Gospel.com Blog

The ESV Bible Blog is regularly updated with good information the state and news of the English Standard Version of the bible. This recent post gives an interesting visual of how people keep up with their devotionals throughout the year:

As you can see from the below chart, a good number of people start reading their Bibles daily in January. The traffic tapers off until around March 1, after which it remains pretty steady for the rest of the year. We interpret this data to mean that if you can keep reading your Bible daily for another month, there’s a good chance you’ll stick with it for the rest of the year.

Mission Network News has some great news to share. One of Wycliff’s translators just finished a translation of the New Testament in the language of the Kagayenen language.

This is notable because this marks the first time:

An African-American woman has completed a New Testament translation.

An African-American has completed a NT translation with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

An African-American has completed a NT translation since the early 1900s.

But most notably this is also the first time the Kagayenen people can read about Jesus in their own language. Just imagine how much this priviledge has meant to you. Imagine not having the bible, and the joy of not only getting to read about it, but read abut it in your native tongue.

Here’s more from the article:
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Do you find the Bible confusing to read? Why is the world’s most-read book so difficult to read and understand? Soulation has just posted some new audio resources to help you out. Listen to Jonalyn Fincher talk about how to read the Bible (part 1, 2, and 3). She starts by highlighting some of the common mistakes that people (Christians and non-Christians alike) make when reading the Bible, and goes on to give some solid advice for reading the Bible wisely.

And while we’re talking about the Soulation ministry, take a look at a recent Wall Street Journal article—about the “does God exist?” debate and the state of apologetics today—in which Jonalyn is mentioned:

Defenders of the faith are drawing crowds of thousands in person as well. Next month, the Southern Evangelical Seminary will host a National Conference on Christian Apologetics, which will include a special segment for teens. Younger people are some of the most avid consumers of apologetics texts, according to Christian author Jonalyn Fincher, who speaks to college and high-school groups regularly. She says that in the 20th century, Christians often reacted to science’s attacks on religion by “running away from culture.” But in recent years more Christians have begun to take the attitude, “If our God is the God of truth, what are we afraid of?”

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, another apologetics ministry in the Gospel.com community, gets a mention as well.

Increasingly, the debate over science and religion–specifically when it concerns origins–has moved beyond the walls of academia. Christians are being asked some tough questions that demand they explore these issues for themselves.

The ministry of Scibel emerged in 1996 out of a paper researching perceptions of science and Christianity. The group that formed called themselves Christian Students in Science (CSIS). Since then, they changed their name to Scibel, but their beliefs on science and religion have remained the same.

Scibel is based upon the principle that, “mainstream Christian faith and mainstream science are in basic harmony.” If you’re interested in learning more about their ministry, I’d recommend reading their About Us page. They do a thorough job of explaining the foundations for their theology and approach to science.

About four months ago, we covered Scibel’s question and answer section on their site. You can read that here. This crop of essays explore some of the tough questions that face us as we weigh the impact of faith on science and vice versa.

Was there really a literal Adam and Eve

To be a real Christian do I have to take the Bible literally?

Does it make sense to believe in miracles?

Is there any evidence that God exists?

Can any Scientists Today Accept that Jesus Rose from the Dead?

“Today, Scibel helps young adults to think about some of the big questions in life - whether they are Christian or not, students or not, or studying science or not.”

Most Christians have at least attempted to read the entire bible in a year. For some it comes off without a hitch. For others (like me) it might start well, and then Leviticus comes along. With naive intentions of returning to those priestly codes, we jump ahead to Joshua. Somehow we never quite come back to finish them.

Or, we start in on the New Testament, hit Luke and all those parables coalesce into this massive story about a prodigal fish planting seeds underneath a camel. So, it’s back to Matthew again, and you’re a month behind.

Or, there’s the free-form approach–my personal favorite–where the tried-and-true interesting books are read in no particular order, which generally consists of a mix of Genesis, Job, John and James over and over and over.

We each probably have a story of failing at this bible reading thing, and that’s okay. But perhaps it’s time for a plan.
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Nancy Leigh DeMoss has been doing a series called The King’s Dedication on her radio show Revive our Hearts that focuses on two often forgotten individuals in Christ’s life.

Simeon and Anna, who–I’ll admit–I was a bit hazy on, meet Jesus at the time of his purification. And after rereading the passage where we get to meet them, I have developed a new appreciation for their seemingly tireless devotion.

Advent is a season of contemplative expectation. We’re waiting to celebrate the birth of our savior, and this waiting was what Simeon and Anna had been doing their entire lives. So, when, for example, Simeon saw his savior it brought him such an all-consuming joy that it’s no wonder he burst into poetic prayer. From Luke 2:29-32:

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.

You can read both their accounts in Luke 2:25-40. We featured this series yesterday, but another one of our community members, Back to the Bible, have perspectives on Jesus from the points of view of Simeon and Anna that are worth your time as well.

The fourth and final Gospel account is the Gospel of John, written by the “disciple that Jesus loved”. John’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry differs in some interesting ways from the other three Gospels—the author has an eye for details that the other accounts leave unmentioned. It’s thus well worth reading, even if you’re quite familiar with the other Gospels.

A few links to help you explore this unique Gospel account: (more…)

Luke 1:3-4 “Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

One doesn’t have to read far into Luke’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus to see that he is passionate about providing an orderly account of what he has seen and researched. He wrote this gospel for Theophilus, who was also the recipient of his other contribution to the New testament, the book of Acts. Both Luke and Acts were written sometime during the first century. The International Bible Society has a great introduction to Luke that covers the history and structure of the book. And as always, you can read the Gospel of Luke via the Bible Gateway.
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Yesterday we talked a bit about the Gospel of Matthew; today we’ll take a look at the second Gospel account in the New Testament—the book of Mark.

Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. It is relatively fast-paced compared to some of the other Gospels, was written with a non-Jewish audience in mind, and describes the ministry of Christ all the way to his death and resurrection. You can get started reading it yourself (or listen to it in audio format) over at the Bible Gateway. Before you dive in, though, you might want to take a look at some of these resources to help you get the most out of Mark:

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This week on Gospel.com, we’re taking a look at the four gospels of Jesus Christ, and today we’re focusing on Matthew. For me the book of Matthew was the first book of the bible I ever really studied. By looking at the verses underlined in my aging NIV you can see what was on my mind during that time. Matthew is a book that is often cited as being written for the Greek Jews, and today it remains as one of the four gospels that show Jesus’ life to us. You can read the full text at The BibleGateway, or listen to it here. The International Bible Society has a concise introduction to the book that outlines the structure and history of the book. Additionally, Uplook Ministries has more textual/literary introduction.
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