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TITLE: 3 Keys To Effective Christian Living
By David Mbue
08/17/07
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3 Keys To Effective Christian Living

Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Tim 1:6-7).

Many people desire to live out their lives meaningfully. That is good. But there are desires that God Himself stirs up in our souls and we need to nurture them. No achievement can bring greater contentment in life than following God’s plan. It’s important that we grasp God’s will and cling to it. Otherwise, our days could be spent in discontentment. Or we could arrive at the last leg of our lives only to discover that we ran the wrong race.

The Proverbs tell us that Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life (Prov 13:12). God wants to show us what success is all about. We were never meant to live in unfulfilled longing; frequently questioning the essence of life.

You Are An Heir Of God Now (Rom 8:16, 17)!
The story of the prodigal son teaches us several important lessons. One among them is that our heavenly Father’s goods are ours too, i.e. the sons that stick with Him (Luk 15:31). But just like the prodigal son’s elder brother, we may not be conscious of our privileges, neither of the Father’s love for our other brethren. So, when someone we perceive as less deserving receives certain blessings before we do, we get jittery and retort. We react negatively because we’ve convinced ourselves that God should work according to the patterns we set for Him. And when He seems to defy us, we are so annoyed. That ought not to be so. In Christ Jesus, all of God’s children have inherited incalculable worthiness and we need to cherish and celebrate it. We mustn’t think that by acknowledging God’s favour we’re not being humble.

It’s important for us to understand that bit. Many lovely believers don’t think they deserve certain blessings. They stress themselves out trying to win God’s approval. They refrain from asking for what rightfully belongs to them thinking that ‘bothering God’ with requests robs them of humility. But whenever someone else takes advantage of God’s promises and receives his/her blessing, they immediately get offended with God and badmouth their brethren. But instead of reacting, let’s learn how God works. It’ll make us appreciate our Father and rejoice at the elevation of our brethren.

In this article, I’d love to share three easy keys to effective Christian living. What makes them so effective is that they give us a firm grip on God’s mind concerning matters. Wisdom fosters patience, but hasty reactions promote mistrust. We are cautioned to guard against self-will and quick tempers because these are seedbeds on which satan breeds discord.

1 Read God’s Word
One of the Beatitudes in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount says, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matt 5:6). Did you hear that? The blessed hunger and thirst after righteousness! That means it costs them something. In Jeremiah 29:13, God promised, ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. With so many views being floated, you cannot afford not to search for the truth. Dig into the Word until you discover God’s mind for yourself. Seekers of righteousness will be filled; that’s God’s promise.

Now what is righteousness? It’s right standing in God’s sight; it’s not my bias or preference. God’s Word aligns my convictions, not the other way round. We need to read the Word with a definite purpose. To thirst, hunger and seek righteousness with the whole heart is not coincidental; it’s purposeful. People read all sorts of things without any real purpose. The religious leaders of Jesus day didn’t get much from their reading because they read with biased notions of what it should mean. Jesus told them, Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (John 5:39). It isn’t funny that many cults continue to emerge claiming to source their divergent views from the same text. But God isn’t the author of confusion. If we read the Bible to assert our own opinions rather than to discover God’s truth, we can make scriptures say anything we want them to. But that would no longer be God’s Word; it’d be our opinion.

Reading different versions of the Bible helps clear out subtle shades of meaning. Once you discover what the Word says about a matter, then you need to stand by it. Don’t give in to theories that contradict the Bible, no matter who advances them. John tells us, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1). Now the only way you’ll be able to detect the spirit of error is by knowing the truth. God’s Word is truth; make an effort to transfer it from the book to your spirit.

God’s people have always been readers of Scripture. In fact that was the main reason they came together on the Sabbath days. The early New Testament church spent time doing the same. It was requisite for ministers. Paul commands Timothy, …give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee… (1 Tim 4:13-14).

2 Memorise Scriptures
If you want to remember something, memorise it. We memorise things that are consequential to our lives. You probably know off-head the number of your national ID, passport, driving licence, registration of your automobile, etc. You probably can recall many telephone numbers that matter to you. How did you get to be so smart? Well, you memorised those things that were important to you. So likewise, my beloved, God’s Word is invaluable to you. Get hold of truths that mean the most to you and memorise them. Says the Psalmist, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Ps 119:11). What does it mean to hide God’s Word in your heart? It’s to remember it continually.

God commanded Israel to rehearse His deeds and His Laws throughout their generations. We must never lose sight of God, who He is to us, what He has done for us in the past, what He has commanded us, or His promises for our future. Memorise it, sing about it, compose odes and recite them, etc. Get thoroughly acquainted with your God.

3 Meditate On The Word
Surprisingly, it’s possible to read and memorise something and for that thing to remain only in your head! As we’ve said before, our brains are part of our soul. But as children of God, we need to develop our human spirit much more than we do our souls. So how does God’s Word filter from the mind to the spirit? It’s by meditation!

To meditate is to ponder. It has been compared to the chewing of cud. Herbivorous animals have about four stomachs. When they graze in the fields, they fill one belly. Then they take a break, fetch that stuff back to the mouth and chew it up to finer particles. When they swallow it again, it goes to the next stomach to await more refinement. In the Old Testament, only animals that chewed cud were regarded as clean and okay for Israel to eat. They also needed to have split hooves. These two conditions represent important metaphors, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself.

When we meditate on the Word, we also ask questions. “What is God telling me in this passage? Why is this particular word used? Are there conditions I need to fulfil to qualify for His promise(s)? Etc.” Mediation seeks deeper appreciation of Scriptural truths. It refines the message making it precise, thorough and applicable. In meditation, the Word becomes personal and consequently gets absorbed in your spirit.

You see, reading can be done in a hurry. Like a cow grazing in the fields, you can read as you travel, or listen to Scriptures on audio disks, as you work. But you’ll need to find time to calm down and ponder the Word slowly and purposely. Nighttime can be quite adequate as you rest in bed. For me, fasting takes away sleep giving me a good chance to meditate. In meditation, the Word moves from the head to the spirit. Now I need to remind you that only the Word in your spirit may guide your life. The Holy Spirit uses what you’ve stored up in your spirit to enlighten you on God’s will. The more Word you hide in your spirit, the easier it’ll be to receive divine guidance.

The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly (Prov 20:27). This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success (Josh 1:8). In the Psalms, you’ll find a little word at the end of certain verses –Selah! It means, “Pause and ponder what you’ve just read.” That little bit of counsel is quite essential. Please take time to consider these truths; they hold important keys for your Christian effectiveness.

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