The Decathlon

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Danger: Owning a Study Bible Is Not a Replacement for Bible Study

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Danger: Owning a Study Bible Is Not a Replacement for Bible Study

Most importantly, there is the danger of becoming content with a kindergarten understanding of the Bible because we know that, if needed, we can always rely upon our study Bible to bail us out in a moment of ignorance. Since all of the information is there (on the page), we don’t need it here (on our hearts). Therefore, we grow lax in Bible study because someone else has studied the Bible for us. Since they have already figured out the answers, we don’t need to do the math. With great relief, we can just jump to the answer key without needing to do any homework.

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A Video Workshop on Bible Study

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A Video Workshop on Bible Study

Bible study is like cardio. Every Christian man knows that both are important; most Christian men don’t do either. Guys, this is unacceptable, not regarding cardio, but Bible study. Peter tells us to long for the pure spiritual milk of the word like infants crave milk. God promises us in Psalm 1 that, if we meditate regularly on the word, we will be like mighty trees with deep roots and bountiful fruit. We can’t not do this. Bible study is the basic PT that keeps a Christian soldier fit and ready for action.

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The Benefits of Competence

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The Benefits of Competence

There are a lot of men who are hindered from Bible study, or dealing with sin, or evangelism, or prayer, for reasons that are similar to why I struggled to paint a house. They feel a nausea that is caused not by unwillingness, but uncertainty. They avoid the prayer closet because no one has taught them to pray. They keep the Bible closed because no one has taught them how to open it. Competence does not remove the hard work that is involved in discipleship. However, it can alleviate the paralysis that results from feeling inadequate. To keep a ball rolling, two things are needed: impetus from behind and an open path before. Competence may not create the motivation, or impetus, that is required to keep a disciple moving. However, competence goes a long way to clearing the road ahead so that a man feels able and unrestricted.

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Men Need to be Competent in Spiritual Disciplines

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Men Need to be Competent in Spiritual Disciplines

There are a lot of Christians who are equipped for the Christian life, but who are not competent. They have Bibles and other Bible study resources at home, but they do not know how to handle rightly the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). They attend church with spotless regularity. But they do not know how to participate meaningfully in corporate worship, how to listen well to a sermon, or how to stir up other Christians to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24-25). The list could go on and on. The problem is not that Christians materially lack the stuff in their life that would promote growth. The problem is that they are unskilled in using, applying, or participating in the resources that are within arm’s reach.

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Clarity Enables Spiritual Friendship

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Clarity Enables Spiritual Friendship

How is it that Christians are able to comfort each other, to encourage each other, and to stir up one another to love and good works? The answer is, to a large degree, because we share the same perspective on life. Spiritual friends are friends who are traveling according to the same itinerary. The circumstances of each life might differ, but the overall pattern is the same. Clarity, which is another name for seeing this pattern, is a glue that binds the heart of one believer to that of another.

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Clarity Gives Hope

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Clarity Gives Hope

Imagine for a moment that Pilgrim’s Progress abruptly ended with Christian and Hopeful trapped in the net of the Flatterer. You turn the page and there is no more writing. The story concludes in a dark moment of bewilderment without any answers regarding whether or not the difficulties of the journey had ultimate purpose or whether the arguous road did in fact lead to a destination.

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Clarity Feeds Earnestness

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Clarity Feeds Earnestness

Motivationally, the Christian life is impossible without an eternal perspective. We will never forgo the praise of earthly men until we believe in the praise of a Heavenly Father. We will never relinquish temporary reward until we are convinced of eternal treasure. We will never submit to injustice until we believe in final justice. We will never sacrifice our bodies in painful service to God until we believe that God will resurrect our bodies to everlasting joy.

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Men Need Clarity about God’s Faithful Provision

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Men Need Clarity about God’s Faithful Provision

Once we appreciate the dangerous journey of faith, and the perils that inevitably will be encountered on route, a man will falter unless he is convinced that God has adequately resourced him for the road ahead. To step onto a battlefield without first taking stock of what weapons are at hand is foolishness. To enter into a dark and deceitful world unschooled in the armor of God is madness.

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Men Need Clarity about Unavoidable Dangers

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Men Need Clarity about Unavoidable Dangers

Men, never forget that we live in hostile territory and the only way to get through Vanity Fair unscathed is to be ‘wise as serpents and innocent as doves.’ To live for money and success is no better than to live for sex and drugs. To build a lifestyle on materialism is no more virtuous than to build a lifestyle on pillaging. Satan is indifferent what door men choose to enter Hell. Endless amusement or the gore of violence: one road might be more respectable than the other, but neither leads to the gates of heaven (c.f. I Jn. 2:15-17).

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Five Things to Do to Deepen Captivation

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Five Things to Do to Deepen Captivation

But let’s be honest: few men can raise their hands and profess to have hearts that are smitten by the beauty of God. Many of us have experienced such fervor for a season, perhaps when we were first converted, but since that moment our love has risen and ebbed like the tide of the sea. What, then, can fickle men like us do in order to deepen the passion of our pursuit of God? Here are five suggestions.

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Men, Be Captivated by the Glory of Godliness

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Men, Be Captivated by the Glory of Godliness

Typically, men who are bored by godliness are men who are ignorant of the godly. Those feeling their passion for God on the wane can do nothing more beneficial than taking up the life of a Christian hero and spending time in his, or her, company. To read the life of Dawson Trotman is to feel a passion surge to go out and train up disciple-makers. To spend a few days surveying George Mueller is to feel a painful longing to become a man of prayer and of trust. To track with George Whitefield or John Wesley is to feel convicted of wasted time and lost opportunity and to experience a creative spark igniting further passion to live and die for Christ.

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Men, Be Captivated by the Cross

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Men, Be Captivated by the Cross

Discipleship without devotion is like a car without gasoline. If there is no internal combustion, the wheels of spiritual discipline will never turn, especially if the road is uphill. Thus we need to acknowledge the importance of what has been labeled captivation. Serious discipleship begins with the eyes of the heart being opened to the unique worth of the glory of God. Where do we go to behold this glory? The last post described the importance of meditating on holiness. Now we must turn to the cross.