Posted on by thornstocrowns

Studying the word: The crucial need for it in the Christian walk

I was just a few weeks into my walk with the Lord when I realized I did not have my personal Bible. Just like every new Christian, I was eager to get the word in my heart and start on my journey with the Lord. I remember praying and asking the Lord that I wanted to study his word and could use my own personal Bible. It was not before long this wonderful couple came to my workplace and gave me a spanking new study Bible. I still remember the feeling of joy and realizing that God wanted me to start immediately. My own personal Bible, mint, blue, and white, and that irresistible new Bible smell. I thanked this amazing couple for such a perfect gift and an answer to my prayers. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could start using my Bible. I rushed home to check my new study Bible out and in the moment it felt like the words were lifting off the page and they were so tangible, I immediately started on the “read the Bible in a year plan” that was part of my study Bible. This Bible was filled with highlights, you would tell it was a Bible that was constantly being used. I was finding new truths, and I was excited about expanding my knowledge in my new walk.

Unfortunately, I started to get too caught up in my own life issues, work, and school (I was a college student then) so like many of us, my perfect gift, and answered prayer was shelved with the many other books unread for some time. If I was studying the Bible then, I moved from that to a quick read and glance if possible. I was not studying the word anymore, and it was quite evident in the many things I didn’t fully understand. I know we can fall into this because life does get busy and sometimes the Bible is the last thing on our minds. But please hear me out, we need the word in us and can no longer make it the least of our priorities. Studying the word is crucial to understanding why we are walking with God and staying sustained in our walk with him.

reading versus Studying the word

I will try to use some of my college experience to help us see the difference between reading and studying. In some of my structured classes, I would be given reading assignments weekly throughout the semester and those were great supplements to prepare me to know the context of the subject matter. Eventually, there would be a final exam, and this required me to study the material so I could prove that understood the material. So think context equals reading and study equals understanding. It might be hard to differentiate the two because both reading and studying the word of the Lord are good for the Christian walk. Think of the time you read a wonderful Bible story and connected with the characters, great right? it was a nice read and similar to a novel there was no further need for you to dig deep. Then think of the time you read the same Bible story and sought a deeper meaning to it, you may have even cross-checked with other verses and even read a commentary or two. This time you went beyond just knowing the characters and connecting, you were seeking a deeper understanding of the whole story. When you read the Bible, you can get some context, which is great! However, when you study the Bible you are studying to understand in depth the meaning of it all.

Why is STUDYING THE WORD IMPORTANT

What has been the setback for many of us Christians is having the context, but lacking the depth of the meaning. Studying the word helps us expand our knowledge beyond the context. When we move beyond the context and start to look at the word in a more introspective and meditative way, not only do we gain a better understanding of it, but it helps us better understand ourselves. It is a living word after all! (read Hebrews 4:12). I think of the Bible when we study and examine it, it also examines us. When we study the Bible in-depth, we begin to deepen our relationship with God. With deeper studying, God is not just a character in the book we just read and feel connected to, but he becomes more real to us. I was once a Bible illiterate, and that got me into trouble because all I had was context, so it was quite easy for me to believe something else aside from the actual word. Hence studying the word will safeguard you from falsehood the world does a great job at showing us. The depth of your study shields you and guides you through your Christian walk. It all comes down to seeing God in all of it, the redemptive plan for all of us, and our part in this plan.

How can you study the Word?

The word must be studied with much to consider, remember this is not just for context. You are seeking a deeper meaning here not just a feel-good story. You would want to consider the times, the situation, the reasons, the people, the purpose, and eventually the meaning. This will take you some time to pull all this as you study versus when you read, so make the time for it all. Other things you can do are;

  • Be intentional about your study time, you would have to make time in your schedule for devotional time. (don’t shelve your Bible and let it collect dust)
  • Study different subjects or books of the Bible (for example if you want to study faith; read verses related to faith and use those to help you better understand what God means by faith in depth)
  • Study with others – it will surprise you what you may have missed when someone else shares their study with you. You can do this in a Bible study setting or even a Sunday school class.
  • Supplement your study time with commentaries. These should be biblically sound commentaries. Not every commentary you find on Google is biblically sound. Look out for those.
  • Pray! Yes, pray. Ask God to give you a deeper meaning of his word as you study so you can understand it.
  • Don’t keep this word to yourself! if you understand something from your deep study, share it with the world, it will surprise you how many people it can touch.

