Showing posts with label 40 Days to a Strong and Firm Faith. Show all posts

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Day 2: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Overview, Part 1

LOOKING THINGS UP (THE PRIMARY SOURCES) FOR YOURSELF

One of the most important things I think we can do is look things up for ourselves regarding the Bible and other things in life. We should never trust man to quote things or understand the quotes correctly. People are sinful and make mistakes. This includes pastors, Bible study leaders, and writers or commentators. So, let’s listen to what they say, but verify. We should look at the primary source for ourselves.

There is yet another reason why we should look up things in the bible for ourselves. It’s because we can then look at the context and at least four verses before and after the verse or passage (Multiple verses) we are studying, even if we go into another chapter or book when we look at the context. It will help us more fully grasp what we study.

Another reason why we should look things up, the primary sources, for ourselves is so we see it with our own eyes and grasp it with our own minds. It helps us to learn it when we see it for ourselves.

But, there is another reason to look at the primary sources for ourselves. In the case of anything regarding life and following Christ is the Holy Bible. It is the Word of God. Psalm 1:2 states:

Psalm 1:2 EXB

2 They love [delight in] the Lord’s·teachings [laws; instructions],

and they think about [meditate on] those ·teachings [laws; instructions] day and night.

We are to be in the Word of God, the Bible, morning, noon, and night, 24/7/365. This will help us to do so.

So, do not trust what I am telling you. I am a human and am sinful. So, look things up for yourself. Make sure that I am correct. Look at the context as well to double-check what I say and teach. When you do this, you are in the Bible and claim it even more for yourself and your life. This leads to a strong and firm faith.

LOOK AT MULTIPLE VERSIONS OR TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE

Let’s be honest. Each of us has our favorite translation or version of the Bible. It’s the one we own and is the one we turn to first and foremost. This is a good thing and definitely is not bad or wrong. We need to find the version which speaks to us the most. However, in order to get the absolute most out of the Bible, we need to study all the versions of the Bible in the languages we read.

Why? You might wonder. Why do we need to study all of the versions?

If we study as many translations of the Bible as possible, it broadens and depends our understanding. We learn more of what God intended and meant. Therefore, it’s the most accurate understanding.

So, when we read the Word of God, we should read a verse within context and read several translations in order to get the most out of it and it will then be also the most accurate. Therefore, dear reader and fellow Christ-follower, I ask that you always keep context in mind and read multiple versions of the Bible. Do so not only with this study, but with life in general.

THE FOCUS VERSES OF “40 DAYS TO A STRONG AND FIRM FAITH: A DEVOTIONAL BIBLE STUDY” ARE 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14

Today and tomorrow, we are going to study this passage of Scripture as a whole and look at it as an overview. Then, for the next 40 days, we will look at every verse and breakdown each part of the verse. Today, I have included four versions or translations of these verses and tomorrow, I’ve included three.

Let’s look at each version or translation on its own and prayer journal about them. Then, let’s look each version against one another and learn from these differences and similarities.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT

13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 14 And do everything with love.

-- NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

PRAYER JOURNAL AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14 NLT

1 Write down any thoughts and questions you have.

2 What jumped out at you the most and why? In other words, list three different things at least which jumped out at you and caught your attention, along with the reasons why.

3 What do these verses mean for your life?

4 What do you want to apply to your life? Why? How? Make an action plan on how to do so.

5 How can these verses help you have a strong and firm faith?

6 What did you say to God about these verses?

7 What did God say to you about these verses?

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 HCSB

13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. 14 Your every action must be done with love.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

PRAYER JOURNAL AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14 HCSB

1 Write down any thoughts and questions you have.

2 What jumped out at you the most and why? In other words, list three different things at least which jumped out at you and caught your attention, along with the reasons why.

3 What do these verses mean for your life?

4 What do you want to apply to your life? Why? How? Make an action plan on how to do so.

5 How can these verses help you have a strong and firm faith?

6 What did you say to God about these verses?

7 What did God say to you about these verses?

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 GW

13 Be alert. Be firm in the Christian faith. Be courageous and strong. 14 Do everything with love.

PRAYER JOURNAL AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14 GW

1 Write down any thoughts and questions you have.

2 What jumped out at you the most and why? In other words, list three different things at least which jumped out at you and caught your attention, along with the reasons why.

3 What do these verses mean for your life?

4 What do you want to apply to your life? Why? How? Make an action plan on how to do so.

5 How can these verses help you have a strong and firm faith?

6 What did you say to God about these verses?

7 What did God say to you about these verses?

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NCV

13 Be alert. Continue strong in the faith. Have courage, and be strong. 14 Do everything in love.

PRAYER JOURNAL AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14 NCV

1 Write down any thoughts and questions you have.

2 What jumped out at you the most and why? In other words, list three different things at least which jumped out at you and caught your attention, along with the reasons why.

