Christian Basics Bible – New Living Translation

Growing as a Christian

Evie Polsley — Fri, 31 May 2019 16:49:13 +0000

“Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.”
2 Peter 3:18, NLT

The birth of a baby always brings excitement to a family, but how worried that family would be if the baby always stayed a baby! After all, babies are born for one thing: to grow up. And that’s exactly how it is when we become Christians. God does not want us to stay spiritual babies; he wants us to grow up, in both our knowledge and experience, as Peter encourages in 2 Peter 3:18.

Businesswomen discussing and having fun

Acts 2:42 lists four key practices that helped the first Christians to grow: “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.”

We can follow their example, first, by studying the Bible—for if we do not read it, how can we know what God is like and what he wants?—second, by sharing fellowship with other Christians to encourage one another; third, by sharing the Lord’s Supper together to remind us of Christ’s sacrifice and to keep him central in our lives; and fourth, by praying—talking to God—both alone and with others. Note that these four things weren’t occasional occurrences; rather, the first Christians devoted themselves to them. Doing the same today will help us grow and mature, not just intellectually, but in a living experience of God’s grace.

Take a look inside the Christian Basics Bible

Giving God Our Best

Evie Polsley — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 08:22:25 +0000

It’s amazing how challenges and struggles that the men and women in the Bible faced are often similar to the ones we face today. Though the setting and context can be different, the heart issue is often very much the same. Read from the Christian Basics Bible about Haggai’s struggle to get the returning exiles to get their priorities straight.

Read Haggai Chapter 1

Haggai’s central challenge was that the returning exiles simply weren’t giving God their best. Of course they needed to build homes and plant fields, but this had become the sole object of their attention. They weren’t content with simple homes but wanted luxurious houses (Haggai 1:4). These personal projects had consumed their resources, leaving little to give to God’s work, meaning that his house (the Temple) remained a ruin (1:4). So God challenged them to bring timber and rebuild his house; then he would “take pleasure in it and be honored” (1:8). Only then could he lift the curse they had brought upon themselves (1:10-11; Deuteronomy 28: 38-40).

It is always easy to rationalize not giving God our best. Here the people were saying that the time wasn’t right (Haggai 1:2). But this was just an excuse. God is realistic – he knows we need a home, clothes, and food (Matthew 6:25-32) – but Jesus said our priority is to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously,” promising that “he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33). When we get our priorities right, God’s provision is always released to us.

Note taken from the Christian Basics Bible. Take a look inside.