Beginner's Guide to the Bible

Introduction to the Bible

This page is for new Christians and for people who are interested in studying the Bible. This is just the basic but is very important in navigating from cover to cover. To make it simpler and less complicated, I have enumerated the following for you:

1. Protestant: There are 66 (Canonized) books in the Bible.

2. The Bible is divided into two. First is called "The Old Testament" and the second part is called "The New Testament".

3. The Old Testament consists of 39 books.  

     A. (5) The Pentateuch /The Laws.

• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

    B. (12) History

• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1 Samuel
• 2 Samuel
• 1 Kings
• 2 Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther

    C. (5) Poetry

• Job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Solomon

     D.  (5) Major Prophets

• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel

     E. Minor Prophets.

• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

4. The New Testament consists of 27 books.

    A. (4) Synoptic Gospel

• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John

   B. (1) History

• Acts

   C. (9)Pauline Epistles' (To the Church)

• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians
• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians

    D. (4)Pauline Epistles' (To his Friends)

• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus
• Philemon

    E. (9)General Epistles'

• Hebrews
• James
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude
• Revelation

How to Read/ Find the Scripture within the Bible:

When the pastor asks to turn your Bible to "Genesis 1:1" this is how to find it.

"Genesis 1:1" The word in red is the name of book where you can find the scripture.

"Genesis 1:1" The first number after the name of the book is the Chapter.

                         This number is bigger and can be seen usually at the beginning.

"Genesis 1:1" The number after the colon is the verse. This number is smaller than the Chapter.

                         This is usually found at the beginning of every sentence or paragraph.

Please see the illustration below:

Praying with Wrong motives!

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures." James 4:3

God always answer when we call to him, but sometimes his answer is not what we expected. Sometimes we don't really get what we want and expect to receive from him. Why?

Today, let us discover what the scripture says about this:

1. God sees our hearts. Base on the scripture found on the 4th Chapter of James, he explained praying with wrong motive is not a good idea. We must know that God sees our heart for everything is transparent in his sight. Our parents and friends can be sometimes clueless when we lie to them and could probable not find out about it but not with God. Everything is known to God, even the very secrets of our hearts. So praying with wrong motive will not work. So we need to ask ourselves this questions when we pray:

What is my request from God? Why do I pray for it? What is it for? What is my motive in praying? Is it for my own pleasure?  

If we are praying with wrong motive and intention, God will not do it for us. God is the Alpha and Omega, he knows where we have been and where we are going. If our prayers will lead us away from righteousness, then God will say no to it or will give us a better option. Like our parents, God will not give us something that will harm us and put us in danger.

2. Moreover, the condition of the heart plays a big role in prayer. What is the condition of your heart? A heart that is right with God will always have the right motive in praying, for it is one with God. And it follows the will of God. But sin pollutes the heart.

3. For that reason, sin must not be present. Confess to God the sin that has been committed, whether it is big or small, a sin is always a sin that contaminates the mind and the heart. So we must turn away from it and be one with our creator in prayer.

I remember an illustration about a man with the devil whispering on the left ear and an angel of God on the right ear. The devil whispers and suggests ideas that appears to be right but is wrong and so the presence of the devil confuses the man on what to do. Sin also does it in our prayers, as long as we have sins in our hearts, being right with God in our prayers is impossible. So we must get rid of the sin by asking forgiveness. Sin contaminates our thoughts while we pray.    

4. Therefore, after repentance, our prayers will be selflessly following the will of God for us. When our hearts are right with God, then our motive changes. Instead of the "I" being the center of the prayer, it will become "God" as the center of it. Then we are praying for the WILL OF GOD in us and not our own selfish desire.

SELF CHECK:

Today before you pray, list all your prayer request and see what are your prayers to God. Check the purpose, motive, and intention of your request. Then ask God to help you to pray. Pray for your prayer. Ask God to help you pray selflessly and according to God's Will.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

    Thank you for your word today. I know that sometimes, my prayers are so selfish and not according to your will. My prayers are impure and are only for my own benefit. Please help me by changing my prayers according to your will. That my heart and mind will be one with you. That I will prayer with a pure heart and mind. Please help me. Let me confess my sins to you and ask for your forgiveness. Let your light shine in my heart and make me pure as white as the snow. Let my prayers be pleasing to you. If my faith is not enough for me to trust and believe you in my prayers, please show yourself to me and let me experience your power so that I may give you praise and worship  you all my life. This is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER is the best example of a prayer that Jesus himself taught us. This can be found in Matthew 6:9-13. The Lord's Prayer is one of the topic that I will be working on shortly. Please don't forget to share the Word of God daily. Thank you and have a great day!

Do not Give up!

