Inspiration

God is the true author [of both Testaments], but his authorship is not executed with pen and ink, nor simply by the direct inspiration of literal penmen. His materials are the whole stuff of history and his hand is Providence. His “writing” of the scripture is just as much his creation of the life which finds expression in the words, as his guidance of the expression. The scripture expresses the whole work of God—what his work does, what it works with, and what it works against, all are there; sin and error appear beside truth and holiness, fantasy and idealisation beside the unflinching delineations of failure …


—Austin Farrer, ed. The Core of the Bible (Harper Torchbooks, 1956), p. 11

This now-obscure book (published in 1956, and known in England as A Short Bible) came to our attention from a mention in a letter of C. S. Lewis, who told his correspondent that the introduction was the best short treatment of the Bible and the Christian faith he had ever encountered. Beyond the introduction, the selection and arrangement of readings from the King James Bible—as a normal book, without any distracting chapter and verse numbers—is groundbreaking, anticipating in a sense projects like The Books of the Bible (NIV), the beautiful Bibliotheca project (ASV), or the ESV Reader’s Bible. It’s worth the effort to find it from a used book search service or a good library.

The Soil of Your Soul

In Jesus: A Pilgrimage, Jesuit scholar James Martin offers a travelogue of his trip to Israel, interwoven with insights on stories of Jesus’s exploits in those same places. His take on the Parable of the Sower is fresh—maybe it doesn’t just describe people at different stages of openness, but “parts of ourselves that are open, and not open.”

Where, for example, are you open to God’s word in your life? Perhaps you are easily able to find God in your family. That may be your good soil. Where is your rocky soil? Perhaps you are compassionate at home but less so at work, stubbornly clinging to old grudges.…




To continue the metaphor, God may want to dislodge a few rocks and pull out some weeds in order to clear a space for God’s word to take root. This may take the form of a friend confronting you on some selfish behavior, a sudden recognition of your own stubbornness, or even a period of suffering that opens you to God in a new way. God plows, unearthing the good soil where God’s word can be planted, take root, grow, and flourish.


—James Martin, Jesus: A Pilgrimage (HarperOne, 2014), p. 199

Ten Good Verses

You may have been told that it is good to read the Bible through every year and that you can ensure this will happen by reading so many verses per day from the Old and New Testaments. If you do this you may enjoy the reputation of one who reads the Bible through each year, and you may congratulate yourself on it. But will you become more like Christ and more filled with the life of God? It is a proven fact that many who read the Bible in this way, as if they were taking medicine or exercising on a schedule, do not advance spiritually. It is better in one year to have ten good verses transferred into the substance of our lives than to have every word of the Bible flash before our eyes. Remember that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6). We read to open ourselves to the Spirit.


—Dallas Willard, Hearing God (IVP, 1984, 2012), p. 163.

Hearing this as an audiobook was a fresh reminder of the scope and depth of Dallas Willard’s engagement with the Scriptures. This modern classic offers a good mix of critical principles and practical advice for hearing God, starting with the Bible. This is one of Willard’s more accessible books and comes across as grounded in the Bible and the experience of Christians across millennia and traditions. Generous in spirit and authoritative, it can serve as a corrective and inspiration to help us respond to God’s invitation to a deeper relationship with him.

The Baffling Bible

Engaging with Scripture—and specifically the Gospels—can be a detox program to help us flush out our damaging views of Christianity and our inaccurate thoughts about Jesus. Too often we seek to tame the Scriptures, putting them into nice, tidy categories. The Bible is clear and comforts me in times of distress, worry, and confusion. But the Bible is also messy, confounding, and baffling. I’m often left perplexed. I’ve learned this isn’t a bad thing.…


—J. R. Briggs, in Ministry Mantras, by J. R. Briggs and Bob Hyatt (IVP, 2016), p. 219

This helpful book for church leaders has 70-some very short chapters, each a quick think-starter.

We hope that all the snippets from this blog post will spark your biblical thinking and energize your ministry.