Three Tips for Better Bible Reading

You probably don’t need to hear reasons that it’s important to read the Bible. You know it is.

But you might need some motivation. One way to get excited about reading the Bible is to rethink your Bible-reading strategy. Here are three tips for better Bible reading:

Tip #1. Listen to audio-Bibles.

When you listen to an audio-Bible, you’ll be surprised how quickly the time goes by and how much of the Bible you “read.”

Sometimes I listen while doing other tasks such as driving or cleaning or running, but I’ve found it to be incredibly profitable to listen while following along in a different English translation (or in the original languages). Listening to a different version than you are reading helps keep you engaged as you inquisitively consider various renderings. The pace is so fast that you miss all sorts of nuances, but you gain a valuable macro-perspective.

Audio-Bibles work well for the Bible’s many styles of literature, though they work best for stories as opposed to proverbs or letters. This is evident when listening to dramatized audio-Bibles (such as my family’s favorite: The Bible Experience). But it’s worth remembering that the congregations whom Paul addressed in his letters typically listened to Paul’s letters and did not own personal copies of them.

You might want to get started by downloading some free audio-Bibles from “Faith Comes by Hearing.”

Tip #2. Read books of the Bible in one sitting.

There is value in Bible-reading plans that divvy up the readings so that you read one chapter from four different books of the Bible. But if that’s the only way you read the Bible, it will be difficult to understand key literary features and the theological message of whole books of the Bible.

Have you ever read the Gospel according the Matthew straight through in one sitting? Or Romans? Or Job? Or Revelation? If not, you’re missing out. That’s the way they’re meant to be read. A book like Nehemiah would generally take about one hour. Ephesians would take 20 minutes. Here’s a full list of the approximate times it would take to read each book in our English Bible.

I understand the objection: “There’s no way I could possibly find time to do this.” But aren’t there other activities you do in life for prolonged periods of time? Do you read other books for a few hours at a time? Do you ever spend an hour watching a TV show or two hours watching a movie or three hours watching a football game? Why not prioritize lengthy, undistracted time in the life-giving word?

Tip #3. Read without any chapter or verse references.

I am not a fan of chapter and verse references in the Bible. Bible “verses” didn’t even exist until about 1550, and “chapters” go back only to the 1200s. They can obscure the text and create artificial and sometimes inaccurate divisions.

Yes, chapter and verse references help us locate specific sentences and phrases quickly. But sometimes they do more harm than good. They lead many people to think of the Bible as a reference book that collects bullet-pointed verse-nuggets — not as the literature that it really is.

So how do you read the Bible without any chapter or verse references? There are at least three options:

Get a Bible without them. For example, Biblica has one called The Books of the Bible, and Crossway is planning to release the ESV Reader’s Bible in May.Use a Bible software program like Logos to export a book or passage of Scripture to your favorite word processor without the chapter or verse numbers.Manually delete the chapter and verse references in a word document on your computer. This is time-consuming, but you could copy-and-paste text from a site like Bible Gateway and then delete all the numbering. That’s more feasible for shorter books. Even better, Bible Gateway has an option to hide verse numbers (click on “Page Options”).

Take up and read (and listen) a lot.

2014 Bible Reading Plans, Articles, and Resources

A Book You Can Be Caught Reading

Some books we rarely read in public. Spiritual Depression. Almost Anorexic. Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave. Anything on sexual purity.

Regardless of our reason for reading, it can feel like a confession — like we have to explain ourselves if we’re caught with one of these books at church or a coffee shop. Any chance you’ve put When I Don’t Desire God in that category?

I know I did. I felt like I had to wait for a major spiritual crisis to come. Something awful had to happen that threatened my joy in God like never before. It seemed like depressed people should read about depression, addicts should read about addiction, and broken, miserable, morose Christians should read about the fight for joy. Not me. Not the happy Christian Hedonist.

The book was written for the broken, but not for some elite group of the sad and discouraged. It was written to help us all live the truth we had fallen in love with in Desiring God. I can’t imagine anything better than knowing that the one who created the world and everything in it wants what my soul wants — that what pleases him in all his wisdom, power, and authority will also make me most happy forever. But how does that happen for me?

The truth is we all must fight all the time to find our first and full joy in God. Some of us are naturally or circumstantially happier than others, but none of us treasures God as we should. So here are three reasons I recommend you go ahead and get caught in public with When I Don’t Desire God.

Your daily time in God’s word is not ultimately about knowing new things, but about delighting in God. Personal devotions are not merely about understanding his Book, but about finding him in it and enjoying who you find. The happy, godly man does not love the world, “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).

Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). When we are God’s, his words become an unlimited source of true joy — the joy we all need every day, regardless of our circumstances. We all need help finding daily joy in God for our life — for the exciting and mundane, the vocational and recreational, the personal and relational. In short, we all need to learn to read the Bible for joy.

