This post is adapted from Delights & Disciplines of Bible Study: A Guidebook for Studying God’s Word by Warren W. Wiersbe. *** It’s unfortunate that some of our gifted Christian poets and songwriters have used Canaan, the promised land, as a...
Dr. Tony Evans is passionate about discipleship that applies the whole of the Bible to all of life. The founder and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship first found this passion for making disciples while attending Bible college and seminary during...
Why did John call Jesus “the Logos”? This question has puzzled biblical scholars for millennia; it is not a debate that is easily settled. One of the most compelling views is that John borrowed this idea from Greek thought. But theologians across...
Luke 24 is about Jesus’s resurrection, his post-resurrection interaction with his disciples, and his ascension to heaven. On two different occasions during this chapter Jesus appears to his followers, first to Cleopas and his friend on the road to...
Everyone intuitively understands that disabilities can be hard to live with. They can even put a strain on your faith—some disabilities more than others. Imagine, then, being born without arms. This is the affliction God gave to Daniel...
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. (Luke 23:34 ESV) This first of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross was uttered probably shortly after he had been crushed to the...
It is not uncommon when reading the Bible to run into language or imagery that we don’t readily understand. Just spend some time in the Prophets or Revelation. We may view the difficulties in Scripture as deterrents to engaging it (even if we don’t...
Where do you go when the calamities of life feel too heavy? We’re all tempted to turn inward, but perhaps we would do better to open the Psalms of lament instead. In the following excerpt from Christ and Calamity by award-winning author Harold L...
The definition of spiritual endurance (or “steadfast endurance”) is this: the power to withstand hardship or stress; especially the inward fortitude necessary. This definition from Logos Bible Software (Bible app and Basic package available free) is...
Daniel Ritchie was born without arms and faced a unique kind of adversity daily. Yet after surrendering his life to Jesus, he learned that only in Christ could true worth and purpose be found—freeing him from comparisons and restrictions and...
Confidently. That’s the answer. If you’re going to get it wrong, along with Luther I say, Sin boldly. But that’s just it: when it comes to Bible words, there are fewer pronunciation sins than you think. Now… there are some. I was just listening to a...
“Is this something we do?” I remember asking when I first heard the word “Lent.” Even though my father is Catholic, I grew up in a Protestant house where Lent, Ash Wednesday, and fasting were as exotic as Rome, the pope, and crucifixes. It wasn’t...
What makes a great marriage? If you asked several strong couples, you’d probably get several different answers. But if you examined their marriages, you’d find they have elements in common. These three elements of a great marriage are adapted from...
Why are we here, and what is our purpose? What on earth went wrong, and why are things so messed up? How can we go about making this wrecked world a better place? These are some of the most important questions a person can ask. If we’re willing to...
What is a devotional? That’s not easy to answer. A devotional can be many things. It can be a Bible reading plan. It can be a series of meditations. It can be a liturgical exercise. It can be a daily selection of verses, accompanied by a...
For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have recited the Apostles Creed. Why? Why after millennia is it still important . . . still relevant? Here’s a short answer from Ben Myers in The Apostles’ Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism and the new...
Who wrote the Apostles’ Creed? Why is it important? Keep reading! This article from the free Lexham Bible Dictionary gives those answers (and many, many more). Apostles’ Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum): A statement of Christian belief that...
Martin Luther once said, “Christian truth could not possibly be put into a shorter and clearer statement.” He was talking about the Apostles’ Creed, a declaration of belief that’s united Christians for centuries. In it, we find the foundational...
Almost a year to the day after becoming a Christian, I fell to a familiar sin that had ruled me prior to conversion. At that moment God’s presence vanished. I was left wondering if I had lost my salvation—if I had been saved in the first place. The...
One likely date for the crucifixion of Jesus is Friday, April 6, AD 30. If we assume this chronology, we can tentatively reconstruct Jesus’ movements for the first part of his final week, including his cursing of the fig tree and its subsequent...
In Psalm 19, David celebrates God’s revelation first in creation and then in Scripture. He describes in poetic language the nature of God’s word as perfect, right, and pure, and the function of God’s word as reviving, rejoicing, and enlightening the...
“What you say and how you say it aren’t disconnected ideas,” says Micah Ellis, the design director at Faithlife. “They aren’t separable.” Communication is more than the words you choose. Tone, body language...
Our team scoured all books from acclaimed Christian publishers released in 2021 and picked our favorites—everything from commentaries to biblical languages to practical ministry and more. Best new Lexham titles Wonderfully Made: A Protestant...
Each year, Christianity Today announces their “picks for the books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture.” And for 2022, two Lexham Press titles—each focusing on a unique topic—were honored as finalists. First, in the Biblical...
Like lighting Advent candles, Advent readings (for church services or personal devotions) provoke a pause from the everyday. There’s nothing quite like navigating the special weeks of Advent: preparation, anticipation, joy, and incarnation. ...
Sadly, the daily news plods forward with report after report of some Christian leader’s downfall. Some such cases arise from sexual impropriety. Others center on the abuse of power. Yet others involve financial mismanagement, unresolved conflict, or...
Christians understand the meaning of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem . . . but there’s so much that’s hazy in our imagination and understanding of the details. Popular Christmas songs, Christmas movies, and Christmas media have given us the wrong idea...
Lots of people want their Bible translations to be “literal.” But what does “literal” even mean? The NASB has called itself “the most literal” English Bible. The CSB calls itself “highly literal.” My own church’s ESV is “essentially literal.” The...
The dates will always be easy to remember. January 6—the day the electoral votes were counted and the Capitol was stormed—was the day we learned the cancer had spread again, this time into places you can’t live without. January 20—Inauguration...
When I first started teaching, I began each class speaking not only about what we were to read in Scripture, but how we were to read. I would play a video from N. T. Wright where he discusses reading large swaths of Bible books so one might gain a...
