Bible

Read trusted teachers on Bible truths that intersect with your daily life, and discover study Bibles and more for your needs.

Failure’s Not Fatal: The Latest Chapter in God’s Good News [Excerpt by David Garland]

 

Learn More about NIV Application Commentary: Mark Learn More

(Excerpt from NIV Application Commentary: Mark [eBook] by David E. Garland.)

 

God is a God of beginnings. The good news of Mark is that God begins again with the chosen people by sending his Son.

At the end of the Gospel … things look far more gloomy. The women slink away from the empty tomb and are mute from fear [See Mark 16].

 

The empty tomb

They thought the story was over. Instead they found an empty tomb, and a new part to play. See Mark 16.

Failure, denial, and fear are not the end of the story, however. When things seem to end, there is a new beginning. The gospel is good news because one can begin again.

 

God is the one who consistently makes something out of nothing.

One may wonder how these discredited disciples could ever emerge as leaders of a growing church and fulfill their mission, but we know that their failure was not fatal. Neither is ours. God is the one who consistently makes something out of nothing. What seems like the end, and a pathetic one at that, is only a new beginning. God will continue to work with and revive the people.

 

Mark makes it clear that "the church exists because of what God has done in Christ, not because of any outstanding abilities in its first members." The gospel proclaims that the one "who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6)…

 

How will we continue the story?

Christianity is not a closed book, and Christian readers are the latest chapter in a continuing story of God's good news. The question for us is … the same as it was for those early disciples, "Where do we go from here?" The next stage is up to us. How will we continue the story? Will we cower in fear or boldly proclaim the glad tidings of Jesus to the world?

 

Learn More about NIV Application Commentary: Mark Learn More

Learn more about NIV Application Commentary: Mark eBook

 

Question for Discussion: Did the first disciples have any advantages over us in sharing the gospel? Do we have any advantages over them? Leave your comments on this post.

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan


(Images & some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of NIVAC Mark eBook. Image attribution: From "An Illustrated Commentary on the Gospel of Mark" by Phillip Medhurst. Section Z. the empty tomb. Mark 16:1-8. By Philip Devere [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Share
5 Responses , , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

Grappling with Dark Spiritual Forces [Excerpt by Klyne Snodgrass]

 

(Excerpt from NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians [eBook] by Klyne Snodgrass.)

 

The Real Enemy

For our struggle is not against flesh & blood, but against the rulers… the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

Our struggle is not with humans; they are not the enemy… The way we carry on our battles is the most eloquent witness to our faith.

[This is relevant] for the way Christians respond in arguments over social issues like abortion and homosexuality… If we act in unchristian ways in rejecting sin, what have we become? Violence cannot be used to achieve good. An ancient Jew put it well: “The person trying to do right by violence is like a eunuch desiring to seduce a young woman” (Ecclesiasticus 20:4). Whether absolute pacifism is an option in a sinful world is debatable, but that Christians must be people of peace is not… 


Should Christians fear the ‘spiritual forces of evil’?

The threat of danger exists, but this enemy is defeated, is not in control, and is limited in power. [And] the armor God uses to defeat evil is given to us. Why should we fear? We should experience courage for living because the enemy has been defeated…

 

The full armor of God

Image: The full armor of God (See Ephesians 6:13-20), from a Bible printed in 1800.


Evil as Booby-trap
[Evil] always looks like something good for us, but it does not ask about God or other people, and it does not ask about long term effects. In the process the boundaries and values by which God orders life are distorted.

The spiritual forces of evil in Ephesians are trap setters, seeking to delude us into shifting the boundaries. Some traps we recognize easily, for we see the paths to destruction worn down by previous captives. Other traps we hardly notice, for we have accepted the revaluing. In most cases our choice is not between obvious evil and something good but between two seemingly good and right options. As Walter Wink points out, Satan watches our inclinations and throws us to the side to which we are leaning… Evil traps us with the good, only slightly out of bounds. Each choice slightly out of bounds redraws the boundaries until nothing remains of God’s intent. That is why evil is deceptive and why we need to be alert…

 

The way we carry on our battles is the most eloquent witness to our faith.

