Ground in the Word

Where do we go from here? In many ways, your spiritual journey depends on your heart. Let’s start by committing it to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. The first step for a positive spiritual journey is to be ground in the Word.

Holding fast that faithful word according to doctrine

Titus 1:9a Geneva Bible (GNV, 1599)

Steps to Being Ground in the Word

What process must take place to assure being ground in the Word? Here are three basics ideas to take our commitment to the Bible and our study time one level deeper.

First, study the Bible with urgency.

When bad weather approaches, you watch news reports about weather more closely and with more energy than most days. The news of a tragedy captures our attention differently than most stories. Commit to reading the Bible each weekday – a little or a lot – with energy and urgency. This is the most important thing you will do all day. Make the commitment that you will read the Bible like this for thirty days. At the end of the month, you will have read the Bible at least twenty times – not bad, huh?

Second, study the Bible with someone.

Doing things together builds accountability and adds perspective. Usually, we read the Bible by ourselves, don’t we? Commit to reading the Bible twice a week for a month with someone. You can count Sunday at church as one day. (If you skip church that week, you must add another day.)

The Bible speaks about a believer’s community – the circle of Christian friends who encourage and support you in your walk with God. The term the Bible uses for that dynamic between believers as “fellowship.” We always walk closer to God when we walk with someone.

Christian circles usually talk about community providing you accountability. Those words sound very regimented and almost Pharisaical, don’t they? Don’t think of accountability as someone “holding your feet to the fire” to make sure you behave as you should. Think of accountability in a much more practical way. We tend to be more faithful toward reaching a goal when we do it with someone. Organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous and Weight Watchers have built their business model around people doing things together.

Find some people – even one person – who will study the Bible with you for one month. (You can decide together after the month if you want to continue.) Go through the five steps and Scriptures, starting with the Titus 1:9 verse in this lesson. (Some lessons have more than one Scripture.) Read the verses together. Discuss the questions at the bottom of the lesson’s webpage called “Points to Ponder.” End your study with a prayer asking God to show you over the next 30 days how the verse should touch your life.

Finally, study the Bible with hope.

When we pray, we approach God with expectations. We desire our prayers to be answered. Apply that same expectation to the reading of God’s Word. Expect God to make a difference in your heart and your mind. Each time you open its pages, ask God to make clear the truth He wants to reinforce in your life.

At the end of a month, talk with someone about what happened because of the steps you have taken during the month.

The Cafeteria of Commitment

After your 30 Day Journey of studying the Bible, the next step in your spiritual journey we are calling “The Cafeteria of Commitment.”

Your Cafeteria of Commitment offers several ways that you can put the truths of today’s lesson into practice in your life. Don’t feel that you have to do everything listed here. Pick ones that fit your personality and circumstances, or let them be springboards for your own ideas.