In the meantime

Blogging for God Glory in a Clickbait World by Benjamin Vrbicek and John Beeson was the one and only book I finished during 2020. (And yes, writing those words makes me so sad.) Back in 2019, I read over forty books. It was so fantastic. I absolutely loved reading and learning so much just from reading. Throughout 2019, the books I read ranged from On Reading Well that discussed a handful of classics, to theological books like Assured that covered the subject of the assurance of salvation, to fiction, to biographies. I felt like my brain was always being prodded along towards growth in a variety of areas. And then I came to a screeching halt in 2020.  As much as I really, really wanted to read more, I didn't. So Blogging for God's Glory in a Clickbait World is all I've got to show for 2020. (I did start a handful of other books--maybe 3?--but I have yet to finish them.) Anyways...let's leave the past in the past and move on. Blogging for God's Glory was a good re...

I had never heard of using highlighters as an approach to intentional Bible study until a few months ago when I listened to this podcast episode from the Daily Grace Co. Obviously, this approach doesn't encompass everything there is to studying the Bible, but it has opened my eyes to the possibility of using this relatively simple approach to help promote intentional engagement with the text!  Since I've started using specific colors for specific topics, I have found myself more attentive as I read. Here's how I use four of the six colors:  BLUE = Specific descriptions of God  YELLOW = Specific descriptions of Christ/prophecies of Christ  GREEN = Commands (think "go!)  ORANGE = Warnings PINK = (Yet to be determined)  PURPLE = (Yet to be determined)   So when The Daily Grace's special Bible highlighters went on sale, I grabbed a set and have begun using them. Here are my thoughts on these particular highlighters: ...

January 1st, I started Knowable Word's 90-Day Bible Reading Challenge . I've read through the entire Bible in a year , but never in 90 days. In order to stay on track and finish in 90 days, I've figured that it averages out to a solid fifteen chapters or so a day.  Whew. That's a lot of reading every day.     Knowing that each day would require a significant length of time, just to keep on schedule, I knew that I had to do something to keep my mind engaged and focused. I am now 4 days into this challenge (86 more days to go!) and I'm finding a few different strategies to be helpful in keeping my heart and mind focused on what I'm reading:  Highlighting  I initially heard about using highlighters for intentional reading of the Word last fall on this podcast episode from the Daily Grace Company . Since then, I've been slowly implementing this approach of using specific colors for specific themes. (I say slowly  because I'm currentl...

And December is drawing to a close, which means that my 2019 Reading Challenge is practically over. Here are the final books I've read for 2019. Read about the first forty books I read this year HERE and HERE . Here's my rating system: 5+ Stars - Incredibly encouraging & edifying; absolutely loved it! 5 Stars - Fantastic and edifying read! 4 Stars - A great read! 3 Stars - An okay book overall. 2 Stars - Left much to be desired. 1 Stars - Don't waste your time reading it. Each title is a link to the book.  Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense,   by  Paul Tripp -- 5+ Stars This book is insightful, both practically and spiritually. Tripp writes from a unique perspective, for not only has he been able to minister to many people going through suffering, he has recently experienced some significant suffering himself. Because of the suffering God has brought him through, Tripp is able to identify with many of the emotions tha...

I recently shared seven reasons for why you should read the entire Bible instead of only parts of it.  Here are five more reasons for why you should read the entire Bible.  (As you read these reasons, please keep in mind that I am not saying that reading the entire Bible is the only way to read the Bible--there is definitely a time and place for slower and deeper study of the Word.) 8. It is an act of faith.  If we believe 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is true, we believe that all of Scripture is profitable. According to these verses, Scripture is profitable for "teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" to the end that "the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."  So when we're in the middle of the Old Testament and it seems like there is absolutely nothing in it that is beneficial for our lives, we cling to this declaration of the power of Scripture and keep reading it. God has promised to use ...

With 2020 just around the corner, there is lots of talk about starting fresh with Bible reading goals. One of the most popular goals is reading through the entire Bible in a year.  Reading through the Bible in a year is a fantastic goal to have. All throughout my years at home, my parents read through the Bible every year. They then encouraged me to work towards accomplishing that goal myself, even when I was quite young. The discipline of having to stick with a schedule in order to finish within the prescribed time-frame was instrumental in helping me develop a habit of reading the Bible every day.  So what are some reasons for why we should read the entire Bible? Why not just stick to the parts that make us get all warm and fuzzy inside? Or the parts that are "fun" to read? Or the exciting stories about heroes?  Why should we continue reading, even if we feel lethargic as we read through the endless genealogies, Levitical procedures, graphic murder s...

Struggling with doubts about one's salvation is quite commonplace among believers. Indeed, if we are honest, I think many of us would agree that we have asked ourselves the question: "Am I truly saved?"  As a teenager, I had several conversations with my mom about my assurance of salvation. While I don't remember all the details of those often-late-night conversations, I do remember my mom pointing me back to Scripture and reminding me of what God says. Even now as an adult, there are still occasional moments of doubt.   Assured: Discover Grace, Let Go of Guilt, and Rest in Your Salvation by Greg Gilbert is a helpful little discussion about how to deal with these moments of doubt. Its goal is to drive us back to Scripture and remind us of what our salvation truly rests on. Four Sources of Assurance  The majority of the book centers around a discussion of four sources for our assurance: the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God's promises, the Holy Sp...