Are you Ready to place God's Word in your heart and Life?
What is Stopping You?
Peter, in his first epistle, was seeking to pastor his people so they could make sound decisions and not be afraid of those who hated God and came against them (1 Pet. 3:15-17). The key to doing this is to make a firm, ongoing, and deep commitment to know Christ and His Word. This is necessary for us to not just be prepared, but to stay ahead of what is coming. We are the ambassadors of Christ and are called to show, through our lifestyle and words, that He is The Lord and Savior. We may come across hostile people who hate God and will hate us for being in Him; even so, we are still to operate with respect and gentleness. The only true way to grow and know this is to grow and know Him (Psalm 56:4; Luke 12:4-7; Rom. 8:31-39; 2 Cor. 5:20)!
The call to know His Word is the call to know Him, to be better in our Christian life, and to do something with what He has given us. This is also a crucial aspect in apologetics, which is the act of giving a defense such as a lawyer defends his client. We should know about our faith, and with our best efforts and abilities, share it with others, and even use words when necessary! A good Christian should know about the Bible and faith, and practice it, not only to grow, but also to share it with other people. We do not need to know all of the answers (I certainly do not), but we should know where to get the info and then get back to them. We are always to share with maturity of character even when others combat us. And, to have His Word in our Heart is power upon power to make this all happen. Our faith will eventually undermine those who are against us. Our apologetic ("answer"), when we recite our verses to others, is always to be given with love, consideration, and tact-never in degrading terms.
Peter was trying to get his people to trust Christ further and thus have more patience when times got tough. Having God's Word in our hearts and minds forms us, and makes us stronger and better when life and people come against us. We are called to surrender to His authority and precepts, allowing Him to be God, and allowing Him to lead and shape us. We can show the love of Christ by also loving his Word and being dedicated to knowing as much as we can.
Do you know that God has given us the power to live for Him victoriously and with excellence?! He feeds us the spiritual food, pays our spiritual debt, and gives us knowledge and the assets to be godly and good. If we truly trust in Christ-not just as Savior but also as LORD-we are given the power and ability to live a life of fullness, distinction of character, and spiritual maturity so He is glorified by our lives and living testimony. He gives us the resources and ability to memorize numerous Bible passages, and this is one of His extreme resources for us. They are here for us, and are at our disposal. We are not alone or cut off from what we need! But, there is a catch. We have to go for it; we have to appropriate His Word and this opportunity into our lives, as in finding and engaging Bible memory. We take firm hold of our faith (make our election sure) when we trust and then obey what He has for us. If we do not, we live a life of waste and even sin, missing out what is soooo good and precious for us. Why would anyone forsake His love and gifts (Deut. 31:6; Phil. 2:13; 3:13-14; 4:13; 2 Pet. 1:1-4)?
Let Us Be Doers of His Mighty Word!
Check out some passages that tell us that discipleship and mentoring are not an option, but a command: Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 6:1-10; Mark 1:35 - 2:12. We must follow out of obedience, and mentor in a multigenerational lifestyle, caring for the total person. This will move us from just playing church to really being a church.
By the way, these are great passages to memorize!
Questions to Ponder
Read 2 Pet. 1: 3-11
1. God calls us to take His Word and allow Him to plant it in us just like a gardener would plant a tree!
2. What will you do to put forth the efforts in Him and the work of the Spirit to grow?
3. How will the tree of your faith produce the Fruit in your life to impact others around you?
4. How can this transpire more effectively in you?
5. How is your faith real, impacting, and growing? How should it be?
© 1984, 2006, Rev. R. J. Krejcir, Ph.D., Discipleship Tools www.discipleshiptools.org/