Too Much To Give Up

Some people have heard the Good News about forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus Christ, but because of some relationship, or certain practices they think they must employ in business, or some personal ambition or habit, they say that they cannot put their faith in Christ because there is "too much to give up."

It's a good thing to recognize that faith in Christ will radically affect your lifestyle. Even if some aspect of your life is totally incompatible with faith in Christ, what temporary pleasure or benefit can possibly be worth forfeiting an eternity of bliss? What could possibly be worth the prospect of an eternity in the place of "weeping and gnashing of teeth"?

Even if it means breaking a close personal relationship or walking away from every earthly possession, as did Francis of Assisi or Sundar Singh of India, following Christ is worht it. "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain." (Revelation 5:12) That means, He is worth it.

In Paul's letter to the Philippians, Paul gives his testimony of the things he walked away from in order to follow Christ, and why he thought it was worth it. The whole letter is short enough to read aloud in 10 minutes. In his testimony in chapter 3, he employs the accounting terms of "counting as a loss" the things he left behind in view of the "surpassing value" or "profit" of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ personally and intimately. This is the favorite New Testament book of many believers. Jesus asked the question, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36) Work out your own "profit and loss" balance, then run to put your trust in Jesus Christ. He's worth it.

The Christian Home

The Christian home is central to Faith, it is here that children learn to be good Christians and it is here that we forge our lives in the Spirit. Our homes need to be safe, secure, happy places and we must strive to make them homes filled with faith, praise, respect, and love. Often, the cost of living today creates a situation in which both parents must work outside the home. For that reason, it is so important that too short time spent at home to be the best time possible. A good Christian home life is built upon this kind of quality time.

How To Read The Bible For Better Understanding

The Bible is its own best teacher. The Bible however is not arranged like an encyclopedia. You cannot go to Chapter One and read everything about God and go to Chapter Two to read everything about Jesus, etc. Remember when reading the Bible the verses and chapter, breaks are placed in the scriptures by man. Some ground rules defined by Butch Walker need to be set up first:

• Pray first before opening God's Word. Ask for guidance and to be able to accept what is written and to be able to apply His will to your life.
• Never, never read the Bible trying to proof your belief on any subject. It is only human nature to take ideas out of context.
• When you are reading and come across something that does not make sense, reread the paragraph or chapter again. If you still do not understand, write down the problem area and continue onward. You may discover the answers later in your reading.
• Do not read large amounts of the Bible in one setting. Take breaks often or stay with about 4-6 chapters a day.
• Start with the New Testament, people who start with the Old Testament almost never read the Bible all the way through. The New Testament is what is binding on us today not the Old Testament. We need to follow God's will for us today not what was intended for the Jews.
• Forget everything you have ever heard about Jesus, God and the Bible before you start reading the Bible. Don't take what you want it to say with you first.

Now with those in mind, let's lay out the way to read the Bible to let it build on itself:

1. Read "Mark." (It is written in chronological order.)

2. Read "Matthew." (It goes into better detail of some events and adds more about Jesus.)
3. Read "John." (It contains a lot of the life of Jesus not before read, especially his last two weeks before the crucifixion.)
4. Read "Luke" then "Acts." (Both written by Apostle Paul's traveling companion Luke. Acts is a continuation of Luke. It describes the early church and contains the examples of New Testament conversions.)
5. Read "Galations." (It deals with the reasons why we do not follow the Old Testament Laws in a more simplified way than does Romans or Hebrews.)
6. Then read the rest of the New Testament starting at Romans and going to Revelation.
   

Your voyage through God's Word will take about five weeks. It will be the best traveling you can ever take. You will laugh and you will cry. It has everything that makes a very good book, and lots more. It can teach you the most important things for this life and the one to come.