How can we defend against evil?
By focusing on evil we destroy ourselves; by focusing on God we find life and protection. God deserves our attention; evil does not. In asking us to put on the armor of God, the text directs our attention away from evil and to God and his purposes… Christians do not need to worry about evil, for they know how to pray. [See Philippians 4:6–7]


Learn More about NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians Learn More

Be alert, yes, but don’t worry or fear. Prayer is the key ingredient in being strong and alert…

Learn more about NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians eBook

 

Question for Discussion: Do you sometimes feel like your real battle is with other people? How would you counsel someone who feels like this?

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan


(Images & some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of NIVAC Ephesians eBook… Image attribution: By Phillip Medhurst (Photos by Harry Kossuth) [Public domain {{PD-1923}}], via Wikimedia CommonsThis post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer’s personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Share
4 Responses , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

King Jesus, His Gospel, and Us: Recap of N.T. Wright’s January Series Message

 

Yesterday the venerable N.T. Wright concluded the 2012 January Series of Calvin College with a message on Christ's kingship, and its import for the daily life of his followers. I couldn't attend the event, but Press reporter Matt Vande Bunte offers a pithy recap of Wright's presentation.

NT Wright

Image via MLive Media Group. View Original

In one of his more provocative points, Wright suggests that Christians inadvertently water down the gospel if they fixate on the death-and-resurrection part of the story. Here Vande Bunte quotes Wright:

 *While some [secular thinkers] downplay Christ's divinity [by imagining] Jesus as a great social worker "being kind to old ladies, small dogs and little children," orthodox Christianity "has not wanted Jesus to have a political message." Christians have turned off parts of the gospel, like turning down the volume on a song. But the biblical gospels must be listened to in symphony, "like a musical score that demands to be played."

*Heard in full sound, the gospels tell about the establishment of a theocracy, and portray what theocracy looks like with Jesus as king. The body of the texts – the parts between Jesus' birth and death – present "an entire agenda for renewed humanity. When God wants to reign, he doesn't send in the tanks. He sends in the meek, the broken-hearted, the crushed in spirit. We've all got it horribly wrong in all sorts of ways."

In other words, Wright says that to limit our gospel proclamation to the death-and-resurrection story would be like fast-forwarding through Handel's Messiah to the Hallelujah Chorus, then playing that part over, and over, and over again. As we limit our study and consumption of the gospel in this way, we truncate the gospel's power in our lives and in our world.

Wright's call to a more full, symphonic view of the gospel reminds me of Scot McKnight's latest book, The King Jesus Gospel, to which Wright actually contributed a foreword. You can read Wright's foreword in this excerpt of The King Jesus Gospel.

If you read Matt Van Bunte's full report of Wright's January Series appearance, I would be very interested in hearing your reaction to Wright's message. Leave your comments on this post.

 

Also of Interest

Learn more about Surprised by Hope DVD Study
Learn More

1. Watch Session One from Wright's Surprised by Hope DVD Study. Discussed: The source of Christian hope; Jesus as king; the church as people of hope.

2. Watch N.T. Wright's presentation How God Became King at Moody Bible Institute in November 2011.

3. Interested in Scot McKnight's The King Jesus Gospel? Read this unconventional yet appropriate review,  Interview with a Christian Vampire. (Full disclosure: I wrote the review.)

4. Update 1/26/12 – Find comprehensive coverage & commentary on Wright's appearance in So, who's up for a little theocracy?, a fine blog post by Ben Irwin (@benirwin).

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Share
0 Responses , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

Words of Hope Instead: Martin Luther King and Jeremiah the Prophet

 

Learn more about EBC: Jeremiah-Ezekiel
Learn More

This morning I read about two men who made enemies by standing up for what’s right: the prophet Jeremiah and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Violent men clamored and snarled at them to back down. Instead, they relied on God for strength, and spoke words of hope. 

This is an excerpt from The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Jeremiah-Ezekiel, Vol. 7, Revised, by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland.

 

 image from zondervan.typepad.com

(Image of Jeremiah by Ilya Repin, MLK by Betsy Graves Reyneau. Both Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).

