The Bible is the most unique book ever written – and there are many facts that prove it. While, like all books, we read it with paper and ink – or even in a digital format, it is the Author (God with a human writer) and content – that separates it from all other books.
God declared King Solomon the wisest man who ever lived. He conducted a huge experiment on himself (Drugs, sex, alcohol, castles, gardens) to determine what really matters in life. His experiment and conclusion are detailed in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. (A fascinating read – especially when compared to the idea of the American Dream and the current state of our society.) His conclusion is in the final 3 verses of chapter 12: “But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
Solomon lived about 550 years before Jesus was born, and about 2,000 years before the invention of the printing press. That means the “many books” he is referring to are each written by hand – typically on scrolls of animal skin or parchment. If he thought “excessive devotion to books“ was wearying back then – imagine what he would think now!
But, don’t miss his most important point – “fear God and keep His commandments – because this applies to every person”. You can only keep His commandments if you know them – and you cannot know them without knowing His Word.
The Bible Is Totally Unique
It is common for people to see Christianity and the Bible as “just another religion – just another holy book”. That isn’t a coincidence. Satan’s primary strategy is to deceive. It makes sense that he would create false religions that appear to imitate the real One. From afar, they can appear similar. However, when studied in depth, the Bible and Christianity are clearly differentiated from all other writings and beliefs.
Written by 40 Authors – Over 1,400 years
The Bible was written by forty different authors, over a period of 1,400 years, by people from multiple nations – using multiple languages – and it all ties together! There is no other spiritual or religious- based writing that even comes close to that statement. That alone is evidence that it is not a work of man but a work of God. Even though a typical Bible is only about one inch thick, it is not a simple book. There is no other writing that covers all aspects of life with such an economy of words. It is God’s handbook for how to live this life now – in addition to how to obtain eternal life – and prepares us for living in eternity with God.
The Bible was Written by God
The Bible declares that it is written by God through human authors. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16). “for no prophesy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21). Note that the “inspiration” isn’t just that God encouraged them to start writing. God’s inspiration is His guiding the authors in what He wants them to say – through their own unique style of writing. The Bible even calls out false teachers who claimed their word was from God but God said it wasn’t. The prophet Ezekiel (13:6) said “They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying ‘the Lord declares’ when the Lord has not sent them, yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word”. There are many warnings in both testaments about false teaching – people claiming they have a word from God when they do not. The only way we can discern false teaching is to know the truth for ourselves. We can’t trust others to know it for us.
The Holy Spirit is our Teacher
In John 14:16 Jesus said “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you”. He adds in John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”. The Bible is The Living Bible because as a believer, the Holy Spirit resides within you and “opens your eyes” to see and understand things from God’s perspective, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:17-18). Think of it as an onion that has many layers. The more you seek God’s Truth – and obey and serve Him, the more He promises to reveal to you. Colossians 1:9,10 can be stated as the entire definition of the Bible in two verses! “that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God”.
There is a lot written in the New Testament about the difference between the flesh and the spirit. Humans have a hard time comprehending the spiritual because our only reference is the physical. Studying the Bible and seeking God’s Will is not simply an exercise in reading His word. To gain “the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” requires a work of the Holy Spirit. As that knowledge begins to grow, we come to understand why the Bible is referred to as “The Living” Bible. The work of the Holy Spirit in us as our teacher is why a one inch thick book can be studied for a lifetime and continue to instruct us!
The Bible Teaches Us about God, Man, Sin, and The Solution
The Bible is God’s handbook for life. It is amazing how it covers virtually all aspects of life. However, the primary point of the Bible is that it reveals God to us. No other so-called holy book reveals their god. In addition to teaching us about God, the Bible also teaches us about mankind. While we also learn about animals, plants and geology – the Bible gives special attention to humans. It is the story of our relationship with God. Unfortunately, “original sin” occurs as early as the third chapter of the first book – Genesis. God is Holy. He is separate from sin. Mankind was created to have a perfect – sin free – eternal, personal, relationship with God. Sin destroyed that relationship and separates us from God. (God is Holy which means apart from sin.) The remainder of the Bible carries us to the Ultimate Solution to our separation problem from God – belief in the payment Jesus Christ made for our sin.
