Nuggets to Nourish Your Soul: A New Believer’s Handbook of Christian Terms with Commentary and Study Guides

By Portia Turner Merriweather

Just like other new believers, Portia Turner Merriweather experienced the frustration of trying to determine the meaning of important Christian terms. She wished there was one basic resource for babes in Christ to reference. So what do words such as salvation, born again, and eternal life really mean to Christians and why must we familiarize ourselves with them? Within an easy-to-digest collection, Merriweather provides definitions and commentary related to twenty-seven fundamental faith words that seasoned Christians and pastors use regularly. Her explanations of such terms as baptism, grace, sin, and tithe also include accompanying scriptures and introspective questions that will help anyone grow in faith, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God, the Christian faith, and God’s Word. Included is space to record and memorize a favorite verse.

Nuggets to Nourish Your Soul offers savory bits of wisdom regarding twenty-seven fundamental and frequently used Christian terms that will help new believers navigate through their faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973684220

Portia Turner Merriweather

With many decades as a Sunday school teacher and seminary and Bible study student, thirty-eight years as an English teacher of both middle and high schoolers in city and county public schools, plus sixteen years as a grandmother, Portia Turner Merriweather feels prepared, positioned, and privileged for the mission of training young Christians to seek biblical answers to all their questions. This book gives them one easy to understand resource to consult when questions about life confound them. Since these questions were submitted by teens or those representing them, they exemplify actual areas of concern for them. Now, instead of reacting as the world dictates with its often misleading and destructive practices, Christian teens are equipped to apply scripture and to start building a solid biblical foundation. Portia Turner Merriweather has used her skills as a teacher to write another resource for Christians, this time especially for teenagers. Her first book, Nuggets to Nourish Your Soul, was written for both new and mature Christians. Portia and her husband, Anthony, have a combined family of five grown children and fifteen grandchildren and share homes in Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia.

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Copyright © 2020 Portia Turner Merriweather.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8421-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8423-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8422-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020901145

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/28/2020

Contents

Introduction

Assurance of Salvation

Baptism

Born Again

Christian

Death

Eternal Life

Faith

God, the Father

Grace of God

Holy Spirit

Inerrant Word

Jesus

Knowing God’s Promises

Love

Mercy

Names of God

Obedience

Prayer

Quicken

Reconciliation

Salvation

Sin

Tithe

Trust

Unity of the Faith

Warfare, Spiritual

Witnessing

Heartfelt Thanks

Word List

Notes

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat and drink.

—Matthew 25:35

To the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

For all babes in Christ who hunger and thirst.

Introduction

As a new Christian, there are words that you hear seasoned or mature Christians use that are unfamiliar to you. These terms refer to fundamental truths of our faith. You may or may not get a clear explanation if you are bold enough to ask for the meaning of such words. More often than not, you just wonder in silence, not willing to show your lack of understanding. I had the same frustration as a babe in Christ, and as I hungrily tried to research meanings of terms of the faith, writing Nuggets to Nourish Your Soul became my ministry. I devoured every explanation I could find on as many words as I encountered. I read articles and books, took notes at church, and as I listened to many Christian television and radio broadcasts, I consulted dictionaries and concordances. And, of course, I sought guidance from scripture and application notes until I understood, as I call them, the faith words—the meat of our beliefs.

I assure you that you will encounter many terms on your spiritual journey; you’ll come across words such as salvation, born again, and eternal life. What do these words really mean to Christians? Why do you hear them so often? Why must you familiarize yourself with them?

You know how you feel when you can’t participate in a discussion because you have no insight into the subject? Well, it is the goal of this book to dispel that awkward feeling and to give you, in savory nuggets, biblically accurate explanations of some key Christian terms. It is my hope that you will gain confidence in your faith as your level of understanding grows.

This handbook is a collection of easy-to-digest (bite-sized) definitions with commentary on twenty-seven fundamental faith words. To greatly enhance your study, memorize the accompanying scriptures. Also, read the passages referenced in the parentheses, because in-depth feasting on the Word helps you grow in faith, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

No doubt, as you continue to mature, you will want to search the scriptures to learn Bible verses that are particularly meaningful to your life. Then, one day, you too will become seasoned in the faith. And as you converse with other mature saints, pull that babe in Christ into the discussion. Share your wisdom, patiently explain, and perhaps give him this book.

But for now, savor and enjoy each nugget as your appetite for understanding Christian vocabulary increases. Read and nibble each term as the need arises, rather than from cover to cover. That way, you will retain more information.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)

Assurance of Salvation

(saved or redeemed from sin and death through faith in Jesus alone)

I can think of no better way to begin this study than with this nugget of assurance. What exactly is the blessed assurance of salvation, which choirs sing, ministers preach, and Christians testify about? It is this: the scriptures teach and we declare that because of God’s grace, we have been redeemed, saved, and assured of eternal life through our belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). This is the foundation of our faith.

As new believers, we are often drawn into the valley of doubt and fear concerning our salvation. As we hear others discuss this fundamental truth, we may think, I don’t feel different. Am I truly saved? Is it possible to really have assurance of my salvation? How can I be as sure as mature saints?

God in His great wisdom knew the question of salvation would plague us. I believe that is why He filled the Bible with