His Precepts-Bible Study Acrostic

His . . .


P-ray first and ask God to teach you more about Him.

R-ead a passage, it’s best to have a plan (see below).

E-xample to follow-Ask yourself is there an example to follow in this scripture? Think of Paul in prison, feet and hands bound, there fore years. But what was Paul’s attitude? To whine nd complain? Paul’s attitude was joyous. That tells me there’s an example that I need to follow. In the difficult circumstances of my life instead of responding with whining and complaining, I’m to respond like Paul did. With rejoicing.

C-ommand to obey- Command to Obey is the next. Is there a command to obey? God does not give us options in His Word. He does not say, "Would you please love each other if you’re having a nice day and everything’s going ok." God just says, "Love each other from the heart. You’ve been cleansed from sin, now love each other." Much of what God gives to us are flat out commands that we are to obey whether we feel like it or not.

E-rror to avoid-Is there an error to avoid? Do you remember Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts. They did a real stupid thing. They lied to God. Because they lied to God, God killed them on the spot. That tells me that is an error to avoid! I do not want to lie to God. There is consequences.So when we come to Scriptures like that, write it down. There’s an error to avoid.

P - Is there a Promise to claim?

T - Truth to believe. The same as with commands to obey, there are some difficult truths in scripture. We have the obligation and responsibility to believe them whether we understand them or not. If you come across some passage of scripture and think, "This does not make sense at all" rather than arguing with God about it, rather than saying, "Until I understand it I’m not going to obey it," you just say, "God, this is a truth You’ve said. I’m going to believe it and trust that in the days and years to come, You will make it clear to me what You meant by this."

S - Is there a Sin to confess? As I’m looking at this passage of scripture do I see a sin here that I need to confess from my own life. Almost always -- God is so good to show us sins that need to be confessed. I never can come away from the Word without finding something in my life that I need to confess to the Lord.

S - Something to thank God for. There is always something in Scripture that you can praise the Lord for. It’s either about Him, His character, something He’s done for you or someone else. Cultivate that heart of gratitude as you read through scripture and meditate.

"Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done." Colosians 2:7