Are you having difficulties and problems today? And everything seems falling apart? And you will like giving up? Do not worry, just pray continually and do not give up. I remember a story in the Bible about Jesus telling his disciples to pray and not give up. Something that we all must do when we are in trouble or in a situation that is out of our control. Let's read this short story and see what Jesus means:  

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Praying is essential to every Christian. It is a lifeline that helps us continue and survive the trials and difficulties in life. Prayer is a lifeline to God. But tell me, how do you ask God about your needs? Are you persistent enough to get your prayers answered? Or do you pray without even believing that God can do it. God made it plain and even tell us a story about the power of prayer and how we must pray. Let us discover the power of prayer through the character of the widow in the parable:

CHARACTER OF THE WIDOW:

1. Persistent. The most obvious character of the widow is being persistent. She keeps on coming to the judge for help. This is exactly what God wants us to do. To keep on coming to him. We must pray continually without ceasing. Why do we need to be persistent? Because God sees our sincerity through our persistency. Persistency pays a lot even in prayer as Jesus mentioned,"And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?"   If we cry to God and plea for our needs, will he keep silent? No he will not so we must pray continually without stopping as God is listening to our cry and will act in our behalf. 

2. Faith. The woman knows that the judge can do something about her problem because he is of the authority and power to fix it. She has faith with the judge. God also wants us to go to him persistently asking him in faith, believing that God can do it for us and that he can handle our problems and issues in life and that he has the authority and power over all.

3. Determine. The woman never give up. She is determined that she will be helped and justice will be served. We must be like her, determined that God can do it, never giving up, but always looking forward to what God can do for it. Let's put our hope in God. As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:11


RESPOND OF THE UNGODLY JUDGE:
He refused for a while but helped the widow eventually. Though the judge refuses for a while but because of her persistency the judge eventually helped her. “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!

RESPOND OF GOD:
God will quickly answer. “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. God knows our heart and if he sees that we are persistently praying in faith he will quickly respond to our prayer. God is a just God and he will make sure that justice is serve. He will help the helpless especially those who cry for his mercy.

God always answers when we call to him with an earnest heart. Call to him and he will come and rescue you.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

            Thank you for reminding me today that you are willing to help me and that I should be persistent in faith when I call on you. I know that you can help me and you are bigger than my fear and worries in life. You have the authority over all the earth and over my life. Please let me know that you are near and that you can do something for me. If my faith is too small, please let me experience you that I may believe and be blessed by you. Thank you Oh, God! Let me pray continuously without stopping, let me know that you are able. This is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

In God's Perfect Time

     I woke up early this morning to bake some bread for my friends. I was hurrying up because they need to leave early so I tried to fast track the preparation and baking. So I put the dough in the oven and set it to a temperature higher than the usually thinking it will help lessen my time of baking but I ended up burning the top of the bread. Good thing I have an extra dough. Then because of this, I realized three things, first is that following instruction is really important. Second is perfect timing makes a perfect bread. Third is though the bread tastes fine, I knew, it could have been better.

From this experience, God impressed his Words in my heart from Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) :  

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens:"

     It is amazing how God teaches us the lessons in life through our daily activities and I would like to share with you what I have learned today: 

1. Following instruction is important. Like baking, cooking and even operating a machine, following instruction is essential for it will help you achieve the best result, which is quite true, I could have set the temperature according to the baking instructions but I didn't so the result was not as it was suppose to be. Like in life, God handed us over his very Word for instruction and guidance and sadly even though most of us already know about the Word of God and its effect and power, we still tend to experiment and follow our own worldly ways, so a lot of people go astray. As it was inquired and answered in the Bible:

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word" Psalms 119:9

2. Perfect timing makes a perfect bread. If the instruction says 20 minutes, then 20 minutes it is. Not 10 or 15 nor 25, it must be 20. The instruction on the packaging was not easily written down nor formulated. Bakers have done multiple trial and error to make sure that the process is perfect and will produce the best result. Therefore, I must wait for the perfect time for my bread. As the Bible said, "There is a time for everything.." Like baking, in life there are times that we need to wait, sometimes for a job, or for a medical result, or even for a spouse to spend the rest of our lives with. Waiting is one of the hardest thing to do and as we all have heard, "Patience is a virtue" and yes, it is true. Blessed are those who wait, especially those who wait upon the Lord. God has his own timeline, we may not know what he has instore for us but if God tells you to wait, know that what he has, is best and perfect for you.

3. Though the bread tasted fine, I knew, it could have been better. And as a result, the bread tasted just fine. But if I have just followed the instruction and waited a little longer, the bread could have been better. Life is often times like this, we could have waited a little more for God but instead we have chosen something else and settle for less.

Life is filled with decision making and what we decide on today can greatly impact our tomorrow so if our decision needs time, then we must take the time. We must ask God for guidance and give us patience in waiting. I know it is not easy to wait, but waiting in God is worth it because he is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last is he. He knows best and will always gives the best for those who wait on him. "No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause." Psalm 25:3

If your single, do not rush, God is preparing the best and Godly spouse for you.

If you are looking for a job, do not be involved with illegal businesses, God has a decent job for you. If you are waiting for a relationship to be restored, don't give up, God is mending it for you. 

If you have an unanswered prayer, God is working on it for you. 

PRAYER:

Dear God, 

     Thank you for everything that you have done for me. Thank you for reminding me to wait on you and seek you while waiting. Thank you for this great joy knowing that you are able and that you are always near. Help me to have patience and give me wisdom to recognize and discern your will in my life. Please let me know that you are working on my behalf. I will put my trust in you and wait on you.

Thank you Lord, this is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.