David slept with another man’s wife, attempted to deceive the husband and cover his offense, and then had him murdered while he fought for David’s people. If it wasn’t for the rest of the story, he might have gone down as one of the worst villains in the Bible. But God confronted, convicted, and redeemed David. He repented of his sin and returned in faith to his Savior. And the language of his return was, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12).

Repentance — the daily, even hourly, act of turning from sin to God — is about restoration. It restores us to God and to the infinite, lasting joy he purchased for us at Calvary. Even after we’re saved, the sin still in us separates us from the joy that’s already ours in Christ. So we need to turn, again and again, and rediscover our joy in Jesus — and not just on our worst days, but any day we’ve traded trust in God for trust in anything or anyone else.

The best friends in this life will be those who point you to the best place to find joy. Paul summed up his ministry by saying, “We work with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24). That’s the end of any ministry — vocational, cross-cultural, personal — joy. We should be striving to be the kind of friend, father, sister, pastor, coach, and person that brings real joy. That will take tools you may have never needed for yourself, so fill up your belt with others in mind.

When I Don’t Desire God wasn’t meant to be the field guide of a few especially sad Christians. It was meant to be the handbook of every Christian Hedonist, a playbook for pursuing our fullest, deepest joy in Jesus. None of us, not even John Piper, is above or beyond the need to think through the practical implications of this life-changing joy. After all, the title does say “I,” not “you.” The book is his personal and practical confession and dream for himself and the rest of us.

The command “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4) should thrill and undo us. It seems simply too good to be true. But it is — for all of us.

Five Promises for Your Bible Reading and Prayer

Do you consistently seek God in the word and prayer? Or have you tried again and again, become discouraged, and given up? We are deep enough into January that this is the story for many us. Resolutions have began to stall. And even if you do get time with God, is it life-giving? Or is it just going through the motions, reading an assigned passage, praying through your list, and being relieved when it’s over?

It's not too late to make some good changes. So if you are struggling to spend time with God, here are five promises that can help:

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me … Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. (Psalm 43:3–4)

God promises to be your exceeding joy, not because of what he gives, but because of who he is. When we behold and worship him we have infinitely more joy than we have in anything else.

So why would we rather sleep in than seek God? It’s because we’re not trusting that God is our exceeding joy. So what can we do?

Don’t just grit your teeth and try harder. Do what the psalmist says — ask God to send you his light (the heart-enlightening work of the Spirit) and his truth (the Word of God). Then pray over promises describing God as your joy, like Psalm 43:3–4; Psalm 16:11; Matthew 13:44; and 1 Peter 1:8.

As you do, God will send his light and truth so you see and feel that he really is your exceeding joy. Then, when you see that infinite joy is found in him, you’ll want to spend time with him.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Many mornings I’m tempted not to seek God because my faith feels weak. But that’s like not going to the doctor because my body feels sick. Just like doctors heal sick bodies, so God strengthens weak faith, as we hear his word.

Weak faith is like a weak battery. But God’s word is a battery charger. So when your faith is weak, open his word, and plug in your weak faith. God promises that as you do that, he will recharge you.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

The world is like a pitch-black cave in which we can’t see anything. But God has given us the high-powered flashlight of his word.

So if we head into our day without pondering God’s word, it’s like stumbling through a cave without turning on the flashlight.

But starting the day in God’s Word is like turning on the flashlight, so we can see the crevice to avoid, the rock to duck under, the turn we want to take. Don't head into your day without turning on the flashlight.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

One reason we don’t pray is because we believe Satan’s lie that prayer does nothing. But that’s not what Jesus taught (Matthew 7:7).

Jesus promises that every time we pray, God will answer. He will either do exactly what we ask, or something even better, which he would not have done had we not prayed.

So if I start the day praying about my heart, marriage, children, work, and ministry, then God will do things in my heart, marriage, children, work, and ministry that he would not have done had I not prayed. Trust Jesus’ promise about prayer — and pray.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41–42)

Martha had busied herself in the kitchen, while Mary sat at Jesus’s feet, listening to his word. And Jesus said Mary had made the right choice, because she had chosen the one thing which could not be taken from her.

Everything else can be taken from you. But time with Jesus will never be taken from you, because the heart you nurture for Jesus now will bring you increased joy in him forever. And ever. And ever.

So if you haven’t spent time with God, and you are tempted with the newspaper, Facebook, or a phone call, stop. Ask yourself: what will bring me joy that will never be taken away?

Then set everything else aside to join Mary at Jesus’s feet, listening to his word.

Tomorrow Morning

The alarm goes off.

I’m tired. Maybe just a little more sleep. But wait. . .

God is inviting me to exceeding joy.His word will strengthen my weak faith.His word will shine light on the darkness around me.When I pray, God will work.This is the one thing that can’t be taken from me.

I think I’ll get up.

