Product Review: Navigators' Topical Memory System Kit

I remember I used to apply Navigators' Topical System to commit selected scriptures into memory but somehow I defaulted and did not have the discipline to persevere.

The Topical Memory System Kit (TMS), developed by The Navigators. is aimed to improve your knowledge of the Bible, deepen your walk with God, and memorize verses that will carry you through the hard times of life.

This kit includes:

• 60 verse cards in the NIV, NASB, MSG, ESV, NRSV, NLT, NKJV, and KJV
• course workbook
• verse card holder

I find that having the workbook together for me to work through the scriptures are incredibly useful. It makes the scriptures come alive! It helps me to reflect and think through. It helps me to apply the scriptures in real life situations.

To give an example, for Week 1 Series A (Live the New Life), the verses to memorize are 2 Cor 5:17 and Galatians 2:20.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20 NIV)

And the questions for meditation for 2 Corinthians 5:2

• What is the key to living a truly new life?
• What has happened to your "old" life?
• What things have changed in your life since you became a Christian?

And these questions remind me that the very essential thing that truly allows me to live as new life is about being in Christ. It is not about me, it is not about what I have done and not done. The old life is gone! The old life is dead and I do not need to obey to the lustful desires of my old life. The more I spend my time living the new life that Christ has enabled me to do so, the more I want to desire the new life. And the last question helps me to reflect on what had happened to my life ever since I become a new creation in Christ - hating the things that I used to tolerate, becoming more aware of sins as things that displease God, etc, etc - these are the slowing moving process that shape me day by day into the likeness of Christ, my Savior.

LIVE THE NEW LIFE
Christ the Center	2 Corinthians 5:17	Galatians 2:20
Obedience to Christ	Romans 12:1	John 14:21
The Word	2 Timothy 3:16	Joshua 1:8
Prayer	John 15:7	Philippians 4:6,7
Fellowship	Matthew 18:20	Hebrews 10:24,25
Witnessing	Matthew 4:19	Romans 1:16
PROCLAIM CHRIST
All Have Sinned	Romans 3:23	Isaiah 53:6
Sin's Penalty	Romans 6:23	Hebrews 9:27
Christ Paid the Penalty	Romans 5:8	1 Peter 3:18
Salvation is not by Works	Ephesians 2:8,9	Titus 3:5
Must Receive Christ	John 1:12	Revelation 3:20
Assurance of Salvation	1 John 5:13	John 5:24
RELY ON GOD'S RESOURCES
His Spirit	1 Corinthians 3:16	1 Corinthians 2:12
His Strength	Isaiah 41:10	Philippians 4:13
His Faithfulness	Lamentations 3:22,23	Numbers 23:19
His Peace	Isaiah 26:3	1 Peter 5:7
His Provision	Romans 8:32	Philippians 4:19
His Help in Temptation	Hebrews 2:18	Psalms 119:9,11
BE CHRIST'S DISCIPLE
Put Christ First	Matthew 6:33	Luke 9:23
Separate From the World	1 John 2:15,16	Romans 12:2
Be Steadfast	1 Corinthians 15:58	Hebrews 12:3
Serve Others	Mark 10:45	2 Corinthians 4:5
Give Generously	Proverbs 3:9,10	2 Corinthians 9:6,7
Develop World Vision	Acts 1:8	Matthew 28:19,20
GROW IN CHRISTLIKENESS
Love	John 13:34,35	1 John 3:18
Humility	Philippians 2:3,4	1 Peter 5:5,6
Purity	Ephesians 5:3	1 Peter 2:11
Honesty	Leviticus 19:11	Acts 24:16
Faith	Hebrews 11:6	Romans 4:20,21
Good Works	Galatians 6:9,10	Matthew 5:16

The complete set of these verses with commentaries (both in free audio mp3 download and pdf a single bundled file) can be accessed here (in the Navigators' Discipleship Library).

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Disclosure of Material Connection:

I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Children Learn What They Live

Children Learn What They Live (1998 version)
by Dorothy Law Nolte (1924 - 2005)

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

An older version..........

Children Learn What They Live (1959)

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn . . .
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight . . .
If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive . . .
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself . . .
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy . . .
If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilt . . .

BUT

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient . . .
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident . . .
If a child lives with , he learns to be appreciative . . .
If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love . . .
If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is . . .
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice . . .
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him . . .
If a child lives with friendlienss(sic), he learns the world is a nice place in which to live . . .

WITH WHAT IS YOUR CHILD LIVING?

The Paradoxical Commandments

Photo by fotolia

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

The Paradox of Our Time in History

Image by Free-StockPhotos.com

The Paradox of Our Time in History
by Bob Moorehead

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom. Indeed these are the times!

Taming the Tongue: T.H.I.N.K Before You Speak

I enjoyed Rodney Duncan's sermon in church last week on taming the tongue. Speaking from the book of James, he pointed out that the tongue has the power to:
1. Direct
2. Destroy
3. Delight

And finally he gave an acronym of T.H.I.N.K. We need to THINK before speak.