The Bible Affirms Our Conscience
No commandment in the New Testament will go against your conscience (which God instilled in us as a bridge to His commands). That is not true of other religions which will simply expect you to fulfill their god’s will and appease him.
The Bible Has More Prophesy – And More Fulfilled Prophesy – Than Any Book Ever Written
There is no book that even comes close to the amount of prophesy in the Bible – and there is no book that comes close to the amount of fulfilled prophesy in the Bible. Reasons.org states that the Bible contains 2,500 prophesies – of which, 2,000 have already been fulfilled. Some examples are: In 500BC Daniel declared the Messiah would come 483 years after a decree was given to rebuild Jerusalem. He nailed it. He also said the Messiah would be killed. In 700BC Micah said Bethlehem would be where the Messiah would be born. He was born there but his parents weren’t from there. They had to go there for tax purposes – and Mary gave birth to Jesus there. In 5BC Zechariah declared the Messiah would be betrayed for the price of a slave (about 30 pieces of silver). That’s how much they paid Judas to betray Him. Read Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and Mathew 27:35-50 for a few more examples.
The Bible is the Best Selling Book Ever
It is by far the best-selling book ever written, and in virtually every year, still outsells every other book. It’s just a shame that so few people ever really study it! (Barna Research reported in 2020 that only 6% of Christians hold a “Biblical Worldview”).
The Bible Teaches Salvation by Grace Alone
The Bible is unique in that it teaches salvation by Grace. Paul states in Ephesians 2:8,9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God not as the result of works so that no one may boast”. All other religions teach some form of “works” salvation (which means my salvation is based on what I do – earned – rather than what God did). Unfortunately, many denominations of Christianity bring some form of works salvation into their teaching which is not in accordance with the Bible. Understanding the difference between performing good works as a servant of the King – storing up treasure in heaven – and salvation as a gift of God is reason alone to know the Bible.
Every Believer Should Know the Bible
One of the reasons it is so important to know the Bible for yourself is that much of Christianity has drifted from the Truth. This was prophesied in 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires”. This is not referring to false religions but groups who call themselves Christians. God created humans with a desire for autonomy. That is what led Eve to fall in the garden. While many professing “Christians” want to obtain a “fire insurance policy” (they want to avoid hell), they really don’t want to be in submission to Someone else. They are not following true Christianity because they don’t want to be obedient to what God’s Word says. Unfortunately, many professing Christians think God grades on a curve. Since they “try to be good” and “aren’t a bad guy” they believe they are “probably” going to heaven. Biblical Christianity teaches there is nothing I can do to be saved… but Believe. False religions point to a god but their real focal point is on man and what he does (which is exactly what Satan does by taking the focus off God and putting it on ourselves) to achieve salvation.
No One Swears By A False God
Have you ever heard anyone swear in the name of Allah, Buddha, or Krishna? No? It’s because no one does. Those are false gods and the evil one only wants us to swear in the name of Jesus or God the Father. In fact, he doesn’t make up fake names or cute little characters or animals to replace sacred holidays like Ramadan (Islamic) or Diwali (Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain), or Gantan-sai (Shinto). He saves his warfare for the real stuff – like with Santa Claus when we celebrate the Birth of Christ – or the Easter Bunny when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection! Many Christians naively think that believers who don’t promote Santa Clause are too rigid or legalistic. What they don’t realize is that when we teach young children it is a fairy tale that someone “sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake” (something they quickly learn to question) – that it is actually true about God. Psalm 139:2-4 declares: “You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.”
Archeology Supports the Bible
It has been said that there have been more archeological explorations in Israel than anywhere else in the world. Thousands and thousands of artifacts have been discovered that corroborate the Bible but not one piece of evidence has ever refuted the Truth of the Bible!
