Do you remember your first introduction to Jesus?  I don’t remember my first introduction, but I remember the impressions I got from his followers. My grandmother was a great example of a Christian for me.  She helped every one who asked, and studied the bible and prayed daily before breakfast.   I also had two very bad examples from chaplains in the Navy, and others that I saw proclaim him but lived awful lives. I let the bad I saw as an adult drive me more than the good I saw as a child and I walked away from him.

I remember meeting Jesus for real at 25 years old.  I remember being overwhelmed and accepting him as the Lord, leader, and savior of my life.  I remember thinking how it could not be true that every bad thing I had done in my life was going to be washed away. I was completely overcome with thankfulness and very aware that the same Jesus knew all that I had done and forgave me anyway.

In the bible John tells us about the first meeting between Jesus and some of his first disciples. Andrew and presumably John himself are disciples of John the Baptist.  As Jesus comes by after being baptized himself John the Baptist tells his two disciples who Jesus really is.  This is the messiah who Israel had been expecting for 400 years.  John calls Jesus, “The Lamb of God,” and the two disciples leave John the Baptist and begin to follow Jesus.

This meeting in a tiny backwater some 60 years earlier changed John the disciples life forever.  John knew where he was as a 70 plus year old man.  He knew what he had been through and how he had gotten to that point in his life.  He also knew where it all began, down by the Jordan river.  Most scholars believe that the unnamed disciple is John and as he writes, he knows this point is the key to his life and wants to recount it for those who will read his letter.

John was young, and possibly a teenager.  He did not have as much to lose as many of the disciples did, but walking away from family was dishonoring and he could still lose his family.  That was a chance he was willing to take.  The other disciples mentioned knew the risks of being associated with the newest messiah in town, but they went anyway.  They knew Jesus was different from the others claiming to be the messiah before him.  John tells of Jesus telling Nathanael what he was doing before he ever met Jesus, through this image Nathanael proclaims Jesus as, “The Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Those disciples knew who Jesus was from the beginning and they followed willingly and they changed the world  I told you a little of my story, so why not share yours?  What was your first impression of Jesus?  Was it so powerful that you would want to write about it in 50 years?  Did a follower of Jesus give you your first impression?  Has your impression changed since the first one?

Paul Tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 that as believers in Christ we are supposed to pray instead of worry.  I just watched Lawrence Bender being interviewed on the Charlie Rose program (Watch the interview here).  Mr. Bender has a documentary coming out called Countdown to Zero. The movie is about nuclear proliferation and how close we are to a nuclear catastrophe.  He says that within the next 50 years there is a 99% chance that we could have a major nuclear attack somewhere in the world.  As I watched the program I could not help but think of how information like this affects people in their daily lives.  How people lose their happiness because they can not stop worrying about when this or an event like this will happen.

My Bible Study this morning was on Philippians 4:8, but backing up a couple of verses it struck me how this show and this verse collide.  As a Christian we are not supposed to let the world around us get so deeply ingrained that it affects our lives.  When we worry, we are letting that thing take the place of thinking about God, and the good things he has done and is doing in our lives.  When we spend time worrying about global catastrophes that we can not change we are actually hurting ourselves and not helping.

Worry does not just come from the global catastrophes.  It comes from heart disease and cancer, from teenagers and young adults.  It lives in so many forms that we can not escape it even for one day.

What are you worrying about that you can not change? Instead of worrying take the advice in Philippians 4:8

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.(NLT)

image by youngdoo licensed under cc2.0

You first need to know that I am weird by nature.  I laugh at things many people would cringe at, so reading this you may think I am nuts.  Having given you the disclaimer… I was reading my daily passages on YouVersion and Psalm 104 was the Psalm of the day.  It is a wonderful Psalm that extols the majesty of God and worships his creative power.  As I enjoyed my read I found the way the Psalm ended funny.  The last three verses are essentially:

I will Praise you all my life

I hope my thoughts please you

P.S. Please kill all the sinners

Amen

If you can’t find humor in that line of thinking you are too serious. Just thought I would share.