 

Jeremiah and Martin Luther King: From  Jeremiah – Ezekiel

It is often easy for us to read millennia-old accounts that describe death and devastation, misery and grief, suffering and tears, and to remain unmoved… This is not the case, however, with the book of Jeremiah… The tragic events that unfold in this book [are] hauntingly real: the armies of Nebuchadnezzar inspiring terror as they make their approach, the starvation of a city under siege, the exiling of the people from their ancestral land, the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple, the slaughtering of the sons of David and the blinding of a king from David’s line, and the weeping women teaching their daughters how to mourn. And this is just a sampling. In this prophetic book one actually does hear the cries of the wounded and dying and one does smell the smoke rising from the flames.

Against this bleak and burning backdrop, the extraordinary faith of God’s prophet stands like a soaring, unshakable monument, as he never backs down in public and never refuses a divine commission. He speaks words of ultimate hope instead — including wonderful promises of restoration and a new covenant — and even makes a personal investment in Judah’s future by buying his uncle’s field as a down payment on his nation’s coming restoration at a time when its destruction is only moments away. A sacred transaction takes place between God and his servant — a transaction profound enough to carry Jeremiah through a terribly turbulent era and a difficult life, ultimately producing an extraordinary book with an extraordinary message for the ages.

A pivotal moment in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is striking in its relevance, taking us behind the scenes into the heart and soul of a very public and influential leader:

By January 1956, with the Montgomery bus boycott in full swing, threatening phone calls, up to 40 a day, began pouring into King’s home. Though he put up a strong front, the threats unsettled him. One midnight as he sat over a cup of coffee worrying, the phone rang again, and the caller said, “[We] are tired of you and your mess now. And if you aren’t out of this town in three days, we’re going to blow your brains out and blow up your house.” King later described what happened in the next few minutes.

“I sat there and thought about a beautiful little daughter who had just been born… She was the darling of my life. I’d come in night after night and see that little gentle smile. And I sat at that table thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me any minute.

Read More…

Share
0 Responses , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

Does Fiction Lie? Thoughts on Truth and Christian Storytelling

 

“Is it wrong for Christians to … write, read or even watch fictitious material?” asked a commenter named Mukwemba on Zondervan’s Facebook page today.

Mukwemba (who permitted the use of her name here) adds some important context: some of her Christian friends do not approve of fiction, arguing this:

Fiction is wrong because it’s not true… As Christians we should hold fast to the truth and not saturate our minds with falsehoods regardless of what “good” they seem to bring about.

I’m sure Mukwemba’s friends are well-meaning, but I believe they are mistaken. I will show you why writing fiction can be an excellent calling.

 

An Editor Speaks

I sent Mukwemba’s question to my coworker Sue Brower, who is an Executive Editor here at Zondervan. Sue says:

When Jesus wanted to teach something to his disciples, he used story—Parables.  Fiction is truth in story form.  It makes concepts more accessible to the reader because the reader relates to the characters and sees themselves in the story.

I agree wholeheartedly with Sue. Let’s look more closely at the biblical basis behind these points.

 

3 Biblical Observations about Fiction

1. Fiction can help us understand, love, and serve others.

A writer (whom I can’t recall) said stories help us “extend our sympathies” toward others who are different from us. In other words, stories can open our eyes to suffering we didn’t see before. With this new awareness, we can choose to better love and serve others.

I can think of two examples where fiction is even linked to changes in public policy. Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, portrayed the struggle of older workers so well that Miller’s story was invoked during a 1968 Senate hearing (The Adequacy of Services for Older Workers) as a sketch of the obstacles that face older Americans. Also, a novel by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, actually influenced the passing of new health legislation for the meatpacking industry in the city of Chicago!

2. Fiction can show you truth about yourself.

Sometimes a story is a mirror. Let’s look at an example from the Bible: after King David hides his sin with Bathsheba, remember how Nathan gets through to David? Nathan goes to David and says,

‘There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

‘Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.’

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’

Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul… Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites…”‘

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” [-From 2 Samuel 12:1-18, NIV]

So if you’re reading a story and think, “I can relate to this character,” keep your eyes peeled. You may find some some fresh insight into your own motivations, maybe even sins. I’ve been given a few such “eureka” moments through fiction, most memorably from reading Douglas Coupland’s story collection, Life After God, and a short story by Flannery O’Connor called “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” These stories revealed some of my attitudes that needed to change.

