Text Box: How can you love God? The primary focus of all Christians must be to have a heart that truly knows and loves God. To know God in a personal way is an adventure that lasts a lifetime. But to know God, as we would a best friend, we need to spend time with Him. We need to become energized through a daily "Quiet Time" – a time of prayer, Bible reading and study. Establishing a regular quiet time with God does several things. First, you discover God's heart – what He's really like. Secondly, you can check out your lifestyle. If your heart is distracted by worldly desires, then your fellowship with the Lord tends to be distant and lifeless. Third, you can measure your relationships with others. Finally, the intimacy of a quiet time allows the Lord to speak to you. Communication is a two-way street. God is waiting to provide guidance and instruction when you share your joys, sorrows and concerns with Him. Just as inhaling and exhaling are essential for physical life, or the pre-game warm-up is required for the professional athlete, regular Bible study and prayer is crucial in developing the spirit of the Christ-like man. Without this daily routine, it's so easy to fall into bad habits and, eventually, a spiritual slump. If we stay tight with God, He can help us cope with daily life even when we fail. Develop a "Prayer Journal" to help your Quiet Time. For one month, set aside at least five minutes each day to pray. Make sure you're alone where nothing can distract you. Have your Journal with you. Record the date, the items you prayed about, the things you thanked God for, and how God answered your prayers. This is for your eyes only, unless you want to share it to someone else. Getting into the habit of reading God's Word is a must for Christian leaders. Since Jesus Christ is your leader, you need to know Him as you would know your best friend. To help develop that wonderful relationship, God has provided the Holy Bible. Read it and do what it commands. Use a "Bible Study Journal" to help you study the Word of God. Try reading the Letter of 1 Timothy five times — a chapter a day for a month. Each day, answer the following questions in your journal: What passage did you read? What did you learn about the character or qualities of God? What commands did you read that you should obey? What promises did God make to you? How has the Lord spoken to you today? How will you respond to God's Word? And... When will you respond to God's Word? What happens in your quiet time with God? What distractions do you face during daily quiet times? In what ways has God answered prayer? How does keeping a journal help you? What has God taught you? Spending time alone with God in highly important and it is of great value to you personally. Learn to crave it. The Bible says in James 4:8a, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (NKJV). Imagine yourself in a canoe, and Jesus is in another. You put your paddle in and with a “draw” stroke pull yourself to Him. With a draw stroke, Jesus pulls closer to you. In no time you are together. A quiet time allows you to get together with God in a very real way. Text Box: Being a Christian is all about having a personal relationship with God Almighty. He is alive and very much wants to be the closest friend you or I could ever have. He is as real as anyone else we know, but we can know Him on a level so much greater because we can relate to Him in spirit and in truth. That relationship begins with Jesus Christ and is built through our reading of His Holy Bible. It grows through prayer and through carefully thinking about what we’ve read. It’s an amazing process and it’s one that has to grow one-on-one with Jesus.

Having a

Personal

Quiet Time

Reading the Bible

Quiet Time Review
Text Box: Getting M o r e Out of Your Bible Using a Concordance - In the back of many Bibles is a alphabetical list of words found in the Biblical text. They are useful in finding a verse reference when you only remember one keyword. Say your looking for the passage about our value to God, but all you remember is “two sparrows for a penny”. Look up the word “sparrows”, maybe “sparrow”, then try “penny”... or was that “coin”? Very quickly you’ll discover the passage you’re looking for is Matthew 10:27-31. Using a Topical Bible - this is just a fancy name for a Bible Index. Some Bibles have an index of topics so that you can look up passages that relate to a certain concept or idea. Perhaps, you’re wanting to know God’s view of homosexuality: simply look up the word “homosexuality” and you’ll usually find useful information (ie: homosexuality is called sodomy or perversion in some translations) as well as verses that talk about the subject (for example: 1 Timothy 1:9-11). Using a Bible Dictionary - When you aren’t sure of what a word in the Bible means, you can look it up in a Bible Dictionary. You’ll usually find several definitions and a list of cross-referenced words that may relate to your enquiry. Using a Bible Commentary - Sometimes the meaning of a Bible passage is difficult to understand (or you just aren’t sure anymore); well there are Bible Commentaries that give a certain interpretation to the passage. Sometimes these differ one from another, but usually they honestly look at several possible meanings. By using two or more commentaries, you can get a good idea of what other Christians—very well educated Christians—believe the Bible to be saying. Sometimes they are wrong. Using Different Bible Translations - Christians believe that the Holy Bible, in its original writing, is inspired by God and without error, but those original writings are in Hebrew or Aramaic or Greek, and the “originals” are now only very old copies—a lot of very old copies that say exactly the same thing; word for word. The Holy Bible is trustworthy, but there are several English translations that don’t say the same thing. Still, they are useful for increasing your understanding of the Word of God. You may consider having three Bibles for regular use: a “reading Bible”, such as the Message or the New Living Translation; a “popular Bible”, such as the New International Version or the New Kings James Version; and a “study Bible”, such as the King James Version or the New American Standard Bible. By looking up the same passage in each of your translations, you can get a fuller understanding of the passage or verse. Using a Digital Bible - there are several websites that have the Holy Bible digitized in different translations. They have Word Searches and Verse Look-Ups that allow you to find almost anything. Some even have Topical Indexes, Bible Dictionaries, and Commentaries to further help your studies. Digital Bibles can also be loaded onto your own computer. This will give you access even when you aren’t connected to the internet.