This is the introduction in Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.

Next week, I’m going to begin a brand new weekly series on the Bible Gateway Blog called “How to Live the Bible.” I’m really looking forward to these lessons for many reasons.

No doubt we all are struck by Jesus’ words that: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). I want my life to be built on a solid foundation, not shifting sand, and I’m sure you do too.

I believe more than ever that we need the depths of the truth of the word of God. But it goes deeper than just reading the Bible, and deeper than studying it. We need to live it.

The believers I rely on most have a whole outlook on life that’s shaped by God’s truth. They’ve absorbed it. It forms the spiritual muscle tissue of their lives. They “live” the Bible.

So that’s our goal over 30 weeks. Each weekly Blog post (available to receive by email) will offer another step in this journey. We’ll look at the right ways to apply the truth of Scripture, how to avoid mistakes in misinterpreting Scripture, how to understand the promises and commands of Scripture, and how to deal with doubt, disappointment, skepticism, and uncertainty. The book of James says that “the implanted word” of God will “rescue us” (James 1:21).

For today, may I suggest you think about friends or family members who’d be interested in reading this series of lessons on the Bible Gateway Blog and signing up to receive them by email? Signing up at Bible Gateway is as easy as it can be. Anyone can unsubscribe at any time.

Maybe you’re in a group or you pastor a congregation: please notify your friends and followers about this series. Just point people to this page at Bible Gateway.

But don’t delay. The first lesson is Wednesday, October 18.

Blessings to you.

Mel Lawrenz (@MelLawrenz) trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought-leaders. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook’s minister at large. He has a PhD in the history of Christian thought and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel is the author of 18 books, including How to Understand the Bible—A Simple Guide and Spiritual Influence: the Hidden Power Behind Leadership (Zondervan, 2012). See more of Mel’s writing at WordWay.