Bible Study Magazine—January–February 2014 Issue

• Feature Stories
  Discover new ways to connect the Bible with your ministry and life through in-depth interviews and articles from the biggest names in the church and biblical scholarship.
• Bible Study Tips
  Explore the Word—thoughtful and engaging authors tackle the tough passages in Scripture, explain difficult concepts, and confront complex interpretations in a way that helps the Gospel make sense in your life.
• On the Cutting Edge
  Keep up to date on the latest news in biblical research, including archaeological and historical findings.
• A New Kind of Bible Study
  Encounter God by yourself or with other believers with an ongoing Bible study in each issue.
• On Teaching
  Get advice on how to preach or teach the Bible in any setting from well-known pastors and teachers who use the Bible every day.
• Tool Box
  Learn how to effectively use the latest Bible study tools with our how-to guides.
• In the News
  Keep informed about the latest news in biblically related topics, discoveries, and events.
• Thoughts from the Ancients
  Read the Bible together with those who have come before you, and learn from the wisdom of the early church—in its own words.
• Word Studies
  Get a close-up view of the Bible! Each issue contains insights about specific words found in the Bible and tutorials on how to do word studies.
• If Only Someone Would Explain It to Me
  Enrich your understanding of the Bible with explanations of biblical and theological concepts by top scholars.
• Did You Know?
  Discover interesting facts about the place of the Bible in the contemporary and the ancient world.
• What They Don’t Tell You in Church
  See things you never noticed in biblical passages you have read dozens of times.
• Biblical Humor
  The funniest stories and the best comics related to the Bible, useful for any setting.
• Book Reviews
  Stay on top of the latest books about Bible study. Each issue contains reviews of books and commentaries to equip you in your study of God’s Word.

Excerpts from the Jan–Feb 2014 Issue!

Ann Voskamp: Seeing God at Work

“The first thing you’ve got to do every morning is get the Word into you,” says Ann Voskamp, blogger, Compassion partner, and New York Times bestselling author of One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. Voskamp’s family has cultivated a tradition of reading the Bible at every meal. “My husband’s family never left the table without reading Scripture. If you’re going to eat food, you’re going to eat real food as well—‘Man does not live by bread alone.’ In the 18 years we’ve been married, we’ve never left the table—breakfast, lunch or dinner—unless we quote from the Bible and read together. It’s a way of preaching the gospel to yourself all of the time.”—Jessi Strong

The Gospel of Peace for a Society at War

Dr. Sunday Agang, provost of the Evangelical Church Winning All Seminary (ECWA) in Kagoro, Nigeria, tells his students that they need to talk with Muslims. “We need to be interacting and engaging each other in a manner that treats people with respect as human beings. In Colossians Paul says, ‘Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, and peace, gentleness and patience’ (Col 3:12). I tell my students that when we are violent, we lack compassion, and so we are missing out on what God wants us to do.” He says, ‘put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony’ (Col 3:14). You cannot be peaceful if you do not have love.”—Jessi Strong

Not Your Average Bible Study: A Prophet on the Run: 8 Weeks in Jonah

As children, we learn of Jonah being swallowed by a “big fish” and then spewed out after three days. This seemingly climactic moment is just one of several obstacles Jonah faced while evading God’s commands (see Jonah 1:4; 4:6–8). However, by focusing so much on Jonah and the fish, we (like Jonah) might downplay the greatest miracle of all: the entire city of Nineveh repenting and turning to God (see 3:4–10).—Miles Custis

Special Section: The Not-So-Minor Prophets

Do Prophecies Sometimes Fail?

We often think a biblical prophecy is genuine only if it comes to pass, as Deuteronomy 18:21–22 seems to support: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously.” But using this passage to explain the nature of all biblical prophecy is inaccurate. Prophecies sometimes did fail—by God’s design.—Robert B. Chisholm

This Time, It’s Personal

Hosea’s autobiography-as-oracle transforms stark imagery into something intensely personal. He becomes more than preacher—he is a character in his own sermon. This melding of person and message is a standard feature or “trope” of the Bible’s prophetic books. . . . The biblical prophets weren’t afraid to get personal when preaching God’s word.—Eli T. Evans