Study to show thyself approved…

2 Timothy 2 (KJV)

1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
² And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
³ Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
⁴ No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
⁵ And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
⁶ The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
⁷ Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
⁸ Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
⁹ Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
¹⁰ Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
¹¹ It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
¹² If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
¹³ If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
¹⁴ Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
¹⁶ But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
¹⁷ And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
¹⁸ Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
¹⁹ Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
²¹ If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
²² Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
²³ But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
²⁴ And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
²⁵ In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
²⁶ And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

This is the first of a series of steps in a journey to strengthen your soul. I encourage every believer to take heed and prayerfully consider what we will be discussing over the next few articles. Verse 15 above from the letter that the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy speaks of “studying to show thyself approved”. Please note of Paul’s tone as you read the verses above that it is in the imperative. It is a command. It is mandatory. We should take that to heart as a believer on The Lord Jesus Christ and apply it in our daily lives.

Lets think about these verses for a moment. Just what is Paul telling Timothy to study? At this point in new testament history, the Jewish orthodox bible (the old testament, sometimes referred to as the torah) was readily available to all the believers, especially the Jews. Also available were some of the other new testament books and letters to the jewish and gentile believers. Paul, in the imperative was telling Timothy to read the scriptures and study them diligently.

The application of this exhortation for Timothy is directed toward all believers on Jesus Christ. We now have the complete bible available to us (old and new testament) and we must take this imperative to heart and search the scriptures diligently each and every day. For the believer, the bible is our spiritual food. Reading and studying it each day is critical and necessary for our spiritual health.

Think about it. How can we know God’s truth for us if we do not spend time in the only book that IS God’s truth? It is incumbent upon us to carve out time each day to read His holy word. We need to let His word refresh us continually with His living water as well as wash and cleanse our heart, soul and mind.

In addition to my own personal study of scriptures, over the last twenty years, Kim and I have been reading the bible (cover to cover) through together once every year. We set aside time as a couple each night before we go to sleep to spend time in our daily bible reading. Every fourth year, we do a chronological read through the bible. This additional chronological read is very important to me, especially to ensure that I keep the timeline of the bible straight in my thoughts (my mind is not as sharp and clear as it was when I was younger) to provides a continuity of the flow of scripture. How often often over the years has the Holy Spirit brought to remembrance sound doctrine to strengthen my heart and build faith upon the foundations of His word in my heart! The Holy Spirit instructs us by bringing holy scripture to our mind to feed our soul at just the right time.

As we just said, feeding continually on the word of God nourishes the believer. An occasional reading of God’s word can be likened to eating snacks or fast food or drinking milk like a baby. We must learn to feed upon the word for our spiritual understanding and growth. An amazing thing happens when we regularly spend time in God’s word. And I don’t mean reading a verse here or there, or reading haphazard devotionals when we can fit it into our busy schedules. When we continually read and feed on God’s word, we begin to hunger and crave it and we cannot wait to spend time in it and abide in it! The Holy Spirit abides in us and teaches us all things from it!

Paul says in Hebrews 5:13-14, “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” When we are not serious about reading God’s word, we remain as a baby and are immature “baby christians” that remain “stuck in neutral as a baby”, as it were. We do not crave our time alone with God in prayer and bible study. We live defeated lives as believers and we become stagnant and do not grow in His grace and wisdom. But rather, as we discipline ourselves to take time for His word and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the truth of sound doctrine, we move from “spiritual milk” into the solid “strong meat” of His wisdom and truth. We find that the Holy Spirit becomes our constant companion and we lean on Him for strength in times of testing and trials. In John 14:26 Jesus Christ himself in meekness said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” We have a promise given us involving the divine Trinity in this passage. The Comforter, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is sent by Jehovah God, the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will teach us as we feed continually on His word.

We want you to “know” the grace, peace and contentment that comes from abiding in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ abiding in you. Take a look at John 1:1-14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” The bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the Word of God in verse 1. It teaches that Jesus Christ was active in creation in verse 3. In verse 4, it teaches that the Word (Jesus Christ) was active and vital at the time of creation was described as life and light. Verse 14 tells us clearly that the Word was made flesh, in other words Jesus IS the Word. So you see it is imperative that we feed daily on the Word (Jesus Christ) so that the Holy Spirit will teach us and instruct us day by day and moment by moment.

If you are not already feeding daily on the Word, make a covenant with Father God to begin reading and studying your bible from cover to cover each day. Reading chapter by chapter and verse by verse means that you do not miss the context of what is being said. Remember the old adage, “Text taken out of context is a pretext for a proof text”. So start at Genesis chapter 1 and read 3 chapters a day, and pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to teach you what He wants you to know. This plan will get you pretty close to reading through the bible in a years time.

Remember this thought. God’s word will not return void. Isaiah the prophet says in chapter 55:8-13, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: ¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. ¹² For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” God teaches us that His ways are much higher than our ways. His Word will accomplish what He intends it to accomplish. Abiding in His word allows us to “go out” with joy and be led forth with peace. That is quite a promise, wouldn’t you say? We must abide in His word, which means “to live in as in a dwelling place”. What better way to continue our life in Jesus Christ than to abide or make His word, the Holy Bible, our dwelling place. King David wrote in Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Abide in God’s word so that He sheds light on your feet through our journey through life and that He is always a light unto your path. Remember the anacronym for God’s word – “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”.