When do you get together as a family? For meals… trips out… watching your favourite TV programme? How about to read the Bible together, and to encourage each other in your relationship with God?
Most parents are used to sending their children to school for their general education. So we do the same for their spiritual education by giving them to the children’s and youth leaders at a local church. If you have good children’s and youth groups at your church, that’s something to thank God for. Your children will benefit hugely from them. But if we check out what the Bible says, we’ll see that the responsibility for the spiritual education of children does not lie with the church, or its leaders. It lies with parents!... continue reading
Many people have found that setting aside a regular time each day to read and think about God’s word, and to spend time in prayer, has been the power-house of their spiritual life and growth. Explore is designed to encourage, help and support you in this daily joy and discipline, sometimes referred to as a ‘Quiet Time’.
It's often a struggle to be consistent in finding a daily time to spend with God. Children, the busyness of life, special nights out, holidays, or just sheer exhaustion can all conspire to get in the way. However, there is no substitute for just getting into a good habit.
There are many patterns that suit different people, and yours may change over time. Whatever you choose to do, guard your time with God jealously. If you come to it hungry to learn from the Lord, and to feed on the truth, it will be a place of nurture and growth, and a source of direction and strength for your daily life.... continue reading
I have a confession to make. I’m not very good at having quiet times. I know they are important. I believe the Bible is God’s living and active word that equips me for all I am called to do. And I know that building up my relationship with God in prayer is utterly vital. But I’m still rubbish at doing it. And I feel just awful as a result.
I could give you a list of excuses...
But the trouble is, they are just excuses. Excuses that ooze out of my sinful heart.... continue reading
5 Reasons we don't:
1 BIG reason we should
John is on the go from when the alarm goes off at 6:45 to when he drops into bed exhausted at midnight. It makes him dizzy even thinking about all the roles he has to fill: worker, husband, dad, friend. Oh... and being a Christian... Bible reading? There's just no time!
Sarah feels pretty much the same. She loves the talks at church on Sunday and the discussion at her Bible-study group mid week. But when she tries to open the Bible on her own, it somehow seems so much more complicated and difficult. John and Sarah are typical of a growing trend among Christian believers, for whom the Bible remains a closed book from Monday to Saturday...
You may feel like John or Sarah. We sympathise - we really do! And we don't want to pile you up with guilt. So here's the big reason you should think seriously about implementing this change. Are you ready for it?
It's brilliant!... continue reading
There's no such thing as a 'typical' Explore reader. The youngest is in their teens - the oldest over 90. They live in Peckham ... and Papua New Guinea. Some read it on the train - we know of one guy who reads his up a tree. But what about you? Where do you do your quiet time?
We're compiling a gallery of Explore readers. So go on ... why not send us a pic of you reading Explore? Whether you are at your desk or on the top of the Empire State building, send us your photos to explorecompetition@thegoodbook.co.uk. A selection of the pics will be featured on the blog soon ...
We know it's important - the Bible is living and active, God's precious, all-sufficient word - but many of us struggle to read it as often as we could... So, at the start of this new year, we thought we'd take some time to encourage each other to dig deep into the Scriptures in 2012. Over the coming week we're going to be posting a range of articles and videos to help us all think through why reading the Bible is so essential and how we can do it more effectively.
The Good Book blog will be packed full of top tips, honest encouragements, confessions, articles and offers to help you kick start - or re-start - your daily time with the Lord. Log-on each day to find out more, and don't miss out on our great selection of offers available from Friday.
But first, it's survey time! We'd love to hear about your Bible-reading habits - so please spend just a few short seconds clicking on the survey below and check back later for some tops tips (and some great deals!).