The devil’s Four Primary Attack Points of Christianity – The Bible, Creation, The Church, and Marriage
Earlier, we mentioned that the Bible covers 4 primary topics: God, Man, Sin, and Salvation. Unfortunately, the “evil one” (also called Satan, the devil, and other names – which primarily mean “deceiver”) has 4 primary targets: The Bible, Creation, the Church, and Marriage. Be warned. He will attack in many ways, but these four are always under attack. Peter warns us in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” His mission is to make himself out to be “like God” and detract people from following the true God. To do so he must attack the Word of God. If everyone knows that the Bible is the Truth and identifies Satan as a created being (angel) of God, Satan can’t possibly be “like” his Creator.
He attacks the Bible. The first time Satan appears in the Bible he does so with Eve in the garden. Genesis 3:3,4 records Eve answering Satan with: “God has said you shall not eat of it or touch it or you will die. The serpent said to the woman you surely will not die!” That dialog right there should be enough reason for all of us to want to know God’s Word. Satan caused question and doubt about God’s Word, and has attempted to do that ever since. He even quotes scripture (in error) when he tries to tempt Jesus in Matthew 4:6 and Jesus corrects him!
He attacks Creation. His second attack point is Creation. It would be hard to be “like” God if God created him – and the Bible says He did – in Ezekiel 28:15 “you were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you”. Clearly Creation is a very big deal to God. He begins the Bible with it in Genesis 1 and 2 and in Romans 1:20 Paul says “for since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse”. Paul declares that everyone knows of God through creation – and even adds that all are without excuse (for claiming they don’t know God). Therefore, Satan must attack Creation. All you need to do is turn on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel, or sit in a high school biology class to hear how effective Satan has been with the deception of evolution – a concept that only took hold as recently as the 1850’s. Prior to that, the idea of evolution was considered absurd.
He attacks the Church. The third attack point for Satan is the Church. Ask anyone to define “church” and they will start to tell you about a building or denomination they attend or know of. Those are all man made institutions but not what Jesus was referring to when he said “I will build my Church” in Mathew 16:18. A key distinction of Christ’s Church is “that they may be one, just as We are one.” (John 17:22). The Church of God is to be recognized by it’s unity and love for one another. Satan has been very effective with stirring up denominationalsim and differing doctrinal teaching that has all but destroyed that directive. Today the definition of Church is hotly debated within Christianity which results in division and corruption of God’s Word.
He attacks Marriage. The fourth attack point is the family headed by a man and a woman. Marriage is an institution given to us by God. Genesis 2:24 states “ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” When Satan can take apart the marriage and thereby the family, he has effectively damaged ministry. It has clearly had a devastating impact on Christianity and society. Today forty year marriages are becoming less common than the number of homosexual marriages being performed. Our culture is morally disintegrating before our eyes as rapidly as the two parent (male and female) household.
We Are at War
A famous book on war is “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu written in 500BC (BC has always meant Before Christ – it is very new that they have changed that to BCE which means “before the common era”!). A key focal point of the book is “know your enemy!” A direct quote from the book says; “If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself”. The Bible reveals God, Man, and demonic activities and their strategies to us. Paul declared we are in a spiritual war: “put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11, 12). It is no wonder that Christianity is so weak in America today. Bible knowledge is at it’s lowest point in our nation’s history. Just because we have forgotten who our enemy is, or that we should be prepared for war, doesn’t mean that Satan is backing down. In fact, he is on the attack. The instruction of Ephesians 6 is that without “putting on” the Word of God and prayer every morning, you may as well head out into (what the Bible refers to as) “the evil day” – stark naked with a toothpick in your hand – believing you are prepared to do battle with evil. You aren’t, and the state of the Church in America – with it’s decline of Bible knowledge (and preparedness) has proven it.
