Sometimes we refer to Christians as believers or disciples. Some Christians may even use the terms interchangeably. In this post, I want to address the question, what is a disciple? In doing so, it should become abundantly clear that these two terms--believer and disciple--are not the same.

You might say that to become a believer is the means but to become a disciple is the end. It is good when a person repents of his sins and places His trust in what Christ did on the cross. All of heaven rejoices when that occurs. But God's ultimate will is for each man and each woman to become a disciple of the teachings of His Son Jesus Christ. Hence, in the Great Commission, we are commanded, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19, NIV).

Frank King is a former church pastor. He is currently an evangelist and an author. Frank holds a Master of Theology degree. Through the grace of God, Frank has been blessed to cross cultural lines in his preaching. Website: http://www.efrankking.com
Blog: http://wwwefrankking.blogspot.com/

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The Nature of Doubt

4. Learn to nourish and feed your faith, rather than your doubt. Read and meditate on God (Ps 119:148), keep a spiritual diary and a prayer journal. Read devotional classics and other material that will help stimulate your thinking. Your faith will become rock solid if you feed and nourish it with God’s word.

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Every once in a while something will be said that we don't quite agree with or something will be done that we don't think should be done at the time and it may get under our skin. It comes down to how the person sets his priorities. Everyday we set priorities on everything we do. Whether it is reading our Bible or praying. If we get woke up before it is time to get up and there is something important to do; do we stop and take time with God first or do we just go ahead and do what we must do first? Which has priority?

The definition of Priority is something given meriting attention before completing alternatives. Everyone has their own opinion as to where to set the priority and it is based on what they have been taught. Who is right? Everyone will answer to God as to how he set his priorities, right or wrong.

Let's look at how some people set their priorities. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you. If you set your priorities with God being first he will take care of everything else you need. Jesus set his priorities with the will of God being above all things. In Luke 2:49 Jesus was 12 years old and was not found in the caravan as they were going home. When Mary and Joseph found him they questioned him but he answered, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

At 12 years old Jesus had already set his priorities to do the will of the Father. How did he know what he was supposed to do everyday? As you study the Gospels you find that Jesus withdrew himself and prayed. As you study deeper he would be alone each morning before daylight and talk with the Father. God would give him instructions and guide him by the Holy Spirit. Then there will be no question as to what the priorities are.

Let's look at the person named the 2nd most in the Gospels, Peter. Some say he was always messing up and sticking his foot in his mouth. I disagree he wanted to know everything he could know about Jesus Christ the Messiah. He would ask questions when no one else would. He would do things that no one else would do because he wanted to know. He had set his priorities to know Christ and to become as close to him as he could. He didn't care what it looked like.

What about Paul? He persecuted the Christians with zeal. When Christ got a hold of him on the road to Damascus, he changed his perspectives and his priorities and his priorities became to spread the word of God no matter what it cost him. He was beaten and stoned and shipwrecked but he kept his priorities with God first.

Where are your priorities? I don't want your answer that is between you and God, who by the way already has the answer. So if you tell yourself anything less than the full truth you are only lying to yourself. Are we any better than Christ himself, who being filled with the Holy Ghost needed to talk to the Father? That we can go through the day, the week, the month or the year without talking with the Father. If you can I guess the information was planted inside of you when you were born so that you don't need the Father to tell you where your priorities should be. The rest of us need that daily time with the Father.
Just think about itwhat has priority in your life?

Duane L. Huffstutler, Written 2008, Faithwriters.com
Duane L. Huffstutler is the Sunday School Director at Oak Grove Pentecostal Ministries in Bonifay Florida. With the Lord's help he has written many short devotions and a few long articles all to be used for the glory of God.

Reading your Bible doesn't have to be a duty. It can be fun, enjoyable, and incredibly relevant in your daily life. Even for the majority of Christians who do read their Bible on a daily basis, they do so out of a sense of duty to either God, or a sermon, or whatnot. In many cases, they get nothing out of their Bible reading. This can very easily be changed.

To begin with, reading your Bible and getting something out of it is not the same thing as studying your Bible. The in depth study of the Scriptures requires much more time and energy. But in reading your Bible, to get something out of it to help you today is actually not a very difficult thing.

