What helped you have a meaningful and real relationship with Jesus Christ?

The two most important things that have helped me are Bible reading and prayer--having my own walk with God. I like to have a notebook/journal and sometimes write down verses, things I learn or specific prayers. I try to read the Bible as if it was written just for me and look for what I can learn from it and apply to my life. When I find a verse or a passage hard to understand, I sometimes read it in the Living Bible which is very easy to understand. I also like to underline special verses in the Bible as it makes my Bible more personal and verses easier to find.
And then prayer--talking to God about everything really. Prayer makes God more real.
 

Its also helped me to read Christian devotional books and other Christian books, listen to good Christian music and watch good dvds.

For a few years, I taught Sunday School which was really good for me as it made me dig into the Bible and learn lessons that I could teach very simply.

I am also blessed to have parents, siblings and friends who have real relationships with God and who are open to talk to.

 Christian camps and conferences that I've been to over the years were helpful.

There are many things that have helped me in my relationship with God, but the most important is definately time alone with Him.

How Can I Read the Bible and Get Something from It?

These are just tips or ideas. This is actually my own question that I've been asking, as I've realized my Bible reading has not been so great lately. But I hope these ideas are helpful to you, too.

 

1)Have a Plan
Make a Bible Reading plan that will work for you and stick to it.
Lately I haven't been reading in a particular place in my Bible and it's not the best! Although God can use any verse in the Bible to speak to you, it's definitely better to follow some kind of a plan rather than trying to decide what to read every time you open your Bible.
I decided to use a plan in the back of my Bible which reads through the Bible in two years. So that means 2 chapters every day, one in the Old Testament and one in the New.
But there are different ideas:
Book by book
Bible Characters
Stories/Parables
Proverbs--1 chapter per day, as there's 31 chapters
A chapter in the Old and one in the New
'Read the Bible in a Year' plans

2) Make a specific time and place
Find a time that will work best for you. It's nice to do it first thing in the morning, but if you're more awake at night than in the morning maybe the evening would be better. What time do you concentrate best? 

3) Use a journal
Have some type of book that you can write down things you learn, verses that speak to you or a passage that stands out. It will help you remember.

4) Keep track of what you're reading

You could write down which chapters you've read in your journal so you remember where you're up to. Or else use bookmarks.

 

5) Pray first

Before you start reading, pray for God's help. There is a prayer in the psalms that says "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." Psalms 119:18 That's a good prayer to pray.

 

6) Ask questions as you read.
Here are some ideas:
What does this passage teach me about God? and about myself?
Is there a command, promise, warning or fact/truth in here? What can I apply to my life and how?

If reading a story about someone, you can ask...
What can I learn from this person?
What did they do right?
What did they do wrong?
What consequences did they get for their sin or what reward did they get for doing right?

7) Underline verses that speak to you.

I have found this really helpful. It makes the Bible more personal for me. It helps me concentrate and it helps me to find verses that I know.

8) Write down a prayer in response
In your journal you could write a short prayer as a response to what you've read. A prayer that is somehow appropriate to something you've just read.

9) Mix the hard with the easy

If you're not familiar with the Bible, it would be best to just start somewhere easy, like Genesis or Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
But if you're more familiar...if you read a difficult took, read an easier book at the same time so you don't get discouraged and give up.
I remember hearing an Israeli telling my mum he had started reading the New Testament for the first time. He was reading Revelation! Mum told him that Revelation isn't a good book to start with. He replied, "What's wrong with it?" Mum explained that there is nothing wrong with it, but it's just a very difficult book!"

10) If possible, read aloud.

You have to concentrate when you're reading aloud!

11) If you have time, read it twice.

Sometimes you can miss things when you only read it once.

 12) Read a paraphrase/easy version/ or commentary alongside your regular version.

I have the Living Bible which is a paraphrase. My regular Bible is a KJV, so I sometimes find it handy to read the chapter I've just read in my Bible in the Living Bible, especially if what I'm reading is difficult to understand. There are some verses I never understood until I read them in there. Now I know what those verses are talking about!

13) Listen to the Bible being read.

My Dad isn't a very good reader, so ever since he's been a Christian, he's listened to the Bible on tape. Now he can listen to it on his phone. It's also quite handy if you're doing something quiet, like scrapbooking or cleaning. You can listen at the same time!

