By: Jody Apple

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments” (KJV). This magnificent verse contains within it three vital principles that we need to apply to our lives every day. When we begin to use them in our daily affairs, we will be that much closer to living a Christ-like life.

First, we must prepare our hearts to seek the law of the Lord. It is easy to realize that in order to be a doctor or a lawyer a person needs to go through extensive preparation. Years of study and dedication must pass in order to reach the goal. Why, then, do we as Christians so often fail to prepare spiritually for the Lord’s service? Is it because we do not believe it to be important enough? Surely, if we are willing to spend thirty years to buy a house, four or five years to buy a car and several months or even a few years to buy furniture for our homes, we would be willing to spend time in preparation of heart and mind to learn the Word of the Lord. We all have Bibles to study. Within them we have the law of the Lord. Let us all begin to seek it more diligently.

Second, we must begin to do the things that God wants us to do. It is not enough to know when something needs to be done. In addition to knowing it, we must do it. The apostle John emphasized this when he wrote, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:…He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him….He that said he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 1:6; 2:4, 6). It has been said that the best way to remember what the Bible says is to put it into practice. After all, we are to be “epistles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:1ff), and therefore, we should be living in our lives what is laid up in our hearts.

Third, if we have sought the law of the Lord, and if we are doing those things which the Lord would have us to do, then, we should be willing to teach others about His will. This does not mean that we will just wait until someone asks us about the Word of God, but it means we will actively seek to tell people about the message of salvation. When we sing the song, “Lead Me to Some Soul Today,” we should sing it with the thought in mind that we really are concerned about the salvation of souls. Isn’t it the purpose of the Lord’s church to preach the Gospel to the world? Of course it is! See Matthew 28:18ff and Mark 16:15ff. Let us begin to fulfill our share of the Great Commission (Acts 8:4).

If every Christian applied these principles to their lives, more souls would be taught, more souls would render obedience to Christ, and the Lord’s kingdom would prosper.