The very first followers of Christ had an amazing experience with the Scriptures. They actually heard the Spirit of God speak to them through the Scripture writings, and God used them to teach them truth, keep them on the right path, train them in righteousness, and equip them for the good work He created them to do. To them, the Bible was living and active and a meaningful part of their spiritual journey. But something happened along the way. Today, the majority of believers never read the Bible outside of a church service, if even then. Many have given up trying to understand the Bible. And sadly, many believers never experience the Spirit of God speaking words of life into their soul as they read the Bible.
But it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, that was not God's design for His Scripture. He intended for it to be "profitable" for the spiritual vitality of believers. For far too many, the Bible is anything but profitable.
One of the reasons why so many believers do not have a life changing experience as they read the Bible is that they do not understand that the Bible is really one story, the one story of God's relationship with creation. It is not a collection of disconnected stories. On the contrary, it is one glorious story, a story in which we all play a role.
WORD OF GOD SPEAK will help you understand this one story, and help you understand how the individual "stories" fit into the one story of the Bible. But more importantly, it will help you see how the story of the Bible is your story, too.
WORD OF GOD SPEAK tells the story of the Bible in nine "acts," each with a major character and theme. It will help you to see which books of the Bible tell the story of that act, and how they relates to the overall story.
But the reason that many believers do not have a meaningful relationship with the Bible goes beyond understanding. The Bible cannot be read like a theological textbook or a history book. The Bible is the living word, the very breath of God. But to open our ears to His voice, we must learn some very basic spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are those daily practices that put us in the pathway of God's grace. The essential disciplines of daily Bible reading, meditation, Scripture memory, and prayer are the keys to a life changing relationship with God's word.
WORD OF GOD SPEAK will challenge you to develop these basic disciplines by suggesting daily Bible readings for each chapter, by introducing you to a method of journaling that is simple but life changing, and by giving suggested memory verses for each act of the story.
WORD OF GOD SPEAK is full of information that will enable your relationship with the Word of God. The book explains what it means for the Bible to be inspired by God, and it helps you to understand the process of translating the original languages into English and why there are so many different translations. It also explains the ten most important principles of interpretation so that we can accurately handle the Word of God.
About the Author: Dr. Todd Pylant is the Senior Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Benbrook. He holds degrees from Baylor University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Bethel University. In 23 years of ministry, he has served churches in Texas and Georgia. He and his wife, Kelli, live in Fort Worth, Texas with their three children. Sermons, articles, books, and other writings can be accessed at www.toddpylant.com.
