Making the Bible Come Alive

Overcoming the enemy and achieving success

How do you make the Bible come alive? The word alive means  having life, not dead, still in existence, or still active with a chance of victory. Making the Bible alive means to make it dynamic and fresh.  But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4:4 (NASB95) Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word of God is alive and powerful. The King James version says that the Word of God is quick. The word “quick” is the translation of zon (ζον), a present participle of the verb zao (ζαο) which means “to live, be alive.” The word “quick” is obsolete English. The translation here should be brought up to date. The Word of God is alive, actively alive, and as the tense indicates, constantly active. It is powerful. The word “powerful” is the translation of energes (ἐνεργες) from which we get our word “energy,” and which means “active, energizing.[1]

So, we see that God’s word is constantly active and energizing. The amplified Bible says, “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective].” “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” 1Peter 1:23 (NASB95)

The word of God is alive and it draws all men to God. But today we are talking about how to make the Bible alive or fresh to us. Here are several ways to make God’s word alive to you:

[Memorizing verses]

“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11 (NKJV) We need to memorize scripture in order to overcome temptation.  The word of God is our weapon against sin and the temptation of the flesh.  “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:11-17 (NKJV)

This is how Jesus overcame temptation. He used the sword of the spirit. Jesus was showing us how to use the word of God to fight off satan and temptation. Matthew 4:1–11 (NASB95) “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”  Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.” This is what we call spiritual warfare! In the same way, you can memorize scripture and quote it to overcome your temptations.

[Meditation]

We need to meditate on God’s word! “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:8 (NASB95) To meditate means to engage in contemplation or reflection, or to ponder. But this is not a quick, “oh yeah, I remember that.” It means to reflect deeply! Clear your mind of your daily concerns and focus on God. In the Bible, the Greek word for “contemplate” is katanoeō (κατανοεω). It means, “to consider attentively, fix one’s eyes or mind upon.” So, when we meditate, we need to find a quiet place in order to attentively consider God’s word. Then we will hear from God. We take our eyes off the world and its problems, and we fix our sight and mind on God. How often do you meditate on God and His word?

[Using scripture in your prayers]

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5:14–15 (NASB95) How do we know what is according to His will? The Bible tells us! The Bible is God’s revealed will to mankind. If it is in the Bible, then it is God’s will. So, if we find a scripture that is a promise to us, it is God’s will for us to have that promise. When we pray in line with God’s will, He hears our prayers. And then we know He will answer our prayer! This gives us confidence in prayer. The Greek word for “confidence” is parrēsia (παρρησια). It means, “free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance.” However, We have our requests’ not always as we pray, but as we would pray if we were wiser. God gives us not what we ask, but what we really need.[2]

Kenneth Wuest translates it this way, “And this is the assurance which we are having toward Him, that whatever we keep on asking for ourselves according to His will, He hears us. And if we know with an absolute knowledge that He hears us, whatever we are asking for ourselves, we know with an absolute knowledge that we have the things which we have asked from Him.”[3]

The amplified Bible says, “And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.  And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.”

[Where the rubber meets the road!]

So, let’s put this into practice. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (NKJV) When you pray, put the scripture in your prayer. You might pray…”Father God, I abide in you, and Your words abide in me, so I’m asking for you to give me strength, and I thank you for doing it in Jesus name. Amen.” See how using scripture in our prayers gives us confidence!

Let’s look at another verse. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3:16 (NASB95) Let’s make our prayer personal this time. Notice how we added “I and Me” to the verse? Pray like this…”Father, I know you love me. And I know that it is your will that whoever believes in Jesus your son, shall not perish but have eternal life. So, I’m asking you to give me eternal life since I believe in Jesus. Thank you, father. Amen.”

Use the actual Bible reference in your prayer. “Father God, Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” So, I’m asking you to give me strength. You said it in your word, and I know it is your will. Thank you, Father. Amen.”

[Conclusion]

If you memorize scripture, and meditate on it, then you will be able to quote it in prayer and supplications to God. You will be able to overcome temptation. The Bible will become alive to you. It will always be fresh and dynamic. You will experience victory in your life. God will answer your prayers and the storms of life will not prevail against you.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NASB95)

 Bible study is a life long habit. | LearningTheBible.org

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[1] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

[2] See Ref. 1

[3] See Ref. 1

Bible Study – part one

Why study the Bible?

For those new to Christianity and those who have been around awhile, Bible study is essential! After accepting Jesus as your personal savior and believing in God’s plan of salvation, one of the most important things for you to do is learn about reading and studying the Bible. When I first became a Christian I was on fire for the things of God. I couldn’t get enough or learn fast enough. I remember sitting next to a man in church and the pastor said, “Open your bibles to…such and such verse in the book of Romans.” I immediately opened my bible and found the reference. But the man sitting next to me was still thumbing through the old testament! He didn’t even know Romans was a new testament book. The man looked at me with a lost look on his face and I offered to help him.

