A Word Study: An ‘Everyday’ Believer

In Feed Yourself: Learning to Feast on the Riches of God’s Word, we talk about concordances and how to use them. Many Bibles contain a list of words in the back, called a concordance. Sometimes it may be called a topical index. In my New Living Translation Bible, published by Tyndale, it’s called a “Verse Finder.” What it does is tell you where and how many times a word appears in the Bible. Most Bibles’ concordances are never complete, or exhaustive. My NLT Verse Finder, for instance, has only 11 entries for the word “love,” listed by topic or application.

There are “exhaustive” concordances that list every occurrence a word appears. Most notable among them is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, which assigns a number to the original Hebrew or Greek word and lists its every occurrence, no matter how it’s translated into English. A print version of Strong’s is quite bulky and it used to be quite expensive. Now you can download a copy for free onto your computer or phone.

This all came to mind recently when I came across Hebrews 3:13:

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

So I'm supposed to “exhort” (or encourage some translations say) other believers every day. That’s something I should have on my to-do list every morning (I’m a great one for lists) and make every effort to encourage someone or otherwise give them a boost to serve God and others that day.

That made me wonder, what else as a believer am I supposed to be doing every day? What things should I do as an “ordinary” or “everyday” normal Christian.

Using my Bible concordance, I did a search for the words "daily," "every day" and “continually" and similar words in English, looking for verses that suggest what a normal lifestyle looks like for a normal, everyday Christian.

An Everyday Christian…

●     Is sacrificial, putting God and others above himself:

○     “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23)

○     “I die every day -- I mean that, brothers -- just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:31)

○     “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices (see Numbers 38 and 39), holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

○     “So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den.The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you.’” (Daniel 6:16)

Questions: How can I practically carry my cross, lay down my life, offer a spiritual sacrifice daily? How did Paul die every day? What does it mean to offer my body as a living sacrifice? What does it mean that Daniel served God “continually?” How did the King know that Daniel did so?

●     Gives praise and thanksgiving:

○     “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15)

○     “Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.” (Psalm 145:2)

○     “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

○     “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Questions: What’s the difference between praise and thanksgiving? Am I thankful when obstacles or trials appear? Do I give thanks for things that haven’t happened yet?

●     Is in prayer:

○     “Pray continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

○     “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.” (Psalm 55:17)

○     “My eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.” (Psalm 88:9)

○     “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

Questions: When should we pray? For what or whom should we, or can we, pray?

●     Is content and responsible:

○     “Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches but give me only my daily bread.” (Proverbs 30:8)

○     “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

○     “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-13)

○     “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.” (Titus 3:14)

Questions: Does being content mean the same as having a lack of ambition? How might Christians’ daily lives not win the respect of outsiders? Why is it important to win the respect of outsiders?

●     Is in fellowship:

○     “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13)

○     “I pray that you may be active in sharing (fellowshipping) your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” (Philemon 6)

○     “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” (Acts 2:42-48)

Questions: How can you encourage people every day? How can you engage in fellowship on a daily basis? What are the benefits of fellowship to you and to others, both in the church and outside?

●     Is in God’s Word:

○     “For your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” (Psalm 26:3)

○     “Blessed is the man who listens to me (wisdom), watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.” (Proverbs 8:34)

○     “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

Questions: What are the benefits of reading God’s Word daily? What keeps you from reading God’s Word every day? What are some solutions to the problem(s)?IIn Feed Yourself: Learning to Feast on the Riches of God’s Word, we talk about using concordances and how to use them. Many Bibles contain a list of words in the back, called a concordance. Sometimes it may be called a topical index. In my New Living Translation Bible, published by Tyndale, it’s called a “Verse Finder.” What it does is tell you where and how many times a word appears in the Bible. Most Bibles’ concordances are never complete, or exhaustive. My NLT Verse Finder, for instance, has only 11 entries for the word “love,” listed by topic or application.

There are “exhaustive” concordances that list every occurrence a word appears. Most notable is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, which assigns a number to the original Hebrew or Greek word and lists its every occurrence, no matter how it’s translated into English. As you can imagine, a print version of Strong’s is quite bulky and it used to be quite expensive. Now you can download a copy for free onto your phone.

This all came to mind recently when I came across Hebrews 3:13:

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

So I'm supposed to “exhort” (or encourage some translations say) other believers every day. That’s something I should have on my to-do list every morning (I’m a great one for lists) and make every effort to encourage someone or otherwise give them a boost to serve God and others that day.

That made me wonder, what else as a believer am I supposed to be doing every day? What things should I do as an “ordinary” or “everyday” normal Christian.

Using my Bible concordance, I did a search for the words "daily," "every day" and “continually" and similar words, looking for verses that implied a lifestyle or habits that a Christian should follow daily.

Here are some conclusions and follow-up questions.

An Everyday Christian:

● Is Sacrificial, putting God and others above himself:

○ In Numbers chapters 28 and 29 the priests offered daily sacrifices.

○ “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23)

○ “I die every day -- I mean that, brothers -- just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:31)

○ “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices (see Numbers 38 and 39), holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

○ “So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you.’” (Daniel 6:16)

Questions: How can I practically carry my cross, lay down my life, offer a spiritual sacrifice daily? How did Paul die every day? What does it mean to offer my body as a living sacrifice? What does it mean that Daniel served God “continually?” How did the King know that Daniel did so?

● Gives Praise and Thanksgiving:

○ “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15)

○ “Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.” (Psalm 145:2)

○ “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

○ “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Questions: What’s the difference between praise and thanksgiving? Am I thankful when obstacles or trials appear? Do I give thanks for things that haven’t happened yet?

● Is in Prayer:

○ “Pray continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

○ “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.” (Psalm 55:17)

○ “My eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.” (Psalm 88:9)

○ “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

Questions: When should we pray? For what or whom should we, or can we, pray?

● Is Content and Responsible:

○ “Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” (Proverbs 30:8)

○ “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

○ “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-13)

○ “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.” (Titus 3:14)

Questions: Does being content mean the same as having a lack of ambition? How might Christians’ daily lives not win the respect of outsiders? Why is it important to win the respect of outsiders?

● Is in Fellowship:

○ “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13)

○ “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith (with believers), so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” (Philemon 6)

○ “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” (Acts 2:42-48)

Questions: How can you encourage people every day? How would that affect your schedule? How can you engage in fellowship (koinonia – a mutual investment with others for a common purpose) on a daily basis? What are the benefits of fellowship to you and to others, both in the church and outside?

● Is in God’s Word:

○ “For your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” (Psalm 26:3)

○ “Blessed is the man who listens to me (wisdom), watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.” (Proverbs 8:34)

○ “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

Questions: What are the benefits of reading God’s Word daily? What keeps you from reading God’s Word every day? What are some solutions to the problem(s)?

Conclusion: So, an “everyday” Jesus follower, that is someone who wants to be on task for Jesus every day will be in God’s Word, be joining with other believers to be on mission for God, will be content and be personally responsible, be in prayer, praising and thanking God, and putting the needs of God and others above his own.

Caution: Like I said, I like lists. The temptation is to make this a checklist, one to just check the boxes each day. When we pray, therefore, we should pray that we don’t become that way, but that God would shape us to conform to him and that these ordinary, everyday – “normal” -- activities would be an outpouring of love for our Savior and for others.