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Activated-ChineseP.O. Box 2-160Tam Shui P.O., Taipei County 251Taiwan R.O.C.info@activated-chinese.orgwww.activated-chinese.org

Activated MinistriesP.O. Box 462805Escondido, CA 92046-2805USAactivatedUSA@activated.org(1-877) 862-3228 (toll-free)

Activated EuropeBramingham Pk. Business Ctr.Enterprise WayBramingham ParkLuton, Beds. LU3 4BUEnglandactivatedEurope@activated.org(07801) 442-317

Activated AfricaP.O. Box 2150Westville 3630South AfricaactivatedAfrica@activated.org083 55 68 213

Activated IndiaG.P.O. Box 5215Bangalore - 560 001 India

activatedIndia@activated.org

2002 Aurora Production, Ltd.

All Rights Reserved

Activated Magazine No. 4 [Traditional Chinese]

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If you were going on a long voyage, youwould bring along a navigational chart,

wouldn’t you? Well, you are on a long voy-age—life—and the One who knows the wayhas instructed some of His men to draw adetailed chart to help you make it safely toyour final destination. To say you don’t havetime to read God’s chart, the Bible, is like asailor heading out to sea and saying, “Well,I’m in such a hurry to get where I’m goingthat I don’t have time to look at the nauticalchart!” But if you’ll just take the Bible andsimply read it, believe it, and follow it, youwill be on the right course and wind up atthe right place!

The most amazing book

The Bible is the most marvelous bookin the whole world. It not only tells uswhere we’re going, but also how we gothere, why we’re here, how to survive and

be happy while here, and how to havelove, happiness, joy, and peace forever.

Yet so many people today ignore theBible completely. Even many of those whohave been through years of higher educa-tion and have read hundreds and hundredsof books of all kinds have never read themost fascinating book of all, the Bible.

In the Bible you can find almostany th ing : d r ama , romance , poe t r y,prophecy, history, mystery, and much more.But most important, the Bible contains thevery Spirit and life of God Himself (John4:24; 6:63). It’s the means by which Godactivates us with His life, light, and power.

It works!

A skeptic and a Christian were dis-cussing whether the Bible was truly a di-vinely inspired book. The skeptic was con-vinced that since no one had ever seenGod, and there was no scientific proof

Navigating Life The One Sure Guide to

Successful Living

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of His existence, how could anyone be-lieve the Bible was truly inspired by Him?

“Is the compiler of the multiplica-tion table known?” the Christian asked.

“No.”“Then of course you do not believe

in it.”“Oh, yes, I believe in it because it

works,” replied the skeptic.“So does the Bible.”The fact that the Bible has the power

to effect positive change in each of ourlives, no matter what our situation or need,is the greatest proof that the Bible is thesupernatural Word of God Himself. Asyou read the Bible you will find that it isan absolutely inexhaustible source ofwisdom and knowledge, out of whichyou will constantly find treasures new andold (Matthew 13:52).

And the most wonderful thing aboutthe Bible is that, through its words, wecan get to know its author, for the Bibleis God’s great love letter to us. Its life-giving words make it the greatest book inthe world, with the only author in theworld who can guarantee life and loveand happiness and Heaven foreverthrough simply reading it and believingin its main character, the One who lovedus so much that He gave His own life tosave us—Jesus Christ, the Son of God!

If you sincerely pray, “Open myeyes, that I may behold wondrous thingsfrom Your Word,” you won’t be disap-pointed (Psalm 119:18).

Soul food

Jesus said, “The Words that I speakto you are spirit, and they are life” (John6:63). They give us spiritual life and nour-ishment and strength and health, whichis why a good, wholesome, balanced dietof God’s Word is essential if you wish togrow and stay close to Him. Just like youhave to eat in order to have physicalstrength, you have to feed on the Word tohave spiritual strength.

The Bible tells us that just like new-born babies desire to be fed, we shoulddesire the pure milk of the Word, so wemay grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2). Like ababy needs milk to be healthy and growor even survive, you must be fed spiritu-ally in order to stay healthy and growspiritually. And just like a baby has an

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instinctive and irrepressible desire to befed, so we should hunger for the pure

milk of God’s Word.

The Prophet Jeremiah said, “Yourwords were found, and I ate them, andYour Word was to me the joy and rejoicingof my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). Job said, “Ihave treasured the words of His mouthmore than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).

