Learning To Get a Good Grip on God’s Word

In review of Philippians 2:16 it says, "Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless."

Bottom Line:

Hold on firmly and share the word of life with those around you. Then when Christ returns, you can be proud of the investment you made in yourself and in others.

What this means to me:

I am to hold firmly, making it part of my life and offering to tell others about the word of life. This way on the day that Christ returns, I can be proud that my life/following and what I have done to serve, share and mentor others was not wasted, but instead produced good results and helped others establish a meaningful relationship with God. God has promised many wonderful benefits in my life when I hold firmly and meditate on the Word, make it part of my life by doing it. Surprisingly, knowing how to worry has already showed me how to meditate on the Word of God. Worry is when I take a negative thought and I think on it over and over and over. When I take a passage of Scripture and I think on it over and over and over, this is meditation. There are six ways I can get a grasp on God’s Word. I can hear it, I can read it, I can study it, I can memorize it, I can meditate on it, and I can apply it. But if all I do is hear the Word of God when I go to church, I’ll have no grip on the Word of God, and it can be pulled out of my mind very easily. The Bible says in Philippians 2:16, “Hold firmly to the Word of Life” (NLT). I won’t have a good grip on the Bible unless I’m doing all six habits: hearing it, reading it, studying it, memorizing it, meditating on it, and applying it. Psalms 119:16 says, “Your laws make me happy. I never forget your word” (GW). God’s principles are what I need to make me happy, and I will remember those principles by memorizing them, meditating on them, and then applying them. Psalms 119:35 says, “Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found” (NLT). Typically, I look for happiness in all the wrong places. God tells me that happiness is found in the path of his commands. One thing I lack in my spiritual discipline is scripture memory. This is something I must develop a new habit in. I should consider some form of utilizing scripture memory cards again so that I can work on this throughout the day and keep them with me (maybe even an app for my phone?.) In addition, after I recover from my next surgery, I’m going to move forward with my plans to meet regularly with two others guys I trust. I can have them hold me accountable for scripture memory. Having God’s word close at mind will help me in how I conduct my life. I’m sure happiness will be a by-product of choosing this habit.