Are There Good Reasons to Believe the Bible is Indeed God's Word?

Often Christians are seen as people who check their minds at the door of Faith. According to many, Christians may be people of faith, but it is a faith based on fanciful myths and legends. Yet in reality, nothing is further from the truth. God wants us to have an informed faith. A faith that is based on hard evidence from time space-time history. Much of this evidence is from the Bible.

So that begs the question, "Are there good reasons to believe the Bible is indeed God's Word?" The answer is YES! There are numerous lines of evidence that point to the reality that the Bible is indeed the inspired ("God-breathed") Word of God. The president of Scripture Union, Whitney Kuniholm offers up his list of the Top Ten Reasons the Bible is True.  I encourage you to take some time to read through his list. Your faith will be better informed and therefore stronger as a result.

Thanks for stopping by . . . and SEIZE THE DAY by better knowing and living God's Word!
pj

Help! I Keep Trying and Failing to Keep My Bible Reading Plan!

So many Christians set goals and adopt plans for daily Bible reading. But after a fast start, the missed days turn into missed weeks and ... all too often ... the well intended goals and plans go by the wayside. 

SO ... is this YOUR experience? If so what can YOU do about getting back into the Word and staying on track? Is there any hope?  The answer is YES ... there IS hope! Please take a moment to read this article from Desiring God Ministries. It's good stuff! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . and SEIZE THE DAY by knowing and living the Scriptures!

pj 

Open and Read!

Our Carpe Diem, Spiritual Growth Initiative is based on the assumption that Bible reading is not merely a good spiritual discipline to practice ... but a necessary one. One of the best web sites that offers answers to questions about the Bible or the Christian faith is www.gotquestions.org. It is my "go-to" site to find quick (and solid) answers to questions that I am sometimes asked.

In answer to the question, "Why should we read or study the Bible?", the website offers the following answers:

1. We should read/study the Bible for it is God's word to us.
2. We should read/study the Bible because it is totally reliable and without error.
3. We should read/study the Bible because God does not change and because mankind's nature does not change; it is as relevant for us as it was when it was first written.
4. We should read/study the Bible because there is so much false teaching.
5. We should read/study the Bible for it equips us to serve God.
6. We should read/study the Bible for it helps us to see beyond the attractive "bait" to the "hook" in sinful temptations, so we can learn from others' mistakes rather than making them ourselves.

Wow! Those are six VERY SOLID reasons as to why we need to know the book ... and apply the book! And if you want to read more of this article, check it out here. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . and CARPE DIEM by knowing and living God's Word!
pj

Get Active as You Read Your Bible!

Far too many Christians get in what I call the "Read it, forget it and get on with your life" rut when it comes to reading the Bible. We know we should read it. We feel guilty when we don't. So ... dutifully we check our plan (and I sure do hope you have a plan!), open (or swipe) to our assigned reading, get it done, and move on with our daily routine. Then we wonder why we don't ever see any forward progress in our faith journey!

I urge you to become an active reader of the Scriptures. It's been said that the Bible is not primarily for information ... but TRANSFORMATION. For this to happen, we must become active in our reading!

So ... what does an active reader of Scripture look like? Check out this brief article, 5 Ways to Active Bible Reading, found on BibleStudyTools.com. I encourage you to write down the 5 Ways ... and then read them before you begin reading. Ask God to help you  become a more active reader of His Word. It will make a huge difference in your life!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Making Bible Reading an Act of Worship

Here is a tip from theologian author, J.I. Packer for you to keep in mind as you read the Bible (and always remind yourself of what the Bible is: It is the revelation of the nature, character, ways and will of the God who designed us, created us, and even now sustains us).

“How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.” (J.I. Packer in Knowing God)

So as you read, ask yourself, "What is this passage teaching me about God ... His nature, character, ways and will?" Then take your answer and spend some time mentally chewing on it (which is what meditation is all about, chewing over something in your mind). Finish up with prayer and praise concerning whatever it is about God upon which you have been mediating. Do this, and your Bible reading will be much richer! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . and SEIZE THE DAY! 
pj

Read Your Bible More and More

Author and pastor John Piper comments on why we need to be regularly in the Bible. I encourage you to take a moment and read what he has to say ... it is GOOD stuff!

Don’t rest on past reading. Read your Bible more and more every year. Read it whether you feel like reading it or not. And pray without ceasing that the joy return and pleasures increase.

Three reasons this is not legalism:

1. You are confessing your lack of desire as sin, and pleading as a helpless child for the desire you long to have. Legalists don’t cry like that. They strut.
2. You are reading out of desperation for the effects of this heavenly medicine. Bible-reading is not a cure for a bad conscience; it’s chemo for your cancer. Legalists feel better because the box is checked. Saints feel better when their blindness lifts, and they see Jesus in the word. Let’s get real. We are desperately sick with worldliness, and only the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, can cure this terminal disease.
3. It is not legalism because only justified people can see the preciousness and power of the Word of God. Legalists trudge with their Bibles on the path toward justification. Saints sit down in the shade of the cross and plead for the blood-bought pleasures.

So lets give heed to Mr. Ryle and never grow weary of the slow, steady, growth that comes from the daily, disciplined, increasing, love affair with reading the Bible.

Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced.

Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading. (J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion, 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Why Even Bother to Read and Study the Bible?

Earlier this month, pastor-author Kevin DeYoung released a book titled, Taking God at His Word. The book is a brief introduction to the area of theology known as bibliology (the doctrine of the Bible). It is one of the best books I have ever run across of its kind. It is readable, relevant and in today's world of the church, refreshing. Concerning the Bible, DeYoung writes that "it is final (the authority of the Word), it is understandable (the clarity of the Word), it is necessary (the necessity of the Word) and it is enough (the sufficiency of the Word). 

So why even bother to read and study the Bible? DeYoung would answer "Because it is knowable, final, necessary and enough." And he's right! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj