How to Receive A Gift (from God) You Didn’t Want

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Wayne Davies

God is the great Giver.

He loved us enough to give us his Son, so that through faith in Jesus we receive the gift of eternal life instead of the fair punishment of eternity in hell, per John 3:16.

 

And, paradoxically, every day he gives us things that we’d rather not have, yet he provides them anyway because he knows what is best for our holiness and his glory.

Things like suffering.

Our suffering is a gift? From God? Yes, that is the teaching of Scripture.

Paul wrote about the gift of suffering:

“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” (Philippians 1:29)

Note the word “granted,” which means to give graciously, generously, and freely; to bestow.

According to this verse, God has freely given two things to his people: belief in Christ and suffering for the sake of Christ.

Do you have saving faith in Jesus? If so, it’s because God gave you that belief.

And do you ever suffer? That, too, is a gift from the generous hand of God. “Believers’ suffering is a gift of grace which brings power and eternal reward” (John MacArthur).

As I reflect on this, I know it seems counterintuitive. And I realize that it is easy, in a sense, to read Philippians 1:29 and learn the definition of “grant” from a Greek dictionary and write these words so matter of factly.

While it may be easy to explain this truth, it is hard to accept and believe and embrace with the joy of James 1:2. If you have a serious illness or know someone who does, to say that this is a gift from God may be the last thing you want to hear.

I cannot say all that needs to be said about this topic in a few hundred words.

If you’ve not looked at suffering from this perspective before, I urge you to at least give it your prayerful consideration. Much has been written about suffering as the work of God in a Christian’s life, for “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).

Philip Yancey, author of the book Where Is God When It Hurts?, was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Please take time to read his article, just released last week, entitled Parkinson’s—The Gift I Didn’t Want. He begins with this: “I’ve spent years writing about pain and suffering. Now I’ll spend years learning how to live with physical disability.”

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/philip-yancey-ct-parkinsons-diagnosis-gift-i-didnt-want.html

Other books I’ve read on the purposes of suffering from a Biblical perspective include:

A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty, by Joni Eareckson Tada
https://www.amazon.com/Place-Healing-Wrestling-Mysteries-Sovereignty-ebook/dp/B005MT8U3S/

God’s Grace in Your Suffering, by David Powlinson
https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Grace-Suffering-David-Powlison-ebook/dp/B075JKSYCF/

The Power of Suffering: Strengthening Your Faith in the Refiner’s Fire,
by John MacArthur
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Suffering-Strengthening-Faith-Refiners-ebook/dp/B005SZEBVQ

I trust you’ll find these resources helpful when dealing with the inevitable pain and suffering of life. If so, let me know by leaving a comment below.

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Christianity Explored: What’s the Best News You’ve Ever Heard?

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Wayne Davies

I love the gospel.

I never tire of hearing the best news in the world – that God took on human flesh and came to earth to provide salvation for guilty sinners like me and you.

And I’m always looking for resources to help me share this good news about Jesus Christ with others.

 

 

This is one reason we read and study the Bible – so we can give the message of the Bible to those who have yet to hear and embrace it.

One way to share the gospel is to give people the opportunity to read and study the Bible for themselves. Here’s an online evangelistic Bible study that does that:

Christianity Explored: What’s the Best News You’ve Ever Heard?

This is a series of 7 sessions using passages from the book of Mark. Each lesson includes dynamic teaching videos presented by Rico Tice, along with an introductory question, Bible content, and questions aimed to help people apply what they learn about Jesus.

Good questions are an excellent teaching tool to stimulate and challenge our thinking about God. Questions like:

Who is Jesus?
What did He achieve?
How should we respond?

Or how about this one:
If you could ask God one question, and you knew it would be answered, what would it be?

(That is one of the first questions presented in this study.)

Since Jesus is the person at the heart of the Christian faith, He is the focus of this study: who He is and what He did is emphasized, as well as the meaning of sin, grace, the cross, the resurrection, and what Christ expects of those who choose to follow Him.

If you know someone who wants to learn more about Christianity, this is a great way to give them that opportunity. Christianity Explored can be taken as an independent study, as a shared one­-to-­one course, or with a group. The Bible studies and application questions can be fruitfully explored and discussed in a group context.

