“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4

I love the Bible. It’s God’s Word, our ultimate source of truth. It contains not only the grand story of the beginning of time and space and our Earth, but also the intimate story of God’s people, and the glorious coming of God’s Son Jesus Christ for our salvation.

But even so, I find that there are times in my life when my daily Bible reading becomes merely routine, if I happen to do it at all. In fact, sometimes I wonder about the Bible: Couldn’t God have given us a more efficient manual? What I mean is, it sometimes seems so complicated. Did you know that the Bible has 66 books, containing 1,189 chapters and 31,170 verses? Instead of 17 major and minor prophets, for example, maybe we could have been given a list of the top 10 marriage tips instead?

Then I think: God didn’t want to give us the kind of book that you read once and put on the shelf. He wasn’t interested in giving us a pamphlet. God wanted to give us something that would engage us and continue to challenge us for a lifetime. He, in His infinite wisdom, gave us a book that was so deep that we could read it every hour of every day of our entire lives and still not exhaust its wisdom.

If you’ve spent any serious amount of time reading the Bible you can probably attest to how you’ve read a passage a dozen or more times before, but somehow this time, it hits you in a totally new way as God illuminates your mind to deeper meaning and fuller understanding. “How did I not see it before?” you think. And it’s so amazing how deep this book is!

God Himself is like that: Our great God isn’t someone of whom you could say, “Oh, God? Yeah, I met him once, I think.” God is so amazingly great that it’s a lifelong process to know Him. He wants us not to just know ABOUT Him, but to know Him intimately. And for that, a simple pamphlet won’t do.

God, we thank you for your Word, the wisdom of which can never be exhausted!

Question: How has your Bible reading been lately? Is it time to begin to re-read it with “new eyes”?

How can students prepare themselves for success in college & university English classes?

Although the study was released in 2006, its results are still relevant today. Ulrich Knoefplmacher, professor of ancient and modern literature at Princeton University, notes that “Not to have a knowledge of the Bible is almost crippling in students’ ability to be sophisticated readers.”

Most of the professors seem to be recommending reading the Bible because it will help students understand literature better. But reading it will also help them understand life better too.

Is this another approach that Christians can use somehow to introduce others to God’s Word, or a way that parents can encourage their kids to read more of the Bible (and hopefully have their lives transformed by it)? For “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” and “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Romans 10:17, Hebrews 11:6)

If someone you know is interested in studying the Bible for the first time, you can point them to a resource on our own site called “A Guided Tour: Reading through the Bible” which serves as an introduction to learning about the Bible. Another option is suggest that they visit an ALPHA program in your area, which teaches some of the essentials about the Bible and the Christian faith. You can find a program nearby in the USA or in Canada, or visit the ALPHA website for other countries.

If you’d prefer to have a personal recommendation or have specific questions you can always contact us and we’ll try to point you in the right direction!

How can students prepare themselves for success in college & university English classes?

Although the study was released in 2006, its results are still relevant today. Ulrich Knoefplmacher, professor of ancient and modern literature at Princeton University, notes that  “Not to have a knowledge of the Bible is almost crippling in students’ ability to be sophisticated readers.”

The results of this survey align well with the results of the first survey conducted, which found that “98% of leading high school English teachers surveyed said that Bible knowledge gives a distinct academic advantage.” This isn’t particularly surprising, given that the Bible has traditionally been such a pervasive influence on world literature and culture. Having background knowledge in the Bible seems to give a distinct advantage to students in their studies in college and university.

Thankfully there are plenty of free resources available to help students (and others) become a little more biblically literate. One option is a resource on our own site, called “A Guided Tour: Reading through the Bible” which serves as an introduction to learning about the Bible.

Another option is to visit an ALPHA program in your area, which teaches some of the essentials about the Bible and the Christian faith. You can find a program nearby in the USA or in Canada, or visit the ALPHA website for other countries.

If you’d prefer to have a personal recommendation or have specific questions you can always contact us and we’ll try to point you in the right direction.

When I was in university, Professor Szabo told us “Scientists will tell you that the world is made up of atoms, but they’re wrong.  The world is made up of stories.”  She might have been quoting someone else, but of all the things she said this is one that has stayed with me.  Stories are everywhere and as readers, we get to experience them all.  Who wouldn’t want that for their kids?

