Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

Copyright © 2012–2025 DiscipleMakers, except guest articles (copyright author). Used by permission.

You are here: Home / Archives for Bible reading

The Most Popular Bible Verses of 2014

By

I know I’m a little late for a year-end round up, but I just came across this fascinating article about the most popular Bible verses of 2014. YouVersion, one of the most popular Bible apps for mobile devices, compiled data from over 164 million users to see which Bible verses were shared most frequently.

They discovered that the most popular verse – measured by the number of bookmarks, highlights, and shares it got – was Romans 12:2. This is good; people want to be transformed by renewing their minds according to God’s will.

Philippians 4:6, 4:7, and 4:8 all made the top 10. I wonder how many of the 164 million users have recognized the train of thought running through Philippians 4:2-9. Later this month, I may have an article on another website on that very topic. Stay tuned.

I find it interesting that the most popular verses of 2014 are almost completely different from the prior year’s list. Either we simply have clearer data with a larger sample size, or people are reading and profiting from different parts of Scripture over time. You decide.

My Favorite Way to Read the New Testament

By

I’m in the thick of my 5th annual Bible romp, and I just hit the New Testament. This year, I decided to read the Old Testament in canonical order (the order they’re found in most Bibles) so I could try out my nice new ESV Reader’s Bible. (I’m loving it; here’s my full review.)

Jordan Klein (2007), Creative Commons

Jordan Klein (2007), Creative Commons

Now that I’m in the New Testament, I couldn’t resist going back to my favorite way to read it. Going straight from Matthew to Revelation is fine, of course. But I love considering the New Testament along four tracks:

  • Track #1: Matthew, Hebrews, James, Jude
  • Track #2: Mark, 1 Peter, 2 Peter
  • Track #3: Luke, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
  • Track #4: John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation

There’s nothing magical about these four tracks, but I find them helpful in showcasing and explaining the message of Christ in four specific ways.

  • Track 1 focuses explicitly on how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and led Jews into the new covenant. Those familiar with the Old Testament tend to love this track.
  • Track 2 focuses on Peter’s eyewitness testimony to scattered Jewish converts to Christianity. Established religious folks often benefit from this track.
  • Track 3 focuses on Paul’s witness to Christ and his ministry to the Gentiles. No-nonsense folks who love to have all the facts tend to love this track.
  • Track 4 focuses on John’s eyewitness testimony to scattered Jews, seeking to persuade them of Jesus’ messiahship and to assure them amid great persecution. Young believers and unbelievers exploring Jesus often benefit from this track.

Since all Scripture is profitable for all men and women, I don’t want to pigeonhole these tracks too narrowly. But noticing some general trends and connections (for example, that Peter was the source for much of Mark’s material) can help us to digest the major threads and to target our ministries in ways similar to the apostles who wrote these books. Also, it helps us to remember there are multiple ways to present Jesus to the world, depending on the type of people we seek to reach.

——————-

Disclaimer: The Amazon link above is an affiliate link. That means that if the FTC ever stops me at a river crossing and asks me to say Shibboleth, they’ll want to hear me say that “anything you buy from Amazon after clicking that link will send some nickels and dimes my way to help cover my hosting fees.” My thanks remain ever unceasing.

Bible Reading is an Art

By

Everything on this blog aims to help ordinary people learn to study the Bible. That means we cover a lot of details and mechanics. God’s word is knowable, and we want to help people know what to do when they sit down and open their Bibles.

At Desiring God, however, David Mathis has a timely reminder: that we remember Bible reading is as much art as it is science.

And just like we learn to ride a bike with training wheels, it can help to have someone spell out some simple method of “inductive Bible study” with the dance steps of observation, interpretation, and application. Rudimentary, memorable approaches like this abound in Christian circles serious about the Bible. They are a gift to help us get going, and come to an otherwise dauntingly large Book with some idea of what to do next.

But the point of learning the little bits of science behind it all is to be ready to dance when the music begins to play. And the best of dancing isn’t just taught in classrooms, but caught in practice.

Good Bible reading is no mere science; it is an art. The Bible itself is a special compilation of great artistries. And the best way to learn the art of reading the Bible for yourself is this: Read it for yourself.

Mathis’s article is a wonderful reminder, and it serves as a helpful complement to what you’ll find here at Knowable Word.

Check it out!

9 Things Everyone Should Do When Reading the Bible

By

This article at Relevant Magazine lists 9 simple things anyone and everyone should do when reading the Bible.

