How Can I Understand the Bible? , livre ebook

Harvest House Publishers, Inc. - Bill Bright

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111 pages

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The Bible is the greatest treasure you will ever own, waiting for you to mine its depths and receive all the direction, encouragement, and wisdom it holds. Most people need a little help, though, and Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), ably fills that role as he uncovers for you the Bible's rich resources for living in today's world. In How Can I Understand the Bible?, Dr. Brightreveals the reasons for believing the Bibleprovides insights for understanding its contentsoffers tips on applying its lessons to your life Included are summaries for each book of the Bible, a one-year Bible reading plan, and help on how to study the Bible for yourself. Whether you're new to the faith or a more seasoned follower of Christ, How Can I Understand the Bible? will help you dig deeper into the book God wrote, an adventure that may just change your life.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Date de parution	01 mars 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736966207
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0692€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked NKJV are from the New King James Version . Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover by Knail
HOW CAN I UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE?
Copyright 2004 Bright Media Foundation
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bright, Bill.
[Discover the book God wrote]
How can I understand the Bible? / Bill Bright.
pages cm
Originally published under title: Discover the book God wrote. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, c2004.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-7369-6619-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-6620-7 (eBook)
1. Bible-Introductions. I. Title.
BS475.3.B75 2016
220.6 1-dc23
2015025422
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Discover the Treasure of Your Life
PART 1: Why Should I Believe the Bible?
1. Who Wrote the Bible?
2. Is the Bible Trustworthy?
3. What Is the Bible s Message?
4. What Does the Bible Promise?
PART 2: How Can I Understand the Bible?
5. How Can the Bible Guide My Life?
6. How Can I Unlock the Bible s Meaning?
7. How Do I Apply Bible-Study Principles?
8. How Can I Strengthen My Commitment to Bible Study?
PART 3: What Is the Bible About?
9. Our Powerful Creator
10. Our Perfect Judge
11. Our Loving Savior
12. Responding to God
PART 4: How Does the Bible Change My Life?
13. How Does the Bible Strengthen My Faith?
14. How Does the Bible Connect Me to God s Power?
15. How Does the Bible Help Me Live a Holy Life?
16. How Does the Bible Help My Love Grow?
17. The Challenge
Appendix: Summaries of the Books of the Bible
Notes
About the Author
Acknowledgments
B ill Bright s personal walk with Jesus Christ made an indelible imprint on my life. For more than three decades I observed the life of a man who believed every word of the Bible and lived a life of faith that often stretched the faith of those who walked with him.
The last weeks of Bill s life were filled with phone calls and bedside meetings, giving directions and challenges to those of us who would attempt to carry out his plans. I will remember always the many times a nurse would call me in to meet with Bill, and upon entering the room, I would find him smiling, holding his Bible, and on some occasions, asleep with his open Bible on his chest.
On Dr. Bright s behalf, I dedicate this book to every person who will read it and catch a glimpse of the passion Bill had for the Word of God. The Bright Media Foundation was established with the purpose of continuing the ministry of Dr. Bright and sharing his passion for Christ. Vonette Bright is living proof of the sustaining power in the Word of God. She shared with Bill the commitment to the truth of God s Word for over fifty years and now moves forward with renewed faith.
Helmut Teichert s oversight of projects for the Bright Media Foundation gave Bill great confidence. Dr. Bright was a great encourager, and he often expressed his heartfelt thanks to Brenda Josee for her commitment to the accurate representation of his beliefs. John Barber spent many hours in the initial development of the manuscript. Joette Whims and Lynn Vanderzalm provided valuable editorial work on this project.
I cannot conclude my expressions without thanking Vonette Bright for her demonstration of a life of faith that gives all of us confidence and excitement to press on with great passion to extend the legacy of Dr. Bill Bright.
John Nill , CEO
Bright Media Foundation
INTRODUCTION
Discover the Treasure of Your Life
