Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
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. […]
In my post, “Let’s Get Together,” I pointed out the importance of not going alone on our spiritual journey, but rather enjoying the company fellow travelers and the collective safety of going together. While this is best accomplished in person, sometimes that is not feasible. Towards that end, I recommend magazines as a supplemental source […]
The Bible Can Inspire Us Each Day—All We Need to Do Is Read It In our continuing series, here’s reason #11 of why I love the Bible: The Bible inspires us. Though many books can provide daily inspiration, the Bible stands by itself when it comes to its profound impact, a supernatural impact that comes […]
The last thing that Jesus did as a free man was to pray. The last thing in prayed for was that his future followers would get along. This strongly suggests that unity was important to Jesus. While unity among his followers was largely realized in the first century that has not been the case in […]
We Don’t Need a Spiritual Guide to Help Us Study the Bible I use the Bible to study the Bible. To me, studying the Word of God is the best way to write about it. I don’t read much about what other people have to say about scripture. I prefer to experience it firsthand, not […]
Though God Doesn’t Change, the Way People Perceive Him Does I enjoy a good book, one with a satisfying story arc. The Bible has an arc, too, a biblical story arc. Some people see the Old Testament as focusing on God’s rules and judgment, with the New Testament focusing on God’s love and freedom. Though […]
To Better Understand the Bible, Use Scripture to Interpret Scripture I shared part of my book, Women in the Bible, with some friends at a writers group. They liked what they heard and had questions about how I researched and wrote it. I explained that the Bible was the only resource I used. By design, […]
Ministers who flaunt their knowledge of Hebrew and Greek often do more harm than good As part of their training, many ministers must study Hebrew and Greek. Sometimes when they prepare a sermon, they go back to the Bible’s initial languages so they can study the words in its original tongue: Hebrew for the Old […]
Don’t Read the Bible Like Any Other Book Because It Isn’t Like Other Books When we read a book, it’s a linear process. We start at the beginning. Then reading one word at a time, we make our way to the end. Once we reach the last word, the final period, we’re finished. Usually we […]
The Bible Talks about Priests, Chief Priests, and the High Priest What’s the difference between priests, chief priests, and high priests? From Mark 14:53 we see there are several chief priests but only one high priest. This is also confirmed in Matthew 26:3. With this as our basis, let’s explore each of these three roles: […]