We know books are great but the reality is, not all kids love to read. So how do you get your non-reader to pick up a book? Sometimes it’s a simple as buying the right book.  If your son is into dirt bikes, find him a book about a dirt biker.  If your daughter is more interested in soccer than reading, look for books that match her interest.

Recently, I had the opportunity to see this simple plan in action.  I got the chance to help purchase books for a 6th Grade class in a low income area of New York city.  The teacher had lamented that her students had read all the books in their small library and with nothing new to read the students had decided that books were boring.  Fearful that they would turn their backs on books for good she applied to DonorsChoose.org to fund a book project.

The project was successful and with the new titles in her class the teacher wrote the following:

Students who had not been reading because they were “bored” were hungrily looking through the books and reading them at once. Kids were begging me to read during class time! It is so inspiring to hear kids talking about books, characters, and authors the same way they talk about movie stars.

It can be hard for books to compete with video games and the internet, but a love of reading instilled early in a child’s life will often stay with them long into adulthood.   If you are looking for ways to get your children into reading Jessica Ackerman’s article “Creating Readers: Helping Kids Learn to Love to Read” has four things you can do today to help your child become a life long reader.

She writes:

Fostering a love of reading in your child is one of the best things you can do for them. Reading is such an important part of everyday life.   Being a good reader will not only help them throughout their life educationally , but also provide them with a source of enjoyment.

Try one of Jessica’s ideas.  You never know where a good book will take you.  You just might hear your own kids asking, “Mom, can we read now?”

Fostering a love of reading in your child is one of the best things you can do for them.

Early exposure to reading is optimal

It’s best to expose children to a love of reading very early in life, even before they are able to read.  Reading aloud to a child when they are small helps with their early language development and builds a foundation for their future reading skills. Even small children will eventually make the connection between the story the adult is reading, and the words on the page.

Schedule a time each day to read to your child. Make it a regular and enjoyable part of their life. Be sure to read the books to them in a positive fashion, never as though it is just a chore that you are trying to get through.   As you read with enthusiasm and interest, your child will also become more interested and enthusiastic about reading.

Build a home library

Once your child starts to take an interest in the books themselves, and not just the stories that you are reading to them, it’s time to start developing a home library for your child. It can begin with the books you have been regularly reading to them, but should expand to include books that your child is interested in as well. Small children love “board books” which are sturdy enough to stand up to the rough usage of toddlers. Begin to involve the child in the selection of the books as well, letting them choose some books that they would like to purchase and add to their library.

Get the child a library card

As the child gets older there are other activities that can help encourage a child’s love and appreciation of reading. Get the child their own library card and make a weekly visit to the library to choose books. This can be a great way to make reading more fun. Library books also encourage reading by placing a type of urgency on reading, since the books can only be  kept for a limited amount of time. It can also be an inexpensive way of allowing your child try out a lot of different types of books, giving them a way to explore their interests and find out what they like best.

Foster reading by discussing books

Having discussions about the books being read is also a good way of encouraging a love of reading. If your child is reading a book that you’ve already read before, you can ask them about certain parts of the book, get their opinion on what happened in the book, and possibly even have a debate over some of the situations portrayed in the book. This can be effective even with small children, to get them thinking. For instance, a question such as “what did you think when the bear came back and found out that somebody had eaten his cereal?” can be a way of getting your child more deeply interested in the books being read.

By helping your child develop an early love of reading and fostering this love throughout their childhood and adolescence, your child will have a valuable skill and interest that will serve them well throughout their entire life.

Artist, Jessica Ackerman, is a consultant with WallDecorandHomeAccents.com; she demonstrates what a well-trained eye can accomplish with wall wine racks as she creates decorative candle sconces.

Read.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But this probably takes the most practice. We live in a culture that places significant value on time and convenience, and this first practice is anything but speedy. To truly read the Bible, you’ve got to soak yourself in it.

Have you ever been to the ocean? Have you ever been in the ocean? Not just pulling up in a car, taking your shoes off, and sticking your big toe in the water. Have you ever immersed yourself in the ocean? When you do that, it’s almost as if a whole new world opens up to you. You see and feel and taste and hear things that you never could have just walking along the beach – you experience things hidden from the spectators on the beach. It’s the same thing when you come to the Bible. When you immerse yourself in it, a whole new world opens up.