I suggest you go through the course yourself first. I’m a big fan of evangelistic Bible studies because I get to hear the gospel again! And Rico Tice is a great communicator of Bible truth.

You can access this study at BibleMesh.com for free:
https://courses.biblemesh.com/christianity-explored-course

There is also a book version of this study, available in Kindle and paperback formats:
https://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Explored-Handbook-Whats-Youve/dp/1784980773/

Enjoy!

Oh, by the way . . .

If you could ask God one question, and you knew it would be answered, what would it be?

I’d love to hear your answer to that question, so please let me know by leaving a comment below.

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How to Rejoice in Psalm 23:6

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Wayne Davies

birds-sky-chaseSome of our most well-known and beloved Bible verses take on a whole new meaning when one particular word is unpacked. Such is the case with the final verse of Psalm 23.  “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6).

Some time ago I was listening to a John Piper sermon in which he quoted this verse and said that the meaning of “follow” was “to track down,” as in “God tracked you down.” I was a bit surprised by that definition. I had never heard it before and didn’t know what to think of it.

I would eagerly agree that God’s goodness and love have followed me all my life, but to say that this means “God tracked me down” sounded strange to me. I didn’t get it.

Here we are several years later, and I finally got around to finding out what Piper was talking about. I read Psalm 23 this morning and remembered Piper’s comment. So I looked up the word for “follow” and here’s how “radaph” is defined by several reputable Hebrew dictionaries: “to run after, to chase, to hunt, to pursue, to persecute.”

This word appears 143 times in the Old Testament, and in the King James Version is translated “pursue” 80 times, “follow” 19 times and “chase” 13 times. It can be used in a negative sense, and so is translated “persecute” 27 times. Context will determine whether the purpose of the chase is for good or evil. God is chasing us with His goodness and love, so the idea of persecution is obviously not in view here.

One Hebrew scholar offers this insight: “In the well-known phrase from Psalm 23, God’s blessing itself is said to ‘follow’ . . .  which is not strong enough . . .  It should be more active. ‘Only goodness and mercy shall pursue me’ is the preferred reading. (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament)

But there it is, in black and white – God “follows” us with his grace and mercy with great intensity. He is literally running after us so He can bless us. Let this thought take your breath away: God pursues you with his love. And yes, it is accurate to say the Almighty God of the universe “tracks us down.”

Aren’t you glad He does? I am. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing this article and you wouldn’t be reading it.

Left to our own devices, we are wired to run from God, not toward Him. This is the testimony of Scripture: “There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless” (Romans 3:11-12).

While we have turned our backs on Him, determined to go our own way as the master of our fate and the captain of our souls, He continues the chase. And then, one day, God reaches out and gets ahold of our heart and reels us in.

Jesus described the pull of God’s irresistible grace like this: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 5:44). God’s love is like a magnet that we can no longer repel. Our rebellious hearts of stone become tender hearts of flesh. This is a miraculous internal transformation that only God can bring about. And with this change, everything changes.

We now see our sin as God sees it – utterly sinful and worthy of eternal punishment. With the weight of our guilt bearing down on our repentant heart, we see the death of Christ as incredibly beneficial, no longer foolishness, but the best news we ever heard. We embrace the gospel with unspeakable joy. And we see Jesus as infinitely beautiful, the Lover of our souls, the Holy One of Israel and the Lord of our lives. We bow before Him in humble adoration, a new creature – justified, reconciled, forgiven – and overjoyed!

All this happened because God tracked you down. Rejoice in the Lord, saved sinner, rejoice! God pursued you and brought you to Himself. Aren’t you glad He did?

NOTE: The above post is an excerpt from my book, How to Pray Like David: A Bible Study on Psalms 1-41, available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.

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What the Bible Says about What the Bible Does

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Wayne Davies

I’ve been reading the book of Acts this week, following the 5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan.

(I love the simplicity and accountability of this plan.)

In Acts, from chapter 13 on, the focus is on the ministry of Paul and what God did through him as he traveled throughout the Mediterranean world, planting churches in many cities and making disciples wherever he went.

I wonder if a movie has been made about the life of the Apostle Paul? What an incredible story of how God can turn a man’s life upside down and use him for His glory.