How to Study the Bible
The Bible can be intimidating to those who haven’t spent much time in it – which is understandable. It is the most important book ever written, and most have never read it. Therefore, it is also the most misunderstood and misquoted. The Bible says in Matthew 7:13,14 “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life , and there are few who find it.” That passage means the majority of people do not know the Bible. And, since it is such a significant book and declares itself to be authoritative, most ignore it or simply try to malign it rather than learn it.
However, when you dive in and seek to learn it, you find it is not hard at all. It contains different forms of literature – History, Poetry, and Prophesy as examples. Jesus also spoke in Parables (a story) and often in hyperbole (to exaggerate a point). There are methods to reading it that can help. The more time you spend in the Bible, the clearer it will become. A gym loaded with free weights can be intimidating to the uninitiated, but once a coach or instructor provides an overview, it isn’t nearly as scary. The same is true for scripture. A guide can be very helpful, but isn’t required.
Observation, Interpretation, Application
Observation. Is simply that. Just read it! Don’t inadvertently put something there that isn’t there, or ignore something that is there. One of the biggest detractors to Observation is speed. We are inundated with news articles, emails, texts, social media, etc. To get through it all we have been trained to read extremely fast. However, if you read the Bible that way you will miss most of it. It is an amazing book because so much knowledge (the wisdom of God!) is packed into virtually every verse – so slow down! Ask yourself what you just read in a verse or passage. Read it within the context it is written. Digital Bibles are handy for portability, but there is nothing better to slow you down than a pen in hand with a printed Bible. Be sure to underline the passages that have special meaning to you today. Doing so will slow you down to ask yourself whether that passage should be underlined. Take notes in the boarders. Don’t be concerned about what style of writing it is – it will usually tell you or be obvious.
Another detractor to understanding is preconceived notions. Previously understood doctrine or theological positions can often skew the plain understanding of scripture. Since many think a “church” is the local building on the corner, when they see “church” in the Bible they think that’s what it refers to. The Church in the Bible is all believers in Jesus. If a letter is written to the church at a city – it is referring to all the believers in that city – not a specific building or unique gathering. Also ask yourself “what’s the ‘therefore’ there for”? Paul uses therefore and “if/then” as major pivot points. When you come to a “then” and forgot the “if”, go back and reread it. You are reading for understanding and knowledge – not the number of words read. Capitalized words are not screaming at you or emphasizing a point. They are quotes in the New Testament that are from the Old Testament. In the New American Standard Bible (NASB) version, italicized words are not there for emphasis. It means the translator added a word that wasn’t in the original manuscript to make it easier to read. Paraphrased versions don’t do that because many of the words weren’t in the original manuscript – but more on that later.
If you have not made the decision to follow Jesus at this point keep reading. However, it is best not to pursue scripture from a skeptical point of view. If you take the position that you want to pursue it to determine if it’s true, the Holy Spirit will most likely convict you that it is. If you read it believing it to be false, God is very gracious and will probably allow you to continue to believe that as well. Unlike many religions, He does not force anyone to follow Him.
Interpretation. This is where most conflicts within Christianity occur. There is only one correct interpretation of any given passage of scripture. It is “the author’s intended meaning”. Our quest is to figure out what that is. It’s possible we may not at this time in some instances. Probably because we don’t have enough information. Paul said “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face, now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). While this may be discouraging, you can be encouraged that you will never “master” the Bible. Because the Holy Spirit is your teacher, you will always be learning something new. We shouldn’t “try to read between the lines”. We definitely shouldn’t try to look for codes or symbols. There may be some passages that take further study to understand – or maybe we never will. The good news is that most of the Bible is very clear and not hard to understand. But you have to read it to figure that out. The most important thing to remember is to read the passage in context. When scripture is used in error, it is usually taken out of context.
A commentary, foot notes, and other extra-biblical (outside of the Bible) sources can be helpful for additional information, but be warned. While the writing may be in your Bible, those sources aren’t Scripture – they are the writers opinion about scripture – and they could be wrong.
