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Frankly, life just isn't working for some people. Maybe you have noticed the incredible proliferation to self-help books on store and library bookshelves. Why are so many self-help books published? Could it be simply because people recognize they need help with many problems, challenges the stresses of everyday life? Writers and publishers recognize this, and their books fly off the shelves by the thousands. You may not realize that most families already own the best self-help book ever published. Millions of copies have been published, and it's been translated into hundreds of languages. Its words have been around for thousands of years. This book is your BIBLE.
Although it's a perpetual best seller, few people take the time to read and study the Bible. Most think it's nice to have around and that everybody should have one, but few seem to accept that it means much to us. After all, how could something written thousands of years ago apply to our fast-paced, teachnologically advanced world?? Still others think the Bible is a book for theologians and cannot be understood by the average person.
# 2 _Those who take the time to study the Bible, however, find it is a timeless book. It addresses the angeless issues and question: Why are we here? Where are we going? What are the solutions to perpetual human problems? How can we learn to live together in peace? How can we live rewarding, fulfilling lives?
The Bible is filled with practical, down-to-earth advice from our Creator. It can help us see and avoid the pitfalls that come with doing things our way (PROVERBS 14:12; 16:25). It records for us vital and profound lessons from real people.
# 3 _The Bible clearly shows the priniciple of cause and effect__that our choices and actions, good and bad, produce good and bad results. It's filled with sound counsel on how to have happy families, marriages and friendship, how to properly rear children, how to manage family finances and succeed on the job, how to maintain your health and so much more. In short, it tells us how to make life work. But in many way's we've only scratched the surface; the Bible easily contains a lifetime's education, just waiting for us to search out its priceless gems and treasures. It's a source of spiritual and practical help that you cannot afford to be without.
# 4 _THE CHALLENGE OF LIVING THE TRUTH YOU LEARN !!!!!!!
Keep in mind, however, that just because the advice is there doesn't mean it's easy to follow. It takes effort. Trying to live by the Bible's instruction is a challenge.
Our natural inclination is to go a different direction from what the Bible teaches (ROMANS 8:7). We're surrounded by a secular world largely oblivious to biblical values, and those who wish to obey God often find themselves swimming upstream against popular thinking and ways of doing things. Nor does it help when we see that many who profess to be Christian display little or no commitment to living by God's instructions.
# 5 _Also, we need to be aware that things don't always work out the way we expect, even when we do try to follow God's instruction. Scripture tells us that "time and chance happen to [us] all" (ECCLESIASTES 9:11). In other words, in spite of our best efforts, other circumstances and situations beyond our control will effect us__sometimes for the better, at times for the worse. Although we can control our own actions, we sometimes have little or no control over the actions of others that spill over and effect us. God doesn't tell us this life will be perfect when we put His instruction into practice. In fact, He tells us to expect adversities (2 TIMOTHY 3:12; 1 PETER 2:20). He assures us, though, that in spite of difficulties and disappointments "all things work together for good to those who love God" (ROMANS 8:28).
# 7 _After all, God purpose for sending Jesus Christ to earth was to give us the opportunity for eternal life. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (JOHN 3:16).
God is concerned about our eternal well-being. But Jesus revealed another reason for His coming when He said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (JOHN 10:10). Jesus came so we can have eternal life, but He came also to help us understand how we can enjoy fulfilled, productive lives right now.
# 8 _The apostle John expressed God' desire for us when he wrote, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul propers" (3 JOHN 2).
Even though living by God's instruction can bring trials and suffering (JOHN 16:33; ACTS 14:22), Jesus promised tangible blessings in the here and now for following God's way of life and then, in the age to come, eternal life (MARK 10:29__30). We can experience definite blessings in this life for following the instruction found in God's Word.
# 9 _Since following God's way is worth the effort, what must we do to please Him? The blog addresses some of the common issues we face__marriage, child rearing, health, employment, finances__and explains how we can structure our lives according to many principles brought out in the Bible. Continue readin to begin learning how you can live by the rules that make life work.
