“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV) If you’ve been a Christian for long or visited a church a few times, you’ve probably heard about a “quiet time.” It’s a time that you set aside every day to spend time with God—and it’s essential if you want to grow as a Christian. There are different ways you can go about having a quiet time, but the most important thing is that you start with the right attitude. In God’s eyes, why you do something is far more important than what you do. It’s possible to do the right thing but with the wrong attitude! God told Samuel, “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). When you come to meet with God in a quiet time, you should have these attitudes: Expectancy. When you meet with God, it should be with eager anticipation, like you might have when you meet with a close friend. Expect that you’re going to have good fellowship and that you’ll receive a blessing from your time together. That was what David expected: “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you” (Psalm 63:1 ESV). Reverence. Don’t rush into God’s presence. Instead, prepare your heart by being still before him as you begin your time together. The prophet Habakkuk said, “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20 NIV). Starting with quiet reverence helps clear away any thoughts that might be distracting you. Alertness. Don’t start your time with God sleepy and exhausted. Instead, get wide-awake first. The best preparation for a morning quiet time begins the night before. Go to bed early so you’re rested and alert and ready to meet God in the morning. He deserves your full attention! Willingness to obey. You come to a quiet time expecting to hear from God, and you should decide beforehand that you’re going to obey what he says. Jesus says, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17 NIV). Come to meet God having already chosen to do his will—no matter what. Come to your quiet time with expectancy, reverence, alertness, and a willingness to obey. And get ready to see God work through your time together!
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“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Matthew 7:24 (NIV) Did you know studying the Bible can be dangerous? In fact, the results of Bible study could be disastrous! Sounds strange, I know. But God intended for us to apply the Bible to our lives—not just read it. So when you read God’s Word but don’t apply it, the foundation of your life may crumble. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24 NIV). That wise man’s house stayed strong through the storm. But then Jesus spoke about someone else: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (Matthew 7:26 NIV). You probably know how the story goes: The foolish person’s house collapses during the storm. God has given you the Bible for transformation, not just information. When you apply it, you’re building a firm foundation for your life. Here are three more reasons it’s important that you apply God’s Word to your life: 1. Knowledge produces pride if you don’t apply truth to your life. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 8:1, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up” (NIV). Christians can be the most cantankerous, evil, mean-spirited, critical, judgmental people the world has known—if we never take the extra step and apply the Bible to our lives. That’s because knowledge on its own produces pride. Instead, God wants you to apply that knowledge in love. 2. Knowledge requires action. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (NIV). What a person knows should be reflected in what that person does. You can’t grow spiritually just by taking notes on a Bible study. God expects you to follow his commands—they’re not optional! 3. Knowledge increases responsibility. The Bible says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (James 4:17 NLT). When you study the Bible, God will show you areas of your life that need to be changed. And once he shows you those areas, he’ll hold you responsible for what he’s shown you. A deeper knowledge of Scripture equals a greater responsibility to follow it. As you study and apply God’s Word, you’ll be building a strong foundation that will keep you steady during life’s storms. “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
Proverbs 21:5 (ESV) Having a quiet time is like many other activities you might do in life, in at least one respect: To be successful, it helps to have a plan. The Bible says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV). If you’ve never had a quiet time before, you may not have a good, simple plan for doing one. Simplicity is important with any plan you develop. If you make it complicated, you’re more likely to get off track. All you really need for an effective quiet time is a Bible and a notebook. So what does a daily quiet time look like? Be quiet before the Lord. The Bible calls it “waiting on God.” You start by simply sitting down and being quiet. Pray briefly. Start off with prayer. Ask God to give you clarity and focus and discernment as you read his Word. Read a portion of Scripture slowly. This is where your conversation with God begins. He starts speaking to you through his Word, and then you speak back to him through prayer. Read the Bible slowly. Don’t try to read too quickly or too much. The more slowly you read Scripture, the more you’re forced to think about what you’re reading. Meditate on the Word. Spend some time chewing on what God is saying. Chew on the Word like cows chew on cud. Ponder and wrestle with it in your mind. There are a lot of great methods for meditating on the Word. Write down what you discover. When God speaks to you through his Word, care enough about what he is saying to write it down. Recording your discoveries will help you remember what God has said. Pray again. Stay focused. Thank God for what he has shown you in his Word. Talk to God about what he has said to you. Tell him what you’re thinking about what he is saying. Talk to him about anything else that’s on your mind. There’s not just one way to have a quiet time. But start with a plan similar to this one, and you’ll soon find, as Proverbs 21 promises, that your diligent plans lead to a life of abundance! “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.”
