Bibles and China

Seriously, this was a big surprise to me. China has one of the world’s largest Bible printers. They have printed more than 50 MILLION copies. You gotta check this out.

Writing in your Bible

I remember my grandmother thought it was a disastrous thing to write in a Bible.  I also remember seeing other kids write in hymnals and thinking they were going to Hell.  Between a rabid fascination with the Bible and classical music training I have gotten both of these ideas out of my system.

Last night I opened up an old study Bible that I carried for a few years.  It was during a huge spiritual time for me.  I noticed many passage throughout the Bible that had been highlighted or underlined.  Some of these were dated, especially psalms and 1 and 2nd Corinthians.  It was great to look back and remember why these passages had meant so much to me.  I could place myself in my old desk at college up late at night reading these passages over and over.  I could see myself in prayer repeating memorized sections from the Psalms.  It was great to look back and see where I had been.  I have a few other bibles that I can remember when and why I underlined things.

As seminarians and potential ministers, one of the important things that we can’t forget is our own spiritual history.  I keep up with friends that help to remind me what I have been saved from, and I love to read my old journals and bible notes to see what I found useful at certain times in life.

So last night, I decided to always date my underlineings. That way I can always remember why things were important to me.  I also started a habit last year that I want to share with you, one that benefits me so much in regard to separating study and personal devotion.

When I first started seminary I carried the bible I had used for the last several years.  I quickly filled it with more and more notes.  At points (especially in an Inductive Bible Study class in Mark) I couldn’t figure out what notes were from 2004 and 2007.  What I started doing was carry a “class” bible.  This is a bible that I just use for school.  I sometimes go to it when I am in personal study or sermon prep, but I make sure it is the bible I carry on a daily basis to class.

The reason I did this was to separate devotional thoughts from textual/form/redaction/historical-critical notes from class.  When I am reading Philippians 2, I don’t want to see my notes on the textual variance of the Christ hymn, but instead focus on the mind of Christ and how His descent/ascent is a lifestyle pattern.  Their is certainly a cross-over between academic and devotional, but this is a way for me to stay concentrated when I am simply reading my Bible.

I love finding my old notes in various Bibles.  When at seminary, it is hard to loose focus about why we are really here.  Sadly enough, there are many people that graduate knowing alot about Jesus, but don’t really know him.  We have to find practices that will allow us to continually focus on the Triune God and defend them in ways that others don’t understand (like my carrying a “just a class bible”).  Don’t loose focus on this, because it could be the worst mistake you could ever make.

Free Commentary

If you are a Logos user, hurry over to the Logos site and pick up a FREE copy of the Matthew, Mark Cornerstone Biblical Commentary. (Use code: CORNERSTONE)

Not a Logos user? Here is a way to save 25% off the list price.

Blogging for Christ

Here is an interesting book for all you bloggers out there: The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ.

From Crossway: “A Pew Study reports that only 2% of America’s twelve million bloggers claim “religion, spirituality or faith” as their main topic. This leaves a great mission field in cyberspace, say contributors to The New Media Frontier, because the latest forms of communication present so many opportunities to promote the cause of Christ in other topics and fields.”

Thanks to Shaun for pointing it out.

Great Sermon Plugin for WP

Ephesians 4:14 blog released what looks to be a GREAT plugin for adding and organizing sermons to WP. You can see this great app in action at Bethel Evangelical Church’s website. GREAT functionality.

Starting Strong

Another semester is upon us.  For most students in general, and seminarians in particular, we all try to start the semester strong.  Many, like myself, have learned from semesters past that at some point before final exams, we will fall behind in some aspect of our studies.  In order to counteract this, many try to get a head start on reading and writing for their classes.  This is all fine and good, but, if you are like me, you still find that you fall behind at some point in the semester.  This is usually due to a myriad of problems which can include work, family, health, and, as is often my case, sheer laziness.  How do you prolong the strong start to a strong finish?  Better yet, how do you sustain a decent level of study throughout the entire semester?

Tips

What follows is a simple list of things I have found helpful to keep my moving along at a decent pace getting everything done on time and in a timely manner.  Some semesters I do not do so well as others, but I strive to keep to the basics.

1. Prayer - It may seem to simple, but it is truly refreshing and helps to keep everything in perspective.  I have found that 15 “spontaneous” minutes alone with God is often times better than a 15 minute nap.  Now, if you should fall asleep during your alone time with God, then great.  However, that is never the goal.  What I mean by spontaneous that it is unplanned in your day.  We are spontaneous about so many other things, why not be so with the One who matters?
2. Planned Time Off from School Work - I wish I could do this weekly (I am sure my wife does, too!), but most times I am not able to do this but every other week at the most.  There are times where I actually block off an evening or even a weekend where I will not allow myself to do homework.  I have discovered that this, too, is very refreshing.
3. Play with your Kids (if you have any) - I have begun to play with my kids while doing my Greek homework or memorizing something for a class.  The Greek is really fun because we have a resource here at SBTS where a former student had put things to song.  Now, I sing the alphabet to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and a not quite chart topping rendition of Amazing Greek that includes the noun case endings.  Whenever I am memorizing a passage or something I will act as if I am doing a dramatic rendition of it with the kids.  I have found that their natural tendency to distract me enables me to concentrate more on what I am doing.  The kids love it, I get to spend time with them and I memorize quicker and better.
4. Use your Spouse - By this I mean allow her to tell you when you need a break.  Even more, listen to her or him!  They usually know better than you do what you need!
5. It will get done - Seriously, if you have a deadline to meet, you know the assignment will get done.  This applies for school, ministry and work.  Don’t be lazy about it, but you know that whatever it is, it will get done.  The flip side to this is that when it is done, it will be finished.

These are just my thougths on how to stay start, and stay strong, during the semester.  What thoughts do you have?  We would love to hear how you stay strong throughout.

BDAG for about $100

Greek students may be delighted to know that A Greek-Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (aka, BDAG) is on sale at Amazon.com for $103.95 new.

List price $150, normally found on sale in the range of $125. (Note: you will not want to get the 2nd edition, even if you find it for cheap in a used book store.)

Mac Users and ESV Readers

A comment by Mark Warnock got me thinking… ESV readers are a lot like Mac users. (BTW, I’m both)

Two Cent Tuesday - Staying Organized

We have a huge variety of technological aids at our dispense to help keep us organized.  From PDAs to Blackberrys to online calendars, our lives can be organized at the tip of our fingers.  I’ve never gotten into those methods.  In fact, I don’t even use those small agenda books can you throw in your backpack.  I try–I always buy one at the beginning of the year, but give up on it by mid-January.  I prefer keeping things organized in my head.  That method has only failed me once (if you would like to know that story you can take me out for breakfast sometime and I’ll tell you about it).

Still, I need to have things organized.  If there is clutter around the house, I get stressed out (just ask my wife).  Things need to be in place, and I operate by keeping a routine.  And especially as you get farther in your studies, the balancing act becomes more and more difficult and you need to have a way to keep your life organized.  I’m working on getting better with writing things down, but I want to know how you do it.  What are some of your methods of keeping everything organized?  Do you have an efficient system that you think would help us?

Please Pray for Molly

Hey everyone, whether you know the McCoy’s or not, please take a 2 minutes to go read this post and say a prayer for Molly, Steve, and their family.  Also, please post a link up on your blogs and ask other to do the same. Remember, “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26a) _ryan

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