I have just downloaded the whole audio Bible from

http://www.bible.is/download/audio It's free and I got the dramatized one which is good if you don't concentrate very well when listening, like me! You can choose which version and language you want. It's quite amazing really!

How do you respond to a friend who says they have visions and have met with God and talked to Him in them?

A question you could ask them is...

If what God says to you in a vision is different to what is in the Bible, how can you trust it? And if it is in the Bible, why would you need a vision????

And another question is...

Why does God give visions when He has already given us His Word?

In the Old Testament and a few times in the New Testament, God spoke to people in visions or dreams. I remember thinking one time, “Why do all the dreams in the Bible mean something and yet dreams today don't? I sure wouldn't want all my strange dreams to have meanings!!” And then I realized that back then people didn't have the whole Bible to read like we do today.

Today God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. We don't need anything else.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

God tells us how He speaks to us today.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Hebrews 1:1 -2

Then these verses in John say that Jesus is the Word. So God speaks to us by His Son, through the Bible—God's written Word.

John 1:1,14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Many cults have started because of their leaders having visions and believing God spoke to them.

They each believe they are they are the right group and yet their beliefs contradict each other and the Bible. Yet if God truly spoke to each of them, this wouldn't happen.

I found this list of several things that are common with people who have visions. The person who made this list had met many people who had visions. I thought it was interesting as it makes it quite obvious to me that the visions aren’t from God!

1) They have been thinking about the subject of the vision before it happened or something else triggers the dream.

2) It often happens in relationship to sleep. The person wakes up and has the vision.

3) The vision generally confirms to them what they had already been thinking about.

4) The vision generally does not bring them closer to the Lord, but directs them away from the Bible and/or sound doctrine.

5) Without exception the person who has the vision was in doctrinal error and/or attending a church that was doctrinally unsound.

I hope this is helpful! But above all, pray that God will give you the right words. He knows exactly what that person needs.

Where is a good place to begin reading the Bible?

I was listening to my Mum talking to an Israeli guy who had just started reading the New Testament. He had started with the book of Revelation! My Mum told him, "That's not a good book to start with."  "What's wrong with it?" he asked. "Oh, there's nothing wrong with it, but it's just not very easy to understand," explained my Mum.
Some books of the Bible are easier to read than others, so it is important to start reading somewhere that's not too difficult.
If you are new to the Bible and what it teaches, the first few chapters of Genesis would be a good place to start as it tells us how life began and where things went wrong. After that, one of the first four books in the New Testament, (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) would be good, as they are easy to read and also teach us about Jesus Christ.
If you already know a lot about the Bible, I would probably start with one of the four that I just suggested above (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). 

How do you know God's will in making decisions?

Surrender your own will

If you want directions to get to a certain place, you have to admit that you don't know the way yourself. You have to be willing to accept that what you thought was the right way may not actually be! If you're determined that you already know the right way, you won't listen to advice. It's the same with making decisions. If you want to know God's will you must be willing to accept whatever His will is. And often (but not always) it's not we would choose.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

How can one schedule their time to read the Bible?

“And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word

...one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:39,42

*First of all, make it a priority.

If you don't make it a priority, it probably won't happen very often. I'm learning that what you prioritize is what you get done. If it's last thing on your list, you probably won't have time. We have time for what we make time for.

How can I know Christ better?

This is a question someone asked me privately. But it's a very good practical question for young girls, so I decided to share my answers here aswell.

Make some time to get to know God each day.

The story of Mary and Martha in the Bible is always a good reminder to me. Martha was busy serving Jesus, while Mary was sitting at his feet learning from Him. Too often I get so busy doing good things for God that I neglect to spend time with Him. And Jesus said we must abide in Him to be able to bring forth fruit.

When I was a single girl, I was able to have time first thing in the morning or in my room at night to read the Bible and pray. When I got married and then started having children, having a quiet time was not so easy! Nearly impossible---so many interruptions! I had to learn new ways and how to make the most of just a few minutes. So the way you do it is not so important.

I find it helpful to find a verse in the morning to think about during the day. Because it's very easy to read in the morning and then forget about it for the rest of the day (which is not much help)!