30 Jan Live Like a Christian
We’ve made it to the end of the first month of the New Year and I hope you’ve set a nice, sane pace for yourself in entering 2023. I’m eager to hear from you on the One Verse you’ve selected to memorize and live out this year—and I’m excited to share mine with you and some first steps in exploring and living out this verse. It’s from Ephesians 4—
“I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Whenever I study scripture or set my mind to memorize a verse, the first thing I do is understand the verse in context. I read the paragraph and the whole chapter it’s contained within. Other things I look for are–who wrote this book/letter, who was he writing to, and why. Using www.biblegateway.com or www.biblehub.com, I’ll read the verse in a few other translations to see if there are any differences in any of the words used.
When walking through these steps for Ephesians 4:1-3, right off I see that the word walk is used interchangeably with live your life. I also like the way the Amplified Bible phrases it: “So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation],”
Boom! And here we go!
So, walking in a manner worthy of my calling is to say, “Punky, live your life in a manner reflects what you believe and Who you believe.” In a nutshell Paul is telling me that if I’m a Christian I need to live like one—with evidence (fruit) that’s consistent with the life of Christ throughout every aspect of my life.
How about you? What verse did you choose for 2023? If you’re interested in more of my study method, I’m happy to share more of my process with memorizing and studying and living out One Verse for the year. Just let me know!
But why is this so hard?
I’ve heard back from some of you that Bible memorization is really hard for you. OK, I get that—and it can be hard for us. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do it! Seriously—how many songs do you know by heart? I bet most of us can sing every lyric to Bohemian Rhapsody or the theme song to Friends… or (c’mon) Walker Hayes’ Fancy Like!! Oh, you know you can! And you know full well it’s going to be challenging to memorize Scripture because the enemy does not want God’s living and active Word living and active in your life.
My point is that we have no excuse when it comes to memorizing (living) Scripture. The psalmist writes, “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). This wasn’t an intellectual exercise of memorizing Scripture; this was a practice of working Scripture into his heart—i.e., the mind, will and emotions— and living it out in every aspect of his life. So, again, engage God in the process. Ask Him to help you hide His Word in your heart and live it out in every part of your life. If He calls you to it, He’ll help you do it!
I love y’all so much—and don’t forget that you are greatly and dearly loved by The King!
xo-P❤️