sHOW YOURSELF APPROVED BY God

After you study and understand, you want to be approved by God. Remember how I mentioned earlier that through studying and examining the word it also examines us? Once there is an introspective of yourself in alignment with the Word, you would want to take what you have studied and apply that to your walk with Christ. So that when God sees you, he sees the practical word in you. From the pages to living it out in your walk daily, to seeking more of his word for your continued spiritual growth.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

It is time for you to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe

Posted on by thornstocrowns

Positioned to praise: What happens when we praise

Whether as a collective or in one’s personal time with God, praise will forever hold its power. I have been thinking heavily about praise this week and thought about all the powerful and transformative things that happened because people praised God. I am convinced that when God said he delights in the praises of his people, he also meant that our praising him is powerful. I can attest to the power of praise in my life, I have seen what it can do and how my praising God changed my situations. I hope after you read this blog you allow yourself to praise God in whatever situation you may be experiencing right now. There is power in your praise!

The position of praise

I have been reading a couple of verses in Genesis this past week and as I read I see that everything God created was created with the intent to praise. And because we are God’s creation, we too are created with the intent to praise. Praise even when it is not given to God from man shows us that man intends to praise something. It is almost as if it is second nature, and notice if a man is not praising God, they will surely find something else to praise. Here is a good example, when the Israelites (people of God) were in the wilderness and many other times after, they decided they needed to give praise and worship to something else, and idol praise and worship seemed ideal at the time. Their act of praise to idols often led God away from them. I know that is then and this is now, but we too sometimes shift our praises and in this modern world there is much to praise aside from God. There are several ways we shift our praise towards something else, but for the sake of this blog, I want to highlight self-praise and praising man. When we shift our praise we find our position of praise is taken away from the initial intent God created us to praise. If we are to restart and shift our praise, how do we position ourselves to praise as intended? And how then will our praise be powerful?

Positioning ourselves to praise is not just our outward gestures, it needs to start from the heart (Psalms 119v7). Powerful praise happens when the intent of our praise to God is pure and humble. The act of praise is one that communicates to God that we acknowledge him and his position in our lives (Hebrews 13 v 15). So when we dance or clap or lift up our arms, and say words of praise we are saying “God I acknowledge you in my life”. When one is positioned to praise they are to start with searching their hearts first and knowing their intent is to praise God. When I think of pure intent and humility to praise, I think of King David from the bible. He was a King that was praised, but what he did well was he gave praise to God. He was always positioned to praise God through the good and bad of his life. Through his act of praise, he saw the transformative power of God and the favor of God over his life. He was a relentless praiser and it is evident in how his life and legacy carried through all the way to Jesus. The position of praise is a place of humility that takes away the need for man to self-praise, but instead, look to God and give God the praise as it was intended in the beginning.

The Power of our praise

There are many beautiful and transformative stories that the bible tells of what happened when people praised God and some of you might say that was for them only to experience, but I want to help you change your mind. I want you to believe in the power of your praise even in the darkest of times. Praise is your weapon and when you use it, you see for yourself its transformative powers. No longer is it something your read about in the bible, but you experience it. When you praise you send an open invitation for God to come in on that situation. We all know what happens when God steps in! Things happen! The difficult times feel lighter when you praise, the seemingly impossible situation becomes possible, and victory from the enemy is sure! Why? because you praised as it was intended. I pray that your praise may never be silenced by your life circumstances. The power lies when you open your mouth to give God praise despite it all. Praising is not just a bunch of words or a perfect symphony put together, it is much bigger than all of that. The soul yearns to praise God even without all the words and symphonies because we were created to do so. Those that fully know the power of praise will understand that God is in control and through their praise, they can reach to him and he will respond. He responds in amazing ways, his response is liberating and brings joy to the downcast soul.

He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

-Deuteronomy 10 v 21-

He is the one you praise! He is in control! God is never caught off guard by our life and experiences. When we experience life’s ups and downs I do hope we are positioned to praise so that he can turn things around for us. Blessings are evident in our lives and all around us, we have seen transformative changes in our lives and that of others. Let us not be blinded by the idea that we are the ones that did that all on our own and fall into the trap of self-praise. Let us not fall into another trap of praising man for something we are certain was God’s response. He is the one we praise, not self or man, therefore, make his name known and give God the praise and see with your own eyes. It is time to take your rightful place, it is time to trade thorns for crowns!

Much love,

Xholiwe