Page 69 - First Steps 2023

The more time you spend
with God, the closer you’ll Map
grow, the more you’ll experi- Imagine an adventurous sailboat
ence transformation, and the captain deciding to sail from Florida to
more you’ll become aligned London.
with God. That’s why some London is there, but without a map,
people say they love being out proper navigation tools, and no internet,
odds are excellent the sailboat will never
in nature—they can see God slide up the Thames and tie up at St.
through his handiwork. Plus, Katharine Docks next to the Tower of
they’re with God without hav- London.
ing to hunker down and dig Instead, it will wander around in

into the Bible. circles somewhere out in the Atlantic…
But in the Bible, God forever.
As a disciple, the Bible is your map.
reveals himself in far greater It helps you understand God’s nature, the
detail and clarity than he impact of sin, and how faith in Jesus can
shows himself in his creation. fix what’s broken. The Bible helps you set
A spectacular sunset tells you course for the next hour, the rest of the
there’s a Creator; the Bible day, and for eternity.
Given the importance of the Bible,
tells you who that Creator actu- how much impact does it really have on
ally is. you? Tell your discipler how often you’re
Read the map illustration actually in the Bible, and how it has—or
on this page and talk about hasn’t—prompted you to change course
the question you’ll find there. in life.

2. Three reasons to believe the Bible.
• Because the authors agree
The Bible was written over a period of 1,600 years by over 40 au-
thors, and yet they agree and, together, assemble a complete, compelling
story.
That speaks to a divine hand managing the project, especially since
those 40 authors represent a wide range of experience and culture. Some
were kings, some were paupers, some Gentiles, and some Jewish. They
wrote in locations as varied as palaces and dungeons, in multiple lan-
guages, in styles stretching from history to poetry to prophesy to personal
correspondence.

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