1 Corinthians 16:13 Keep alert. Be firm in your faith. Stay brave and strong. (CEV)
I. Keep
: You Have a Spiritual Enemy
1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith… (NIV)
Luke 10:19 I have given you authority … to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (NIV)
II. Be
in Your Faith: Know What You Believe and Why
2 Timothy 3:16 Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. (CEV)
Hosea 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge… (NIV)
Suggested Reading:
1) Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis, 2) The Normal Christian Life – Watchman Nee, 3) Case for Christ – Lee Strobel, 4) I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist – Frank Turek & Norman Geisler, 5) Another Gospel? – Alisa Childers
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (NIV)
III. Stay
and
: Live What You Believe
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (NIV)
Reflection Questions:
Do your actions reflect the truth you say you believe?
Do your words honor the One you call Savior and Lord?
Do you look like the world or like Jesus?