As usual, the Bible really says it best: “Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder… Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you’ll live a long time.” (Deuteronomy 11)

“How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.” (Psalm 119)

Opening up to a whole new world

Eugene describes it this way: “First, it is important simply to read, leisurely and thoughtfully. We need to get a feel for the way these stories and songs, these prayers and conversations, these sermons and visions, invite us into this large, large world in which the invisible God is behind and involved in everything visible, and illuminates what it means to live here — really live, not just get across the street.

“As we read, and the longer we read, we, begin to ‘get it’ – we are in conversation with God. We find ourselves listening and answering in matters that most concern us: who we are, where we came from, where we are going, what makes us tick, the texture of the world and the communities we live in, and – most of all – the incredible love of God among us, doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

“Through reading the Bible, we see that there is far more to the world, more to us, more to what we see and more to what we don’t see – more to everything! — than we had ever dreamed, and that this ‘more’ has to do with God.

A different kind of book – one that reads us even as we read it

“This is new for many of us, a different sort of book – a book that reads us even as we read it. We are used to picking up and reading books for what we can get out of them: information we can use, inspiration to energize us, instructions on how to do something or other, entertainment to while away a rainy day, wisdom that will guide us into better living. These things can and do take place when reading the Bible, but the Bible is given to us in the first place simply to invite us to make ourselves at home in the world of God, God’s word and world, and become familiar with the way God speaks and the ways in which we answer him with our lives.”

What’s up with that? ”A book that reads us even as we read it?” That’s a pretty strange statement at first glance. What other book can you say that about? What magazine has ever read you as you read it? When you hold a Bible in your hands, it contains our collective stories. Each of us can find little glimpses of ourselves in its pages. The people in the Bible are a whole lot like you, and a lot of them were far from perfect. We need to open our eyes and see what God would have each of us understand about ourselves.

So you can see that it’s not the same thing as reading the latest issue of your favourite magazine or a Shakespearian sonnet. There’s something different here – something that the creator of the universe wants to tell you and wants you to understand about him and yourself. By jumping into the Bible, you open your eyes to God’s world and see how he includes you in his story.

page 3 >> The Power of Spiritual Thinking >> 1.2.3.4.5

Text taken from the Introduction to THE MESSAGE REMIX: The Bible in Contemporary Language.  Copyright 2003 by Eugene Peterson.  All rights reserved.  Used with permission of NavPress, a division of The Navigators.

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EST.

“And it is He who will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory, because of what Christ Jesus has done for us” (Philippians 4:19).

Married at last! It was so natural to be together all of the time – like we were made for each other. When we were first married, we were so poor – we didn’t even have a car. We lived in one room in a big old house and shared the bathroom with three other couples. My husband was going to college and I worked as a clerk in a drugstore. Life was good and we never even noticed that we were poor. We were happy!

Life kept changing and so did we. We began having babies. By the time we were twenty – five, we had four children. Marvin had finished college and we were owners of a large egg farm. We worked hard and God granted us a measure of financial success.

Marvin, being athletic, played hockey, baseball, football and loved to golf. The children and I spent many evenings at the hockey arena or on the bleachers at the baseball games; although, I loved reading, gardening and crafts. We both had leadership positions in our church and denomination.

After several years, I began getting tired with going to his sports events and discontent with the busyness of life. I felt like my husband wasn’t meeting my needs. I wanted the kind of relationship where he would understand and meet all my needs. Having a new house, nice clothes, jewelry and many holidays didn’t satisfy me either. I was putting a lot of pressure on my husband to be different. I wanted him to change. Marriage didn’t seem so great any more.

One weekend, Dr. Henry Brandt, a Christian psychologist, spoke at a conference we attended. He taught us some truths that revolutionized our marriage. He said the person we married could never meet our needs because they were only human beings – only God could meet all our needs. That was a new way of thinking for me! But I knew instantly that what he said was true.?

And so, my thinking began to change. I quit expecting Marvin to meet my needs (at least most of the time) and began to go the Word and the Lord when I felt needy. And I changed. I was happier. I began to thank God for all the wonderful characteristics in my husband. In response to my changed attitude, Marvin became sensitive to my needs. Amazing how God works!

Sometimes I still slip into my old way of thinking – but not for long. Only God can meet my needs and your needs. Jesus satisfies!

How are you doing in your marriage? Are you expecting your spouse to meet your needs? If so, pray the prayer below and begin looking to God, your Creator, to meet your needs:

Father God, I acknowledge that I have put pressure on people to do for me what only You can do – satisfy all my needs. From this day forward, I will look to You and Your Word to fill me with everything I need. Thank You!  Amen.