T - Is it True?
H - Is it Helpful?
I - Is it Inspiring?
N - Is it Necessary?
K - Is it Kind?

I myself have made many mistakes in the past before on words that I knew I should not have spoken. Once you have let your words out, there is no way you can retract them back. This acronym T.H.I.N.K is going to be really helpful to me. Everybody needs a little reminder from time to time.

7 Problematic Distractions

Distractions! Distractions! Distractions!

Perry Noble describes 7 distractions that a Christian must be careful of lest he falls into one of them.

This post reminds me of Andy Stanley's statements on the Principles of the Path, which goes something like this:

Anything that grabs our attention, influences our direction, which in turn determines our destination.

Direction, not intention, determines our destination.

So, if you do not want to end up in a destination that you never wanted to in the first place (for example, broken marriages, failed exams, become enslaved by sins, etc), then be very mindful of the things, the people, the issues, etc that capture your attention, as well as those that you decidedly pay or not pay attention to.

Because these things will in turn influence the direction you are heading (a path you are taking, a spiritual downhill, a growing addiction, etc)!

Beware of these 7 'P's, the 7 'p'roblematic distractions that can potentially capture your attention, and in turn, influence the direction you are heading:

1. Pleasure
2. Pride
3. Procrastination
4. People – Someone is always going to not like what you do, who you are and what you stand for…always! (Galatians 1:10)
5. Performance – One of the greatest problems with success is that leaders can actually begin to believe that they are the ones that caused success to happen
6. Problems - We can’t view problems as God’s punishment…but rather we must view them as God’s preparation! David didn’t see the lion and the bear as a problem but rather he viewed them as opportunities to prepare him for the greater problems in life (I Samuel 17:33-37)
7. Passion - Passion can be a distraction when we use it to run over people rather than lead them!

Read more.

Book Review: Beyond Opinion

Beyond Opinion is a great collection of apologetic essays by Ravi Zacharias and his team members of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM).

I have always enjoyed Ravi's blend of apologetics that appeals not just to the minds, but to the hearts as well. This is evident in the opening statement of the chapter he himself wrote:

I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out.

As Ravi said, what angers many non-Christians about Christians is that while on one hand, the a believer is strongly condemning other's immoral life, the Christian's private life is no different from an non-believer. At least, the non-believer is more tolerant towards others - they give permission to others to make and set personal moral choices. The believer, on the contrary, would be charged with the problem of hypocrisy by virtue of his arrogance on the outside, while living a double-standard on the inside! In other words, apologetics is first seen before it is heard. This challenge is similarly alluded in Chapter 2, challenges from the post-modern youth.

It has also been a great experience for me to learn some of these truths from two of Ravi Zacharias' team members based in Singapore - L.T. Jeyachandran and I'Ching Thomas. I met both of them when they were here attending Varsity Christian Fellowship in Universiti Sains Malaysia and later on, speaking in some churches in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Much of the contents of their live talks could be found in chapters written in this book.

In Chapter 5, for example, L.T. Jeyachandran talked about the two end of a spectrum of the Hindu religion - on one hand, is the popular polytheistic form of Hinduism - the belief in a finite number of personal gods. On the other end, is the philosophical form of Hinduism religion, which is not really a religion, but more of a New Age philosophy. In this form, which is the pantheism form, there is the belief in the infinite, impersonal reality the Brahman state.

In the same chapter, L.T. Jeyachandran also shared about the two forms of Buddhism - the Mahayana school and the Theravada (Hinayana) school. The Mahayana school deifying Buddha and worship him. This form of Buddhism becomes the dominant religion in China, Tibet, Japan and Korea. Whereas, the Theravada Buddhism is basically atheistic. This form has flourished in Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc. But whatever it is, the Buddhists' worldview of universal suffering (the concept of dukkha) has no meaning if everything is suffering because suffering can only be known as suffering in the light of and in contrast with pleasure and goodness.

In the chapter on challenges from Islam (Chapter 4), I have learned much about the Islamic doctrine of takkiya, the doctrine of sanctioned deception, disguise and cover-up, in the name of advancing the course of Islam. This doctrine can be seen to have been very much played out during debates by the Muslim debaters.

In the chapter on trinitarianism, it is also fascinating to read how L.T. Jeyachandran approached this rather "abstract" subject on Trinitarianism and conceptualizes it into comprehensible lessons, although he does NOT simplify it. But more importantly, at the end of reading that chapter, he could actually persuade me as the reader from the position of seeing this subject of Trinity as a rather uncomfortable subject to be shunned away from whenever possible (especially in conversation with non-believers) to the position that in fact, trinitarianism is an ESSENTIAL or NECESSARY doctrine that must be embraced if we were to adequately give a wholistic answer to many challenging questions in apologetics.

In summary, Beyond Opinion is packed with the much needed information, and at the same time, it is a compelling book to shift the readers to perceiving apologetics as merely an intellectual exercise to the position of seeing it as a means of giving a lived-out answers to those outside of the Christian faith.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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