Bible Gateway Blog

Most Recent Blog Posts

November 1, 2018

Bible Gateway 25th Anniversary Sweepstakes for November

Bible Gateway is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new sweepstakes every month this year! Winners have already been selected for the months of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September. Enter every month!

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, On 25th Anniversary, Bible Gateway Has Been Viewed More Than 14 Billion Times]

This month enter for a chance to win a copy of the NIV Thinline Large Comfort Print Heritage Bible, Premium Leather, Black, Premier Collection (Zondervan, 2018)—which has a suggested retail value of $149.99. One winner will be selected at random. One entry per person; legal residents of the USA 18 years of age and older. Entry period: November 1, 2018 (8:00 am ET) – November 29, 2018 (11:59 pm ET).

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November 1, 2018

How to Win the Battle Against Sin: An Interview with David Bowden

Jonathan Petersen

Is the way to fight sin to grit your teeth, strengthen your resolve, and rise above the onslaught of temptation? What does the Bible say about breaking the chain of sin and doing what is right instead of what is wrong?

In this Facebook Live video with Bible Gateway, David Bowden (@davidbpoetry) talks about his book, Rewire Your Heart: Replace Your Desire for Sin with Desire for God (Thomas Nelson, 2018).

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Surprising Stories of People Rescued and Changed: An Interview with Jim Cymbala and Ann Spangler]

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, What Does It Mean to Be A Friend of Sinners: An Interview with Rich Wilkerson Jr.]

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November 1, 2018

Fun in Learning: NIV Adventure Bible Polar Exploration Edition

Jonathan Petersen

With over 9 million copies sold, the Adventure Bible is beloved by Christian schools, churches, and families alike. Now, the #1 Bible for kids, including all of its trusted essentials loved by parents, is available in an exciting polar exploration theme!

[Grab your spyglass and compass and sign up to receive the Adventure Bible Family Devotions free once-a-week email devotional from Zonderkidz and Bible Gateway]

While on your arctic adventure in the NIV Adventure Bible: Polar Exploration Edition (Zonderkidz, 2018) (@Zonderkidz), you’ll meet all types of people, see all sorts of places, and learn all kinds of facts about the Bible. And most importantly you’ll grow closer in your relationship with God. Look inside with this electronic sampler.

[Sign up to get the free Verse of the Day in the NIV Bible translation delivered to your email inbox from Bible Gateway]

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October 31, 2018

The Church of Outlandish, Outrageous Faith

Guest Post

By Grant Skeldon

A few years ago, some friends and I had the privilege of grabbing lunch with Bob Goff. And by that I mean he put his phone number in the back of his national bestselling book, so I called him. (Talk about making yourself available for people to join your life.) It was one of the coolest experiences because Bob told me something I’m never going to forget. Let me preface it, however, by saying Bob is a husband, father, bestselling author, public speaker, the director of Restore International, a lawyer, a professor, and the honorary consul of the Republic of Uganda. He’s also 58 years old.

Baffled by the amount of work he does for the kingdom, I asked, “Bob, how are you able to do so much? It’s inspiring. But honestly, I don’t know how you get it all done at your age.”

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October 31, 2018

How to Live the Bible — Bible Version Options for a Lifestyle of Reading

Mel Lawrenz

This is the forty-fourth 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

If you are wondering what English translation of the Bible to use, know this: you are blessed with an array of excellent choices. In the past few hundred years, interest in and reverence for the Bible has inspired major efforts involving thousands of researchers, linguists, and translators. The complete Bible is available in about 500 languages today, with thousands more having portions of the Bible in translation.

The purpose of Bible translation is to accurately render the meaning of biblical texts from their original languages—Hebrew and Aramaic for the Old Testament, and Greek for the New Testament—into a “receptor language.” Scholars and committees of scholars use the latest knowledge of ancient manuscripts to express accurately what the original authors of Scripture meant.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Why View a Bible Passage in More Than One Bible Translation?]

Bible translations illustration

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October 30, 2018

By Grace You Have Been Saved…One Way to Celebrate Reformation Day on Bible Gateway

Drew Reichard

Ephesians 2:8-9, one of the pivotal Bible passages of the Reformation, emphasizes salvation as a gift of grace, not something we’ve earned through our own merit:

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift…. — Ephesians 2:8-9 (read it here in the ESV, NIV, and KJV Bible translations side-by-side)

Reformation Day, which many Christians commemorate on October 31st each year, is a great day to remember verses such as these and to celebrate the fact that the Bible is so widely available in so many languages.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, What Was the Reformation and Why Does it Matter Today?]

We should never take for granted being able to hold God’s Word in our hands—having the freedom to open, read, reflect, and talk about Jesus Christ with others. Many Christians around the world do not have this privilege. How closely must they hold these God-given truths to their persecuted hearts? Truths, such as:

Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.” — Matthew 11:29-30 (NCV)

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October 30, 2018

How Many Denominations Are There?: An Interview with Roger E. Olson

Jonathan Petersen

What are denominations and why are they important? What’s their history, doctrines, and practices? How many are there and why do they exist?

Bible Gateway interviewed Roger E. Olson, who, along with Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and Craig D. Atwood, is editor of the Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 14th Edition (Abingdon Press, 2018).

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, The Essentials of Christian Thought: An Interview with Roger E. Olson]

Why have you “always been intensely interested in denominations”?

Roger E. Olson: I grew up in a large and very religiously diverse extended family and was always fascinated by the theological discussions among my parents and relatives at family reunions. When I found The Handbook of Denominations in the United States in my father’s pastoral library I read it and was hooked on denominations.

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October 29, 2018

The State of the Bible 2018: Technology and Behavior

Jonathan Petersen

The use of technology to read the Bible is steadily growing, according to the annual State of the Bible 2018 research—commissioned by American Bible Society (@americanbible) and conducted by Barna Group (@barnagroup).

[Download and immediately use the free award-winning Bible Gateway App and the free Bible Gateway Bible Audio App]

While reading print versions of the Bible remains high at almost nine in 10 (89%), reading the Bible in digital formats has steadily climbed since 2011. More than half of users now search for Bible content on the internet (57%) or a smartphone (55%), and 42% use a Bible app on their phones. More than one-third listens to an audio version of the Bible (36%) or a teaching by podcast (35%).

[Select a Bible Reading Plan that’s right for you from Bible Gateway]

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October 28, 2018

Bible News Roundup – Week of October 28, 2018

Jonathan Petersen

Read this week’s Bible Gateway Weekly Brief newsletter
⇨ Bible Gateway Weekly Brief
⇨ Newsletter signup
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Support Bible Gateway—Browse the Bible Gateway Store
⇨ BibleGatewayStore.com
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In 2018, Half of Americans Say the Bible is 100% Accurate in All That It Teaches—That’s Up from 47% in 2016 and 43% in 2014
⇨ LifeWay Research
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Bible Stories Teach Computers to ‘Express’ Themselves
⇨ Premier Radio
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October 25, 2018

Quiz: Frightening Facts in the Bible

Jonathan Petersen

Think you know frightening Bible facts that will keep you on the edge of your seat? Have fun taking this quiz to find out. Encourage your family, friends, and social media followers to try their hand at it, too.