 

Read More…

Share
5 Responses , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

Watch “Song of the Stars” Christmas Party Videos

 

Last week’s Song of Stars Live Christmas Party with Sally Lloyd-Jones was such a joy that I’m still thinking about it!

Sally read her new Song of the Stars Christmas storybook and answered questions from our online party guests. Also, we watched Christmas song performances from a sleigh-full of Sally’s talented musician friends.

Now you can watch those song performances from the party, plus some bonus videos we didn’t show, if you visit the Zonderkidz Song of the Stars Video Playlist.

(You will find performances from Jason Gray, Ellie & Drew Holcomb, Katy Bowser & Kenny Hutson, Randall Goodgame, and a lot more…)

 

2 Highlights from the Song of the Stars Party

1. Cutest Moment
Two-year-old Carter McCracken sings “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. Sweeter than any Christmas cookie, this video is guaranteed to bring you tears of joy:

2. Most Captivating Moment
As Sally read Song of the Stars, the story and pictures helped me see Christmas with a child’s eyes again. I felt like one of the animals on this page:

“The One who made us has come to live with us,” the animals say. Like them, I became awed over Christ’s birth. While the incarnation is rich with mystery, it also presents a crystal clear picture of the lengths God will go to in order to love us and take care of us.

Watch video: Sally reads Song of the Stars Aloud

 

I’ll leave you with Sally’s parting speech from the party:

“Just think… ‘The One who made us has come to live with us.’ What an incredible story we’re part of. How wonderful we have a God who loves us so much that he came to rescue us. So… I hope your Advent is filled with the wonder of this story that even the angels don’t tire of.”

With Sally Lloyd-Jones and my coworkers, I wish you a Happy Christmas!
- Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team

 

About Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story

Learn More about Song of the Stars

The Song of the Stars, written by best-selling author Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Alison Jay, is a Christmas book that explores the joy and excitement and celebration in all of creation at the coming of Jesus. Learn More

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer’s opinions are his own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Share
0 Responses , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

John’s Birth & Other Impossible Christmas Gifts [Excerpt of "Preparing for Jesus"]

 

I discovered the following excerpt in Walt Wangerin, Jr.’s book Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas, and the Kingdom. Wangerin’s meditation challenges those of us who are eager to take credit for God-given gifts. But this meditation also reminds us of those impossible and astonishing gifts God bestows — such as Elizabeth’s twilight-years pregnancy — but also the more quietly impossible gifts, such as when, Wangerin says, “peace comes into me, though I had been desperately restless and afraid.”

Wishing you an astonishing gift this Christmas season,
- Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team

 

From Preparing for Jesus

Learn more about Preparing for Jesus eBook
Learn More

Elizabeth, how difficult was it for an old woman to bring an infant to term? You did it almost alone. No one knew but your husband and your cousin Mary. And the midwife: when mute Zechariah went and brought her to your house, and she entered your room and saw your condition, how astonished was she? With what sort of grin did you greet her? And how quickly did the grin twist into a grimace when that mighty muscle contracted to drive a baby into the world? O mother Elizabeth, how did it feel to bear a baby in your old age?

 

The Lord has shown great mercy to you. Literally, the word is: “The Lord magnified his mercy with you.” It’s the same word that Mary used in her hymn of praise. [Luke 1:46-55]

 

And this great mercy shown to you, Elizabeth, is exactly what Mary meant when she sang: “His mercy is on those who fear him.” You fear him. You are one of low degree whom God your Savior has exalted. You are the hungry whom he will fill with good things.

 

And this is how “Mercy” always comes to us, isn’t it? — like a baby delivered in old age: the miracle we thought we had outlived, the gift we thought impossible to receive. It always astonishes us.

 

Read More…

Share
0 Responses , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

Zonderkidz Heads to National Bible Bee + Top Resources for Kids’ Bible Learning

 

The Zonderkidz team is excited to attend National Bible Bee, which kicks off tomorrow in Nashville, Tennessee! We wish all the contestants their best in the event. You can learn more about the Bible Bee at www.biblebee.org, including how you can host a local Bible Bee.

Zonderkidz are actually sponsors of the Family Fun area at the Bee, and many of our titles will be available throughout the event. Before we hit the road, we'd like to share some games and resources that help young people get excited about learning the Bible.