Paul was a man consumed with the Great Commission – to proclaim the gospel, persuading people to turn away from their sin and trust in Jesus as Savior, Messiah, and Lord of all – teaching others how to obey the words of Jesus.

He was a man obsessed with communicating the truth of God as revealed in the written Word of God. I love the way he summarizes his 3-year ministry in Ephesus in Acts 20.

  • He testified to Jews and Gentiles of repentance toward God and faith in Christ (v. 21)
  • He testified to the gospel of the grace of God (v. 24)
  • He proclaimed the kingdom of God (v. 25)
  • He declared the whole counsel of God (v. 27)
  • He admonished everyone with tears (v. 31)
  • He commended the believers to God and the word of his grace (v. 32)

I especially like the way Paul describes the role of the Bible in his ministry in v. 32. “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Paul could have said, “I commend you to God and his grace, because God is able to build you up and give you the inheritance.” He could have said that because the way I rephrased verse 32 is also true — but he didn’t. He specifically says that it is the Word of God that builds up God’s people. It is the Word of God that gives us the inheritance.

What’s the difference? Well, again, both are true. I just think it is significant that Paul refers to God and His Word interchangeably. What God does, the Word does. And what the Word does, God does.

Let’s not forget that. Paul’s ministry was focused on communicating the Word of God so that the God of the Word would build up and sanctify people through His Word.

Oh, how grateful we should be, every day, for the gift of God’s all-powerful, life-changing Word! God saves us by means of the Word. “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). Without the Word, we are lost, like sheep without a shepherd, wandering aimlessly on the road to destruction.

Paul’s summary of his 3-year ministry in Ephesus is a source of both conviction and motivation for me. As I think of my own life, I’ve been asking myself, “How would I summarize the last three years of my life? How often have I testified to people about the gospel and the kingdom of God? When and where have I told my friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members of the need to repent of sin and trust in Jesus for salvation? Has the communication of the whole counsel of God been my passion? Have I ever admonished someone with tears in my eyes?”

How about you? From the standpoint of giving God’s Word to others, how would describe the last three years of your life?

My friend, may Paul’s ministry be an example for us to follow. May we, too, be consumed with a passion for the Word, not only to read, study, and understand it, but to also believe it, obey it, and share it with others.

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What Does It Takes to Understand the Bible? (Part 3)

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Wayne Davies

What does it take to understand the Bible?

First, it takes hard work. And by that, I mean your hard work.

To benefit from time in the Word . . .


Human Diligence Is Essential
The slothful need not bother, because beneficial time in the Word requires effort. There’s no shortcut. It doesn’t happen magically or automatically.

People who understand the Bible work at it. As Paul said to Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

But self-discipline is not enough. Second, it takes supernatural work. By that, I mean God’s work, because to benefit from the Word . . .

Divine Power Is Necessary
Do you have any understanding of the Bible? Does any of it make any sense to you at all?

Now I know some passages are difficult to comprehend. I’m not asking if you have a perfect understanding of every verse of the Bible. Even Peter said that Paul’s letters “contain some things that are hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). I find much comfort in that verse!

But generally speaking, when you read the Bible or listen to a sermon, are you able to say, most of the time, “Yes, I understand the meaning of that passage. It resonates in my heart and mind, and I get it.”

If that is your experience, then you have been the recipient of a divine miracle. If you have any comprehension of the spiritual truth taught in Scripture, it is because God gave it to you.

Yes, you put forth time and effort. And God provided the understanding.

On the day Jesus was raised from the dead, He told the apostles, “44 This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:44-45).

Like the apostles, we cannot make sense of the Bible unless Jesus opens our minds and by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, grants us the gift of understanding.

As Paul wrote: “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us” (2 Corinthians 2:12).

Forsake Pride, Embrace Humility, Plead for Help
As we open the Word and seek to understand it, we should take time to confess and repent of any pride that resides in our souls. I write these words to myself first because I was raised to believe that “If it is to be, it’s up to me.” That’s the devil talking. The idea that “I can do this all by myself” has no place in the Christian life, and so it has no place in God-honoring Bible study.

Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Let’s take those words to heart and remember them every time we read and study the Word.

Apart from the power of Jesus, we can have no understanding of the Word.

Every day, and every time you open the Word, cry out to God, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psalm 119:18).

Pray for yourself what Paul prayed for the Ephesians, “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19).

