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Guest Post
January 29, 2019

Prayer: The Antidote to What Ails Your Marriage

Joel and Nina SchmidgallBy Joel and Nina Schmidgall

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:19-20)

A ring has been the symbol of a marriage covenant for generations. At its core, a ring is a circle. Because it has no beginning and no end, a circle represents the infinite. A circle represents the bold declaration of marriage. Exchanged during the wedding ceremony, the ring is an emblem of the sincerity and permanence of a couple’s love for one another and regard for their marriage. A wedding ring is made of precious metals, purified by the heat of many fires. The center of a circle represents a door leading to known and unknown events: “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” It is the symbol of destiny to pursue.

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Jonathan Petersen
January 28, 2019

Be Inspired By Free Email Devotions for Die-Hard Sports Fans

Buy your copy of The IF in Life: How to Get Off the Sidelines and Into the End Zone in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every dayWhile the Bible doesn’t go into detail on the topic of sports, a few biblical letters include athletic imagery as a metaphor to describe the Christian faith, such as

Physical competition is a great way of thinking about the discipline that should be a part of our faith journey. Modern-day athletes are an extreme example of what can be achieved when discipline and control are combined.

Sign up now to receive Bible Gateway’s two-week free email: Devotions for Die-Hard Fans!

diehardfans

Devotions for Die-Hard Fans is a free email devotional that draws on inspiring stories from the world of college sports to share biblical insight. When you sign up, each day for two weeks you’ll receive a short reading that looks at a specific person, game, or other event from sports history. Legendary figures, memorable games, improbable victories… all are true stories, but with a new twist: each story is linked to a Bible verse that illuminates a truth about faith.

Devotions for Die-Hard Fans was created by Extra Point Publishers, who selected the best reflections from their extensive library for this special Bible Gateway edition of this devotional. They’re authored by Ed McMinn, a retired pastor who combined his love of sports and his years of ministry experience to write these devotions for fellow sports enthusiasts.

So if you’re a sports fan, go here to sign up; the devotional begins as soon as you subscribe. If you’re not the sports fan in your family or social circle, you almost certainly know somebody who is—be sure to point them to our the signup page!


[See other Bible Gateway quizzes]

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Jonathan Petersen
January 27, 2019

Bible News Roundup – Week of January 27, 2019

Read this week’s Bible Gateway Weekly Brief newsletter
⇨ Bible Gateway Weekly Brief
⇨ Newsletter signupSee the Bible News Roundup archive on Bible Gateway
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Support Bible Gateway—Browse the Bible Gateway Store
⇨ BibleGatewayStore.com
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The Ban on Bibles and Religious Texts in China Intensifies
⇨ Bitter Winter
⇨ Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Persecution of Christians is Increasing Worldwide
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Notre Dame Seminary’s First Annual Bible Marathon Will Read the Entire Bible Publicly for 100 Hours Non-Stop Jan. 29th to Feb 2nd
⇨ Notre Dame Seminary
⇨ Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Scripture Says Reading the Bible in Public is Important
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Drew Reichard
January 25, 2019

How You Can Easily Read the New Testament in its Original Language on Bible Gateway

You don’t have to be a Bible scholar or fluent in ancient Greek to experience the words of the New Testament in the language it was written. One of the best-kept secrets on Bible Gateway is that you have immediate free access to Mounce’s Reverse-Interlinear translation for the New Testament of the Bible. And it’s a great way to study the original language of the New Testament.

With a reverse-Interlinear translation you can find out information such as: the English word “record”— the second word in Matthew 1—is taken from the Greek biblos, meaning “the inner bark or rind of the papyrus, which was anciently used instead of paper; hence, a written volume or roll, book, catalog, account.” This is, admittedly, a somewhat whimsical example (seen from the video below), but once you start exploring the reverse-Interlinear text, it’s difficult to stop!

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Drew Reichard
January 24, 2019

5 End Time Promises for Believers

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (King James Version)

Revelation 22:5—one of the final verses in the Bible—paints a picture of enduring light and endless joy. It’s one of the promises made by God—the great covenant-keeper—to his people; and it’s the best thing you’ll read all week.

In times of strife and uncertainty, Christ-followers look to Scripture for hope. Sometimes a single verse is enough to remind us of the hope we have and of God’s overarching plan for the world. The Bible is filled with promises made by God to his followers—some fulfilled, others yet to be. With a brand new and exciting devotional on the book of Revelation, we’re focusing on 5 of those promises that specifically relate to what we often call “end times” or the second coming of Christ, and what that will look like.

