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One Very Good Reason to Read Your Bible

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Tim Challies writes of “One Very Good Reason to Read Your Bible.” And he’s absolutely right. This is about the best reason I can think of.

One of the great dangers in the Christian life is living first for self. One of the associated dangers, then, is seeing personal devotion as a practice that goes no further than my own mind, my own heart. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Your intimacy with God, your knowledge of God, your time with God, works its way outward to everyone around you. The good you can do them every day is the good of spending time with God.

Challies expands on how your daily Bible reading will benefit your spouse, your children, your neighbors, and your fellow church members. If you think you are not smart enough, or you are too busy—or if you ever struggle with finding the Bible too boring or Bible study too complicated—please lift your eyes off yourself and consider the good God would have you do for those around you. There is too much to lose if you don’t read your Bible.

Challies’s article is excellent and worth full consideration. Check it out!

Making the Most of Your Bible Reading

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Writing at For the Church, Godwin Sathianathan has some great ideas for making the most of your Bible reading.

  1. Anticipate God speaking to you through it.
  2. Set aside regular time for it.
  3. Pick one thing and read it the way it was intended to be read.
  4. Study it.
  5. Meditate and pray through it.
  6. Memorize it.
  7. Take it into your day.
  8. Apply it.

Sathianathan’s article has more explanation for each point. Check it out!

17 Benefits to Reading the Entire Bible

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At For the Church, Kristen Wetherell explains 17 benefits to reading the entire Bible. The reasons are below. Click over to her article for more explanation of each one.

  1. You’ll know God better.
  2. You’ll know yourself better.
  3. You’ll see how the whole Bible points to Jesus.
  4. You’ll be more in awe of the gospel.
  5. You’ll build an eternally significant habit.
  6. You’ll avoid tunnel vision.
  7. You’ll discover answers to some of your questions.
  8. You’ll discover that some questions don’t need to be answered.
  9. You’ll get more familiar with different genres.
  10. You’ll gain a God-centered vision, rather than a self-centered one.
  11. You’ll experience God’s faithfulness.
  12. You’ll grow in prayer.
  13. You’ll bear fruit.
  14. You’ll be more prepared for evangelism.
  15. You’ll be more prepared for discipleship.
  16. You’ll see how God’s word is consistently relevant.
  17. You’ll be increasingly transformed into the image of Jesus.

Reading the entire Bible is well worth your time. Perhaps you might even like to get in a speed-read before the year is out?

Check it out!

The Main Message of Your Bible

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In an excerpt from the ESV Men’s Devotional Bible, Bryan Chapell summarizes well “The Main Message of Your Bible.” Here is a taste:

God doesn’t intend for this divine crusade of redemption merely to interest us. As the apostle Paul writes, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). The history, poetry, symbols, and instructions of Scripture vary greatly in style but not in their intention: all are intended to affect our response to life in our fallen world. Though evil is always present and frequently prevails, we are not to despair. With a patient confidence in God’s ultimate providence, and the assurance of the Scriptures that his redemption is ongoing, we always have hope.

Check it out!

5 Reasons to Study Old Testament History

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My church is wrapping up a sermon series through Mark’s gospel, and we’re getting ready to begin preaching through Exodus. To prepare for our preaching team’s meeting to discuss an overview of the book, I’ve been reading and re-reading the book. With my mind saturated in Exodus, I was delighted to see this brief article from David Murray with “5 Reasons to Study Old Testament History.”

Many Christians, according to Murray:

entertain a negative view of Old Testament History; of its usefulness and even of its accuracy. It is often regarded as “far away” and “distant” chronologically, geographically, socially, and theologically. “What can it do for me?” and “Why study it?” are common questions. Here are five reasons to study it and benefit from it.

Murray’s 5 reasons:

  1. OT History is True History
  2. OT History is Selective History
  3. OT History is Relevant History
  4. OT History is Purposeful History
  5. OT History is Redemptive History

Reading Murray’s comments, I couldn’t wait to dive back into Exodus. May it encourage you to pursue studying those many narratives that tell the stories of our people and of our King.

Check it out!

Bible Reading Advice for a Teenager

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In writing this advice to a teenager, John Piper has something to say to all of us:

You are right to read it every day and seek to let it permeate all your thoughts and feelings…

I think it is good to always be reading through the Bible as a whole…

In addition, it is good to focus on some unit of Scripture for going deeper, like a book or the Sermon on the Mount, or Romans 8…

With regard to prayer, this is absolutely crucial, and I am glad you are doing it. God hears our prayers and helps us be humble enough and alert enough and in-tune enough to grasp what he says.

The full article is available at Desiring God. Check it out!

Two Kinds of Bible Study

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At her blog Brown Sugar Toast, Christa Threlfall quotes an interview with Kelly Collier to explain two kinds of Bible study: by plow and by trowel. Both kinds should be part of your study diet.

Plow Bible study “moves through large portions of Scripture more quickly, looking for specific themes.” Trowel Bible study is “taking a passage or verse of Scripture and settling in to dig for a long time.” When we write about Bible study at Knowable Word, we normally refer to trowel Bible study. However, we also try to remind you regularly of the need for plow Bible study. For example, see the post on a Bible reading plan for readers.

Threlfall’s/Collier’s explanation of the two types of study will encourage you to press on. Check it out!

 

Basic Principles for Bible Reading

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Here’s a great but brief video from Michael Horton and the White Horse Inn with some basic principles for Bible reading.

  1. Engage the text.
  2. Don’t assume you know what it means.
  3. Look for the original meaning to the original audience.
  4. Learn from how other Christians have read this passage around the world and in different times.
  5. Remember the big picture is about Jesus Christ.

Check it out!

HT: Kevin Halloran

5 Reasons to Read the Entire Bible This Year

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Back in December, Jeff Robinson gave 5 good reasons to read the entire Bible in 2016. How are you doing with your reading plan? Do you think it’s still worth it to read the Bible this year? Let Robinson’s 5 reasons motivate you to press on:

  1. It helps you learn the overarching story of Scripture.
  2. It will improve your ability to interpret and exegete Scripture.
  3. It will keep you habitually in the Bible.
  4. It will ensure you are engaging (and being engaged by) Scripture at least as frequently as you’re engaging other books.
  5. It will force you to navigate those tricky, less traveled roads of Scripture.

Robinson explains each point and gives ideas for how to get started. Though it’s not still January, it’s not too late to get going. Check it out!