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To stay in God’s word is very important for the Christian. In First Peter 2:2 the Bible tells us to stay in God’s word as “newborn babies thirst for milk,” it is by doing so that we grow as Christians. It is by doing this that the Born Again Christian allows the Holy Spirit to speak and tell us what He wants in our lives. In Ephesians 6:11-18 we are told that the offensive weapon/the sword is the Word of God. It is with the Word of God that we can have Victory over the Devil. Jesus used the Word of God to defeat the evil one in Matthew 4:4.

So how does a Christian stay in God’s Word, first, by reading a portion of the Bible every day. This needs to be as a special time with God alone. This does not need to be part of some other requirement. This does not need to be homework, class work, or church work. Try to read a book of the Bible over a certain period of time using daily readings.(Example read Matthew over 28 days or John over 21 days- A chapter a day)If you have not read your Bible a lot always start with one of the New Testament books.

Second. try to make note of one to five verses that mean something to you. Either mark them with pencil in your Bible or make note about them in your daily diary. Review them from time to time. Eventually try to memorize a verse a week. Putting God’s word in your Heart is very important. It will help you not sin (Psalm 119:11), it will help you as you walk with God (Ps 119:105), and it will help you battle the evil one (Matt. 4:4)

The third thing to do with God’s Word is to use it in praying with the Father. We can pray it back to God. We can use it as a model of prayer (Luke 11:1-4).We can use it to bless and thank and praise the Lord! (Psalm 103:1-2)

Lastly, let me remind you it is the God of the Bible that is key in studying the Bible. The Bible tells us about God. It helps us to find Jesus who is Lord of all. (John 5:39) Do not neglect the reading of His word. A Christian should make a lifelong commitment to read a portion of His Word every day. It is better to read 30 chapters in 30 days than to read 5 chapters one day, the next day, and then not read it for 20 days. There are great promises connected to getting into God’s Word. (Psalm 1:1-3)

God Bless,

Pastor David Howell

One of the great blessings that we get as born again Christians is joy. C. S. Lewis wrote a book one time entitled Surprised by Joy. My favorite verse about joy is found in Nehemiah 8:10. The context of this verse is during a day of worship and thanksgiving to the Lord after God helped the returning Jews to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem which they needed for protection. During the building, there were no great miracles like in the book of Exodus (as man would see it). But, through hard work and determination even while they were being threatened they rebuilt the wall.

In Nehemiah 8 they heard the word of God all morning long from Ezra and the priests. They then came under deep conviction of their sins and began to weep. But, the religious leaders said Nehemiah 8:10 to them, “Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet and send portions to those to whom nothing is prepared for this day is holy to the Lord, do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’”

In saying this to the people, God was telling them to rejoice in the Lord, to eat and drink and to allow God to be their strength. In fact, God was joyful in this verse and as He was joyful He promised to give strength to His people. It is His joy that gives us joy. It is His joy that gives us strength.

Psalm 16:11, “Thou will show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy: at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” This verse tells us that when we are right with God and in His presence there is fullness of joy. Truly the joy of the Lord is our strength!

There are “false Christian” groups in our midst in America today. How can a person know a group is true or false? The Bible gives us sound advice that we should use to test these “so-called religious groups.” Opinion is not enough.

Just because someone claims to be a Christian church that does not make it so. There are four basic signs that can be used to discern a false group.

1. They always ADD to the Bible, either with more scriptures or they change scriptures to say what they want. They ADD in that they claim to have more revelations and teachings that are needed for one to know God. (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19 and Proverbs 30:6)
2. They always SUBTRACT from Jesus. They offer a different gospel or they offer “another” Jesus. One false group will say that Jesus is not Almighty God but a “little” god. Another false group will say that Jesus is just one of many gods. They often do this so that they can undercut what Jesus says. But for a real Christian what Jesus says is of great importance. (Matthew 28:20; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Corinthians 11:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-2)
3. They always MULTIPLY what it takes to be a follower of God. These false groups “who claim to be the only one with ultimate truth” will often fall into the trap of requiring work and good deeds to earn salvation. The main problem is that a person needs to be saved by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Good works cannot undo the sins of a sinful nature. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 5:6-8; 6:23)
4. The fourth sign of a false group is that they ultimately DIVIDE by saying they are the only one with the truth. Though Christianity has been around for over 2,000 years, they will claim that it is only since they arrived that it has been correctly taught and given to people. Faith in the Jesus of the Bible is the key to Christianity. Most Christian denominations are basically “orthodox” in their beliefs. This means they agree that Jesus is our only hope, the Bible is His Word, there is only one true God, and that a person is saved by grace. (Matthew 24:11, 24; Galatians 1:6-9;

2 Peter 2:1-2)

Please be careful of false religious groups. Learn the simple truths of the Bible so that you may be able to discern the true from the false. (Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 7:15-20; I John 4:1-4)

Pastor David Howell