Living Out The Bible
As Christians, we seem to read God's Word, but leave it at that. How can We live it out?
The Bible is a crucial aspect of our relationship with Jesus, and a lot of times, it is difficult to put what we read into action. Even though it's hard, it is so important that we put our faith and knowledge into action in order to impact the world for Christ. After all, "The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart," (Hebrews 4:12) so we must take God's Word seriously. We are called to be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22). So, what are some practical ways to focus on obeying Jesus in a world full of noise?
Read it
The first step towards living out the Word is spending more time in it. It is impossible for us to live out what we don't know, and the only way we can learn the Word of God is to intentionally spend time studying it and learning what it commands us to do. Reading the Bible is not always easy, but it is so, so important that we persevere through the difficult times so that we can reap the benefits of being rooted in God's Word.
Memorize It
Memorization makes many of us think of studying for an exam, and so it gets an awful reputation; however, memorizing God's Word gives us the opportunity to meditate on God's Word even when it isn't right in front of our faces. Memorization requires you to really focus on the words at hand and to truly think about why God chose to give you this verse. Psalm 119:11 says it best, "I have treasured Your Word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You." When we treasure the Bible and put in the time and effort to memorize it, it will be so much easier to remember how to live it out. Also, if you have an iPhone, apps like The Bible Memory App and Verses-Bible Memory make it easier than ever to write God's Word into your mind and heart.
Stay Constantly in Prayer
Because our nature is to sin, it is completely impossible for us to live out God's Word on our own, and so we have to reach out to Jesus to give us strength, courage, and excitement to go against what we want to do and towards what God has called us to do. Prayer gives us an opportunity to go to God with not only our concerns, but with our questions, fears, doubts, confession, and thanksgiving. Prayer is our connection with the Heavenly Father and we shouldn't forsake this gift. Just as 1 Chronicles 16:11 says, we should look to God and His strength for everything.
Other Ways
These are not the only ways to stay live out God's Word, and daily we have numerous opportunities to grow in our obedience to Christ. Listening to scripture based music is another huge way to dwell in the Bible. Worship music is great, but only when it is based directly from scripture. This type of music takes your focus away from the world and to Jesus Christ. Another way is to find a friend or a mentor who is consistently speaking God's love over you which is an awesome way to see an example of someone living out the Word of God.
Our journey in faith does not end when we accept Jesus into our life; this is only the beginning. It is up to us as Christians to work towards living out God's Word at all times. It isn't always easy, but it will be oh-so-worth-it in the end.
