Your Amazing Bible: Applying the Word

We've already looked at what the Bible does for us and how we can understand it, but you can't stop there. You have to take it to the next, most important step: applying it to your life.

So how do you apply the Bible? How do you appropriate it on a daily basis? First, approach it BOLDly:

• Believe God's statements of truth.
• Obey specific commands, whether positive or negative.
• Learn by scriptural examples.
• Declare God's promises for your own.

Then there are a few additional questions you can ask:

• How does this apply to me today?
• What changes do I need to make based on this truth?
• How will I carry out those changes in my life?
• What will my personal prayer to the Lord be based on what I just read?
• What verse, what kernel of truth, should I memorize from this section?
• What illustration can I come up with to remember this truth?

As you determine to live out the truths of Scripture, your life will be transformed, and reading the Bible will become a joy—you won't be able to wait to see what God's going to tell you next.

Think It Through

Read Matthew 7:24-27. To whom did Jesus compare the person who does what He says? To whom did He compare the person who doesn't do what He says?

Some commandments in the Bible are only given to a specific person or group at a specific time, but you can still apply the core principle to your life. For example, read Matthew 19:16-22. Is this passage saying you should sell everything and give to the poor? Why or why not? What's the core principle you can apply to your life?

Do you find your daily joy and sustenance in reading, internalizing, and applying the Bible (see Jeremiah 15:16; John 4:34)? Why or why not?

A Word of Encouragement

There's a difference between studying the Bible and applying the Bible in your daily life. Some people become experts in the Scriptures, but their lives remain unchanged. The real joy is in turning the Bible loose and obeying it.

Prayer

Lord, I ask that You would make my heart open and ready to not only receive and internalize Your truth, but also act on it. 

Land and Explore

Check out Pastor Skip's teaching series Living Life Against the Flow , where he dives in to some of the basics of Christian living through the practical application of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.