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5 Good Reasons to Mark Up your Bible

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Kevin Halloran wants you to mark up your Bible. Don’t be shy. We agree that it’s a worthwhile practice.

Halloran gives 5 good reasons:

  1. Marking up my Bible helps engage me in more careful study.
  2. Marking up my Bible helps with future reading of the Bible.
  3. Marking up my Bible helps remember past experiences.
  4. Marking up my Bible helps me to encourage other saints who see my marked-up pages.
  5. Marking up my Bible is visible evidence that I treasure God’s revealed Word.

Halloran also suggests what exactly to mark when you study your Bible. For more information, check out our reasons for getting a markup Bible. If you’d like ideas for a new markup Bible, see our post comparing the options.

Check it out!

Applying Ecclesiastes in a Secular Age

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Kevin Halloran has an excellent piece called “Why Our Secular Age Needs Ecclesiastes,” where he masterfully applies the wisdom in this book in many specific and practical ways.

This world is desperate for answers to life’s fundamental questions. What is life about? Why is life so unjust? Why does work have to be so toilsome? How can I be happy when the world seems pointless?

The spirit of the age recommends both finding meaning inward, i.e. we create our own meaning in life; and outward, meaning comes from advancing in our careers, accumulating possessions, and pleasurable experiences…

Phil Ryken calls Ecclesiastes in jest “the only book of the Bible written on a Monday morning.” Ecclesiastes at times even seems to contradict other parts of Scripture. (Chew on 1:17–18 or 4:1–3 for a bit.) But what Solomon captures are the paradoxes of living in a fallen world. At the same time, we can enjoy the goodness of God’s creation (Genesis 1:31) and groan as we live in its post-fall futility (Romans 8:20–23).

Our secular world groans as well but doesn’t know where to find hope. Secular solutions only exacerbate the problem, leaving us wanting.

Halloran then walks through the many things addressed in Ecclesiastes that simply aren’t “enough,” so he can lead us to the one thing that is. In the process, Halloran shows us how to apply an Old Testament text to modern people.

Check it out!

When Our Study Bibles Get in the Way of our Bible Study

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A few years ago, Desiring God interviewed Glenn Paauw on his book Saving the Bible from Ourselves: Learning to Read and Live the Bible Well. We shared that interview on this blog, but it is important enough that it warrants sharing once again.

And this time, I’ll share it along with Kevin Halloran’s notes. So if you prefer not to listen to the entire interview, you can catch the key points in Kevin’s excellent summary.

The major takeaway is that your study Bibles are laid out and designed to prevent you from studying the Bible yourself. They presume little to no knowledge of the Bible, and they draw far more attention to the “helps” than to the text, leaving the text nearly untouched by most people. Please be aware of this trap, promote awareness of it, and form good habits of studying the text in context.

Check it out!

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Why the Bible is Difficult to Understand

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Kevin Halloran lists 9 reasons the Bible is difficult to understand, along with what we can do about it. His reasons:

  1. We live at a different time
  2. We live in a different culture
  3. We speak different languages
  4. We have natural minds that struggle to understand spiritual truths
  5. We are sinners
  6. We don’t know how the Bible storyline fits together
  7. We have weak reading skills
  8. We are lazy
  9. We don’t approach the Bible correctly

After explaining these five hurdles, Halloran continues with reasons to rejoice in the resources God has given us. And he offers suggestions for growing in handling the Word.

This is great, practical instruction, which I highly commend.

Check it out!

How to Be Teachable

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According to the book of Proverbs, the chief difference between wisdom and folly lies in how willing a person is to listen to God’s instruction. In other words, are you teachable and open to counsel from the lips of God? I blogged my way through the first 9 chapters of Proverbs a few years ago to show this is so.

On his blog, Kevin Halloran recently summarized, in a few key principles from Proverbs, how to be teachable:

  1. Be humble.
  2. Seek wisdom and instruction as though your life depends on it.
  3. Learn from the right teachers.
  4. Receive correction as a blessing.

Halloran lists specific proverbs for each point, along with many helpful suggestions and a closing prayer for teachability. He does a great job showing us how to apply these truths from Proverbs in personal and specific ways.

Check it out!

Top-Notch Overview of Mark’s Gospel

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Kevin Halloran recently posted a few resources to give you “Everything You Need to Read the Gospel of Mark With a Friend (Or On Your Own).” These resources include an infographic outlining the book’s structure and main themes, study guides, and a few short videos explaining the book.

The resources Kevin shares are of the highest quality. They don’t waste time on irrelevant trivia or lengthy academic debates that skim off the text. They will give you a profound understanding of the structure, themes, and main point of Mark. This understanding will enable you to study the book or teach it to someone else in a way that connects each episode back to the main idea.

Mark’s is a beautiful, clear, and focused gospel. May these resources equip us to meet Christ there and reveal him to others.

Check it out!

5 Reasons to Mark Up Your Bible

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Kevin Halloran proposes “5 Blessings of Marking Up Your Bible.”

  1. It engages me in more careful study.
  2. It helps with future Bible reading.
  3. It helps me remember experiences.
  4. It encourages others who see its marked-up pages
  5. It demonstrates the high value I place on God’s word.

Halloran also suggests what exactly to mark when you study your Bible. If you’d like ideas for a new markup Bible, see our post comparing the options.

Check it out!

A Simple Guide to Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament

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Kevin Halloran offers a simple guide to seeing Jesus in the Old Testament. He offers two simple steps and three helpful questions to guide us.

Two steps:

  1. Study the passage in its original context.
  2. Look for connections and work to understand it in its broader context.

Three questions:

  1. Does the New Testament say anything about this topic or passage?
  2. How does this passage connect with a main theme that points me toward Christ?
  3. How does this passage aid my understanding of Christ and what he has done?

This short article is well worth your time. Check it out!