Colossians 3:16 (NLT) To study the Bible in a way that changes your life, you don’t need commentaries or Bible study software. In fact, if you were stuck on a desert island with just a Bible, you could simply use the method you’ll learn about in this devotional to learn and grow. Here’s a method you can use to meditate on God’s Word in a way that’ll please God. It's called the “pronounce it” method of biblical meditation. It’s an easy way to meditate on Scripture and get every ounce of spiritual nutrition you can out of it. You start with a verse and read it over and over again. Each time you read the verse, you emphasize a different word. And each time you emphasize a different word, you get a different perspective. Take Colossians 3:16 for example: “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives” (NLT). The first time you read the verse, emphasize the word “let.” To “let” means to give permission. You have to choose to let the Word of God dwell in you richly. Then read the verse again, and emphasize “word.” “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” That means you need to get God’s Word in your mind. Then, emphasize the third major word of the verse, “Christ.” You’re not dwelling on what some philosopher, guru, or talk show host has to say. You’re dwelling on the words of Christ! Then you focus on the word “dwell.” Don’t rush through Bible study so you can get on with the rest of your day. To let the Word of Christ dwell in you is to let it take root in you. Then you stop and emphasize the word “in.” God’s Word won’t change your life until you let it in your life. Then focus on the word “you.” The Bible isn’t just God’s Word for your pastor or a seminary student; it’s God’s Word for you! The Bible is instruction for every single believer. Finally, emphasize the word “richly.” God doesn’t want his Word to be a poor substitute in your life. He wants it to create beauty in your life. See all the great jewels you can discover in one short passage just by focusing on one word at a time? You don’t need a seminary degree or a great library of reference tools. Whoever and wherever you are, you can do this! “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) The best translation of the bible? When you translate it into your life. That’s what Bible study is all about. If you’re not translating God’s Word into your life, you’re not studying the Bible the way God intended. God gave us the Bible to transform us, not simply to inform us. It should give us a bigger heart, not a bigger head. In the book of James, we’re told, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV). In other words, God wants your beliefs turned into behavior. God makes his purpose for the Bible even more explicit in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (NLT). The purpose of the Bible is more than just showing us what is wrong in our lives or how we should live. God gave us his Word to radically transform our lives. The Bible describes itself in different ways. For example, it calls itself a hammer, a sword, and a scalpel. All of those are tools designed to make radical changes. God intends for the Bible to dramatically change your life. The Bible also describes God’s truth as milk, water, bread, and meat. What do all those things have in common? If you don’t eat or drink regularly, then you’ll die. In the same way, you were never meant to live without the Bible. The Bible is essential to our lives because it gives us life. We call the Bible “God’s Word,” but the Bible also talks about Jesus as the Word of God. John 1:14 says, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (NLT). God gave you the Living Word, Jesus, to be the Author and Finisher of your faith. And he gave you the written Word, the Bible, to prepare you to live out your faith. The Bible can transform your life today—but you have to open it up and start reading! “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 (NLT) You cannot fathom your full potential—only your Creator can. Only God, the one who made you, knows all you are capable of being. Your parents, your spouse, your friends, and your boss only get a glimpse of your potential. Only God knows what you’re truly capable of. Most people live for the approval of others. They spend all of their time worrying about what others think of them. Your life has been limited by replaying tapes in your head of people who have lied to you—even if they didn’t mean to. They’ve told you that you can’t do something or that you’re not good enough. You’ve played these tapes over and over in your mind. But they’re lies! The people who made those statements about you have