These are prayers that God loves to answer.

NOTE: For more on this topic, check out these posts . . .

What Does It Take to Understand the Bible (Part 1)
https://godwrotethebook.com/what-does-it-take-to-understand-the-bible-part-1/

What Does It Take to Understand the Bible (Part 2)
https://godwrotethebook.com/what-does-it-take-to-understand-the-bible-part-2/

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How to Share the Bible with Others

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Wayne Davies

Since I started blogging in 2014, the purpose of this website has remained intact: to help people read, study, understand, believe, and obey the Bible.

I keep thinking of additional words to add to this mission statement.

Here’s another one:
To you help you read, study, understand, believe, obey, and share the Bible.

We do not read and study the Bible to only gain understanding. We want to understand the Word so we can believe it and obey it.

But then what? We want to communicate to others what we understand, believe, and obey. Amen?

We don’t keep God’s truth to ourselves. We teach it, proclaim it, and preach it. We explain it and tell people about it. We share what God has taught us about himself and his Son. We take advantage of every opportunity to “speak the truth in love” with family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers.

If you’re a research scientist and discover the cure for cancer, what are you going to do next? Keep it to yourself? Of course not. You’re going to tell the world about it.

We are beggars telling other beggars where to find food.

With that in mind, in the weeks and months to come, I will be highlighting evangelistic and discipleship ministry resources I have found helpful in my efforts to share the good news of God’s Word with others.

Today’s featured resource is:

Ray Comfort and The Way of the Master
I’ve been reading Ray’s books and using his approach to evangelism for many years. You’ll find a boatload of excellent resources, both free and for sale, at the following website:

www.LivingWaters.com
For a thorough introduction to this ministry and its resources  — which has been endorsed by John MacArthur, David Jeremiah, Kay Arthur, Ken Ham, and a host of other evangelical leaders — scroll down to the bottom of the home page and check out these freebies:

Are You A Good Person? (a video)

Are You a Good Person?

Hell’s Best Kept Secret (a sermon by Ray Comfort)

Hell’s Best Kept Secret

True and False Conversion (another sermon by Ray Comfort)

True and False Conversion

Save Yourself Some Pain (a blog post by Ray Comfort)

Save Yourself Some Pain

Ray has written over 100 books. My favorite is The Way of the Master.

The LivingWaters YouTube channel has over 1 million subscribers and its free videos have more than 20 million views. Check them out at https://livingwaters.com/movies/

For a deeper dive, check out The School for Biblical Evangelism here:

School of Biblical Evangelism

Perhaps you are wondering, is the Way of Master evangelism method biblical?
For an objective answer to this question, check out this article.
https://www.gotquestions.org/way-of-the-master.html

Take advantage of the many resources available through this ministry to help us fulfill the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

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5 Powerful Benefits of Bible Study

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Wayne Davies

It’s easy to read the Bible and overlook the incredible claims it makes.

Take this verse, from the Apostle Peter:

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).

What a statement!  What hope this gives us!  God has provided all the power we need to experience a godly life by knowing him.

And God has chosen to impart this knowledge through the Bible.  The written Word of God, along with the illuminating and empowering ministry of the Spirit of God, is sufficient to teach us everything we need to know to do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

In Psalm 19:7-11 David uses several adjectives to describe the adequacy of Scripture to meet all our spiritual needs.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are sure,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

The Word is perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, eternal, sure, and righteous.  And as such, when believed and obeyed, it can accomplish the following: revive the soul, make wise the simple, give joy to the heart, give light to the eyes, and provide a great reward in both this life and the next.

Let’s unpack the meaning of these verses by looking at other Scriptures that collaborate with the teaching of Psalm 19.

  1. The Word revives the soul (v. 7)

To revive means to restore, refresh, convert or transform.  The Bible contains the message we need to be transformed into Christlikeness!  This is why Paul told Timothy that the Scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).  This is why Peter wrote that “you have been born again . . . through the enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).  So, the Word of God has the power to transform a life through salvation and the second birth.

  1. The Word makes wise the simple (v. 7)

To make wise means to become skilled in the art of godly living, the ability to make right choices for the glory of God.  Psalm 119:98-100 is a compelling description of this: “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies . . . I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.  I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.”