3 What do these verses mean for your life?

4 What do you want to apply to your life? Why? How? Make an action plan on how to do so.

5 How can these verses help you have a strong and firm faith?

6 What did you say to God about these verses?

7 What did God say to you about these verses?

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FOUR VERSIONS OF 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14

1 What were the similarities between each of the versions?

2 What do those similarities teach you?

3 What were the differences between each of the versions?

4 What do those differences teach you?

5 How do the differences deepen and broaden your understanding of the verses?

6 How can these verses teach you to live a stronger, firm, and bold faith?

7 What did you say to God about these verses?

8 What did God say to you about these verses?

Day 1: A Strong and Firm Faith

Welcome to:

40 Days to a Strong and Firm Faith:

A Devotional Bible Study

What I really wanted to call this blog post series and book was: “Bold, Strong, Firm, and Unashamed Faith,” but I was afraid that title was too long. As it is, strong and firm might be a bit much. But, is it really?

WHY DID I WRITE THIS BLOG POST SERIES AND BOOK?

I do not know about you, but my daily prayers seem to include: “Mature me and strengthen me in my faith, Lord.” After all, I do not want to have an anemic or weak faith. Just the thought scares me. But, let’s be frank. I’m sure we have high tides and low tides in our faith each and every day. Some moments, we will have great faith, other moments, not so much. This is why I thought it would be a good idea to write this book. It’s to help us to grow in our faith.

How do you develop a bold, strong, and firm faith and what does that look like? That’s what we’ll cover the next forty days.

PRAYER JOURNALING

Before I continue, I think it’s important for me to mention why this book is called a Devotional Bible Study. It’s because it’s part a daily devotional, to bring you closer to God and into His presence. But, it’s also a Bible study in that it brings you into the Bible and helps you read it study it, learn it, and apply it. Put them both together and make it a Devotional Bible Study and you get a way to bring you closer to God and His Word—through digging deep and taking your time—allowing things to simmer and contemplate them all day and night—not just when you read the day’s lesson.

In order to accomplish all of these feats, it’s important to interact with the material I write (and have put in this blog post series and book), with the Bible, and with God Himself through prayer. The more you interact with those three things, the more you’ll get out of this Devotional Bible Study. In fact, there is a simple rule of thumb: The more you put into this Devotional Bible Study, the more you’ll get out of it.

Through doing these things, you’ll develop a strong and firm faith.

Hence, it’s important to prayer journal. In fact, I would say it’s a requirement. If you want to develop a strong, firm, and bold faith, you’ll prayer journal.

Why?

1 It helps you interact with my writing, the Bible, and God.

2 It forces you to slow down so you don’t read so fast and so much that you don’t take the time to digest what you have read and learned.

3 It forces you to think.

4 It brings you to listening and talking with the Lord.

5 It helps you to remember what you have said to God.

6 It helps you remember what god has said to you.

7 It helps you remember what you’ve learned.

8 It helps you remember what God has done in your life, around your life, and through your life.

9 It helps you apply the Word to your life.

10 It gives you something to reflect on later in life.

11 It helps you analyze where you are, what you think and feel, along with what you think and believe. It helps you to see if you are on the right track.

12 A million other reasons I won’t mention at this time.

In short, prayer journaling is by far the most important thing you can do each day, and with your life, as you pray and are in the Word of God.

So, please start to prayer journal. Answer every single question I ask in this blog post series and book. Yep. All of them. Again, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. That’s the rule of thumb here.

WHAT IS A BOLD, STRONG, FIRM FAITH?

Prayer Journal and Contemplation Question: How would you define it?

It’s reflected on the inside AND on the outside. It’s both being and doing. It’s an active and intentional faith at all times. It’s making the choice each day, every moment of the day, to be and act as a person of faith. It’s making God our priority.

We will make sure to let people know if we disagree with them. We will do it out of love as a mere opinion. We will not attack them or be rude, but will just state as a simple fact of how we disagree and why. We will respect their stance and what they do, but we do not have to agree. This is having a bold, strong, and firm faith. It’s living in this world, but not being of it.

Moreover, the most important part of all, regarding having a strong, firm, and bold faith, is this: Everyone will know that we are Christian. It’s not because we are in their face about it, but we allow our way of life to reflect it. We will not allow ourselves to get by with mediocre living and will do our best and work for the Lord in all we do.

Colossians 3:23-24 is how we will live our lives:

Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV

23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Prayer Journal your thoughts.

How can you apply this verse to your life so it will help you have a firm, strong, and bold faith?

What is God saying to you about this verse?

What are you saying to God about this verse?

Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Prayer Journal your thoughts.

How can you apply this verse to your life so it will help you have a firm, strong, and bold faith?

What is God saying to you about this verse?

What are you saying to God about this verse?