Another tool that will guide you well is to “only let the Black and White interpret the Grey”. Our goal is to seek the Author’s Intended Meaning. We are also seeking the heart of God. Proverbs 16:2 says “All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight but the Lord weighs the motives.” In other words, our sinful nature may cause us to manipulate and twist scripture so we have the outcome we want – and we often don’t even know our own motives. The poster child for this is divorce. Malachi 2:16 says “for I hate divorce says the Lord”. But there are New Testament passages where the Jews argue, and ask Jesus why Moses “gave a writ of divorce” (Mathew 17:7). Many grab on to some of the passages to say “God is ok with divorce – after all, He wants you to be happy”! Any passages they are referring to at best would be considered “grey” because the passage may not necessarily be dealing directly with the issue. Malachi 2:16 is very black and white. When you aren’t sure of a passage but another exists that makes it clear, you will never go wrong by sticking with the clear passage! Remember, we are seeking the heart of God, not what we can get away with. And, by the way, the Bible never says “God wants you to be happy”.
Application. While it is true, there is only one correct interpretation, there can be many applications. Your gifts and abilities may lead you to a very different action than what someone else may choose to take. How they choose to honor their Mother and Father (Ephesians 6:2) will probably look different than how you do it. However, don’t miss this point. God doesn’t want us to only have knowledge of His Word. He expects us to apply it! James 1:22 says “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves”.
Which Version of the Bible Should I Read?
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. The New Testament was written primarily in Greek. We don’t have any of the original manuscripts. However, we do have thousands of manuscripts that are very ancient copies of the originals. One method of determining accuracy of a manuscript is whether it matches with the majority of others. As a result, along with more recent findings of even older dated manuscripts (like the Dead Sea Scrolls), we have a lot of confidence in the accuracy of the Bible we have today.
Without going into a lot of detail, there are primarily two types of Bible versions. One is ‘word for word’ translations (formal equivalence) like KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV, NET to name a few. The other is ‘thought for thought’ translations (dynamic equivalence) like NIV, NLT, the Living Bible, and the Message. The theoretical purpose of dynamic equivalence is to make the Bible easier to read and understand. The danger of it is similar to any commentary. It is someone’s opinion of what a passage of scripture says – not necessarily what scripture actually says. Most people who are serious about knowing the word of God choose a formal equivalent style of translation. The King James (KJV) was the granddaddy of them all, but has typically been replaced by the New American Standard Bible (NASB) as very accurate but without the “king’s English).
Study Bibles can be helpful. They provide references to other similar passages of scripture, footnotes, commentaries, maps, etc. However, since the words are all printed on the same page, it is easy to confuse it with actual scripture. Remember that it is a person’s opinion on a passage – not actual scripture. Having some knowledge of the “author” of the study bible will be helpful to guide you more accurately to the truth of scripture.
The Word of God is solid food which both Moses and Jesus said we need to feast on every day. Moses said it in Deuteronomy 8:3 “man does not live by bread alone but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord” and Jesus repeated it in Mathew 4:4 man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”. The metaphor is that we eat food every day and we should consume God’s Word every day. Those words weren’t written for our pastors so they consume it every day and we consume it once a week. They were written for all of us. Having an accurate translation is key to good Bible study.
Developing New Habits is Key to Spiritual Growth
We all have habits. Some are good – for hygiene, work, and play, etc. Regardless of where you are in life right now, if you don’t make your spiritual growth and maturity a habit, the weeds (distractions) of this life will choke it out.