  1. The Word gives joy to the heart (v. 8)

Again, Psalm 119 says it so well:  “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. . . . I delight in your decrees (Psalm 119:14, 16).  “Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart” (Psalm 119:111).

  1. The Word gives light to the eyes (v. 8)

The Scripture provides the light so desperately needed in our ever-increasing world of darkness.  Solomon wrote: “For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light” (Proverbs 6:23). The psalmist conveys the same truth: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).

  1. The Word promises great reward to the one who obeys it (v. 11)

Blessing will come to the man whose “delight is in the law of the LORD,” and for the person who meditates on the law day and night — “whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3). James reiterates this concept so clearly: “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25-26).

The Bible is not just another good book.  It claims to be the authoritative, inspired, inerrant, and all-powerful Word of God, and as such, our passion should be to read it diligently and study it prayerfully, asking the Spirit of God to illuminate our understanding of it and enable our obedience to it.

These five benefits are available to every believer: revival of soul . . . godly wisdom . . . a joyful heart . . . spiritual enlightenment . . . a great reward. Through his Word, God is eager to bless you with all of them, today and forever.

NOTE: The above comments are an excerpt from my book, How to Pray Like David: A Bible Study on Psalms 1-41, available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.

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How to Think Your Way to Heaven

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Wayne Davies

Here’s a Bible verse that gives us something to think about.

“Set your minds on things above,
not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:2

 

It’s a simple command. Well, simple to understand. We are instructed to think about “things above” – heavenly things, like God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, for starters. And all that He is and has done and promises to do.

We are to spend time focused on spiritual things, directing our minds and hearts toward heaven.

The Christian life isn’t that hard to understand. But when it comes to doing it, ah, that’s the challenge!

How do you put Colossians 3:2 into practice? How do you think about heavenly things rather than earthly things?

Perhaps you’re like me. Do you have days when your mind seems to have a mind of its own?

My brain is like a pinball machine – bouncing here, there, and everywhere. I’m constantly “reeling it in.” In a matter of seconds, my thoughts can be all over the map.

This area of mental self-control is something that I, uh . . . well, think about often!

And our thoughts matter. Especially to God. We can sin with our minds just as often – if not more often – than we sin with our hands and feet and the rest of our bodies (especially our mouths).

I want to love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Don’t you?

And here’s one way to do it: meditate on the Word.

How do we do that? By spending time reading and studying the Word. That was the subject of last week’s post, 3 Great Ways to Read & Study the Bible in 2023.

Today, I want to offer some practical advice on how to continually think about spiritual things throughout the day. I usually start the day with a focused time of Bible reading, study, and prayer. My mind is then saturated with God’s truth and that is a great place to be, mentally and spiritually.

But as the day progresses, I find myself drifting away from God. Sooner or later, I come to realize that it’s been a long time (anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours) since I have thought about God at all. I don’t like that. And I gotta think that I’m grieving the Spirit by ignoring Him.

Over the years, I have found that meditating on Scripture throughout the day by memorizing a specific verse or passage is one effective way to keep my mind focused on God. Yes, Bible memorization is not just for children. It’s for grownups, too. It’s one way to turn Colossians 3:2 into a godly habit.

For 2023, here’s what I’m doing to keep my mind on God throughout the day. I’ve set a goal to memorize one Bible passage each week. And here’s where I found 52 great passages . . .

John MacArthur wrote a book entitled, The Heart of the Bible: Explore the Power of Key Bible Passages.

It contains 52 Bible passages on 10 major Bible themes:

  1. The Bible in Your Heart
  2. Knowing and Trusting Our Great God
  3. Understanding God’s Reign
  4. What Happened on the Cross
  5. Accepting God’s Salvation
  6. More Than We Deserve
  7. Living Worthy of Our Calling
  8. What It Means to Follow Jesus
  9. Bringing Light to the World
  10. Our Eternal Destiny

For example, the verses for Chapter 1 are:
Joshua 1:8
Psalm 1:1-2
Psalm 19:7-9
1 Peter 2:1-2
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Hebrews 4:12

Lord willing, these are the passages I’ll be memorizing over the next 6 weeks.

