On the surface, “Jesus shows us what God is really like” language appears pious and even Jesus-exalting. In reality, it betrays a tragically truncated view of the Jesus of the Bible. We see God “as he is” by gazing with the eyes of faith on the pages of his Word—all of them.
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How Papyrus P52 Encourages Our Faith
BibleFascinating and a great reminder of the way God has preserved His Word throughout the ages . . .
Carefully encased within a climate-controlled cabinet in the John Rylands Library is Rylands Library Papyrus P52, the St. John’s fragment. Measuring only 8.9 by 6 centimeters at its widest points (3.5 by 2.5 inches), this is just the smallest fragment of a long-lost codex. But why would 53 square centimeters of papyrus merit such a display and a position in this list of 25 objects?
P52 may not be the most important of the ancient manuscripts, and certainly it is not the one most critical to assembling the original text of the Bible. Yet it is a significant link to the past, an object we can look at and as we look, see the providence of God in preserving his words. If faith comes through hearing and hearing through the Word of God (Romans 10:17), you and I are Christians today only because God has preserved his Word, the Bible. He has preserved his Word through even small fragments of papyrus like this one.
How Not to Read Your Bible
BibleI love Matt Smethurst’s 5th way not to read your Bible.
5. Don’t Turn a Means of Grace into a Means of Merit
Your Father’s love for you doesn’t rise and fall with your quiet times. If you are united to Jesus by faith, the verdict is out, and the court is dismissed. You’re as accepted and embraced as the Son himself. Period.
To be sure, you’ll desire to hear and follow his voice if you’re truly one of his sheep (John 10:1-30; cf. 8:47; 18:37). Not always and not perfectly, of course, but sincerely and increasingly.
So as another year dawns, commit yourself anew to becoming a man or woman of the Word. But don’t overextend, do it alone, just do it whenever, live as if Paul lied, or treat means of grace like means of merit.
Your Bible is one of God’s chief gifts to you in 2013. Open, read, ruminate, and obey. May you be ever transformed into the image of our incarnate King, and may he alone receive the acclaim.
Bible Reading Plans for 2013
BibleIf you are looking for some resources to help you read through the Scripture in 2013, check out this link from the esvbible.org. There are twelve different plans to choose from. Personally I follow the M’Cheyne reading plan which guides you through reading the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament once. You can create an esvbible.org account to track the progress of your preferred plan or print out a copy of the plan to stick in your bible.
You may also want to use the podcast option, so that you can hear the day’s Scripture passages read. This is an option I use almost everyday. To use this option, you can search iTunes or your favorite podcasting app by the name of the reading plan. You can also manually add it by copying and pasting the “rss” link from the above page into your podcast app.
If these options are not enough, check out Justin Taylor’s listing of reading plans over at the Gospel Coalition website.
One last word . . . it seems almost inevitable that at times during the year one of two things will happen: pride that we are doing so well or guilt that we have failed to keep up. It is at those times that we must be reminded that as important as reading Scripture is (crucial in fact), it does not save. We are saved by Christ alone. He has paid the penalty for our pride and our neglect of his Word.
The Bible Is Not Basically about You
Theology & The Bible, VideosA reminder from Tim Keller, concerning what Scripture is primarily about.
HT: Justin Taylor
The Perfect Bible for the iPhone (& iPad)?
Theology & The BibleCrossway recently release their ESV Bible + for the OS4. The introductory cost is $9.99. Is it worth it?
First, you should know that Crossway has a free version of the ESV called the ESV Bible (with no “+”). If you do not have the money to spring for the ESV Bible +, you should definitely get the ESV Bible.
If you have the money though, I think it is well worth it. The interface is very elegant, probably the best of any Bible app that I have seen.
Over and above what you get on the ESV Bible, the ESV Bible + has the following features:
- All of the ESV Study Bible notes and resources
- ESV audio with text scrolling
- An index of Study Bible Articles
- Snap-Back feature for returning to previous screen
- New My Notes interface, which will sync with your ESV Online account in the coming months
These features make it a no brainer . . . the ESV Study notes, audio with scrolling, and coming integration with ESV Online.
The price will be going up to $12.99 very soon, so get it now!
Go to the ESV Bible Blog for more information.