no idea about your potential. To know your real potential, you have to talk to your Creator. Only he knows what he can do through your life. And only he can unlock that potential. How does he do it? Jesus says in John 8:31-32, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (NLT). God’s Word will unlock all you’ve been made to do and be. Through it, you’ll be able to do things you never thought possible. How do you do that? First, learn God’s Word. God won’t unlock your potential until you actually open the Bible and learn it. You won’t unlock potential by osmosis. You’ll start to do it by learning what the Bible says. Second, accept God’s Word. The Bible has to be the authority in your life. You may not like what you’re reading, but—if you want God’s best for your life—you need to accept what it says as the final authority for how you live. Third, obey God’s Word. You can’t just learn God’s Word and accept God’s Word. You have to do what the Bible teaches. You don’t get blessed for the parts of the Bible you know. You get blessed for the parts of the Bible you do. You were made for much more than you ever imagined. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!” (CEV) Open up God’s Word, and get ready to do what only God can imagine. “Praise him, you highest heaven and the water above the sky. Let them praise the name of the LORD because they were created by his command. He set them in their places forever and ever. He made it a law that no one can break.”
Psalm 148:4-6 (GW) Someone may have told you that the Bible isn’t scientifically accurate. That person is wrong. They have either never studied the Bible or never studied science. God set up the laws of science, and he made sure that his Word doesn’t contradict those laws. Johannes Kepler, the famous mathematician and astronomer, once said, “Science is simply thinking God’s thoughts after him.” In other words, God established the laws of physics, and then we discover them. The Bible wasn’t meant to be a scientific textbook. You don’t study the Bible to build a rocket. And the Bible doesn’t use scientific language. But the Bible never gives bad science! In fact, it’s always ahead of science. For example:
The Bible says, “Praise him, you highest heaven and the water above the sky. Let them praise the name of the LORD because they were created by his command. He set them in their places forever and ever. He made it a law that no one can break” (Psalm 148:4-6 GW). The laws of science don’t work one day and then stop working the next. Each and every one of them always works—because they are true and made by God. And truth doesn’t change. “Whoever looks intently into the perfect law . . . and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
James 1:25 (NIV) If you’re serious about being spiritually strong and mature, the greatest habit you can develop is memorizing Scripture. In fact, the Bible says in James 1:25 that it’s one of four habits that lead to a blessed life: “Whoever looks intently into the perfect law . . . and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (NIV). Here are the four habits you find in that verse:
Even if you’re not used to memorizing, it’s a skill you can learn; it’s a muscle you can strengthen. In fact, memorizing Scripture will cause your brain to have a stronger memory in other areas—I guarantee it. Study after study has shown this. Why is it important to memorize Scripture? You’ll always have God’s Word with you. When you’re tempted, you usually don’t have a Bible open or by your side. When you’re witnessing to someone who doesn’t know Jesus, is under stress, needs comfort, or is in a crisis, there’s usually not a Bible around. You need God’s Word in your mind so you can remember it and review it right when you need it. You can meditate on Scripture wherever you go. If you’ve memorized Scripture, you can think about it when you get into bed at night or as you drive to an appointment. When you think about a portion of Scripture that you’ve memorized, you’re meditating on it. And the only promise of prosperity and success that God gives us in the Bible says that meditating on his Word is the key: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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” (Joshua 1:8 NIV). Start memorizing Scripture today. Pick a verse a week. In a year, you’ll have memorized 52 verses. In two years, you’ll have memorized more than 100 verses. As you hide God’s Word in your heart, you’ll find yourself growing more and more into the person God wants you to be. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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