If you’d like to see the verses for the rest of the year, go to Amazon and click on “Read Sample” (on the far left side of the screen, right below the graphic of the cover), then scroll until you come to the Table of Contents.
https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Bible-Explore-Power-Passages/dp/0310142164/

If you’d like to join me in this endeavor, let me know by leaving a comment below and I’ll be happy to pray for you in this regard, that we spend time meditating on the Word through Scripture memorization, and fill our minds and hearts with God’s precious truth all day long.

For more thoughts on the benefits of memorizing Scripture, check out these blog posts:

7 Truths about Biblical Meditation
https://godwrotethebook.com/7-truths-about-biblical-meditation/

5 Ways to Get a Grip on Your Bible
https://godwrotethebook.com/5-ways-to-get-a-grip-on-your-bible/

Bible Memorization Is Not Just for Children
https://godwrotethebook.com/bible-memorization-not-just-for-children/

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3 Great Ways to Read & Study the Bible in 2023

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Wayne Davies

This post is about how to read and study the Bible in 2023.

Specifically, you’ll learn three of my favorite ways to dive into the Word with diligence, delight, and dependence.

 

But first, some general comments about what it takes to benefit from time in the Word.

Diligence Is Required
The lazy need not apply, because productive, spiritually beneficial Bible reading/study takes hard work and lots of it.

There is no shortcut. It’s not magic. It doesn’t just “happen.” It takes time and effort. And like anything else, the more time and effort you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.

This is why Paul told Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Do you want to read and study the Bible this year and experience the presence of God? Do you desire stronger faith, a more intense devotion to Jesus, and a life of increasing holiness and decreasing habitual sin? Then be ready to work at it, because the person who is “rightly handling the word” is a worker.

Delight Should Be the Result
The psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes, that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psalm 119:18). This prayer is based on the assumption that the Bible is packed with many wonderful truths about God that, when properly understood, will fill us with delight in him. Yet the Bible is also described as a two-edged sword that will pierce our souls and judge our hearts (Hebrews 4:12), which, of course, will be painful. But even the end result of the Spirit’s convicting work will be confession, repentance, and the joy of forgiveness.

Psalm 1 tells us that the blessed person’s delight “is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). One of the main goals of Bible study should be to know God better, and “knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a man’s heart” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God).

Prayer Is the Indispensable Demonstration of Dependence
What is the biggest mistake we can make when opening the Word? Forgetting to pray – before, during, and after our time of reading and studying.

To read the Bible without prayer is to declare our independence from him. To incorporate prayer is to demonstrate our dependence on him. Oh, how we need God’s help! We need his Spirit to provide both the illumination to understand and the power to obey. Without Jesus, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

Psalm 119:18 (see above) is a great prayer whenever you study the Word. And here are four more prayers that God loves to hear from your heart and mouth:
https://godwrotethebook.com/do-you-make-this-mistake-when-reading-the-bible/

To handle the Word “rightly,” and to experience delight in God while doing so, here’s how I’ve been reading and studying the Bible the past few years.

METHOD #1:
Read the Word Comprehensively and Consistently.
Bible reading plans are an excellent tool to keep us on track. I spent several years reading the whole Bible in a year. Lately, I’ve been focusing on reading the New Testament in a year, 1 chapter a day, 5 days a week, while also reading specific books of the Old Testament each year.

We read to get the big picture. When we see the big picture of the Bible, the individual books become much easier to understand.

When I started to read the Bible in its entirety, my understanding of Scripture skyrocketed to a new level.

For more thoughts on the benefits of reading the whole Bible, please check this out:
https://godwrotethebook.com/a-better-way-to-read-the-bible/

As far as the nuts and bolts of this method, you’ll find a wide variety of Bible reading plans here.
https://www.ligonier.org/posts/bible-reading-plans

The New Testament plan that I’ve been using is called the “5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan.”
https://www.navigators.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/navigators-5x5x5-new-testament-bible-reading-plan.pdf

METHOD #2:
Study the Word by asking and answering good questions of each passage.
I like Erik Raymond’s “CRAM” Bible study method.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/a-tool-for-reading-the-bible-devotionally/

Each letter in the “CRAM” acronym represents a specific question that you ask of the text. These questions will enable you to draw insights from the passage about God and yourself, and cause to you look deep into your life for ways to become more like Christ by focusing on him.

