah. It’s for guys like me, and it’s for people like you.
Jeremiah knew that God’s Word could give him the strength and encouragement he needed to stay in the game, so he consumed God’s Word like a hungry man consumes food! And God’s Word gave Jeremiah STRENGTH! It will do the same for you.
4. Biblical ENERGY and ENDURANCE.
God’s Word gives us energy and endurance.
When Jesus was tempted by the evil one to “turn stones to bread” during the forty days he spent in the wilderness without food and water, He responded to Satan’s temptation by quoting the book of Deuteronomy.
“It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.” —Matthew 4:4 (See Deut 8:3)
Applying God’s Word to your life will give you BALANCE, AGILITY, STRENGTH and ENERGY and ENDURANCE today.
If you really want to “work these words into your life,” if you want to strengthen your grip on the “sword of the Spirit,” these six classical practical are part of the program God uses.
- READ IT
- HEAR IT
- MEDITATE ON IT
- MEMORIZE IT
- STUDY IT
- APPLY IT! PUT IT INTO ACTION!
It’s time to GET A GRIP on God’s Word, begin to WORK HIS WORD into our life and LIVE OUT THE DESTINY He has planned for us!
[BE]SCIPLE
The Joy of [Be]coming A Disciple of Jesus