2018: The BIBLE and YOU

In our day, the messages of this world come at us with relentless force through manifold media.  Now, more than ever, we need to be soaking in the Word of God that we might think and live clearly, according to his revealed will.

New Years Day is always a great day for new beginnings and re-calibration of our priorities! Let's commit to be a bible reading and studying church this year for God's glory!

Tip: Make a plan! Rarely will you read the bible without a plan.I want to give you several modes of engagement with the Bible. I encourage you in any and all of them. I'll call them light, medium and heavy.

Bible reading or listening programs are effective guides to get through the bible, or large parts of the bible in a year. It is great for the big picture panorama. This last year I used the bible reading app on my phone which links to the ESV bible app and listened during my morning commute to work. Please see our bible reading page for these and other ideas:

Use a good study bible to read a chapter a day along with the study notes.  There are many good ones available, and some are frequently discounted on Kindle: (MacArthur, NIV Zondervan, ESV, NKJ, CSB, Reformation, to name a few). Select a book at a time and dig in. The Kindle version on your phone is a good option to use during a break during the day at work.

Use a devotional commentary to plug through a book at a time. For the last ~15 years, this has been my favorite means of quiet time in the mornings. Make a plan for which books you'd like to dig deeper in this year. I recommend two devotional commentary series, in particular:

The Bible Speaks Today series (ed.s John Stott NT, and Alec Motyer OT)

Focus on the Bible Series (in particular the OT books Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings by Dale Ralph Davis)

We are so blessed to have the Word of God along with so many helpful aids in our own language. Let's not squander it!

Posted by Lars@orchardbible.org