Application Of God's Word

Verse: Deuteronomy 32:47a

They are not just idle words for you - they are your life.

Application:

It's puzzling that so many Christians try to live the Christian life without reading their Bible, except for sporadic perusals of God's Word, seeking a pithy thought for the day. The Word of God is not merely a source of helpful suggestions, preventive warnings, or inspirational thoughts: It is life itself!

God commanded His people to bind His words on their hearts, to teach them diligently to their children, and to regularly discuss them in their homes (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). So essential was His Word that it was to hold a prominent place in the daily lives of His people.

To blatantly disregard God's Word is to reject life itself. To obey God's Word is the surest way to experience all that God has in store for us.

The Bible can sit on your bookshelf and gather dust, or you can make it a vital part of your life by regularly setting aside time to study it. When you discover the wisdom of God's message, you will want to apply it to your life and pass it on to your family and others. The Bible is not merely good reading - it's real help for real life.

Resources:

• Excerpt from “Experiencing God Day-By-Day” by Henry and Richard Blackaby

• “Life Application Bible Notes”

Quote: Chuck Glover

Application of God's Word: Psalm 1:3

Verse: Psalm 1:3

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Application:

When Scripture says, "In all they do, they prosper," it does not mean immunity to failure or difficulties. Nor is it a guarantee of health, wealth, and happiness. What the Bible means by prosperity is this: When we apply God's wisdom, the fruit (results or by-products) we bear will be good and receive God's approval. Just as a tree soaks up water and bears luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God's Word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God's Word in our hearts.

For all who take their delight in living by God's Word, there is prosperity. Under the image of a fruitful tree, the psalmist declared that whatever the righteous do will prosper. Two qualifications need to be noted. First, the fruit, that is, the prosperity, is produced in its season and not necessarily immediately after planting. Second, what the godly person does will be controlled by the Law of God (1:2). So if a person meditates on God's Word, his actions will be godly, and his God-controlled activities will prosper, that is, come to their divinely directed fulfillment.

Wisdom Through Meditation

Psalm 119:145-152

I cry out with my whole heart;

Hear me, O Lord!

I will keep Your statutes.

I cry out to You;

Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.

I rise before the dawning of the morning,

And cry for help;

I hope in Your word.

My eyes are awake through the night watches,

That I may meditate on Your word.

Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness;

O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.

They draw near who follow after wickedness;

They are far from Your law.

You are near, O Lord,

And all Your commandments are truth.

Concerning Your testimonies,

I have known of old that You have founded them forever.

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Our receiving God's wisdom begins with prayer, but it does not end there. He has a method in His transformation process, and it requires our full cooperation. We are not passive recipients of His mind; we are active in our pursuit. He offers it, but we must want it. And there is more to wanting than just asking.

We can learn the Word of God through study. But it does not become a part of us until we meditate on it. Lacking that step, we become knowledgeable without becoming wise. There is a profound difference between knowing about God's will and His ways and actually knowing God's will and His ways. One leads to an illusion that we're spiritual when we're not. The other leads to life.

Churches are full of people who hear the Word of God preached on Sunday and then have forgotten it on Monday. There are many tools to incorporate God's truths into our lives, but the first, after prayer, is to meditate on it. What does that mean? It means to chew on it, think of what God does with it and why it came from His mouth, how we've failed it in our past, and how it might be applied in our everyday lives. The Word of God is not given simply to be admired; it is given to be learned. It is not spoken to make us smart; it is spoken to change us and conform us to the bright image of the living God.

At all costs, do not passively let the Word of God go in one ear and out the other. Do not read it so casually that it is forgotten the next day or the next hour. There's power in it! It is a gift that will craft us into the person God wants us to be, the person we were designed to be from the very beginning. That molding process is the greatest earthly fulfillment we can ever experience. And God first begins to answer our prayers for that when we meditate on His truth. Let it soak in, completely and deeply. Let it do its powerful work.

“Meditation is…allowing the Holy Spirit to take the written word and apply it as the living word to the inner being.”  - Campbell McAlpine

[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]

The Word of The Lord Is...

God's Is Our Foundation

𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲:

“𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒. 𝐻𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑢𝑔 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡.”  - Luke 6:47-48 (NIV)

𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
It amazes me when I hear people complain about how the Lord doesn’t do anything for them or even answer their prayers. I have no doubt that He answers them, He just tells them No because they are asking for things that either go against His Word or will hurt them in the short or long term. I have seen studies that have projected that the number of Christians that have read the Bible through even just once ranges from less than thirty percent to less than ten percent. For those that read the Bible daily, it is less than even ten percent. Now consider this, how do people expect to know the Lord’s will for their lives and the principles to live by if they never open His Word? They go through the storms of life and get swamped by them because they don’t know or understand His principles and they think that He abandoned them! If only we would heed the promise, He gives us all in Joshua 1:8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” The verse above is a word picture of Joshua 1:8. Not only does He tell us to meditate on His Word day and night but that it will increase our faith for as faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) so that when the wind and the waves come crashing down you will not be like the man who built his house upon the sand, but instead built it upon our Rock.

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
People have asked me how I have dealt with the trials in my life, and I tell them plainly that it is because of my foundation of the Word of God. I trust Him because I have gotten to know Him through it, and I know my prayers are answered according to it and He will do the same for anyone else that asks.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿:
Father, I thank You that You have given us Your Word to read and grow with. That I can look to You through it to find any answer I need, and it has given me access to You in a way I would never have had. In Jesus’ Holy and Mighty Name, Amen.

- Chuck Glover
Provided by "All About God"