I know he calls this a tool for reading the Bible “devotionally,” but don’t let that word fool you into thinking that this method will be an easier or less intense approach. I find that when I answer all four questions thoroughly, God feeds my soul with a rich banquet of truth.


METHOD #3:
Go deeper by studying the Word one passage and one verse at a time.
Heather Erdmann’s book, A Week in the Word: Dig Deep into God’s Word One Passage and One Week at a Time, provides an in-depth yet straightforward approach that I have been using with life-changing results.
https://www.amazon.com/Week-Word-Deep-into-Passage/dp/B0BJYGHY69

I gave this book a 5-star review on Amazon because the author has done exactly what she promises to do: provide “an insightful Bible study guide to enhance your daily quiet time.”

The indispensable basics of proper Biblical interpretation are covered in a concise and easy-to-understand writing style: context, key words and their meanings, cross-references, translations, commentaries, application, and more. Best of all, I love how you are always directed to learn what the passage teaches about God, for the Bible is mainly about him, not us. This is a simple-to-follow plan that will show you how to immerse yourself in one passage each week.

There are many valid ways to read and study the Bible. If you take the time to use one, two, or all three of the above methods, God will enrich your life with the unspeakable joy of knowing him intimately.

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A Better Way to Read the Bible in 2023

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Wayne Davies

There are many good ways to read the Bible. The purpose of this article is to explain what I call “A Better Way” to read it.

Please take note that I’m going to discuss reading the Bible rather than studying it, meditating on it, or memorizing it (which, of course, are also valuable ways to spend time in the Word).

But first, let’s address the issue of whether we actually read the Bible. It appears to me that many professing Christian don’t read the Bible much. If they do, it’s with inconsistency and/or scarcity.

By “inconsistency,” I mean it’s not a habit. We don’t read the Bible regularly. We do it every now and then, hit or miss, haphazardly. “Maybe I’ll spend time in the Word today, maybe I won’t.”

Such an approach to Scripture reflects the attitude that reading the Word is not a priority. “I’m busy. I’ve got a job and a family and things to do. And reading the Bible just isn’t that important to me.”

“I still love God. I attend worship services regularly and give money and serve in the church. I’m doing fine without this ‘Quiet Time’ people talk about. Having ‘devotions’ is just not something I see the need to do.”

By “scarcity,” I mean that it’s for very short periods of time, and it may involve reading one verse from a daily devotional book that follows this format: a verse is quoted and then the author provides a few paragraphs of explanation and application, along with a prayer at the end.

Such devotional books are as popular today as they’ve ever been. And I’m not condemning them. These books contain God’s truth and are written by devoted Christ-followers whose sincere motive is to communicate the Word of God to the people of God.

I have read and benefitted from such books. My wife and I have read John Piper’s The Dawning of Indestructible Joy, twenty-five daily readings for advent. It was excellent and follows the format described above.

But if this “verse a day” approach is the only way we read the Bible, aren’t we shortchanging ourselves? Certainly it’s better than nothing. But I believe there’s something missing here, and I hope I can explain why by introducing you to A Better Way to Read the Bible.

To unpack A Better Way to Read the Bible, please think of your favorite book (other than the Bible). It could be fiction or non-fiction. It can be a book you’ve read at any time in your life – a childhood treasure or a classic you read for a college literature class. Or maybe it’s a book you read recently. It could be Alice in Wonderland or Grapes of Wrath or Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Now, think for a bit about why you like this book so much. And how you enjoyed reading it and benefited from it — how worthwhile it was.

Pretend you are talking to someone about this book, perhaps a good friend or a family member or a co-worker. This person has not read the book, even though he may have heard of it.

And you want to explain how to read your favorite book. Now notice I did not say to share why you liked this book so much. Let’s assume you’ve already done that. Right now, I want you to explain how to read it.

What are you going to say? Would you say things like this:
1. Do not begin reading the book at the beginning.
2. Do not read the whole thing.
3. Instead of reading the entire book from start to finish, over the next 365 days take a random sentence (or at most, a paragraph) from anywhere in the book and read just that.
4. It doesn’t really matter what you read each day, or what part of the book you read, just read a small portion each day, in no particular order.
5. Not sure where to start? Just pick any page at random and start there. Or, find someone who has read the whole book and have them suggest which 365 sentences (or paragraphs) you should read over the next year.
6. If you find one particular sentence, paragraph or chapter that you really like, you can read just that over and over.
7. After a while, you may find many sentences, paragraphs and even chapters that you like a lot – your favorite sections. It’s OK to read those parts repeatedly, and there’s really no need to concern yourself with reading the other parts that you have not read.

