“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’.” John 8:31-32
It is certain that God’s truth is incredibly powerful, and holding to its teaching will set you free to experience Him moving in your life. To experience this, it is important that you learn how to effectively study His Word. There are many followers of Christ who love to sing, love to spend time with Christians, and love to go to church, but because of the fact they neglect studying God’s Word, they miss God’s voice and God’s truth in their life. If you are going to build a life that is worth following, developing the discipline of studying His word is critical.
Right now, we are in the process of praying and planning for the spiritual development of our athletes this coming summer. It is our goal to train our baseball players how to utilize their ability on the baseball field to make a difference in the lives of others. Learning how to study the word of God is one of the skills we are going to pour into their hearts this summer.
Today, I want to bring you into the process of our planning by giving you a snap shot of one of the spiritual truths we are going to pour into their lives in the summer of 2009.
Have you ever wondered about those outstanding athletes who seem to make great decisions on the course, field, or court but when it comes to making life decisions, they seem to really mess things up? It is amazing to look at the long list of great athletes who made poor choices and ended up not only ruining their career but ruining their lives. The reality is that there are many people who desire to build a life worth following, but because of unwise choices in life are not able to follow through with that desire. It is very important for you to understand that God’s plan for you isn’t to waste your life, but to love Him with all your heart and to build a life that makes a significant impact on the people around you. He very much desires that your life be one that is worth following. In order to achieve this kind of life, you must learn how to live wisely, and wise living comes when you intentionally put God’s Word into practice.
Listen to this verse:
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell,the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25
God fully intends for you to listen to His word and put it into practice in every aspect of your life. You see, some people live their life in compartments. For many people, spiritual life is separated from other areas of life. These are the people only consult God on Sunday morning, when they are incrisis, or whenever they happen to go to church. But when it comes to the rest of their week, or for that matter the rest of their life, God plays little or no role in their daily decisions, attitudes, habits or lifestyle. This is not God’s intention for you. If you are a true follower of Jesus, every part of your life will be impacted by Him. When you encounter the Bible, study it, memorize it and live it out in your family, your relationships, your finances, your athletic pursuits, your job, your free time, and every other part of your life, you will be living a life that makes a difference in the lives of others. This is a path that is worth following. Even if something bad happens in your life, like an injury, aloss, a slump, a family struggle, a sickness, a failure, a challenge, a crisis, or even a death, you will be able to pull through because you have learned to encounter God on a daily basis. By acting on God’s principles, you are choosing to take steps toward living a life built upon the foundation of God’s Word.
This week, don't forget that true wisdom and confidence in your life comes from knowing the Word of God and putting it into practice in every part of your life.
Posted on
Fri, March 13, 2009
by Chris Wall