The first example of one of these stories is the story of the mustard seed. It is from Matthew 13:31-32. 31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." Basically this is talking about the kingdom being like a mustard seed. When you go and preach the word of god to someone, it may seem a very small thing at first but this act can grow very fast and reach out to other people like the mustard seed and become so big that other people, illustrated as birds, can come into it. I believe that this is a very useful story as it is encouraging to Christians to go out and to spread Gods word to people.
My second example is the man who built his house on the rock. It is from Matthew 7:24-27 24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." This verse is talking about the clever man who gave his life to God, and when bad times come, he will stand firm because he has god to support him. But the foolish man who gives his life to material possessions will have troubles in tough times, for there is nobody there to help him. This is probably the most important verse to Christians as it is a very good illustration of the good things that will come if you give your life to Jesus.
Another very helpful passage are ten verses and they come from Luke 10:25-35. 25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' " 28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." 29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" 30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' I love this passage. It is a very clear image of a very important subject. It shows us how to help and be loving to other people. In those days, Samaritans were hated by the people of Jerusalem so this is a very good example of how we should care for our enemies as we would want to be cared for. Jesus set us this task so that the world we live in could be a better place, but as God created people with the privilege of free will, most people choose not to follow this.
Most of the laws we live by today are based on the Ten Commandments. God had told Moses to write his commandments on two stone tablets and these were to be obeyed by his people. Some basic laws that everyone knows to be followed are things like you shall not steal, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, and these come from the Ten Commandments. So the Ten Commandments are an excellent basis for the way we live.
If Christians obey the rules and regulations set out to us by the teachings of the bible, then this is definitely a reliable foundation. The bible is probably the most useful thing to a Christians life, because without the bible, the Christian faith would probably not be at the stage it is now. It is a reliable source and contains messages and teachings which lead us on the path to the kingdom of god.