What do you think of that approach?

Or instead, would you say this: “Start at the beginning and read the whole book.”

Obviously, you’d go with the last comment, right?

A Better Way to Read the Bible is to read the Bible like any other book, because to really understand a book, don’t you have to read the whole thing? And isn’t one of the main goals of reading the Bible to understand it? Therefore, shouldn’t we read it like any other book?

Do you find the Bible confusing and difficult to understand? Perhaps this is because you’ve never read it like you read any other book. You’ve never read it from start to finish. You’ve never read the whole thing.

So this is A Better Way to Read the Bible – read it like any other book.

I wonder how what percentage of Christians have actually done this: read the entire Bible. I have no idea. What do you think?

But it doesn’t matter how many other people have or have not done this.

I’m concerned about me and you.

Have you read all 66 books of the whole Bible, Genesis to Revelation? If so, great!

If not . . . . what would be the reason why? Over the next few days, perhaps it would be good to reflect on this question, asking God to reveal the answer to you. And if you are so inclined, send me an email and let me know how that exercise goes for you.

Back to your favorite book . . . I assume you’ve read the whole thing. How long did it take you to do that? And by that, I mean not so much how many total hours you spent reading, but over what period of time did you read it? How many days or weeks or months or years did it take you?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say it took you a few weeks or a few months, at most, to read the whole thing.

So when we come to the Bible with this idea that we should read it like any other book, should we not make it a priority to read the entire book within a reasonable amount of time? Of course, the Bible is longer than the typical book that you would check out from the library, much longer. Depending on the font and paper size of your version, the typical Bible is over 1,000 pages.

When determining a “reasonable” amount of time to read the entire Bible, many have settled on the well-known “read the Bible in a year” timeframe. I think that’s a very doable objective, especially when you consider that this works out to about 3 chapters per day, which should take even a slow reader about 20-30 minutes max.

Think about that. If you set aside 30 minutes a day for 365 days, you can read the whole Bible in a year. How many of us spend at least a half-hour each day texting, watching TV, surfing the internet, liking Facebook posts, and any number of other potentially time-wasting activities. (Over the years, my weakness has been TV, especially sporting events. I wonder what my life would be like today if, over the past 55 years, I spent as much time reading as I did watching television.)

So reading the whole Bible is not such a daunting task after all. And this is how we read virtually every other book. Why not approach the Bible in the same manner?

What do you say? Does anything I’ve written so far resonate with you? I pray that it does.

Let me close by telling you about my own experience with Bible reading. When I started to read the Bible in its entirety, my understanding of Scripture skyrocketed to a new level.

It was amazing. I could go on and on about this. But it’s true. God used this simple exercise of seeing the big picture of Scripture to provide insights into the meaning of all the various parts. And there are many parts to the Bible, starting with the two main parts:  Old Testament and New Testament. In the Old Testament, there are the historical books and the Law of Moses; there are the wisdom books like Job, Psalms and Proverbs; and there are the prophetic books  — longer ones like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and a bunch of shorter ones like Jonah and Micah and Malachi. Then there’s the New Testament, with the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; then come the letters written to churches and individuals; and then comes the grand finale of Revelation.

Whew! How do we make sense of all those different authors and genres and famous characters?

We begin by taking a step back and realizing that while the Bible is an incredibly diverse collection of 66 books (like a 1,000 page mini-library), and it is also one book with one Author, namely God. Yes, God wrote this book!

And to understand the Bible as one book with one Author, we need to read the whole thing in a reasonable period of time. I pray you’ll see the value in that today, and that you’ll experience the joy of reading the entire Bible. May God be with you as you do.

Also, many Bible reading plans are available online. These provide a schedule for the year, telling you which books to read in what order, and which chapters to read each day. There are several ways to do this, so take a look at these plans and pick one that you like and give it a go.

Here’s one that I recommend called The 5 Day Bible Reading Plan.

For additional plans, Click Here.

Got questions or want to dialogue with me about this? Please leave a comment below or contact me via email.

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