Imagine your walking down the street and someone just walked up and pushed you from behind.  They would very easily push you over.  But if you were prepared, say you had taken Karate or Gymnastics and your balance was impeccable even if they hit you with a sneak attack you could recover quickly and not fall.  That is what bible study is to our lives.

Bible study prepares us for the journey through life.  When we read the bible on a regular basis we are more capable of withstanding the onslaught of attacks we receive.  Romans 12:1-2 is one of my favorite scriptures.  In these verses Paul reminds us to renew our minds.  Through this renewal we will become less and less like the world and more and more like Christ.  will we become perfect this side of heaven? No.  Will all the bad stuff that happens in life stop? No.  But we will be able to handle it better.  Jesus never promised it would be easy, He just promised to be there for us.

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Every few months WordPress.com has a featured article that extols the reasons why a person is leaving the Christian faith and why he or she is now an atheist.  It is not WordPress.com that is featuring these articles, it is just the amount of hits these articles get that puts them on the front page of WordPress.com.   I read these articles and become somewhat disappointed thinking about the view of Christianity this person has seen.  But it is the view of American Christianity that most people have.  We Christians  are self centered, money hungry, two-faced, homophobes, that are trying to force everyone that disagrees with us to bow to our wishes.  Look at the treatment of Liberty University over pulling the liberty name off of the Democrat’s Student Club.  We are made to look bad even when we stand up for what we believe, so when we do slip people pile on like a elephant herd on the last peanut.

In John chapter 16 Jesus says, “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.”

When I read this it helped me realize that some people will walk away.  They will walk away from Christianity because life happens, or because they have found many reasons to not believe in the God of the bible.  Lets face it, there are reasons given daily on the TV or in new books or every Easter and Christmas in special segment that magazines run.  If you look you can find a reason almost daily to stop believing because the enlightened do not believe in God, and mainly the God of the bible.  In the parable of the sower Jesus calls this cares.  The cares of the world just became so great that the person walks away from their faith.

So how do we overcome this?

The main thing is to stop focusing on the negative.  Yes you should check everything you read, and no you should not check your brain at the door.  But you should ask yourself how much of this is true and how much is false. Take Creationism for example.  You can’t prove creation ex nihilo scientifically, just like abiogenesis can not be proved scientifically.  Now can we see that one or the other is true absolutly because we are here.  Does your Christian faith rest on whether or not God spoke and created everything, absolutly not.  Salvation requires you to take Jesus as your savior and give him control of your life, not believe in creationism.

Don’t put the weight of trying to learn every nuance of the Christian faith on yourself.  We try so hard to obey when we read, “Always have an answer.”  This has made us overly skeptical of people that are not Christians.  We project a mean spirit when we act like we have all the answers or try to have all the answers.  If someone asks you a question its o.k. to say, “I don’t know.”  They want to look smart so let them, and don’t worry about it.

He told them to love each other and serve each other so we need to serve.  Do we serve well?  No, not all the time but we are human.  We are trying to do better serving.  But it is ingrained in our culture to be self serving and expecting the rest of the world to come to us.  Missional churches are learning to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  Not to get people in the door, but to just serve people and let them know God loves them.

If you are struggling with your faith try focusing on the hungry and hurting.  Give back instead of trying to find fault.  I am not saying that this is the cure for those who are seriously doubting their faith.  I am saying this to those that these few things will begin to help those who are seriously trying to resolve issues.

If you have done your due diligence and really tried to examine the Christian faith.  I mean really tried to prove or disprove it, and you  decide Christianity is not right for you, that’s o.k.  But if you have just heard someone say Christianity ain’t cool and you walk away, then you have done a disservice to what you say you believe and need to really examine what you are saying.  Don’t just give up.

Final Installment of this class I should have a download page up by the end of the week so you can get both the Leader Guide and the Participant Book both.  It takes about two hours to teach the class because you are taking people through the bible that have never looked up scripture before.  Be patient it is worth the effort.

