Who is Jesus? What was it like to follow in his footsteps? What was his message? To whom was it given? Who believed? What is the connection between the narrative and prophecy of the Old Testament and the gospel (good news) of the New Testament?
The New Testament, twenty-seven books written in Greek between AD 50 and 100, reveals the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s promise of a savior—Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John use eye-witness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s promise of the one who would save us from sin and death. And the rest of the New Testament chronicles the spread of Christianity in the first-century world. Together, the Gospels and letters of the New Testament offer wisdom and hope for Christ-followers living in a broken world. And that hope will be fully realized when Jesus returns, as promised in the final book of Revelation.
The ministry of Jesus isn’t just something to be observed. There is a call to action found throughout the New Testament. Jesus called his followers to go into the all the world, making disciples (Matthew 28:19–20). The book of Acts records those first missionary journeys and church plants. Led by Paul and Peter, the earliest believers in Jesus as Messiah set out to share the good news of salvation and to equip local groups of Christians with truth for living transformed by Jesus.
And so, the church was born.
As we know well, throwing off the sin that so easily entangles us and running with Jesus is hard. We get tripped up by tradition. Beset by bad habits. Discouraged by doubts. Caught up in comparison. Worn down by worldliness. And the early church did too; we see it played out all through the New Testament.
Paul and the first evangelists didn’t just covert Christians and move on. They continued to equip and encourage. The letters that follow the Gospels were written to specific groups of Christ-followers within the first hundred years after Jesus’s life and resurrection. In them, we see that the Christian life is only successfully lived when it is empowered by the Holy Spirit and lived within the context of community. In these letters, we find the answers to questions we should never stop asking. What is church life supposed to look like? How are we supposed to engage with unbelievers? How do we admonish the wayward brother or sister in Christ? In what do we place our hope? What awaits us in eternity?
The fulfillment of this last question is breathtakingly displayed in the Bible’s final book, Revelation. In it, God promises that one day there will be no more sin and sorrow, only light and life—Revelation gives us the hope we need to press on.
Take it seriously. Don’t read it thinking, "I know this," even when the words are familiar from years of study. Always ask God’s guidance as I read, and read with an open mind and heart, and always look for application, and be a doer of the word, nott just a hearer. I’m going to try to keep a journal again. It is not a discipline that comes naturally to me.
Ask Him for understanding and to quiet my heart and my brain to be able to focus and receive what He has given in His Word. Then read what it says (looking at the context), working thru what it means both to me as well as those to whom it was written, and then asking what do I do with what I just read. Maybe jotting down a note or two to carry w me thru the day to remind me of what hit me in my study.
Grow with Him & grow with others. No matter where we are on our journey, God is using everyone, everything, every moment, every circumstance as an opportunity to teach us…and His Word applies to all of it. Meditating on it daily, minute-by-minute, helps us gain vision for what He is doing. I am a running coach and I used to teach 11th grade English–I always know I break through when my runners say, "I hear your voice in my head when I want to slow down," or when my students would say, "I heard your voice reading the passages on my AP exam, and I knew what the author intended because of it." I didn’t need to physically do any of it for them: my heart was in theirs. That is what the Presence of Jesus is in our lives: as we live and move and have our being, is it by His Word? Can our thoughts, words, and actions find their foundation in Scripture? Are we rejecting broken vision because we know the Joy set before us? When we want to quit, when we’ve had enough, when we’re confused, is it His Voice that sustains us? When His Words are written on the tablets of our hearts, we are able to abide in Him and His Word, and whether it ever looks like we imagined, we bear much fruit.
The Voice of the Martyrs March focus on Nigeria contained an incredible quote from one of the local disciple-makers: don’t OBTAIN what you can’t MAINTAIN. It’s not just a command we "should" follow–it’s also a causal statement. We CAN’T obtain what we don’t maintain. What does maintenance look like in our lives? Bible, Prayer, Worship, Fellowship, Witness (as simply as I’ve ever heard it put lol–thanks, Evangelism Explosion).
Within Personal discipline is freedom. By setting up new habits that help me (or gently force me) to stay in Gods word, I can grow and learn to remember the Bible as a crutch, rather than my own limited abilities. Steps like reminders on my phone to read my Bible study for that day are helpful and in place.
When reading the Bible I try to think about how it attains to me, and how can I do better with His strength. It is also easy for me to think of other people who need this verse.
Pray before I read, set reminders for devotion
Pray daily. Commit to completing this study. Continue to discover my truth by giving my complete trust and faith in whatever God’s plan is for me.
Pray for “Revelation knowledge” before you begin reading. Get in a quiet place and open your heart to hear from Him. Imagine him sitting there with you. Look up the definition of words you don’t know and give yourself an oral narration of what you learned and how you will put it into action.
I can take some time out of my day to read my Bible. Nothing big it can just be 10 minutes, but just setting that time away to get closer to God. I can put on worship music in my car on the way to school and listen to it instead of my usual music type.
I am great about reading every day, but often times it is a quick read without really reading for understanding or seeing what God wanted to teach me. I can take the step of slowing down and focusing on a few verses to really dive into gaining knowledge and understanding which will help me mature.