Use a Bible App
Bible apps like Uversion, Olive Tree and others can be very helpful in creating new habits. They offer daily devotionals, and guides to read through the Bible in set periods of time. Some of them have virtual study plans that you can share with a friend. It can be helpful to discuss what you recently read as well as hold each other accountable for staying on track. (Use caution when reading the Bible digitally as it can promote speed reading – like everything else we do on line. Scripture should be read slowly to ensure comprehension. )
Buy a good devotional
Many begin each day with a good devotional like those written by Walt Henrichsen (found at leadershipfoundation.org). In addition to being very bible based, there is scripture and comments for every day of the year. Having a date associated with the reading helps you keep on track to stay in the Word every day. In Deuteronomy 8:3 Moses said “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord”. Jesus quoted the same thing in Mathew 4:4. It is rare for most of us to go a whole day without eating something. The metaphor is that God’s Word – food for our soul – is supposed to be like food for our body – which we consume every day. In Ephesians 6:10-17 Paul used the metaphor of a soldier putting on armor to go to battle. As you mature in God’s Word, you begin to realize every day is a spiritual battle for the believer. God wants us to “put on” His Word every day for our protection. We all live by calendars and appointments. Make an appointment with God first thing every day. He doesn’t need you to be “religious” about it. We all have conflicts from time to time. He just wants to know the He is most important to you. Develop a habit of being in God’s Word and prayer every day.
Pray Every Day – With Purpose
For most weak believers or non-believers prayer is a negotiation with God that if he relieves their pain they will do something for God. Paul said in Colossians 4:2 “devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving”. You can pray while you’re driving the car or mowing the lawn but when you understand the nature of prayer, you realize it needs to be much more than that. Many say that when they pray they try to hand their cares to God but then drift into mentally fixing their problems that they are sharing with God and forget they were praying. Some say it feels like they are a TV and someone else has the remote and keeps changing the channels! Why would Paul say “keeping alert in it”? For exactly that reason. It means prayer needs to be intentional and we should keep distractions to a minimum. While praying can occur any time throughout the day, protracted prayer is something Jesus thought was important to do (Mathew 14:23). His example is one we should follow.
A useful tool is the acronym of “ACTS”. The reminder is the Book of Acts in the Bible. The A is Adoration. Begin by praising and admiring God. It’s easy to do. He’s awesome – just look at His creation! Next is C, for Confession. God knows everything we’ve done. Confession isn’t revealing it to Him, it is the verbal admission of our failing and our need for Him and His forgiveness. It is a crucial part of prayer. If you don’t remember your sins, ask God to remind you. Things will often come to mind you wish you had forgotten about. The T is for Thanksgiving. It’s easy to present our requests to God without an attitude of gratefulness. Ever been around a spoiled child who just always wants more? So has God. Thank Him! The S is Supplication. This is where we “make our requests known to God” (Philippians 4). Many add an I in front of the S for Intersession. This is where we pray for others.
To keep others from “stealing the remote”, it can be helpful to write down your prayers. It is helpful to see God’s answers to prayer but it is also a helpful tool to help you stay focused. The Notes section on a smart phone can be handy for that. It is also useful for listing all the people or issues you want to pray for on a regular basis.
For a great example on Prayer (and humility) read Psalm 51 – and pray it to God!
Listen to good Christian radio – music and podcasts
It’s true, we are what we consume. Good Christian music helps us get grounded in Christ rather than the world. We can also listen to Christian talk radio. Be careful, because like TV evangelism, there can be a lot of false teaching out there. Which is why we want to “have our senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).
Gather with fellow believers
Hebrews 10:24,25 says: “let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some…”
The author of Hebrews says we should gather with fellow believers. We should do so for encouragement, to love one another, help with each others burdens, remember Christ at the last supper by eating bread and drinking wine, reading of scripture, perform baptisms, and prayer.
Join a Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) Near You
Billy Graham’s 1958 Crusade in California was the impetus for BSF. It is the Granddaddy of all bible studies and is available all over the world. The structure has typically been a classroom setting with a larger group followed by smaller breakout groups for further discussion. BSF has recently implemented live video based studies that often have participants from around the world.