III. Bible Study and Scripture Memorization

What is the Bible? It is made up of 66 books written by 40 different authors over 1500 years on two continents. 2^nd Timothy 3:14-17 says that it is, _____________________

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So why do we study the Bible? Romans 15:4 say

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And Romans 12:1-2 says

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Finally look at Psalm 19:7-11. What does it have to say about the scriptures?

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Through prayer and the study of the scriptures we grow in our understanding and relationship with Christ. We mature in our Christian walk and while we may not understand everything we read at first over time our minds are changed and renewed. Along with scripture reading, comes scripture memorization.

What does Psalm 119:11 say about memorizing scripture?

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In Joshua 1:8 God told Joshua to Meditate day and night on the law and to never let it Leave his mouth so that he will do everything in it. A New Testament example of this mentality toward the scripture is found in Acts 17:10-11. The Bereans Examined the scripture every day.

I memorize scripture by finding a verse that really applies to where I am in my life when I read it. I am always careful to use the verse in context and not to over stretch it meaning. I write the scripture on a 3×5 index card and carry it with me. I read it often and begin to memorize parts of it starting with the book and verse number then the verse itself. I try to stay in the few chapters around where the verse is for a couple of days and really get the meaning of the verse in my head.

Our time spent with God is valuable. You would not try to make a new friend by ignoring the person you want to be friends with. Start your memorization with Romans 12:1-2 this will be your foundation to build your time with Christ on.

If you change your mind you will change your habits. If you change your habits you will change your life.

Sorry it has been so long since I posted the last section.  I have not had Internet service for over a week.

Here is part two of the New Believer’s Class dealing with prayer.

II. Prayer

Prayer is not a wish. Effective prayer can be learned but it may not come naturally to a new believer. Prayer is how we communicate with God, and build our relationship with Jesus Christ. In his book The Spirit of the Disciplines Richard Foster says, “To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.”

Why Do We Pray

We are expected to pray.

Read Matthew 6, how many time does Jesus say when you pray?____________

In 1^st Thessalonians 5:17, what how does Paul tell us to pray?

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Our relationship with Christ determines effectiveness.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Tells us what about our prayer life

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If we are hiding sin Psalm 66:18 says what? ____________________________________

If we are not receiving answers what does James 4:3 tell us is wrong

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In His book Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster talks of Adoniram Judson and how he withdrew for prayer seven times per day, first at dawn, then nine, twelve, three, six, nine, and midnight. And of John Hyde missionary to India, who prayed so much he was nicknamed, “Praying Hyde.”

These were not extraordinary men, they were just Christians living out a life of prayer.

Tenaciousness is part of a prayer life. Read the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-7. How does Jesus say we are to pray for our needs?

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No is still an answer. We want so much to get our way even in prayer. We need to realize that God knows what is best for each and every one of us. He knows more than we will ever know.

Read 2^nd Corinthians 12:7-10, how did Paul respond to his no?

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Read Matthew 26:39, who did Jesus say should get there way? ­­­_____________

I am releasing this in segments on the blog first.  I plan on having it up as a download before the end of the month.  Feel free to share and share alike. This is a work in progress.  If you make changes or add to it, please send me your update and I will credit you and link back to your site on the page if I use the update.

What is a Christian?

A Christian is someone who follows the teachings of Christ.  Romans 10:8ff says:

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”(NIV)

Why do a Class on Being a Christian?

18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(NIV)

I wish I had a class like this when I gave my life to Jesus.  It could have saved me years of development in my Christian walk.

So what did Christ teach?

Christ taught mainly this, 30”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:30-31, Matthew 22:37-38, Luke 10:27-28)

But Christ modeled so much more.  Prayer, Bible Study, Worship, Scripture Memorization, Fasting, Service…

In this class you will be given the basics for:
1) Prayer
2) Bible Study
3) Scripture Memorization

I.  Your salvation is not based on ________________.

Read 1 John 5:11-12 What does it say about eternal life?