THE GOAL

When you read your Bible keep in mind what you are trying to accomplish. The goal ought to be to get something out of the Bible for today. I recommend reading your Bible early in the morning. Some may feel they cannot do so due to schedule or habits. But morning is still the best time. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So too, reading your Bible in the morning is probably the best time of the day.

Psalms 63:1 - O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Proverbs 8:17 - I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Either way, however, your goal is to get something for each day. You want something that will, in some way, help you today.

READ FOR QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

For some reason, most people get it into their heads that they must read a certain amount of their Bible each day in order to be spiritual. This is simply not true. The best way to read your Bible is to read until something jumps out and succeeds in arresting your interest. And then you stop reading.

This is what you are looking for. Once you find something that intrigues youstop! Don't read any further yet. That may very well be the verse or passage that God meant for you to day.

So many people pass over something that God intended for them because they are too intent on reading so many chapters a day or so many pages. If the very first verse you read intrigues you, then stop reading. Focus on that verse or passage.

MEDITATE ON VERSE OR PASSAGE THAT INTERESTS YOU

Interestingly enough, there is not a single reference in the Bible that says you should read the Bible. Instead, the Scriptures teach us to meditate on what we read. Notice the following passages:

Joshua 1:8 - This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Psalms 1:2-3 - But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalms 77:12 - I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

Psalms 119:11 - Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalms 119:15 - I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

It is the meditation on the Word of God that brings the Bible alive to you. Without this mediation, you'll struggle seeing the relevance of the Scriptures in your life.

From here, you can do several things. Write down the verse or passage that has succeeded in griping your attention and carry it with you throughout the day so you can refer to it often. Think about it. Maybe cross reference the passage to see what else the Bible may say about this subject or idea. But always keep that one verse or passage at the center of your thoughts.

You'll certainly want to make sure you have read the passage in context, so I recommend reading the verses before and after to familiarize yourself with the overall theme and background. You might even want to do a bit of study on the historical background of the passage as well.

Armed with this information about the passage that intrigues you, attempt to think about it throughout the day. Pray about it. Talk to God about the verse or passage that has interested you.

LOOK FOR THE RELEVANCE OF THE PASSAGE DURING THE DAY

As you go about your daily living, look for the relevance of the verse or passage to be verified in your life somehow. I guarantee that if you are looking for it, you'll find it.

Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

It is incredibly exciting to see that the Bible is real and alive. But you'll miss it if you only read and then go about your day without the thoughtful meditation on His Word that God requires.

You don't have to read a lot of Bible for the Bible to become real to you. If you do this, you will get more out of your Bible than most Christians who merely read the Word, but don't meditate on it. Each day, God will demonstrate the power and relevancy of His Word to you as you think on and meditate on what He gave you that morning in your reading.

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If you'd like to learn how to meditate on Scripture, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Benefits. Study the scriptural benefits of meditation on God's Word: success and prosperity (Josh. 1:8), fruitfulness (Ps. 1:1–3), joy (Ps. 63:1–6), victory over sin (Ps. 119:11), and wisdom and insight (Ps. 119:98–99).

Uniqueness. Understand the fundamental difference between biblical meditation and the meditation associated with Eastern mysticism. The latter entails emptying the mind. Biblical meditation involves filling the mind with scriptures that point to God.

Logistics. Find a set time to meditate—during morning quiet times, perhaps, or when drifting off to sleep at night. Make sure to start small—just a minute or two in the beginning, then a gradual increase.

Preparation. Understand that meditation begins with asking God to guard your hearts and minds from any images that are not from Him. Confession and repentance of known sins should follow. To rein in wandering minds, you should ask God to help you focus on Him and His Word.

Method. Some people find it helpful to write a verse in their own words. Others use Scripture songs as springboards to meditation. In her book From the Heart of a Woman (NavPress, out of print), Carole Mayhall suggests using the letters AEIOU for systematic meditation. For example, if you were meditating on the verse "The Lord is my shepherd" (Ps. 23:1), you would:

Ask questions. (What is the function of a shepherd? In what way is the Lord my shepherd?)

Emphasize words. (The Lord is my shepherd. Not a Lord, but the Lord—the only true God.)

Illustrate. (Draw a picture of the verse or link it with a story you've heard.)

Other scriptures. (What else does the Bible say about this?)

Use. (How can I apply this verse to my life?)