The Bible is an Everyday Tool
Three Demonstrations of Applying the Bible in Practical Ways
In the United States government, elected officials are held to a spoken and an unspoken rule of separating church and state. In other words, remove or don’t apply religion to politics. While normal people would consider this a good thing to do as it relates to how we governor our country, this separation is impossible. Let me dispel the notion that one can successfully separate church from state, right out of the gate. Our laws and the rules we have in society are a byproduct of religious beliefs. For the most part, our societal laws have their origins from the Bible. Therefore, study and knowledge of the Bible is critical.
I was in a training course once for leaders in our company. The trainer mentioned how as leaders we need to do the right thing. So, I asked the question, how can a person know what the right thing is to do? Where does one find information on what is the right thing? Needless to say, the trainer could never say the Bible. What is interesting is that he could name any other sources if there were any, but he could never point us to The Bible. However, he alluded to how we automatically know what the right thing is. Can you see the problem with this logic? If we rely on people to tell us what is right and wrong. Then what happens when people disagree with it? What happens when people don’t know that the action taken is wrong? The truth is, without a baseline of laws and rules, then right and wrong would not exist. There are people in our societies that don’t know what is right and wrong [1] and they in turn violate those who do.
My point here is to not argue the case for what we consider right and wrong, but to promote the need for applying The Bible to our lives. Obviously, this illustration regarding right and wrong demonstrated how The Bible is influential in determining what laws governor our land. That’s just one way in which we use The Bible in a practical way to enhance our lives. Let me give you three more practical examples.
Example 1 – Teachers
Let’s take a teacher for instance. My sister-cousin is a successful, dedicated, and hardworking teacher. There are many teachers like this, but she also has her own business where she tutors students outside of school hours. In other words, she is determined to take her gift as a teacher to the next level. The question I’d like to pose is what happens to a teacher who applies Biblical principles to their gift of teaching?
For example, let’s walk through the scenario of encouraging other teachers to do their jobs using faith which is one Biblical principle. That means she would need to identify scriptures that deal with teaching. Unfortunately, The Bible is not set up topically. A person cannot simply turn to the section for teachers.
To get the most out of it is to bring IT into the place where you are. A teacher’s day starts as a result of a lesson plan, so I am told. How can you use The Bible to help you create a better lesson plan? Where in The Bible can I figure out how to write a vision, a lesson plan for my class? That is where she would have to start. “Writing the vision and making it plain” [3] is just one verse in the Bible that she can use. Think about that wording for a moment. In light of The Bible, you will create a plan for your student that will lead them some. Write the vision! [3]
Here’s a verse I found that every teacher should have on his or her refrigerator.
“The student is not above the teacher,
but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” [2]
This verse enlightens us in at least two ways: 1) I must become a teacher who knows more than my students, and 2) if I train or teach my students well, they will be like me, a great teacher.
The goal of this type of Bible study is to find the verse of scripture that aligns with your situation and apply it. Let’s try it with another profession.
Example 2 – A Salesperson
If I were a salesperson, how would I go about applying God’s word, The Bible to my profession? My friend Joe is in sales, and I enjoy hearing about his activities and projects. A salesperson must do a lot of communicating, but more importantly must know his or her stuff when it comes to selling.
If I were to apply The Bible to being a salesperson, I would start with my attitude. When dealing with people, one must be friendly and joyful. I would look for a scripture that speaks to having joy in my heart because I need that joy to be expressed in my words and on my face.
“A miserable heart means a miserable life;
a cheerful heart fills the day with song.” [4]
Find a scripture that will give you insight, inspiration, or direction on how you might accomplish your goal, in this case of being friendly.
Let’s look at the salesperson example from a different angle. The goal of a salesperson is to sell something. Therefore, this person wants to sell and have repeat customers.
“When you buy land from your neighbor,
the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee.
The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee.
The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price;
the fewer years, the lower the price.
After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests.
Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the Lord your God.” [5]
Notice that the scripture says, do not take advantage of each other. The seller should not take advantage of the buyer, and the buyer should take advantage of the seller. When you follow this practice, you operate in God’s favor and your success is inevitable. Use The Bible to learn the secrets to being successful, even in sales.
Example 3 – Attorneys
If you were an attorney, what is one verse you can glean ideas from to make you a next level attorney? The goal of Bible study and reading The Bible is not so that you can have ordinary results. You can do that without The Bible. The purpose for reading It and studying It is so that the results you get are extra-ordinary. Let’s look at one verse that I would recommend for any attorney and even any elected official.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;
ensure justice for those being crushed.
Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,
and see that they get justice.” [6]
As an attorney, you have the opportunity to see to it that they will receive justice. Who are the “they,” those who are crushed, the poor, and the helpless in their particular situation. Not only does this Bible verse tell you what you should be doing, it also gives you the clients you should be serving. This is why we study The Bible.
Could it be that we are struggling in our professions because we lack the Bible passages that have what we need to step out of an ordinary career into the extraordinary career that God has in mind for us? When you believe that you are truly a masterpiece that God formed and if we want to know how to unlock the potential in who we are, we need His instructions on how to do it. That is where The Bible comes in. The more of His instructions we apply in our lives, the more of His results we will have an experience. A supernatural life awaits those who do this type of Bible study. Take your study of The Bible to the next level by applying it in the most practical of ways.
Question: In what area of your life could you stand to see some next level results by applying The Bible?
Highlights from the Bible (Deuteronomy)
Deu-ter-on-o-my! Deuteronomy is the fifth book of The Bible, specifically the Old Testament. That reminds me. You might not know this about The Bible, but the more that you read it, it keeps getting better and better. With that said, here are some highlights for you to look forward to when you have made it to this point of your Bible. Say this with me “Deuteronomy”!
- Moses Appoints Leaders from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
- The nation of Israel experiences battles during their time in the wilderness.
- Moses is not permitted into the Promised Land.
- Moses passes The Ten Commandments on to the people.
- The Law or Laws that Govern our land are given.
- Remembering what happened as a result of the Gold Calf.
- The Tithe is established.
- Traditional feasts and festivals are established. There’s one festival that resembles Thanksgiving.
- Moses dies and Joshua becomes the next leader of the nation of Israel.
Uncommon Truth to Pique Your Interest
Resources | Summary of Deuteronomy
If you would like to hear a summary of the book of Deuteronomy, please see the videos we discovered at The Bible Project:
[1] 2 Timothy 3:16 NLT, Bible.com, accessed March 22, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/2TI.3.16.NLT
[2] Luke 6:40 NIV, Bible.com, accessed March 22, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.6.40.NIV
[3] Habakkuk 2:2 KJV, Bible.com, accessed March 22, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/1/HAB.2.2.KJV
[4] Proverbs 15:15 MSG, Bible.com, accessed March 22, 2023, https://bible.com/bible/97/pro.15.15.MSG
[5] Leviticus 25:15-17 NLT, Bible.com, accessed March 22, 2023, https://bible.com/bible/116/lev.25.15-17.NLT
[6] Proverbs 31:8-9 NLT, Bible.com, accessed March 22, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/PRO.31.8-9.NLT
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.
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