 

Games and Activies for Bible Learning

A great way for kids to memorize Scripture and learn the books of the Bible is the Adventure Bible Memory Game App. Here's a video about the memory game.

 

You can find more online games, activities and resources at the NIV Adventure Bible website: www.adventurebible.com.

Visit the Adventure Bible Website

 

Two Great Study Bibles

Two study Bibles we're not bringing to the Bee (but we recommend them, anyway) are the Adventure Bible and the Teen Study Bible. Both contain a lot of study features to help young people better understand God's Word and apply it to their lives.

 

Learn more about Adventure Bible
Learn More		 Learn more about Teen Study Bible
Learn More

 

If you're attending the National Bible Bee, we look forward to connecting with you!

 

Find Zonderkidz on Facebook

For book giveaways, fun activities, daily devotional messages, and more, find us on Facebook:

  

- The Zonderkidz Team

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

Share
0 Responses , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

Interview with a Christian Vampire

 

'Gospels of sin management' presume a Christ with no serious work other than redeeming humankind … [and] they foster 'vampire Christians,' who only want a little blood for their sins but nothing more to do with Jesus until heaven.

-Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

DOCTOR VANHELSING'S JOURNAL

31 October. On the dark side of twilight, I at last have reached Count Dracula's castle. The Count greeted me eagerly if not warmly, then ushered me into his dining room, where "Our encounter will be most appropriate," whatever that means. I am grateful for the food offered me, but the Count eats naught. From across the table he stares, intently, or almost hungry. Those eyes… I have a creeping feeling this interview was a mistake, but Dracula is the most influential Christian in this region, and I must challenge him with the questions that have seized my psyche over the last three months!

 

Those eyes... more 'undead' than alive...

COUNT: What brings you to my home, Doctor…?

 

ZBLOG: VanHelsing. My name is Zonder VanHelsing. I've come to interview you about the King you serve.

COUNT: I serve no King. I am the sovereign of Transylvania, and you do well to remember that, my good Doctor.

 

ZBLOG: Forgive me, I just mean, it is said you've been a Christian for some time now?

COUNT: Oh. Yes, in my youth I made a decision for Christ.

 

ZBLOG: What did you decide?

COUNT: What do you mean? I decided to believe the gospel.

 

ZBLOG: Please tell me, what is "the gospel"?

COUNT: [He furrows his brow, as if trying to decide whether I'm playing a joke. There are tense moments, but at last he continues.] Everyone knows what the gospel is, but very well, I'll play your game.

We're sinners. If we believe in Jesus, his blood saves us from hell. Jesus died on my behalf so that I do not have to. And that's that.

 

ZBLOG: And how does your decision to accept Christ connect to discipleship?

COUNT: What do you mean?

 

ZBLOG: Well, I've recently read in Dr. Scot McKnight's new book The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited that as many as 75 percent of Americans have made a decision to accept Christ, but only about 25 percent Americans go to church regularly.

McKnight also claims this: "Most of evangelism today is obsessed with getting someone to make a decision; the apostles, however, were obsessed with making disciples." So, tell me about your transition from the Decided to the Discipled.

COUNT: Discipled, what nonsense. I became a disciple when I decided to believe in the power of Jesus' blood! The blood is the life! You cannot let the power of the blood and salvation by faith become eclipsed by discipleship. No, you don't need to do anything if you know and believe the central idea of "justification by faith."

 

ZBLOG: It's interesting you think so, since justification by faith isn't mentioned in the Gospels. And I happen to believe that if we're not growing in our faith, we're, er… undead.

COUNT: You try my patience, Doctor! Why don't you tell me what you think the gospel is!

Read More…

Share
4 Responses , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment

Color Shots from the New NIV Study Bible

We’re excited to announce the brand new NIV Study Bible, and it’s better than ever. The updated study notes and new book introductions bring deeper clarity to God’s Word, but what we find most exciting are all the full-color maps, charts, and diagrams. It’s one thing to read about the sacred objects in the tabernacle, and another thing to zoom in on what they would look like:

 

The Tabernacle Furnishings

The Tabernacle Furnishings

 

The charts and maps help us zoom out to see the bigger picture:

Read More…

Share
0 Responses , , , , , , , , , Read & Comment
1 2 3 4 5 6 … 12  Scroll to top