I once sat at George Müller’s desk and read James 1:27 from his Bible. I once visited a library that contained artifacts from William Carey’s life and leafed through a Bible that he had owned and studied. I have pondered the color-coded notes in Amy Carmichael’s Bible and have paged through a first-edition King James.…
Few things thrill me more than unearthing treasures that, for too long, have lay hidden in old books. Just such a treasure is Bishop Gilbert Haven’s sweet reflection on his mother’s Bible–a fitting piece to share on this Mother’s Day. I hope you’ll read it and be blessed by it. On one of the shelves…
I always felt safer in the dark when carrying a MagLite. There was something about its size, about its heft, about its sheer brightness that made me feel better, that made me feel safer, when I would walk through the lonely woods at night. The MagLite was the flashlight of brave police officers, of well-trained…
Many Christians can attest that of all the resources that have deepened their understanding of God’s Word, few have proven more important than a really good study Bible. A study Bible combines the text of Scripture with notes that help with both interpretation and application. Of course we acknowledge that there is a distinction between…
Six months ago many of us were excited to kick off the year with a new Bible-reading plan. We had the plan printed out and the Bible laid open and the time set aside. We began with a lot of discipline and enthusiasm. But along the way, life happened. We missed a day here and…
The greater our distance from another culture, the stranger that culture seems. This may be true geographically, but we observe it most commonly when the distance is chronological. The laws and customs of ancient civilizations often strike us as bizarre or unfair. There’s no doubt that sometimes they were. But if we assume that people…
Greg Koukl often passes along a cheeky little tip related to reading and understanding the Bible. “If there was one bit of wisdom, one rule of thumb, one single skill I could impart, one useful tip I could leave that would serve you well the rest of your life, what would it be? What is…
It is surprisingly difficult to turn a good intention into a life-long discipline. That isn’t to say it can’t be done. But it will be hard, there will be setbacks, and it will take both backbone and resilience. Now is probably a good time to remind you of that. If you are like many Christian…
In general, there are two approaches to daily Bible-reading: reading for intimacy or reading for familiarity. Intimacy with the Bible comes through slow, meditative reading that focuses on small portions—deep study of key books, chapters, and verses. Familiarity with the Bible comes through faster reading of much larger portions—the entire sweep of the biblical narrative.…
I do not often run guest articles on this site. But every now and again I do make an exception—usually for my friend Paul Carter. In this case, he is going to suggest a great way to turn a retired Bible into a precious family heirloom. What follows is from Paul… If you are a…
A recent study sponsored by LifeWay Research and highlighted by Facts & Trends shares some unfortunate but unsurprising results: “A third of Americans who attend a Protestant church regularly (32%) say they read the Bible personally every day. Around a quarter (27%) say they read it a few times a week.” They divide the results…
I’m thankful that preachers are increasingly aware of the Bible’s big picture and are preaching accordingly. I’m grateful to see preachers focused on understanding and explaining how the Bible is a cohesive, coherent book, and doing this by exploring the many connections within it. This compares favorably with using the Bible as little more than…
While the gospel remains fixed and unchanging, every generation is different from the one before. While God’s Word is always true and powerful, each generation has its own doubts and questions. This means that each generation needs to be taught about God and his Word in a unique way. Where gen X might have responded…
When it comes to the Bible, we’ve all got a choice to make. We can take the Bible on our terms, or on its terms. We can choose to follow it some of the way, or we can choose to follow it all the way. We can dabble in it, or we can dive deep…
I recently announced that my new book, A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible, is just about ready to launch and that we are now taking pre-orders. It is due to be released at the end of March. In the meantime, I wanted to give you a brief taste of what you’ll read and what…
You’ve probably seen something recently about the ESV Scripture Journals. According to the publisher, they “pair the entirety of individual books of the New Testament with lightly lined blank pages opposite each page of the biblical text, allowing readers to take extended notes or record insights and prayers directly beside corresponding passages of Scripture. Individual…
Earlier in the week, eager to be encouraged, I put this question out to Twitter: What has the Lord been teaching you from his Word recently? The responses were quick, plentiful, and encouraging. Here are a few of them. (Click here to read them all.) I’ve been meditating on the Good Samaritan, and I’m learning…
The new year is coming, and I, for one, am beginning to think about how I’m going to do my daily devotions in 2019. I know that for me to be consistent, I need to put some plans in place. For the past several years I’ve made great use of the Five-Day Reading Plan and…
Today I’m glad to share an article by Paul Carter, a friend who has contributed to my site a couple of times in the past. He is passionate about reading and teaching God’s Word and I’m glad to have him lay down the challenge to read the Bible fast and slow in 2019. One of…
It’s the age of the expert, the age of the specialist. And sure enough, there’s a growing theme in the Christian world that experience is a necessary prerequisite to authority. If you want to know about parenting, you need to talk to a parent. If you want to know about marriage, you need to talk…