H ave you ever dreamed of discovering something that would be worth a fortune? All of us have heard stories about someone who found a treasure in an attic or in a box forgotten in an aunt s basement. One television show, Antiques Roadshow, travels around the country stopping at many places and allowing people to bring in their antiques for appraisal by experts. Once in a while, the show unearths a valuable artifact, thrilling the owners.
Some time ago, a true-life story of a magnificent find hit the national news. It started in the mid-1990s when a female trucker named Teri was traveling through the Southwest and stopped to meander through Dot s Thrift Shop near San Bernardino, California. She spotted a colorful painting and thought it would make a great gag gift for a friend who was having difficulties. Teri bought the painting for five dollars.
What a buy it turned out to be. Ten years later, art experts concluded that the painting was created in the 1940s by Jackson Pollock, a leading American artist. His drip paintings are so unique that they are almost impossible to imitate or forge. Art restoration expert Peter Paul Biro examined the painting and found a partial fingerprint that he compared to a known fingerprint of Pollock and noted twelve characteristics that are identical between the two prints. Biro also writes that the paint and the style used are just like Pollock s.
Although no one can be sure how the painting got to the thrift store, it most likely was purchased in an estate sale in Victorville, California. Wrapped in burlap and covered with dust and spider webs, it was a gem shrouded in secrecy, a gem that even the owner of Dot s Thrift Store failed to recognize. Yet one estimate is that the painting may be worth as much as twenty-five million dollars.
Can you imagine what Teri felt when she first had an inkling of the painting s value? I can imagine her calling her friends and exclaiming, Guess what-that old painting I got at the thrift store turns out to be a treasure! What had seemed at first to be just a run-of-the-mill purchase was truly a fine work of art.
A Treasure in Disguise
That story reminds me of a discovery I made years ago. 1 As a high school and college student I occasionally tried to read the Bible, but it made no sense to me. I found it boring and concluded that no intelligent person could ever believe what it said. I certainly didn t think that the Bible was trustworthy.
Then I became a Christian. From that moment, my life was transformed, and my attitude concerning the Scriptures changed dramatically. It was as if the Holy Spirit had unwrapped God s words from a covering of dusty burlap, and I discovered what a treasure I had in my hands. I realized that the Bible was truly the holy, inspired, and infallible Word of the greatest author in the universe, our Father God.
Since that great discovery, I have spent nearly sixty years studying the Bible, including five years of theological study at Princeton and Fuller Theological Seminaries. One of the important things I learned in seminary was a greater and more profound respect for the Bible. Even more significant, I have seen in my own life-and in the lives of so many others-what the Bible can do. Today my excitement over the Bible is undiminished. Indeed, it grows with each passing day.
I praise God that He used His Word to change me dramatically. As a young man, I was especially ambitious. I was a humanist and a materialist. The only way I knew of measuring success was through the accumulation of wealth. And that s what I was doing. I started my own fancy foods business and put all my energies into making it a financial success. But with the prompting of the Holy Spirit and through my study of God s Word, I began to learn about our great God and Savior, why He came in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to this planet Earth, and all that He accomplished for me. Over time as I studied and read, the great benefits of receiving Jesus as my Savior and Lord and walking with Him daily began to become more and more real to me. I learned that all the blessings of heaven could be added to me if I would faithfully seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This revolutionized my life. In time, the desire to get rich waned, and the thrill of serving God and seeing eternal results superseded my other ambitions.
Today I cannot imagine returning to my self-centered plans. Over the years I ve come to the conclusion that I would be the fool of fools to do anything that would rob me of the incredible privilege of living in the light of God s Word and enjoying the supernatural adventure of walking in fellowship with Him. Each day is an opportunity to be part of His great strategy to share His love with all people everywhere in fulfillment of the Great Commission. Discovering God through the Bible has been the greatest find of my life.
Since 1945, I have known many of the world s rich, famous, and powerful people. M