All in Methods

3 Fresh Ideas for Improving Your Bible Reading in 2017

3 Fresh Ideas for Improving Your Bible Reading in 2017

George H. Guthrie
Methods, Reading the Bible

I am still blown away by the idea that the God of the universe wants to communicate with us on a daily basis and that he has chose to do so in this miraculous book we call the Bible. Historically—both the history it contains and the history of its shaping and transmission in the community of faith—it is astounding. Literarily it is magnificently crafted. Narratively it is riveting, and poetically it is breath-taking. Theologically it is deeply grounding, and practically it is life-altering. 

Let’s Get Ready to Read the Bible Through in 2017!: 5 Steps

Let’s Get Ready to Read the Bible Through in 2017!: 5 Steps

George H. Guthrie
Delight in the Word, Methods, Motivation, Prayer, Reading the Bible

Over the past twenty-five years, studies have demonstrated conclusively the correlation between reading the Bible on a daily basis and personal spiritual health. In fact, according to such studies, no other practice of the Christian life serves as such an accurate predictor of whether a person is thriving spiritually. God’s Word nourishes us, encourages us, leads us, teaches us, equips, and corrects us (1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Tim. 3:16). It offers us words to pray, a language for intimate community with other believers, and a Story for understanding our place in the universe.

4 Practical Guidelines for Reading Old Testament Stories

4 Practical Guidelines for Reading Old Testament Stories

George H. Guthrie
Broader Literary Context, Cultural Background, Immediate Literary Contex, Interpretation, Methods, Reading the Bible

Harold Goddard writes, "The history of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in." As we live in the modern world, we see the evidence of Goddard's statement all around us. People have particular views of the world, and those views often are driven by the stories they have embraced.

God wants to pull us into his Story and shape us by it. You may not be terribly familiar with the Old Testament stories, which play a vitally important role in telling the Grand Story, but there are a number of reasons why we should read those stories (which make up a bit less than 50% of the Old Testament).

The Fascinating Case of the Missing Manuscript!

The Fascinating Case of the Missing Manuscript!

George H. Guthrie
Bible Translation, Interpretation, Methods, Motivation

If we look at 1 John 5:7-8 in the KJV, we find the following:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.  

Compare this, for instance, to the ESV, which corresponds to all modern translations: 

“For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.” 

The question, “Why the difference?,” marked out in bold type in the first quotation, makes for a fascinating story and is perhaps the clearest example of why some words found in the KJV are not included in our modern translations.

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