  1. Read “king” when you see “Christ.”
  2. Read “you” differently (it’s usually plural, not singular).
  3. If you see a “therefore,” find out what it’s there for.
  4. Realize that not all “if” statements are the same.
  5. Recognize that lamenting is OK.
  6. Realize that prophecy is more often FORTH-telling than FORE-telling.
  7. Become familiar with the idioms of your king.
  8. Remember what you learned in English class.
  9. Read to study. But also, read to refresh your heart.

These are great tips. On the first point, I suggest reading “the Chosen One” instead of “King,” but the article’s general point is sound: “Christ” is a title and not just Jesus’ last name.

Check it out!

How Long it Takes to Read the Bible

By

Literary agent Steve Laube recently posted an infographic showing how long it takes to read about 60 classic and popular works of literature. The entire Bible takes less than 45 hours to read, less than either the Harry Potter series or the Game of Thrones series.

With just 30 minutes per day of solid Bible reading, you could still complete another read-through before the end of the year!

Check it out!

Four Modern Versions of the Bible that are Ruining the Bible

By

 

Donna (2006), Creative Commons

Donna (2006), Creative Commons

Ben Irwin asks if the modern proliferation of Bibles might be part of the reason we’re reading Scripture less. The Bible is so available to us that we don’t hunger for it. And four kinds of Bibles lead us to devalue the Bible.

  1. The Commodity Bible (teen version, young couple’s version, single white female version, etc.)
  2. The Disposable Bible (planned for obsolescence)
  3. The Accessory Bible (colored to match your shoes)
  4. The “Have it Your Way” Bible (pick a translation—and change translations from verse to verse—so it says what you want it to say)

Irwin’s background in publishing Bibles commercially lends a certain gravity to his musings. And he suggests:

It’s not too late to chart another course. It’s not too late to remember that while the Bible was given for us, that doesn’t make it ours to tailor as we see fit. Scripture, as it turns out, is not that interested in catering to my personal “felt needs.”

It’s not too late to remember that the Bible is not just another commodity — that the whole point of owning and reading the Bible is not so I can fit bits and pieces of it into my life, but so I can fit my life into its story.

This thoughtful article is well worth considering. Check it out!

Hope for the Backsliding Bible Reader

By

Recently, the good folks at the Good Book blog posted “Confessions of a Backsliding Bible Reader” by Helen Thorne. Ms. Thorne lists all the great excuses she makes each day that keep her from reading her Bible. Then she shares truth that helps her walk through the excuses.

She writes of how God delights to be known by us:

The reality is that God would much prefer a sleepy attempt to engage with him than no attempt at all. I could quite happily pray on the bus and listen to his word on my mp3. No-one in my office would actually mind if I took a proper lunch-break and went somewhere quiet to read. And it would probably be far healthier for my spiritual life if I did a little less “for God” and spent a little longer “with God” occasionally saying “no” to an activity so I can spend some serious time with my heavenly Father.

In the end, she offers a simple treatment: connect with your church community. None can stand alone, so why not open ourselves to others and ask for help?

Her brief meditation is well worth the look. Check it out!

Regular Bible Study May Keep You from God

By

At the Desiring God blog, Marshall Segal recently wrote of “The Danger in Our Daily Devotions“:

If we carve out time to be with God in his book, we’ll be rewarded. But the rewards of our meditation — seeing more of God himself — can be surprisingly dangerous. Knowledge can corrupt and distract if we don’t know what to do with it. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor 8:1). Paul is clear that we can have “all knowledge” (1 Cor 13:2), but not love. And knowledge without love leaves us with “nothing” (1 Cor 13:2).

So how do we accumulate knowledge about God without ending up far from him? How do we keep our daily devotions from being (spiritually) dangerous?

How to Stay Christian in SeminaryHe then reviews a short book by David Mathis and Jonathan Parnell entitled How to Stay Christian in Seminary. Mathis and Parnell offer the following suggestions:

  1. Stay amazed at grace
  2. Stay dependent on God
  3. Stay focused on Jesus

Though the book’s title appears to focus on seminary students, I agree with Segal that these points are “undeniably relevant to anyone studying their Bible, whether for a focused, four-year degree or just in a regular rhythm of personal devotions.”

As you learn to study the Bible, does your study puff you up and so keep you from the Lord? Or does it help you to know God better?

Check it out!

HT: Ryan Higginbottom

——-

Disclosure: If you click the affiliate links above and buy stuff from Amazon, you’ll support the site at no extra cost to yourself.

