{"id":3349,"date":"2019-01-28T18:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T18:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpmu.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/?p=3349"},"modified":"2021-12-08T09:22:06","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:22:06","slug":"back-to-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/2019\/01\/28\/back-to-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kevin O\u2019Brien, Brand Manager<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world goes by at a million miles per hour, and it seems\nto get faster and become more complicated at every turn. It\u2019s quite easy to get\ndistracted, disgruntled, and even disillusioned. We chase so hard after the\nthings we think we are supposed to pursue\u2014success, respect, love, money, etc.\nWe adopt the causes we are supposed to adopt, get outraged over the latest injustice\nthat we are supposed to be outraged about. And next week it all changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Somewhere along the way, as the routines and cares of the\nworld have distracted us, we have forgotten the reality of our faith. In all\nthe busyness of life, our faith threatens to float away like dandelion seeds in\nthe wind. We need a firm foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to get back to basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The <\/a>Christian Basics Bible<\/a><\/em> reminds us what our faith is all about in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a Christian\nis not about deciding to live better, trying to be more holy, going to church,\nor following certain religious practices or behaviors. It is about beginning a\npersonal relationship with God. Religious rules and duties will always end up\ntying us up, as Jesus often reminded the highly religious Pharisees of his day.\nJesus came not to tie us up but to set us free (see, e.g., John 8:31-32;\nGalatians 5:1). He came with good news (the meaning of the word \u201cgospel\u201d); and\nthis good news is that ordinary people\u2014even people who feel unworthy or have\nfailed or have done bad things\u2014can know God personally and live in harmony with\nhim. (p. A11)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That\u2019s a pretty \u201cback to basics\u201d truth right there. It\u2019s\nalso unbelievably freeing if we take the time to actually read it, digest it,\nand be changed by it. But the busyness of life, even the trappings of our\nfaith, can rob us of this truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can we make a practice of getting back to basics, of\nbeing a \u201cbasic believer\u201d? There are a lot of good answers to that question, but\nhere\u2019s a starting point, a first step if you will. In the book of 2 Timothy,\nthe apostle Paul wrote to his young apprentice Timothy. Timothy was leading a\nchurch in the city of Ephesus. Ephesus was rich, influential, and cosmopolitan.\nIt was a center of religion and commerce and the most important city in the\nRoman province of Asia. It was the place to be. In fact, minus the technology,\nit probably had a lot of similarities to the type of crazy environment we find\nourselves in today. Unfortunately, the church in Ephesus had all kinds of\nproblems. Here\u2019s what Paul tells Timothy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPreach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is\nfavorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with\ngood teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound\nand wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for\nteachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will\nreject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in\nevery situation. Don\u2019t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling\nothers the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.\u201d (2 Timothy\n4:2-5, NLT)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019s what the Christian Basics Bible<\/a><\/em> says about this passage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lack of studying Scripture\nhad led the Ephesian church to be led astray by every new idea that came along.\nSo Paul urges Timothy to keep studying Scripture so he can use it to correct\nerror and explain the truth (4:2-5). We need this book because it is not like\nany other book, secular or sacred. It is \u201cinspired by God\u201d (3:16). That is,\nGod\u2019s Spirit directed the thoughts of its writers so that what they wrote was\nexactly what God wanted written. The Bible is therefore God\u2019s revelation to\nus\u2014revealing his nature, heart, and purposes\u2014and his invitation to join in his\nstory. (p. 1387)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you\u2019re not in a pastoral role like Timothy\u2014and maybe you\nnever will be\u2014but the advice still stands. The only way Timothy could teach\nothers was to be captured by the truth himself, to really know it. Getting back\nto the basics of our faith and of our relationship with God starts with getting\nback into his Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to be a basic believer. How about you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Take a Look <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the Christian\u00a0Basics\u00a0Bible<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kevin O\u2019Brien, Brand Manager The world goes by at a million miles per hour, and it seems to get faster and become more complicated at every turn. It\u2019s quite easy to get distracted, disgruntled, and even disillusioned. We chase so hard after the things we think we are supposed to pursue\u2014success, respect, love, money, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,15,44,45,52],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5829,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions\/5829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu3.northcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}