'The Bible' Tagged Posts
A Plan for the New Year
Starting the New Year 2023 with a Bible-Reading Plan Maybe you are spending your week cleaning up 2022 and getting your new 2023 calendar all ready. It’s about this time every year, between Christmas and New Year, that we all hear statements like… “I sure hope ’23 is better than ’22!” “I’m ready to turn the calendar over to 2023, because I was disappointed in 2022!” “I’m determined to make the new year better than last year.” “I’m starting healthier…
The Word of God—How Does It Shape You?
Proverbs 30:5-6 (NIV) Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. We are nearing the end of our summer series focused on Proverbs, and God’s wisdom merged with our real lives. This Sunday we are coming into what I consider one of the most important proverbs, all about the wisdom of God’s Word. To shape…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 10)
Today I bring you the final tip, Tip #10, in the “How to Read Your Bible” series. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. TODAY’S FOCUS—TIP #10: BE A rEADER FOR lIFE! Far more important than reading through the Bible in one year (which is a wonderful goal) is to continue to make God’s Word a book of life for you forever. Read it fast sometimes. Read it slowly sometimes. Read sections of it repeatedly sometimes. Read…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 9)
Today I bring you Tip #9 in the “How to Read Your Bible” series. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. TODAY’S FOCUS—TIP #9: It’s All About Jesus This entire school year we have been in a teaching series that we’ve called, “The Book of Jesus.” Why that title? Because if you remove Jesus from any of the storyline of the Scripture, you just have ancient stories. The Bible, all of it, points to Jesus. Whether…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 8)
Today I bring you Tip #8 in the “How to Read Your Bible” series. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. TODAY’S FOCUS—TIP #8: rEAD aLONE On Good Friday this year, we had small groups of people read the Holy Week story out of John 17, 18 and 19 out loud around the room. It was powerful. Hearing the Word of God read aloud with others in this kind of setting is an incredible experience, and…
Let’s Talk About Biblical Inerrancy (Part 2)
Let’s Talk About Biblical Inerrancy (Part 1) Which brings me to my question: Must one uphold the Doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy in order to be saved? What do you think? This may surprise you but in my humble opinion, the answer is No. The Bible clearly says that salvation is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior from our sin (Romans 4). Therefore, it is not necessary for one to uphold the Doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy for…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 7)
Today I bring you Tip #7 in the “How to Read Your Bible” series. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. TODAY’S FOCUS—TIP #7: Use Bookmarks to guide your reading and Pray for the World This tip to reading your Bible is actually a bridge into learning to read God’s Word combined with spending time praying. If you have followed the pattern of reading from four locations in the Bible (as stated above in Tip #2),…
Let’s Talk About Biblical Inerrancy (Part 1)
Have you heard of the Doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy before? The word, “inerrancy” simply means without error. Therefore, the basic idea of biblical inerrancy says that the Bible is without error. But this definition doesn’t quite help us very much because it still can mean so many different things to so many people. One says it means the Bible is pure. The Bible contains no impurities. Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 6)
Today I bring you Tip #6 in the “How to Read Your Bible” series. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. Today’s Focus—Tip #6: Treat weekends as worship and preparation As stated in Tip #2, I like to read from four locations from the Bible and I encourage you to consider the same. But I also recommend that you consider this method for the 5 days of the work week, then treat the weekends differently.…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 5)
Today I bring you Tip #5 in the “How to Read Your Bible” series. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. TODAY’S FOCUS—Tip #5: Mark up your Bible! Take notes! This is one of my personal favorites. I love to mark up and write in my Bible. Now, I am a note-taker in most meetings. My notes are not always clean in form, but I get inspired and like to write stuff down because I…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 4)
Today I bring you Tip #4 in the “How to Read Your Bible” series. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. Today’s Focus—Tip #4: Choose your Bible Translation When you begin to get serious about reading the Bible regularly for yourself, you quickly notice that there are many different English versions of the Bible. This can be very confusing. You may wonder to yourself, “What is the right version? Is there a more correct version? Does…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 3)
Over the next many weeks, I am giving you my tips as to how to go about developing a habit of reading and mediating daily on God’s Word—the Bible. Scroll to the end for a full explanation of each previous tip. Today’s focus—Tip #3: Use a Study Bible as your primary Bible to read from each day I highly recommend that you find a good Bible (I always recommend a printed Bible, not just electronic) to be your “go to”…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 2)
Scroll to the end for a full explanation of the previous tip. Today’s Focus—Tip #2: Choose the location of where to read When I say “location,” what I really mean is, “Where should I start in the Bible?” The Bible has 66 books—39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. There are multiple subsections of the Bible as well. The 39 books of the Old Testament are divided into… The Pentateuch & the Law: the first 5…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 1)
One of the best practices in a growing disciple’s life is the habit of reading God’s Word personally on your own. There is everything good about a Bible study group with people, or listening to a sermon out of scripture. But none of this replaces the value of you personally sitting down in a quiet place and reading God’s Word, then reflecting on it—in other words, letting God speak to you. For several weeks I am walking you through some…
Developing Your Own Devotional Guide
Hearing God Speak to You Every Day One of my greatest desires for our church family is for each of you who calls LifeWay Church home to develop the life-long habit of picking up your Bible personally every morning (or evening, or during your noon lunch break) and listening to God speak to you. To borrow a phrase from youth director Kevin P: “If you want to hear God speak, then open your Bible. If you want to hear God…
Wrestling With the Word of God
Growing up, all things “Christian” were pretty engrained in my experience. I’m the granddaughter, daughter and sister of pastors. I’m the niece and cousin of missionaries and Christian educators. I asked Jesus into my heart sitting in a grocery cart when I was four years old. As I grew up, I sang the songs (“Bullfrogs and Butterflies” and “The Music Machine” were my Veggie Tales equivalent). I learned the acronyms: S.O.A.P. for Bible Study, A.C.T.S. for prayer, and T.U.L.I.P. for…