Questions: Do you sometimes feel your spouse is not meeting your needs? What would be a good step for you to take in order to begin solving this problem?

About the author Katherine Kehler

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” 2 Peter 1:2-3 (NKJV)

You may have heard it said “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” Well what you don’t know certainly can’t help you either! In fact the Word says that It is through knowledge that we can experience and even have multiplied to us grace and peace, and whereby we can receive everything that pertains to life and godliness. That is for our spiritual life as well as our physical lives.

Knowing Jesus personally and everything He has made available to us is how we “arm” ourselves. As we grow in the knowledge of who we are in Christ, the knowledge of the authority we have been given through the cross, the knowledge of how to use our spiritual weapons, the knowledge of His plan for us personally, and the knowledge of our Fathers total and unconditional love for us, we are able to walk in greater, and growing, peace and power, and be more effective in executing the work of the Kingdom on earth.  Knowledge IS power! The Word of God is the source of that knowledge and power, drink in deeply and be armed up to walk life out with victory and joy every day.

“Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.” Isaiah 33:6 (NKJV)

Question: How has your reading (the Bible and other books) been lately? How can you try to find ways to integrate reading into your daily routine?

About this Author: Emmie Stanley

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for June 9th, PM.

Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2010.

“Search the Scriptures.” John 5:39, KJV

The Greek word here rendered “search” signifies a strict, close, diligent, curious search, such as men make when they are seeking gold, or a hunter earnestly tracking their target. We must not be content with superficially reading a chapter or two. Instead, with the light of the Spirit, we must deliberately seek out the deepest meaning of the word.

Understanding Holy Scripture requires searching. Much of it can only be learned by careful study. There is milk for babies, but also meat for those who are mature in faith. The rabbis wisely say that a mountain of significance hangs on every word, on every syllable even of Scripture. The second century theologian Tertullian exclaims, “I adore the fullness of the Scriptures.” No one who merely skims the book of God can truly profit from it. We must dig and mine until we obtain the treasure buried deep within.

The door of the word only opens via the key of diligence. The Scriptures are the writings of God, bearing the divine stamp and imprint. Who would dare to treat them with frivolously? He who despises them despises the God who wrote them. God forbid that any of us should leave our Bibles to become swift witnesses against us in the great day of account!

The word of God will repay you for mining it. God does not want us to sift a mountain of rubbish with here and there a grain of wheat in it. Instead, the Bible is like treasure stored in a mansion … we have only to open the door and find it. Scripture grows on the student. It is full of surprises. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to the searching eye it glows with splendor of revelation, like a vast temple paved with gold, and roofed with rubies, emeralds, and all types of gems. But truly there is no merchandise like the merchandise of Scripture truth.

Most importantly, the Scriptures reveal Jesus: “They are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39, KJV) No more powerful motive can be urged to Bible readers than this: anyone who finds Jesus finds life, heaven, all things. Happy are all who, searching his Bible, discovers their Savior.

Questions: How has your Bible reading been recently? If you had a reading plan this year, how have you kept up with it, or what has hindered your progress?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8, NKJV)

God gave Joshua three things to do that would assure him that his way would be prosperous and that he would have good success. First, he was to keep God’s Word in his mouth so he would have the truth and the sure knowledge of the difference between right and wrong.  This would give him guidance and direction in the decisions he would have to make. This same Word was also a plethora of promises that he could draw upon in his time of need, and a weapon (sword of the Word) that he could use in the face of battle.

Secondly, he was to meditate on the Word day and night. Meditating is like a cow chewing on its cud. As we go about the day the Word of God comes back to mind and we further mull it over (chew on it), breaking down its contents, and consider how it applies to our own circumstances. As we digest the Word, revelation and insights are the result, and our understanding is opened up as the Word starts to become part of us, energize us, and give us strength.

Thirdly, God commanded Joshua to “observe to do” what is written in the Word. It is the action in response to the Word that actually demonstrates that we believe what we read, and brings the whole process to fruition in our lives.

So let the Word of God be richly in your mouth, speak it out, read it out, pray it out, declare it over yourself, your family and your community; think on it, digest it, let it become a part of you; and act on it to see the end result of God making your way prosperous and giving you good success.

“Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.” (Psalm 119:92, NJKV)

Question: Which of these three “keys” do you find most difficult, and why?

About this Author: Emmie Stanley