In the first verse of the Bible, we meet the most fundamental of all truths: that God is real. The challenge is to live as those who truly do believe this great truth — practically as well as theoretically.

The good news is that God has triumphed over sin in Jesus Christ — and the message of this victory is the message of grace. This is the truth that the Bible ends with in its very last verse.

Being a disciple is more than being a “nominal Christian” or merely a “church member.” So what is involved in real discipleship? What is it that disciples do that makes them “disciples”?

The fact of God’s “providence” should impact our lives in practical ways. There are at least four areas where God’s providence should make a real difference in the way we conduct ourselves.

With our decisions, we are building up a “self” that will find it progressively more easy to act in certain ways and more difficult to act in others. None of us is standing still — with every choice we are becoming more like God or more like Satan.

As we consider the plan of salvation and the process of our communication of the message, let’s not forget the purpose of the whole thing — a personal relationship in which people actually know God and walk with Him.

If we are serious about the question of who we really are, the place to begin is the beginning: we must come to grips with the fact that we are nothing less than God-created beings — made in His own image!

To be a Christian — God’s created child and bound for heaven — is to have a purpose for living that gives meaning and significance to every single day.

In the New Testament, the “meaning” of baptism is two-fold: it is a burial to the old life — and a resurrection to the new! Understanding the second part is no less important than understanding that baptism is for the remission of sins.

In every possible way, the devil would like to hinder the Lord’s people in their work as local congregations. What are some things we must do to meet the devil’s challenges?

Our main emphasis must be on the end of the story. Heaven is worth whatever hardships we may endure in the short term. In due season, we shall reap an eternal harvest!

The building of the ark that saved Noah was an accomplishment made possible “by faith” (Heb. 11:7). What were the characteristics of the faith that saved Noah?

We can’t compel our community to obey the gospel, but we can sound forth the word of the Lord such that everyone in our community knows we are here and what we stand for. We can be and must be “innocent of the blood” (Ac. 20:26) of all within our reach.

God’s way of helping us see our need for correction is often to send friends to show us that what we are pleased to call our “mistakes” are just as much sins as if someone else had committed them. Consider Nathan’s talk with David.

May we gladly accept the salvation of our souls through obedience to the gospel of Christ — then may we have the trust in our Heavenly Father to seek the help He is ever able to give us in any need.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Life is too consequential not to be deliberate about it. Our convictions and conduct should follow this order: we should (1) carefully settle on our convictions and then (2) fit our lives to those convictions.

In the past, God has demonstrated the power with which He is willing to help us (Rom. 8:31,32). So how is what God has done in Jesus Christ in the past connected to what He will do on our behalf in the future?

As with our material possessions, time (the very “stuff” of life itself) must also be sacrificed for the Lord — and we may be less willing to give our time than our money. Too often, the Lord only gets what little of our time is left over.

Whatever other abilities we may not have, we all can do good by the use of encouraging words. May our goal be to have a refreshing and encouraging effect on those we deal with.

The original recipients of Hebrews were in danger of falling away from the faith because they were failing to properly consider and value their salvation in Christ — we can’t afford to take our salvation for granted.

We can’t go “all out” for one thing and then truthfully claim another is more important (Mt. 6:24). Where our priorities are, there will our energy and enthusiasm be also.

If we become too busy for the activities God has designed for our personal spiritual growth, we are in serious jeopardy. These things can hardly be done “on the run” — they take “quantity” time as well as “quality” time.

None of us study the Bible as much as we should, but even when we do study, we often fail to get all that we should from the text. Here are ten suggestions that will help you get more out of the time you spend studying God’s word.

How willing are we to hear when God warns us, through the prophet Malachi, in regard to: our responsibilities as a spiritual priesthood? our attitude toward His marriage law? our practice of public and private worship?

We do not think about the death of Christ as much as we should — or emphasize it adequately in our preaching. But truly, the cross is the heart of the gospel. The gospel of Christ is nothing less than the “message of the cross” (1 Cor. 1:17,18).

It is no exaggeration to say that the death of Jesus of Nazareth by crucifixion is the pivotal point in world history. The cross of Christ is the “crux” of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-5), and without the cross, Jesus is not the Christ and the gospel is not good news.

Too often we think that we don’t have much influence in the world. When it comes to influence, most of us don’t see ourselves as having much opportunity. But the truth is, there are plenty of simple ways that all of us can influence others for good.

We must not only be saved from sin, but we must stay saved — we must not only believe in Christ, but we must keep on believing. The life of faith begun is virtually worthless if it is not completed (Hb. 6:11,12). What, then, is involved in having a faith that lasts a lifetime?