There’s nothing more important toyour spiritual life than the Word!

Word timeIn Luke, chapter 10, we read the

story of Mary and Martha. When Jesuscame to visit, Mary “sat at Jesus’ feet andheard His Word,” but Martha was too busytrying to be a good hostess. She tried sohard to get everything done just right forJesus that she didn’t have time to listen toHim. So Jesus gently scolded her, “Martha,Martha, you are worried and troubledabout many things. But one thing isneeded, and Mary has chosen that goodpart, which will not be taken away fromher” (Luke 10:41–42). What is the “goodpart” that Mary chose?—The Word! Shesat at Jesus’ feet and listened to His words.

“But,” you say, “I’ve got so much workand many other things to do. How am Iever going to find time to read the Wordevery day?” Well, if you put the Word first,the Lord will always help you find thetime to take care of those other things.When you see the difference it makes inyour life, you’ll wonder how you ever gotby without it!

(If you would l ike to learn moreabout God’s Word and how to apply it toyour life today, order the booklet Un-derstanding God’s Word ! See accompa-nying order form for details, or use read-ers service phone line on page 2 of thismagazine.)

Vocabulary List:

1. navigating

2. voyage

3. nautical

4. drama

5. poetry

6. skeptic

7. multiplication

8. inexhaustible

9. essential

10. instinctive

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DAILYWORD

One of the very best habits you canever form is that of spending a little timeeach day reading and studying the Bible andBible-based Christian literature. Start by de-voting 15 minutes a day, and then increase itto 30 minutes, or more as time goes on! Asyou read God’s Word and try to follow it, yourlife will become deeper, you’ll be happierand have more peace of mind, and you’llhave more love for and understanding ofothers. It doesn’t all happen in one day, butit does happen!

Having an ongoing reading project—reading through all four Gospels or the NewTestament or the Book of Psalms, for ex-ample—will help you get the most out ofyour daily Word time. One idea of a dailystudy plan that offers some variety is asfollows:

When reading through the Bible, prayfor the Holy Spirit to help you understandwhat you read, but don’t worry if you don’tunderstand everything the first time you readit; no one does! Keep at it. The more youread the Word, the more you will understandand often when going back to reread a cer-tain passage, you’ll find new meanings and“treasures” that you hadn’t noticed before!

In order to help you understand theamazing truths in the Bible and get the mostout of God’s Word, we’ve put together somebooks and booklets that cover the variousaspects of Christian life. The object of thesepublications is to help you know how to im-prove your life by applying God’s Word inpractical ways, and how to develop a morepersonal relationship with Him which willgive you the strength of spirit that you needto face the ups and downs of life. Booksavailable include Discovering Truth: A Topi-

cal Bible Guide, From Jesus With Love, and

the Get Activated! series, among others! (Seeaccompanying order form for details.)

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With all that’s been said in this issue ofActivated! about the importance of readingthe Word, you probably want to get a Bibleof your own, if you don’t already have one.But that raises an important question: Whatver s ion of the Bib le is best? Here’s ourrecommendation:

“Chinese Union Bible” is considered tobe the most known, and recognized by many.It was translated at the beginning of the Re-public of China. “Holy Bible--New ChineseVersion”, “Today’s Chinese Bible” and “Chi-nese Living Bible” were translated by contem-porary Christian scholars in recent years.However, the most important thing is that youtake time to study God’s Word. Jesus said, “Itis the spirit that gives you life, the flesh profitsnothing. The Word that I speak unto you,they are spirit, and they are life.”(John 6:63)“Your Word is the lamp unto my feet, the lightin my path.”(Psalms 119:105) So, do your bestto study it, and you will find endless treasureand joy from it!

Daily Dose for Optimum Growth➠ One chapter from the Gospels (Matthew,

Mark, Luke and John).➠ One chapter from Psalms.➠ Half a chapter from Proverbs.➠ One page from the Daily Might, From Jesus

With Love, or part of a section from Dis-cov e r ing Truth .

Prayer for the Day

Dear Jesus...

Thank You so much for Your Words. They’reso meaningful and pure and exci t ing andsatisfying. They give me light and strength andhope. I know You gave them to make me happy,and they do, Jesus! I know they are working won-ders in my life, because You have promised thatthey would and I’m beginning to see it already. Ineed them more than anything in life.

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