Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘Scripture’
5 Books To Read As Commentaries
Frequently I am asked what Bible commentaries I would recommend. This is a broad question without an easy answer. Some commentators are better on some books than others. For example, if I am going to study the Psalms I would be sure to have Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. I would not think of studying Philippians without Guy King’s Joy Way. And it would be very wise to have Andrew Murray’s The Holiest of All nearby as you walk through Hebrews. Personally I love F.B. Meyers expositions of Scripture and especially Bible characters. (Click here to view a good recommended book list compiled by Dr. Clarence Sexton on each book of the Bible.) There is not one book that is…
Read MoreHelp Us Reach A Major City With The Gospel…
Just a few days ago it was my privilege to be back in our nation’s capitol. Washington D.C. is more than the seat of government for our country – it is a city with millions of eternal souls. Sometimes in the frustration with politics it is easy to forget that souls are at stake. National monuments and memorials will not last forever, but people will. Pastor Mike Creed and a number of others are burdened to get the gospel to this great urban area. They are concentrating on the D.C. Metro system which has 626,000 riders every day. They are launching the Metro Bible Project this year with a goal of getting a half a million New Testaments into the…
Read MoreSome Advice For Your Bible Reading This Year
We are one week into the new year. How are you doing with your devotional Bible reading so far? Many believers begin at the first of the year with some goal. Perhaps you have already started. For many of us the first weeks of the year are fairly easy…then comes the daily grind. The routines of life have a way of distracting us from what truly matters. Remember that our time in God’s Word is a marathon – not a sprint. The goal is not to be in the Word for a short period of time but to live in the Word for the rest of your life. Take a new challenge. I have heard of several friends who are…
Read MoreWhat Do You See When You Look In The Mirror?
The Word of God is an amazing book. Only through its divine lens do we begin to see clearly. Without it our view of reality is skewed by sin and clouded by the world around us. God’s Word is a window that shows us God. The Bible sheds light on who God is. As we gaze through it we are given a vision of his holiness. God’s Word is a telescope that shows us the future. It is full of prophecy – looking beyond this sad, broken world and into eternity. With eyes of faith we see what cannot be seen around us now (Hebrews 11:1). God’s Word is a microscope that shows us truth. Scripture reveals the truth about…
Read More7 Ways The Bible Helps Your Prayer Life
We all know we ought to pray more. We all want to pray more effectively. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God wrote a manual on prayer? Indeed, He has! God’s Word is the most thorough, powerful prayer book in the world. If you want to be a person of prayer then you must be a person of the Scriptures. George Mueller’s life illustrated this connection. He prayed in provisions for hundreds of orphans and saw miraculous answers to prayer all of his life. The secret? He began every morning on his knees with an open Bible getting His own heart happy in Jesus and finding a promise He could claim that day. The more attention I give to reading and…
Read MoreMy 90 Day Adventure
Bible reading schedules have not been a great help to me. While I can appreciate the discipline they develop, for me they often became a distraction, a duty, a drudgery. Personally I have found it better through the years to take a smaller portion of Scripture each day and meditate on it. Each person has to find what works best for them. There is no clear cut pattern in Scripture for how many chapters to read each day! At different times in life you may vary your reading pattern as well. At the beginning of this year I decided that I was going to do something I had not done before and try to go through the Bible in 90…
Read MoreA Fresh Look At Familiar Scriptures
“Why didn’t I see that? Where did that preacher get the understanding of that passage…and how could I have missed it?” Sound familiar? We have all had these questions. Perhaps you have had the experience of reading a well-known Scripture and suddenly seeing something you did not see before. This is the adventure of God’s truth. It was there all along, but there is always more to discover. Sometimes it is passages that are most familiar that are most neglected. We have read it hundreds of times. It could be recited from memory. Dozens of sermons have been given on the same verses. And, yet…could it be that there is more God has for us? The more I study the…
Read MoreTradition vs. Truth
There is a tremendous debate in Christian work over whether certain practices are rooted in tradition or truth. Such discussion is not new. In fact, both the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul addressed this issue with the religious leaders of their day. Case #1: Mark 7:1-13 The Pharisees were consumed with minute details of the ceremonial law. When Christ’s disciples failed to wash their hands before eating bread it raised a serious question among those “holding the tradition of the elders.” The Lord Jesus denounced the religious hypocrisy of caring more for the external than the internal. Quoting the prophet Isaiah (obviously this has been a problem for a long time!) He said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship…
Read MoreArmed For Battle
The second Amendment of the United States Constitution states the right of American citizens “to keep and bear arms.” In 1791 our forefathers saw the need for people to defend their own liberties against tyranny. From the beginning of our nation an armed citizenry was connected to freedom. The goal was not death but preserving a way of life. What a vivid illustration of the spiritual warfare that believers are engaged in. The greatest tyrant of all, the devil, seeks to bring men into bondage and keep them there. Only the truth will set them free. And only those armed with the truth can help them. The gospel brings life. This is the picture given to us in Ephesians 6.…
Read MoreA Story That Changed The Way I Look At The Bible
Below is one of the longest posts I have ever made and yet it will be one of the most enjoyable reads. As a college student, learning to learn, I was introduced to an old story that made a powerful impression on my life. It has helped me to study, to think, to meditate, to look. Though the setting of the story is not a Christian one, the principles found in it will help you to become a better student of Scripture. Take the time to read it and you will never read your Bible the same again… It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my…
Read More
