Zondervan - Believe, NKJV: Living the Story of the Bible to Become Like Jesus

ZONDERVAN

Believe, NKJV

Copyright 2015 by Zondervan

The Holy Bible, New King James Version

Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.

ePub Edition May 2015: ISBN 978-0-3104-3877-9

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49546

Assistant Editor: Randy Larson

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) may be quoted or reprinted without prior written permission with the following qualifications:

(1) up to and including 1,000 verses may be quoted in printed form as long as the verses quoted amount to less than 50% of a complete book of the Bible and make up less than 50% of the total work in which they are quoted;

(2) all NKJV quotations must conform accurately to the NKJV text.

Any use of the NKJV text must include a proper acknowledgment as follows:

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

However, when quotations from the NKJV text are used in church bulletins, orders of service, Sunday School lessons, church newsletters and similar works in the course of religious instruction or services at a place of worship or other religious assembly, the following notice may be used at the end of each quotation: NKJV.

For quotation requests not covered by the above guidelines, write to Thomas Nelson Publishers, Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.

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Cover design: Extra Credit Projects

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Table of Contents

A distinguished sociologist embarked on a quest to answer this question, How did the marginal Jesus movement become the dominant religious force in the Western world within just a few centuries? By his estimates the number of Christians grew to 33,882,008 believers by AD 350. A movement that started with Jesus and a handful of His followers grew at an amazing rate! This professor was not a personal follower of Jesus but was mesmerized by the influence of Jesus life on the entire world.

What he discovered in his adventures through history was a group of very common, ordinary folks who ended up doing uncommon, extraordinary things. These people valued others who were looked down upon. When two devastating epidemics of measles and smallpox wiped out one-fourth to one-third of the population of the Roman Empire, these Christ-followers not only nursed their own but also took in those whose families cast them out into the streets to die. People flocked to this new community, a community founded on a rare expression of love. Anyone who said yes to Jesus invitation to life was welcomed.

At the end of the unbelieving social scientists extensive search he wrote these words: Therefore, as I conclude this study, I find it necessary to confront what appears to me to be the ultimate factor in the rise of Christianity... I believe that it was the religions particular doctrines that permitted Christianity to be among the most sweeping and successful revitalization movements in history. And it was the way these doctrines took on actual flesh, the way they directed organizational actions and individual behavior that led to the rise of Christianity.

In a nutshell, the early Christians BELIEVED. They simply, by faith, believed with their whole hearts the powerful truths taught in the Scriptures. It changed them from the inside out. Their loving and courageous actions toward their family, neighbors and even strangers were merely outpourings of the love that was flowing from inside them. What are the core truths these followers believed that so radically changed their lives for the good? These truths make up the content of the book you now hold in your hands Believe.

As you read the first core belief about God, remember Believe is an action word. God is personally watching over you as you embark on this journey. He doesnt want you to just believe in your head these truths; He wants you to believe with your whole heart His Word as the operating system for your life. He wants to transform your life and family for good and forever. He wants you to join the movement. He wants to put the extra in your ordinary so you can live an extraordinary life in Christ. What He did so radically in the beginning, He is doing again today, if you will only BELIEVE.

Here is my prayer for you:

Father, you fully know the reader who holds this book in their hands. You know them by name. You love them deeply always have, always will. As they embark on this amazing journey, give them the faith to believe your truths with their whole heart. Work within them. Let that good work push out to their mouth, ears, hands and feet to positively affect the people you have placed around them. As they finish reading the last page, may they whisper to you and then shout to the world I BELIEVE!

Randy Frazee
General Editor

. Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996), 10.

. Ibid., 211.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16

Book Sections

As you journey through Believe, you will read three ten-chapter sections:

THINK. The first ten chapters of Believe detail the core BELIEFS of the Christian life. Together they answer the question, What do I believe?

ACT. The second ten chapters discuss the core PRACTICES of the Christian life. Together they answer the question, What should I do?

BE. The final ten chapters contain the core VIRTUES of the Christian life. Together they answer the question, Who am I becoming?

Scripture

Believe includes the actual, God-breathed words of the Bible. This is not one persons or one churchs words on these important, life-altering topics. The Bible text alone is our source of teaching on each of these truths. Believe contains portions of Scripture that were thoughtfully and carefully excerpted from the Bible because they speak directly to the core belief, practice or virtue. You will read an Old Testament story, a New Testament story and several supporting texts from throughout the Bible. The Scripture text used in Believe is taken from the New King James Version (NKJV).

Chapter Structure

Each chapter contains several elements to guide you through your Believe journey.

Back of the Book

At the back of the book, the epilogue gives you an idea of the global impact this story has had on the world. Youll also find the Chart of References, which lists every Scripture reference in the book.