Have You Forgotten How to Read the Bible?

By

Last week, The Gospel Coalition posted an article by professor Dan Doriani entitled “The Danger of Forgetting How to Read the Bible.” In the article, Doriani traces the common path for leaders who become leaders out of excitement for the Scripture, but who then lose this excitement as they focus on technical and academic study of the word.

He writes:

Leaders stumble for many reasons, and while I could argue that a zealous seminarian has little in common with a vain or depressed middle-aged leader, there is at least one common thread: My peers and my students can both stop reading the Bible as we should.

Ultimately, “Students and pastors need, therefore, to become technical, devotional readers. Here every exegetical skill remains, yet we also read like children, letting the word speak to our hearts again.”

These things are not just for pastors. As we learn to study the Bible and teach it to others, let us not stop letting it speak to our own hearts again and again.

Check it out!

Four Perspectives on the Message of Christ

By

Because the good news about Jesus Christ is for all nations (Gen 12:3, Is 66:18-20, Matt 28:19-20, Acts 11:17-18), the message has some inherent flexibility. It can be delivered in various ways to various people at various times.

Please don’t misunderstand: I’m not saying there are no false gospels (nor that any message = God’s message). I’m merely saying that the true gospel can’t be oversimplified to a single, universal formula. For example, “Jesus is Lord,” “Jesus is the Christ,” “Jesus died for our sins,” and “The Kingdom of God is among you” are all biblical and have their place, and each formula will resonate differently for different people groups (or even different individuals).

I believe that’s why God didn’t give a single portrait of Jesus in the New Testament. To communicate the breadth of his grace to the nations, God gave four Gospels, which provide four lenses through which we can view the work of Christ.

All four perspectives are true. All four are important. Each speaks truth in a slightly different way, though there’s significant overlap between them.

And each Gospel lens triggers further reflection on the person and work of Christ in the epistles.

As you read the New Testament, consider these subdivisions:

Kathryn Decker (2013), Creative Commons

Kathryn Decker (2013), Creative Commons

  1. Matthew: with James, Hebrews, Jude
  2. Mark: with 1 & 2 Peter
  3. Luke: with Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
  4. John: with 1, 2, & 3 John, Revelation

Perspective #1: By Jews, for Jews

These books show Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament; he’s everything the Jews had been waiting for. These books clarify points of continuity and discontinuity between Old and New Testaments, and they preach the gospel to people familiar with the things of God.

Perspective #2: Peter’s Perspective

Mark was Peter’s close associate (1 Peter 5:13), and many scholars have noted Peter’s hand in Mark’s Gospel. Many episodes read like Peter’s memoirs (such as, Mark 1:36, 14:72). Mark’s Gospel and Peter’s epistles have a strong sense of “doing,” with comparatively little emphasis on “teaching.” These books preach the gospel to people who feel out-of-place in their world and who appreciate knowing just the facts.

Perspective #3: Paul’s Perspective

There’s a strong case for identifying Luke-Acts as a trial brief written to aid Paul’s defense in Roman court. Undoubtedly, Luke was Paul’s close associate and one of his only companions to the end (2 Tim 4:11). Thus, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, influenced Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus gives more attention to Gentiles and marginalized outsiders than he does in any other Gospel. Luke, Acts, and Paul’s epistles preach the gospel to people working through the implications of God’s grace and his “all nations” mission.

Perspective #4: John’s Perspective

John was a Jew through and through, and he had a remarkable tenderness in relationships (John 13:23-25). His Gospel and epistles assume unfathomably profound associations between Old and New Testaments, while simultaneously simplifying the message with such clarity that anyone can understand it. Son of God. Believe. Know. Love. Come, Lord Jesus. These books preach the gospel to people who need to learn (or re-learn) the basics.

Read, Study, Preach

These four subdivisions don’t represent the only way to read the New Testament; they merely provide a framework I’ve found to be helpful. Each perspective is like a set of tracks for shipping the cargo of the gospel to a different group of people. As you read the New Testament, you may find it helpful to stay on one track for a time, or you may find it helpful to maintain balance in all four.

As you teach and share the gospel with others, you may want to consider which track is most likely to connect with your audience. Are they already familiar with God or not? Do they have basic Bible knowledge or not? Do they feel like a minority or majority in their environment? Are they likely to feel excluded, and so need more coaxing? Or are they more likely to feel included, and so need more confrontation?

And with a more diverse audience, we have a greater need to cycle through all four perspectives.

Question: Which perspective resonates the most with you?