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| Great advice along the Way | ||||||
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Thomas said to him, "Lord, we
don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." (John 14:5-7) |
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| Christianity was referred to as "The Way" in the first century. See Acts chapters 9, 19, and 24. | ||||||
| Read your Bible daily, and obey it. | ||||||
| Find a quiet place, and spend as much time reading God's word as you can - every day. This will form a firm base of understanding that will sustain you throughout your walk. God’s written word is the primary way in which the Lord talks to us. Start out by reading the gospel of John. Then read 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. Don't stop reading the Bible. | ||||||
| But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2) | ||||||
| I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11) | ||||||
| Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17) | ||||||
| Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) | ||||||
| But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17) | ||||||
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If you don't yet have a Bible,
I'll mail a free gospel of John to you. Send me an e-mail, and provide your mailing address. |
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| Talk with God often throughout your day. | ||||||
| Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) | ||||||
| Plug into your local church | ||||||
| Find a church that places a high value on the word of God. Get actively involved in that church. Plug into a Bible study class where you can interact with other believers, make true friends, and ask questions. And when you face challenges in your life, these believing friends will provide the support you need. | ||||||
| Be baptized | ||||||
| Baptism is the outward sign of the inward cleansing by God’s Holy Spirit. The baptism in water illustrates that we have been buried with Him in His death, and raised up with Him in his resurrection to new life. As such, we signify that we have been cleansed of all our sins. We are a new creation washed from sin by His death. The baptism in water is a token of this spiritual cleansing by the Spirit. | ||||||
| Obey Christ’s commands | ||||||
| One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:35-40) | ||||||
| So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12) | ||||||
| This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. (John 15:12) | ||||||
| Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. (Mark 11:25) | ||||||
| Examine your beliefs | ||||||
| Evaluate yourself. Are you are staying true to Christ? Beliefs matter because they influence behavior. | ||||||
| Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. (2 Corinthians 13:5-6) | ||||||
| Share your faith | ||||||
| Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (Mark 8:34-38) | ||||||
| Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. (John 14:11-17) | ||||||
| It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13) | ||||||
| Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:2–6) | ||||||
| Watch out for deception! | ||||||
| God warns us that there are those who will try to corrupt our faith. We will find deception (wolves in sheep's clothing) within our churches, on our TV, even in some books found in Christian bookstores. Your best defense is to remain in the Lord, and to become well grounded in the Bible. | ||||||
| Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:15-23) | ||||||
| But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8-9) | ||||||
| For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3:18-19) | ||||||
| Troubleshooting | ||||||
| We all make mistakes. We tend to stray off the way, and become involved in things that harm our spiritual life and waste time. | ||||||
| The reason? We stray because we turn our focus away from our Lord. Walking in the Way requires discipline. If we neglect the daily disciplines of reading God's word and prayer, if we neglect to gather with other believers, we should not be surprised if we soon find ourselves far off the path and in spiritual trouble. | ||||||
| The solution? Repent and return to the Way. Return to your practices of Bible reading and prayer. Ask the Lord to forgive you for turning away. God will forgive you, and provide encouragement to you through His word, His Spirit within you, and through other believers. | ||||||
| I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ... What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:15, 24, 25 / Read the entire 7th chapter to get the big picture) | ||||||
| Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:19-20 / Jesus speaks to one of the 1st century churches) | ||||||
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This page updated on Feb 4, 2009 |
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.