Who gives it?_____________________________________________________

Who has it?_______________________________________________________

Why did John write 1 John look at 5:13_________________________________

He also wrote the book of John it says 30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The Life of a Christian is not easy read John 16:33.  Jesus does not promise ease he promises eternal life.  When you feel like you are falling away or doubting, go back to God’s word and reaffirm what you believe even when you feel as if you don’t.

Read John 3:16-17, Acts 16:31, and Romans 10:9.  What do all these verses say about salvation? _________________________________________________________

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Commit these verses to memory, and return to them often.  They will stand as a platform for the rest of your journey in Christ.

But always remember it is not you that is doing the saving.  Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 and Ephesians 2:8-10

We can not boast because we can not save ourselves.  We must put our trust in Christ and him alone for our salvation.

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In Matthew 25 we see a king going off to a far away land and leaving a very large sum of money in the possession of three stewards.  A steward is the one given the responsibility to manage a household. The Greek word translated into English literally is economy. In God’s economy he owns everything and entrusts us to manage what he gives us. No it is not biblical for our government to own everything and distribute it evenly but they think it is. ( I digress)

God gives to each of us and you are in charge of your portion, and whether it is handled wisely or poorly is strictly up to you. We see this played out in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13). First the seeds are people who either accept the gospel of Christ or deny the gospel of Christ. Those who accept the Gospel of Christ will produce either 30, 60, or 100 fold. But what ever you produce you will be held accountable for.

The Talents here are money not talents like we think of.  A talent is said to equal about 6000 denari and a denari is a days wage.  We work about 260 days per year so this would be equal to 23 years of wages.  In those days the man with 5 denari would have at least 2 1/2 life times worth of money.  But he did not use it unwisely, nor did the second man.  They both used what they were given to get more.  They multiplied their gifts for the kingdom.

I retrieved the following quote from Preaching Today.com:

In his Books & Culture article “A Lot of Lattés,” Ron Sider reviews Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money
, a book “about the pitifully small charitable donations of the richest Christians in history.” Sider offers a synopsis of some of the authors’ findings:

Twenty percent of American Christians (19 percent of Protestants; 28 percent of Catholics) give nothing to the church. Among Protestants, 10 percent of evangelicals, 28 percent of mainliners, 33 percent of fundamentalists, and 40 percent of liberal Protestants give nothing. The vast majority of American Christians give very little—the mean average is 2.9 percent. Only 12 percent of Protestants and 4 percent of Catholics tithe.

A small minority of American Christians give most of the total donated. Twenty percent of all Christians give 86.4 percent of the total. The most generous five percent give well over half (59.6 percent) of all contributions. But higher-income American Christians give less as a percentage of household income than poorer American Christians. In the course of the 20th century, as our personal disposable income quadrupled, the percentage donated by American Christians actually declined.

If just the “committed Christians” (defined as those who attend church at least a few times a month or profess to be “strong” or “very strong” Christians) would tithe, there would be an extra 46 billion dollars a year available for kingdom work. To make that figure more concrete, the authors suggest dozens of different things that $46 billion would fund each year: for example, 150,000 new indigenous missionaries; 50,000 additional theological students in the developing world; 5 million more micro loans to poor entrepreneurs; the food, clothing and shelter for all 6,500,000 current refugees in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; all the money for a global campaign to prevent and treat malaria; resources to sponsor 20 million needy children worldwide. [The conclusion of the authors] is surely right: “Reasonably generous financial giving of ordinary American Christians would generate staggering amounts of money that could literally change the world.”

That is all total if you did not get it. Those things and more could be done if just the committed Christians would start giving.   Take care of what you have by being faithful with it.  It is not about success it is not about the big  house or car.  If you focus on those things they will end up letting you down.  It is o.k. to have money and be a Christian but you need to remember where it came from.  Every good gift is a gift from God.

If you go to a church that is not  at least tithing what they bring in.  Find a church that is and support them with all you have.