We Must Distinguish Between Prescriptive Text and Descriptive Text The Bible contains a lot of versus that tell us what to do and what not to do. These verses stand as commands from God. Bible scholars call these prescriptive texts, as they prescribe the behavior God expects from us. However, many more verses in the […]
Questions Arise as We Study the Bible and That’s Okay In the post Is It Okay to Question God? I share stories of Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, and Jesus. They all question God. Seriously, they do. But God doesn’t punish them for questioning him and his sovereignty. He listens. He’s patient. Asking Questions Is […]
Since the New Testament Focuses on Jesus Isn’t It All We Need? We read the Bible because it reveals God to us. It is the foundation of our faith. But do we need to read all scripture, the whole Bible? The New Testament Is Enough As Jesus wraps up a lengthy sermon, the one we […]
Instead of Resolutions, Form Habits You Can Sustain Do you normally make New Year’s resolutions? How’s that work for you? When I used to do that, things never turned out so well. I might make it a couple weeks, rarely more than a month, and a few times my resolutions were no more than good […]
We Would Never Burn Scripture, but Ignoring a Passage Is As Bad God tells his prophet Jeremiah what to say. Jeremiah dictates it to his scribe, Baruch, who records it in a scroll. The scroll eventually makes it to the king. Though the people who hear Jeremiah’s words take his warning seriously, the king does […]
What Can We Learn from the Ending Sentence or Thought in Each Book of the Bible? As a writer I know the two most important things of anything I write are the beginning and the ending. A strong opening draws readers and keeps them interested, while a powerful close gives readers something to take with […]
Lessons of Art Appreciation Can Help Us Study the Word of God Until recently I never considered myself a creative person, and I certainly never considered myself an artist. However, I recently realized that I create art through words. I guess that makes me an artist. As such, that means I’m studying art (writing) and […]
Study Scripture in a Different Way to Glean More from It For most of my adult life, even going back to my teenage years, I’ve read the Bible most every day. Yet there were a few times when I needed to take a break, when my Bible reading practice had fallen into a rut—the deep […]
Reading the Bible as Narrative Frees Us to Experience God in a Fuller, Deeper Way Continuing in our series of why I love the Bible, we’re on reason number twelve. I often say that I read the Bible as a narrative. Simply stated, it’s a story, a grand, epic tale. It’s a story about God’s […]
Personal Bible Study is Essential; Group Bible Study is Even Better When I study the Bible, it’s usually by myself. Though I seek the Holy Spirit to guide me, I seldom have the input of other people. Though there’s value in personal Bible study—which everyone should pursue—greater value comes when we explore Scripture in community. […]