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The
following resources are guides to help strengthen
your
relationship with Christ.
All info from The Starting Line: Your New Life
in Christ," © 2004 Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Inc.
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How to Study the Bible |
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The Bible is God's living
Word. It's alive and will come alive in your life as you read it. |
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The
Bible is divided into two sections: |
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The
Old Testament |
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These are 39
books written before Jesus walked on Earth as a man.
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17
5
17 |
historical books (creation
of man and Israel's history)
poetic and wisdom books
prophetic books |
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The
New Testament |
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These 27
books were written after Jesus died and rose from the
dead. |
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5
13
9 |
historical books (life
and teaching of Jesus and His disciples)
books known as Paul's Epistles
books that are called the General Epistles |
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A good way to study the Bible is
to keep a notebook, and as you read, ask these questions:
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1. Who is speaking?
2. What's the setting?
3. What's happening?
4. What are the main points?
5. How does this apply to me? |
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If you are just beginning to
study the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are good books to
start with. These four books begin the New Testament and are known
as the Gospels. They were written by men who knew Jesus
personally. |
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Quiet Time |
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Every morning, set aside a
special time called "Quiet Time." During this time you
can talk with God and let Him talk to you through the Bible.
There are a lot of good methods that can be used for your Quiet
Time. The PRESS method is the one
we suggest. |
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Pray: |
Begin by thanking God
for the new day, and then ask Him to help you learn from
what you read. |
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Read: |
Read a Bible passage.
You can pick up a devotional book to lead you through
this, or just start in the Bible with the book of
Matthew or John and keeping going from there. |
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Examine: |
Ask yourself these
questions: What is the main point of this passage? What
does it tell me about god? About myself? |
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Summarize: |
Do one of the following:
(1) Rewrite the verses in your own words.
(2) Outline what each verse is saying.
(3) Give each verse a one word title to summarize what
it says. |
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Share: |
Talk with God about what
you've learned. Also, take time each day to share with
your friends or family what you learned in your Quiet
Time. |
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Having a daily Quiet Time is
extremely important. It is the key to developing spiritually. If
you will commit to doing these over the next month, you will
have established this habit that is bound to grow and change
your life in amazing ways. Keep the habit going by reading other
books of the Bible. |
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Know Your Position |
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Too many people make the
mistake of measuring the certainty of their salvation by their
feelings instead of by the facts of God's Word. In
Jesus Christ you have a NEW LIFE. See
what God's Word says about your new position on His team... |
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N |
I
am a New Creation in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians
2:20 |
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E |
I
have Everything I need for
life and godliness.
2 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:3 |
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W |
I
am His Witness and His Workmanship,
created for good works.
Acts 1:8; Ephesians 2:10 |
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L |
I
am Loved and accepted completely
in Christ.
Ephesians 1:2-6; Romans
8:38-39 |
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I |
I
am Indwelt by the Holy
Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 John
4:2-4 |
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F |
I
am Forgiven and Free
from condemnation.
1 John 1:9; Romans 8:1-2 |
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E |
I
have Eternal Life in Christ.
John 5:24; 1 John 5:11-13 |
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Trust God! Put your faith in His
Word; not in our feelings. |
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I have written these things to
you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may
know that you have eternal life. - 1 John 5:13 |
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But knowing your position is not
enough. You must begin to workout... |
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7 Daily Exercises |
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Just as physical growth
demands physical exercise, spiritual growth for Christians
demands spiritual exercise. Use seven daily exercises to build
spiritual muscles: |
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1. |
Death
to Self.
If you died with Christ to the elemental forces of
this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to
this world? (1 Corinthians 15:31)
Yield complete control of your life to Jesus Christ
every day. |
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2. |
Daily
Obedience to Christ.
"If anyone wants to come
with me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me." (Luke
9:23)
Every day, commit yourself to obeying God and His
Word. |
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3. |
Daily
Bible Reading.
They welcomed the message with
eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily.
(Acts
17:11)
Spend time every day reading God's Word. Begin by
reading through John or Matthew. |
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4. |
Daily
Prayer.
"Give today our daily
bread." (Matthew
6:11)
Devote time every day talking to God in prayer. |
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5. |
Daily
Fellowship.
Encourage each other daily.
(Hebrews
3:13)
Get involved with your local church, and seek regular
fellowship with other Christians so you can encourage
and build each other up. |
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6. |
Daily
Witnessing.
Everyday... they continued
teaching and proclaiming the good news that the Messiah
is Jesus. (Acts 5:42)
Tell others about Jesus Christ every day through your
words and actions. |
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7. |
Daily
Praise.
I praise You seven times a day
for Your righteous judgments.
(Psalm 119:164)
Praise God every day for who He is and what He has
done.
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Choosing a Church |
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Here are some guidelines for
choosing a church: |
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1) |
Look for a church where
the Bible is taken seriously, taught clearly, and
applied practically.
(See 2 Timothy 3:14-17.) |
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2) |
Look for people who are
responsive to the claims Christ makes upon them in His
Word. Christianity shouldn't be something we put on and
take off with our Sunday clothes. Ask yourself if the
people in this church live in continuous repentance and
faith. Are they maturing in character? Most of all, do
they love one another?
(See John 14:15 and James 1:22-25.) |
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3) |
Look for a church that
will train you to serve. A good church should treat you
as a responsible person capable of ministering and it
should hold you accountable for that ministry.
(See 1 Timothy 4:6-8.) |
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4) |
Look for a church
that's reaching out. Ask yourself, "Do they
sacrifice their time, money, and talents to see that
others at home and abroad experience the good news of
Jesus?"
(See Matthew 28:18-20.) |
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5) |
Beware of the
ever-present cults. These false churches take away from.
add to, or twist the meaning of the Bible. |
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6) |
Find a church that's a "house of prayer for all nations" (see
Mark 11:17). The early church brought together in one
community the young and old, rich and poor, black and
white, and new converts.
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Learn about who you are in Christ.
Check out
SportsDevo.com
for other words of encouragement.
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