Coming into the knowledge of Jesus Christ is the most exciting relationship a believer can ever have. It is the beginning of a life of tremendous spiritual enlightenment and fulfillment with an all-loving, all-powerful, Almighty God. Below are some tools, books and other resources that will help develop Christ like character, expand, and enhance your faith.
I feel that the Online Bible Gateway is one of the best online Bible tools, I have had the privilege of using. The ability to access multiple versions of the Bible at one time is detrimental to today’s Christ followers. Bible Gateway totally transformed my Bible study time and my ability to retain scriptural references to include the original Hebrew and Greek translations.
Because we live in the most technologically savvy society of in all of history with the Bible Gateway, I believe its use has made scripture references in the church more interactive with smartphone technology at our fingertips.
The Bible Gateway is also a wonderful resource for the quick copy of biblical chapter and verse whereby in online networking and ministry meetings via email or video conferencing I was able to seamlessly convey the exact scriptural content with little to no wait time. It also helps me get the right reference in the right translation, which can vary from say a King James Bible to a New International Version Bible.
What makes the Bible Gateway even more unique is its ability to provide biblically scriptural references in varying languages. It makes sharing the Gospel with people of different countries and languages around the world much more accessible.
I Am Second was introduced to me by a ministry friend in 2008. It provides some good inspirational content for the born-again Christ follower. It is a non-profit, multimedia tool that provides testimonials from celebrities and other successful individuals that will ignite passion in the lives of every Christ follower. The idea of I Am Second is to inspire believers to “put Jesus Christ FIRST place in their lives.
It allows users to connect with a community of believers that have discovered a different way to live for Christ. I Am Second will introduce you to REAL stories of REAL people who have found true peace in authentic identity and radical love in Christ.
Quiet Strength is a book that chronicles much of Tony Dungy’s experiences as Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts. I was fortunate to have used this book for a men’s small group. What I appreciated most about this book and its accompanying and its study materials is that it dig deeper into Tony’s faith walk and how he coached from that perspective. Tony’s often biblically based principles provided great understanding into how he successfully coached his teams while managing to keep his family together even after the loss of his son to an apparent suicide.
Uncommon is a good read. Tony Dungy the former Super Bowl-winning coach of Indianapolis Colts, talks about what it takes to live a life of significance by developing core character values such as honesty and integrity. I recall this story he told of how he chooses players by character. He told of how he used the acronym DNDC, which meant Do Not Draft because of Character. That ideal particularly stood out to me about who Tony Dungy is at his core. He also discusses his faith and family upbringing and ideals in more detail, and how we as believer’s need to consider those we influence over the image we try to portray. Uncommon the book sparked a “Be Uncommon” movement in schools, teams, and families across the nation.
The Battlefield of The Mind – Joyce Meyer
Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer is a good resource for those of you who are ready to start understanding various scriptural references and how it plays a part in the development of your faith. This book also helps you understand biblically how to think as believers to have a better much deeper mindful relationship in Christ.