September 17, 2013
Apply yourself. That's the advice I often heard about school work while growing up. Like many - if not most - young people, I spent far more time questioning the value of the curriculum than applying myself diligently to learn it.
"Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you." (Proverbs 22.17-19)
The wise advice, "apply yourself", very definitely applies in the area of biblical truth. Jesus often stated, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (i.e, Matthew 11.15) There is wisdom in being an attentive listener; one who truly hears and allows truth to penetrate heart and mind. To truly hear is to "apply your mind", gain insight, and keep truth within - to be lived out in daily life. Internalized truth provides us with a ready and wise answer and, ultimately, true trust in the LORD.
I fear than many dabble in biblical truth, when instead they should be enrolled in it as they would in a college or university course. God's truth is far too important to merely sample and casually read. The "university of truth" is a course for living that demands our best efforts. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2.15) Apply yourself.
The danger with dabbling in truth is that it in no way prepares us to discern error. Deception prevention requires diligence. And, nothing could be more unwise than to divert from the pathway to the kingdom.
The most tempting shortcut - in both school work and biblical study - is to cheat by using someone else' work. While a passing school grade can be deceptively obtained this way, it will never work in the realm of biblical truth. Personally handling, studying, and applying God's word is all that can, and will, work. There is no such thing as secondhand truth. Either you have personally grappled with it and claimed it, or you have not.
I've often asked people, "what do you believe strongly enough that you would be willing to die for?" I believe it to be an important question, because such passionate beliefs will not come from secondhand knowledge and information. That which we believe that passionately is that which we have diligently studied, applied, and embodied.
Apply yourself. Every believer is enrolled in God's "university of truth". As such, we each are accountable for what we have done in our course of study. May we "approved to God", with no cause to be ashamed, when the time of accounting comes.
Steve
Be sure to also visit http://thetruthrevolution.wordpress.com/
"Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you." (Proverbs 22.17-19)
The wise advice, "apply yourself", very definitely applies in the area of biblical truth. Jesus often stated, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (i.e, Matthew 11.15) There is wisdom in being an attentive listener; one who truly hears and allows truth to penetrate heart and mind. To truly hear is to "apply your mind", gain insight, and keep truth within - to be lived out in daily life. Internalized truth provides us with a ready and wise answer and, ultimately, true trust in the LORD.
I fear than many dabble in biblical truth, when instead they should be enrolled in it as they would in a college or university course. God's truth is far too important to merely sample and casually read. The "university of truth" is a course for living that demands our best efforts. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2.15) Apply yourself.
The danger with dabbling in truth is that it in no way prepares us to discern error. Deception prevention requires diligence. And, nothing could be more unwise than to divert from the pathway to the kingdom.
The most tempting shortcut - in both school work and biblical study - is to cheat by using someone else' work. While a passing school grade can be deceptively obtained this way, it will never work in the realm of biblical truth. Personally handling, studying, and applying God's word is all that can, and will, work. There is no such thing as secondhand truth. Either you have personally grappled with it and claimed it, or you have not.
I've often asked people, "what do you believe strongly enough that you would be willing to die for?" I believe it to be an important question, because such passionate beliefs will not come from secondhand knowledge and information. That which we believe that passionately is that which we have diligently studied, applied, and embodied.
Apply yourself. Every believer is enrolled in God's "university of truth". As such, we each are accountable for what we have done in our course of study. May we "approved to God", with no cause to be ashamed, when the time of accounting comes.
Steve
Be sure to also visit http://thetruthrevolution.wordpress.com/
posted by steve @ 8:44 AM
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