Seek And Pray for Qualified Person to Disciple You
Unfortunately real Christian discipleship is rare today. One of the reasons is that there are so few spiritually mature believers. We see many Biblical examples of one on one discipleship from Moses and Joshua to Elijah and Elisha to Paul and Timothy. One on one is not required for spiritual maturity, but it does have the highest probability for success. It should begin with the father in the home, but if you’re reading this, that probably didn’t happen with your earthly father. Be aware, though, that Moses in Deuteronomy 6 teaches us that it is our responsibility to teach our children about God “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up”. Pretty much covers “all the time”! If you still have the opportunity to teach your children or look forward to doing so in the future, let that be a primary motivator for learning all you can of God’s Word!
No Jesus = No Peace / Know Jesus = Know Peace.
Jesus told us He came to bring us peace. In John 14:27 He said “My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you.” When most people think of peace, they think of circumstantial peace. In other words, their degree of “peace” is a measurement of their problems. In Mathew 6:34 Jesus said “do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Clearly Jesus sees the world as broken by sin, and therefore full of problems. So the peace He offers is not in our circumstances but a spiritual peace. His peace is a matter of perspective. When our focus is on this life and the world, we will not find peace. Our amount of peace can often be measured by how well we know God. Therefore “No Jesus = No Peace. Know Jesus = Know Peace!”
Perspective – Discipline – Purpose
Perspective
In the Prophetic book of Isaiah God declared “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” (Isaiah 55:8). The Apostle Paul told the people of Corinth: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Those statements combined mean that our natural, human perspective is flawed. Every human being does things and says things in accordance with their perspective. You could say “Perspective is Everything”. The problem is unless we take on “the mind of God”, our perspective will always be flawed. It is stained by sin. The only place we can gain the mind of God is in His Word. We must gain a Biblical Perspective.
Discipline
God’s Word is constructed such that God does not want us to read it one time through, check the box, and conclude “yup, I’ve got this…” That is why the Bible is The Living Bible. The presence of the Holy Spirit within you is your Teacher the remainder of your days while on earth. However, He isn’t going to just force it on you. You need to seek Him. And you seek Him through His word and prayer. Like anything else in life – that usually takes discipline. Without discipline, it is doubtful anyone can grow in Spiritual Maturity.
Purpose
Many have said life on this planet is “the seed time for eternity”. In Psalm 90 Moses points out the eternality of God, the brevity of life for man on this planet, and asks God to “teach us to number our days that we may present to You a heart of wisdom”. Paul said in his second letter to the people of Corinth: “for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
After answering the question of whether we believe that Jesus death and resurrection pays for all of our sins (salvation), each of us needs to ask ourselves “how now shall we live”? Paul said in both of his letters to the believers in Corinth that all believers will come before Jesus and be rewarded for what we have done on earth. This event has nothing to do with salvation. Throughout the New Testament God asks us to “bear fruit” – which is to witness to others, and help others grow in their walk with Christ. For that, He offers us “treasures in heaven” (Mathew 6:20). Like heaven itself, we only get glimpses of what those treasures might be. At the outset, God asks us if we trust Him. After being Born Again, God asks us if we trust that the heavenly treasures He offers will be worth far more than the treasures this world offers; treasures which will be destroyed by rust, moth, and that thieves will break in and steal. (Mathew 6:19).
Jesus didn’t die on a cross in our place just so we can go to heaven. We were created to serve our True King. In our sin, we were servants of sin. Through belief in Jesus, we enter the Kingdom of God and become His servant. 1 Corinthians 12 gives a tremendous overview of the different gifts that God gives to all believers. We need to determine our “Time, Talent, and Treasures” (gifts) to figure out the best way to serve our King. While God does give us indications of our gifts, He doesn’t typically reveal His “specific plan for our lives”. Many Christians pray that God will “reveal His will for their lives”. We don’t see any Biblical basis for that idea. His Word is pretty clear about serving Him through the use of our gifts. Moses’ prayer in Psalm 90 seems to be a good way to pursue that.
It has been said that “God determined your standard of living in this life – you determine your standard of living for eternity”. It is all a question of faith. Do you trust Him?