After the first few months of becoming a Christian, I was traveling to different churches with a music ministry and giving my testimony. I was so surprised to meet older Christians who had been in church most of their life and they knew very little about the bible! They would come up to me after the service and comment about my bible knowledge. But you should have seen the look on their faces when they asked me, “How long have you been a Christian?” I replied 3 months. They didn’t believe me. I wanted to ask them, “How is it you don’t know these things?” “Don’t you read your Bible?”
But that is the case with so many people. They pick up their Bible from the shelf, dust it off, and carry it to church. The only time they open it is when the pastor says, “Turn to…” They listen to the sermon, close their Bible, go home and put it back on the shelf until the next service. Friends, it is through the Bible that we learn about God! The Bible is God speaking to us. It’s his communication and guidance not only for practical everyday living, but for eternal life too.

The Bible is God’s word and message to us.

So, why wouldn’t you want to learn what God has to say? God commands us to study the Bible. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) Studying and learning leads to knowledge. The more we know the greater our faith in God. Did you know our faith can grow and increase? “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17) The more you hear, learn, and study the word of God, the the greater your faith will become. This is one of God’s important principles. Where did we learn about it? In the Bible of course.

But the Bible is not just a list of commands. It is where we learn about God’s promises to us, as well as, what He has done and given us. Also, with greater knowledge, it is easier to share your faith and the good news of the salvation message with others. It is important to read, study, memorize, and meditate upon God’s word. “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” (Josh. 1:7-8 nas)
Notice in these verses that God gives us a command and then a promise for us if we do it. Meditate, learn, and do it; Then you will be prosperous and have success! How many self-help books and gurus are there teaching about how to be successful? All we really need is to know what the creator of the world has to say on the subject.

The most important thing to know about Bible study is…just do it.

You must do it, so the challenge is to find a way that works for you. You have to have a plan, or you will miss the goal. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14 nas) You have to make a commitment to read and study on a regular daily and weekly basis. The word commitment means to put in a place of safekeeping, like being locked away in a prison, in order to carry out an action deliberately; to assign it to memory permanently. Other synonyms that come to mind are: trust, obligate, bind, and pledge. So, making a commitment means: pledging to bind your obligation in your memory (like putting it in prison) trusting yourself for its safekeeping.

Bible study needs to be part of your everyday life just like prayer! Knowing God’s word and hiding it in your heart will keep you from sin and temptation. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee. I will meditate on Thy precepts, and regard Thy ways. I shall delight in Thy statutes; I shall not forget Thy word.” (Ps. 119:9, 11, 15-16 nas)

Also, the Bible is very clear about this, we don’t want to be lead astray by the teaching of men. We need to know if it is in the Bible or not. Does the Bible really say that? I worked with a man once in a factory. I knew he had recently accepted Jesus as his savior. It was very hot this particular summer, and inside the factory temperatures could easily get over 100 degrees. We were allowed to wear shorts and tank tops because of the heat. As a supervisor, part of my job was to make sure people didn’t get too hot and pass out from heat exhaustion. Well, this man kept wearing long sleeve shirts and pants. He would sweat buckets and I was continually concerned about him staying hydrated. Finally, I told him it was alright to wear cooler clothing. He said, “Oh, no I can’t do that!” I asked why. He replied that in his denominational church the men were required to wear long sleeve shirts so as not to tempt any ladies by showing the skin of their arms. I asked him to show me where it said that in the Bible! Hear me now; I don’t have anything against denominational churches or dressing modestly, but to follow the teaching of men without regard for the bible is foolishness.

Let the Bible speak for itself. 2 Tim. 2:15 says we should “rightly divide the word of God.” Don’t be deceived by false teaching or rules and regulations of men. It is enough just to learn and understand what God has for us. We learned that God commands us to study. This is how we come to know more about God and His plan for our life. God is concerned about us and has given us a manual for living. If you want to know about parenting, relationships, or finances…read the book. If you want to learn who you are because of Christ or what the future holds…read the book. If you want to be able to give an account of what you believe and why…read the book. Don’t want to be deceived, then…read the book.

My friends, I hope this has been an encouragement for you to make reading and studying a part of your everyday life. The benefits are too numerous to list in this writing. In part one, we have covered the “why” of Bible studying. In part two and three we will teach about the practical “how to” and “benefits of” studying. Remember God’s promise to you; if you hide His word in your heart, then you will be prosperous and successful! May God bless you.