Study!

Study!

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

We are in a generation where truth no longer holds true. We are settling for variants and versions of the truth; we no longer have the time or the patience to devote time to the study and understanding of God's version of truth. We now listen to men like ourselves, who have agendas that are not clear. We listen to men who themselves do not listen to God, and we wonder why the world is the way it is. You cannot follow a lie and expect peace. You cannot submit to the devil and expect God to fight for you. What would God have me do? I believe the answer is a 4-fold plan:

1. Expected Action: I am asked to study. It is as simple as that. Study will take time and effort, and it has to be focused and directed. It is the dedication of time to discover information that will lead me to the discovery of who I am, what I have been called to do, where I am to do it, and how I am to do it. Information is power, and the one who will seek it will always make impact. 

2. Discover Purpose: the reason why I study to gain information and knowledge about God is so that I know what he wants from me, and I can pursue after it. I study to show myself approved unto God, not to man. I study to know God's mind because I want to please him in every way. If all my studying does not lead me to deeper knowledge and experience of who God is, then whatever it is that I seek is not in line with God's truth. 

3. Defined Target: the reason why I need to know, understand and follow the truth closely is because the test of that truth is coming. A workman must know his tools if he will be able to achieve the task that he has been given. It does not appear that God can effectively use a vessel he has not first tested, tried and can trust. How can I be trusted with God's riches and grace if my heart is not right? How can I make the best use of resources, whose value I do not know? A workman who does not need to be ashamed is one who is content with the work he has been given. He does not envy another man's tools or assignment. He knows that he is getting the just reward for the particular work he has been given, and for which he has been gifted. 

4. Targets and Results: of course, the end of all the giftings by God is so that I can effectively represent him here on earth. Being able to rightly divide the word of truth means I know the appropriate word for every life, issue, situation or event around me. I do not respond to everything that happens around me, but I wait for guidance from the Truth Himself, so that whatever I say or do speaks of who God is. I know what is proper per time, like the men of Issachar, knowing what Israel ought to do.

And though the Bible has many words, it is the Word of God and the Word of Truth. It has harmony and synergy, and it never fails to make a change wherever it is applied. If my life will speak, the word of truth has to first speak to me. Before I dare to stand before men, have I stood before the Word of God to allow it do a complete work in me? May I not dare speak, when God has not spoken, and may I have the courage and grace to declare boldly the Word of God in this sinful and adulterous generation. God's time of favour is here.