Rick Warren's Blog, page 646

The Application Bridge: Three Questions to Ask of Any Bible Passage

“Does the LORD really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him.” (1 Samuel 15:22b CEV)

If you aren’t experienced in applying God’s Word to your life, you might be frustrated. How do you do it? Today I want to give you three questions you can ask of any passage that will help you apply the Bible to your life. Here are the three questions:

What Are You Doing About What You Know?

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17 NIV)

James says it is self-deception when we merely listen to God’s Word and don’t let it change us. We think that just gaining knowledge makes us spiritually mature, but the test of maturity is not knowledge. The test of maturity is character. A lot of people have great Bible knowledge, but they are spiritual midgets.

Bible Knowledge Requires Action

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NIV)

Did you know studying the Bible can be dangerous? In fact, the results of Bible study could be disastrous.

What Does a Daily Quiet Time Look Like?

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV)

Having a quiet time is like many other activities you might do in life — in at least one respect. To be successful, it helps to have a plan. The Bible says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV).

Application: Make Your Bible Study Dynamic and Specific

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22 NLT)

Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific. That’s why when you read God’s Word, you try to move it to what you need to do now — your application.

SPACEPETS: Probe the Bible with These Questions

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22 NLT)

Christian meditation means thinking about Scripture. You meditate on Scripture in the same way a cow chews her cud: by chewing on it and chewing on it and chewing on it.

Bible Study: Focus on One Word at a Time

“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.” (Colossians 3:16a NLT)

Studying the Bible in a way that changes your life doesn’t take a bunch of expensive tools. You don’t need commentaries or Bible study software. In fact, if you were stuck on a desert island with just a Bible, you could simply use the method you’ll learn about in this devotional to study God’s Word.

The Bible Is the Only Stable Foundation

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NIV)

The foundation of a house tells you how big the house can get. You can’t put a big house on a small or faulty foundation. It’ll collapse every time.

Biblical Interpretation: God Doesn’t Leave You in the Dark

“No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11b NIV)

Have you ever heard someone say, “Well, that’s just your interpretation of the Bible”? It’s as if that little phrase disproves everything that’s been said. But it really doesn’t disprove anything.

Biblical Meditation: Get Every Ounce of Nutrition from God’s Word

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8 NIV)

I can remember hearing great sermons or in-depth Bible teaching and wondering how the teacher found all those great nuggets of truth in God’s Word. That’s why I wrote my first book 35 years ago: to help people like me. “Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods” shares 12 methods of Bible study, such as the chapter summary method, the topical method, and the verse-by-verse method, all of them useful for anyone to get the most from God’s Word.