A shepherd’s reading

S being another popular initial initial, as it were, for writers of pastoral theologies,today I offer you the Rs from the list and the first smattering of Ss (esses? Ssss?). The full list to date continues to be available here or from the sidebar under “Pastoral theology.” Comments and further recommendations are appreciated , and if you could put them on the full page, I will be able to keep track of them more readily. Enjoy and profit!
Reymond, Robert L. The God-Centered Preacher: Developing a Pulpit Ministry Approved by God. Coming from a slightly different stable to some of the other volumes, this book comes in two parts, the former a survey of eight needs for the modern pulpit, and the latter a selection of ‘approved’ sermons intended to demonstrate the model established in the first part. Fairly technical at points, and interacting with some significant opponents,  this Scripture-saturated, theologically acute, historically aware volume has much to offer. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Reynolds, Gregory Edward. The Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures: Preaching in the Electronic Age. Essentially a homiletical work developed out of some post-graduate research (I think), Reynolds sets out not to rehash some of the older classics, but to supplement them taking into account the rise of modern media. The bulk of the book is fairly typical academic hoop-jumping, all good stuff and very interesting, but interacting by obligation with things for the sake of racking up some scholarly points. In the latter portion of the book the pastor-preacher takes over and scores some good hits. Despite it being ten years old (and therefore not taking account of a decade of high-speed development) it covers a lot of ground and brings out some excellent principles. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Ryle, J. C. Simplicity in Preaching. Reminding us that in his collections of essays and addresses Ryle has a wealth of sound advice on preaching, this little booklet is concerned with simplicity, and – modelling its own counsel – gives us a series of pointed counsels as to how to develop it. Many a seminarian who has yet to discern the difference between his classroom disquisitions and his pulpit productions would benefit from this. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Shaw, John. The Character of a Pastor According to God’s Heart Considered. An ordination sermon grounded in Jeremiah 3.15, this is one of those more Puritanical treatments which drives at the heart of the ministry: the character of the minister. Short, simple, searching, will flush the spiritual system out. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Shedd, W. G. T. Homiletics and Pastoral Theology. Boy, how these 19th century gents liked to churn these things out! This one combines a series of lectures on sermon preparation and delivery and a survey of pastoral theology as it has to do with the various spheres of ministerial character and labour. Again, the style is of its time, but the counsels, directions and warnings are always substantial, Scripturally solid, often sweet, sometimes righteously severe, and properly searching. Will cover much of the ground that others cover, but these men have flashes of insight and turns of phrase that can make each individually valuable. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Smith, Steven W. Dying to Preach: Embracing the Cross in the Pulpit. A passionate and persuasive plea to preachers that they must embrace the cross in their pastoral ministry, dying to self so that others might live in imitation of Christ and, following the Lord, Paul. The focus is really on one’s theology of preaching. The author’s vigorous spiritual probing calls us back to self-examination as to whether we preach a crucified Lord in a crucified style. Review. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)

Τω αγαπησαντι  ημας  και  λουσαντι  ημας  απο  των  αμαρτιων  ημων  εν  τω  αιματι  αυτου.

Rev. 1:5b

A Christian Guide to Reading Books

Tony Reinke recently wrote a helpful post asking the question, “Should You Read My New Book?”

Here are Leland Ryken and Randy Alcorn’s answers to his question:

“There is so much to commend about this book that it is hard to know where to start. The most obvious virtue of the book is its scope. On the subject of reading, Reinke covers every possible topic. Each topic, in turn, is broken into all of its important subpoints. With a lesser writer, this could produce a tedious book, but the opposite is true of this book. Reinke says just enough, but not too much. The effect is like seeing a prism turned in the light. There is never a dull moment in this book.

“Once I sensed that Reinke was going to cover all the important topics, and with unfailing good sense and Christian insight, I could hardly put the book down. What will Reinke say about THAT topic? I found myself asking. But to add yet another twist, Reinke has read so widely in scholarly and religious sources that I do not hesitate to call the book a triumph of scholarship. Reinke writes with an infectious and winsome enthusiasm. It is hard to imagine a reader of this book who would not catch the spark for reading after encountering Reinke’s excitement about reading and his carefully reasoned defense of it.”
—Leland Ryken, professor of English, Wheaton College

“I read many books, but seldom do I enjoy one more than I did Tony Reinke’s Lit!. Many of my greatest childhood adventures, and much of my growth after I was converted as a teenager, came through reading imagination-expanding and life-changing books. Tony’s writing is thoughtful, perceptive, concise, and God-honoring. He upholds biblical authority, and offers helpful guidance, while allowing for a range of tastes. Lit! rings true to my own lifetime of reading experience. As a reader and writer of both nonfiction and fiction, I appreciate the breadth of Tony’s treatment, which includes a variety of genres. For book lovers, this is a treasure and delight. For those who aren’t book lovers, it makes a great case for becoming one.”
—Randy Alcorn, founder, Eternal Perspective Ministries