Thus Saith...

...Steven J. Lawson during his "Is the Bible Just Another Book?" lecture at the 2010 Ligonier Natl. conf.,

"I've read other books, this book [the Bible] reads me!"

FREE ~ Online Daily Bible Reading Plans

There's nothing 'magic' about reading through the Bible in a year, but it is a very worthy goal and discipline in the life of the Christian. However, the task we begin with great zeal and purpose at the beginning of the year sometimes becomes overwhelming once we've strayed 'off track' due to illness, hectic schedules, or just plain laziness--guilty on all counts.

With that in mind I'd like to recommend you consider using one of these FREE online Bible reading systems! The first one, Bible.org is the one I've been using for over a year now. I especially like it because I can choose from a variety of plans (New Testament only, Proverbs in a month, chronological reading, etc.) and each day's reading is sent to my email address--a great reminder and convenient format. So, in addition to my personal Bible study, I'm able to systematically read my way through scripture in a organized manner.

The second FREE online reading system was recently posted by Justin Taylor at "Between Two Worlds". I was introduced to the M'Cheyne reading plan by my husband years ago and really enjoyed it because the plan has you reading in the OT and NT each day--completing the OT once and the NT and Psalms twice per year. I haven't used the online version, but the various features and options sound great!

Textual Criticism ~ How Can We Know Our Bible is Reliable?

No!!! Please don't pass this post by cause you THINK you have no "interest" in textual criticism--or no idea what it is!

I'm sure you've heard this question (or something along the same lines) asked many times by skeptical friends or family, and even immature believers, "How can we know our Bible is reliable?"

I encourage you to read THIS post by C. Michael Patton over at the Parchment and Pen team blog. He does a wonderful job of presenting the topic in a very understandable and readable manner.

Being married to a N.T. Greek language guy, I've heard many phrases like "textual criticism" and "majority text" used often over the years. However, I have for the most part been content to leave the "deeper" language issues to him--satisfied to benefit from HIS work and thinking through things. You should have seen the smile on my husband's face last Saturday morning (during our weekly "date" at a local coffe shop) as I enthusiastically shared what I'd read and was working to apply.

BTW, after you've read Patton's post, be sure to check out the quiz by Dan Wallace (one of the Greek profs at DTS) TEXTUAL CRITICISM QUIZ , and get the quiz answers in his follow-up post, ANSWER KEY TO QUIZ.

Oh yea, I got only 5 correct out of 10, but learned quite a bit in the process! Hope you have fun with this--be glad that you won't have to "expose" your ignorance to the world like I did! :-)

Practicing Theology - Word and Spirit

While reading The Valley of Vision this morning, this stood out to me:

It is not inner sensation that makes Christ's death mine
for that may be delusion, being without the Word,
but his death apprehended by my faith, and so testified by Word and Spirit,

This Valley of Vision prayer puts our Xian experience in the proper Biblical perspective. Christ's death is not "mine" because of some inner sensation I have--whether by my own design or orchestrated by others--but Christ's death is mine because I apprehend it by my faith (which has been given to me BY God) and these things are testified to by God's Word and His Spirit.

Don't let the word order of that last phrase escape you, "by Word and Spirit". God has first and foremost given His Word as our foundation, filter, and measure to be applied to ALL Xian thinking, living AND experience. Subsequently, it is His Spirit that He has ordained to illuminate, testify, and confirm what is found in His Word.

We must be students of God's Word in order to understand what the Spirit is doing in and through us--not the reverse. It's too easy for fallen man to feel or experience something and superimpose it over God's Word--that is a man-centered theology.

The Blank Bible - patterned after Jonathan Edwards' Bible

There's been some discussion about Bibles in the comments section of this Monday's Theology 101 post. I mentioned the "blank Bible" that I came across recently on the internet.

For those who may be interested, here's a link to check out--I'm tempted to try this! I even read some comments somewhere by guys who have taken an elec. table saw to their Bible and built their own "blank Bible"!! Wow--Bibles, power tools, and testosterone!!