Bible Gateway has teamed up with Thomas Nelson to bring you this powerful, 5-day free email devotional series on the ultimate hope extended to all followers of Christ, with notes drawn from the new King James Study Bible!

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Jonathan Petersen
January 23, 2019

This Bible is Perfect for Public Reading in KJV and NKJV

Buy your copy of the Preaching Bible in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day
Every detail of the Preaching Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2019) (@NelsonBibles) is tailor-made with preaching in mind. But it’s perfect for anyone who reads Scripture in public because of its attention to ease-of-reading features.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Scripture Says Reading the Bible in Public is Important]

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Mel Lawrenz
January 23, 2019

How to Live the Bible — Reading With Understanding

howtostudythebible

This is the forty-eighth lesson in author and pastor 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.

Life and Light Books

Let’s say you’ve become convinced that the Bible may just have the truth and the power you know you need in your life, and you go out and purchase a brand new Bible because you want to make a new beginning. You remove the wrapping and are pleased by the smell of new leather, holding it to your nose. Its pages are clean and white, the printing and binding done with far more care than any average book.

This is the word of God. Read more widely than any other book in history, it has been the foundation of whole systems of law; it has shaped whole civilizations. When translated, it has become a defining landmark in culture and language like the English version authorized during the reign of King James I of England or like the German version meticulously rendered by Martin Luther.

Group Bible study illustration

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Guest Post
January 22, 2019

When Grief Forced Me to Start a Whole New Life from Scratch

Lisa Leonard: When Grief Forced Me to Start a Whole New Life from ScratchBy Lisa Leonard

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
— Psalm 34:17—19

Extreme, soul-breaking grief took me apart. What was, was no longer. What would be, was unknown. I was brought face-to-face with my complete lack of control, my utter lack of understanding. There was no pretending I had it all together, no way to fake anything at all. Grief took away all my defenses and left me exposed and naked.

I was starting a whole new life from scratch. I began again, step by tiny step. Wake up. Brush teeth. Put on clothes. Eat something. Every small action required extreme effort because I was learning how to do everything again in the face of the unknown.

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Jonathan Petersen
January 22, 2019

How to Be the Kind of Christian People Can’t Resist: An Interview with Scott Sauls

Scott SaulsJesus envisioned his followers would be hard to resist: a wildly diverse yet compellingly unified multitude of strangers that would penetrate the world with love. They would lead the world in acts of love and justice and be the most life-giving bosses, employees, neighbors, and friends. They’d also be the best enemies, returning insults with kindness and persecution with prayers. They’d stay true to their biblical convictions while loving, listening to, and serving those who don’t share their convictions. Over time this Jesus movement would become irresistible to people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. How does Christianity stack up to Jesus’ expectations?

Bible Gateway interviewed Scott Sauls (@scottsauls) about his book, Irresistible Faith: Becoming the Kind of Christian the World Can’t Resist (Thomas Nelson, 2019).

Buy your copy of Irresistible Faith in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

Why does the word Christian evoke negative reaction among many people?

Scott Sauls: One of the main reasons for this is nominalism, or the dynamic of people being ‘Christian,’ but in name only. Most especially, when kids and teens and young adults see their parents acting differently in private than they do in public—when their parents’ ‘church self’ is markedly different than the ‘home self’ or ‘Friday night self;’ when their use of things like sex, money, and power are contradictory to the Christian ethic, young people start to associate ‘Christian’ with ‘hypocrite.’

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Jonathan Petersen
January 21, 2019

Let Justice Run Down Like Water

Buy your copy of NIV God's Justice: The Holy Bible in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

“I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing” (Isaiah 61:8)

“Wrongdoing” includes any form of injustice, including personal bias and discrimination. Those are the things that trigger God’s hatred—and should trigger ours. Appeals to God’s justice have resonated for centuries in the pages of God’s Word.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, The Bible and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day]

Consider the story of Nathan, the prophet whom God called to confront King David for his sexual assault of Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David’s most loyal soldiers. In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan appeals to David’s God-given sense of justice by telling the story of a wealthy man, the owner of a large number of sheep and cattle, who steals the vulnerable only lamb of a poor man.

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    The Bible Gateway Blog features the latest news, announcements, and reflections from Bible Gateway. We hope what you find here will add to your understanding of and appreciation for the Bible.