As each year comes to a close, we publish our year in review and take the opportunity to pause and reflect on the ups and downs we’ve experienced, what we have learned and how we have grown. As you can imagine, for Bible Gateway, we care most about helping you to learn more about the Bible and hope that you continue to grow in your faith and knowledge of the Bible.
Continue readingMost Recent Blog Posts
By Craig Groeschel
“I want to believe God cares about me; I really do,” she told me, wiping tears from under her darkened, bloodshot eyes. Under the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor, Marci barely resembled the vibrant girl I remembered, that kid I’d watched grow up in our youth group at church.
When she was a teenager, Marci was outgoing, fun-loving, and full of life, even as she was growing more and more serious about her faith, coming early to youth group and staying late. No one loved to worship and talk about God more than Marci.
Then, in her early 20s, Marci met Mark, a great Christian guy with a charismatic personality. They fell in love practically overnight, marrying almost a year to the day after they met. Mark’s dynamic personality served him well, helping him land a great sales job. Before long, he was making more money than most other professionals his age. They bought their dream home, and as Mark and Marci served God together at our church, they just knew life couldn’t get any better.
Continue reading
By Nona Jones
I leaped out of bed when the alarm signaled it was time to wake up and hit the pavement. Ten minutes later, I was outside pressing “start running” on my fitness app and putting in my earbuds to listen to a worship music playlist. I was excited to run because the cool, crisp mornings between winter and spring are my favorite time of year.
I made it home just in time to give my seven-and ten-year-old sons sweaty hugs and my husband a sweaty kiss before they left for the day. Then I started my post-run routine of showering, stretching, making a pot of tea, and having some quiet time with the Lord. I was looking forward to my Bible study time because the cancelation of many of my speaking engagements allowed me to study for the fun of it without the pressure of preparing to give a message.
Continue readingSince its release as part of the Bible Gateway Plus library, the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Abridged edition has become one of the most popular study resources available to Bible Gateway Plus members.
The Abridged edition of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary is based on the original 12-volume set used by pastors, students and scholars around the world. While it’s broken down into two volumes (Old Testament and New Testament), it offers the key verse-by-verse commentary that leaves out technical jargon, allowing you to gain insight into your Bible study.
Continue reading
Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, is proud to announce the release of the Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bible, Revised and Updated in the King James Version (KJV). This is the second updated and revised edition of a Thompson Chain-Reference Bible since Zondervan acquired the Bible line from Kirkbride Bible Company in 2020.
“We are honored to continue the legacy of the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible through the publication of this edition,” said Melinda Bouma, vice president and publisher of Bibles for Zondervan. “We are thrilled to introduce this timeless resource to loyal KJV readers. It is our hope that those who have loved the KJV TCR for decades will enjoy the updates we’ve made like easy-to-read page designs, completed chain references, beautiful illustrations, and the transition to the KJV Comfort Print® typeface. We hope these new editions will serve them well for many more years to come.”
Continue readingBy Christopher Reese
As we approach Thanksgiving, our thoughts turn to giving thanks for all the good things the Lord has done and provided, especially since the beginning of the year. At the same time, we know that gratitude is a virtue that we should continually pursue as followers of Christ. In what follows, we’ll consider several ways we can grow in the often-neglected virtue of gratitude and make it part of our daily lives.
Called to Give Thanks
Before we start, it’s important to recall how much the giving of thanks is emphasized in Scripture. The Psalms encourage God’s people to “come before him with thanksgiving” and to “give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 95:2; 100:4). Jesus gave thanks for God’s provision when he fed the multitudes and at the last supper (Luke 9:16; Matthew 26:26-27). Paul regularly expressed gratitude to God (e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 2:14), and instructed believers to give thanks in all circumstances, as well as in our prayers (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Philippians 4:6). The book of Revelation gives a preview of both angels and humans giving thanks to God in heaven (Revelation 7:12).
Continue reading
By Tyler Staton
The way to pray like Jesus taught us to pray includes this unavoidable invitation: learn to live like a monk in the ordinary world. Historically speaking, this is the drum that God’s people have always been beating.
In the Hebrew tradition, which contains the very roots of the Christian faith, there has always been a daily prayer rhythm: pausing to pray three times a day—morning, midday, and evening. In fact, all the great spiritual traditions insist on some kind of a daily prayer rhythm. This is the central plot point of the book of Daniel. He refuses to renounce prayer to Yahweh in a Babylonian culture. He won’t stop kneeling to pray three times a day in front of his Jerusalem-facing window. He lives by a daily prayer rhythm, and he will not order his prayer life according to the culture, customs, and expectations of that foreign land. That’s the offense that gets him thrown to the lions.
By Rebecca Bender
Editor’s Note: For nearly six years, Rebecca Bender was sold across the underground world of sex trafficking in Las Vegas. She was branded, beaten, told when to sleep and what to wear, and traded between traffickers. This article shares the beginning of her restoration and deliverance from slavery and drug addition, adapted from her book In Pursuit of Love.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.” — Matthew 21:31
I knew I needed professional help if I wanted to get my life together and my little girl back. Bryan my pimp was furious about the hospital incident due to my drug overdose and kept his distance, spending time with his other girls. Yet somehow he convinced me that it was my drug use that caused all the prostitution, and that he wanted me to go to rehab because he loved me. I called my mom and got a list of women’s rehabs in the Pacific Northwest that she’d compiled for me. Last on the list was Victory Outreach, a Christian women’s home.
“Those Christians don’t have a clue what real life on the streets is like,” I told her as she read the phone numbers to me. I hung up and began calling the numbers on the list.
I first became acquainted with Gordon when we were both still young men—about 50 years ago. The man I came to know was one to be admired, respected, and emulated:
- A devout Christian whose faith inspired those who knew him.
- A New Testament scholar of the first rank whose scholarship was admired and appreciated by both liberals and conservatives.
- A Bible translator committed to communicating the Bible’s message to ordinary people accurately and accessibly.
- An author who wrote scholarly tomes for the academy but who had the ability to write books for beginning Bible students.
- A believer who was loyal to the Pentecostal tradition in which he was raised but was also able and willing to subject that tradition to biblical correctives.
- A man of integrity who held others to the same standard.
- A family man who was obviously devoted to his wife and children.
Polls
Loading ...
Is Matthew Henry’s teaching still relevant for today?
Matthew Henry has been considered one of the church’s most trusted teachers for more than three centuries. His work has been consulted and quoted by teachers and students the world over. In fact, the first commentary I ever used for Bible study was the one-volume edition of Henry’s work.
But as time passes, it’s natural to wonder if his teaching is still matters. Have the scholarly insights of the generations that followed him made his work irrelevant for our day?
Who was Matthew Henry?
But before we answer the question at hand, it might be helpful to familiarize ourselves with this esteemed Bible teacher. Born in Broad Oak, Iscoid, Wales, on October 18, 1662, Henry became a Christian at the age of 10. He studied law and was ordained in 1687, serving as a pastor in Chester, England, from that year until 1712. The Presbyterian minister regularly taught from the Old Testament in the mornings and New in the afternoons, demonstrating a deep spiritual capacity that stemmed from his knowledge of the Bible’s original languages. This teaching formed the basis of what became his six-volume commentary on the whole Bible, which he began writing in 1704. Henry completed Genesis through Acts over the following 10 years.
Continue reading →