Biblefresh: it could change your world

Tell us about a time when God spoke to you vividly and personally through the Bible.

I was in the middle of writing a book with a friend and had nicknamed it on my laptop for a joke ‘the book of truth’. Having only written a couple of chapters I suddenly had a crisis of confidence – I didn’t know a lot about the Bible so why was I trying to write a book about it? In the middle of the serious questioning and doubt about the whole project I opened the Bible at random (not a prophetic technique that I had ever found very helpful but one I can’t help but have a crack at every now and then!) The verse in front of me was Daniel 10:21 ‘but first I will tell you what is written in the book of truth’. Obviously I took the verse totally out of context and did all the things Bible commentators tell you not to do, but at that moment I was OK with that, I was just a bit stunned. As far as I can tell there’s no other place that phrase ‘book of truth’ occurs in the Bible and certainly not with the words ‘I’ll tell you what’s written’ in it. I’ve since decided, having written my book, it was God’s way of saying that he was going to explain to me what was written in His book, the real book of truth. Maybe not the best Bible-reading technique but certainly a massive encouragement at the time!

In recent years what has helped to keep the Bible fresh for you?

Reading the Bible isn’t about gathering information, how many chapters or books we’ve read or whether we can reel off verses from memory. It’s about a relationship. Understanding this is at the heart of what it is to read the Bible and receive life from its pages. Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me…’ (Jn 5:39-40). If we read the Bible just for the sake of it, it’s likely to become dry and lifeless. But if we read the Bible because we want relationship with the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Life, then it’s quite different. It becomes a way of getting to know our Friend.

The most helpful thing I’ve realised is that reading the Bible keeps us fresh: it’s the water for our soul, the food for our stomach, the air for our lungs, the beat for our heart, the sugar for our tea and even the ketchup for our burger. Keeping the Bible ‘fresh’ isn’t something that happens by putting it on an ipod or redoing the front cover. The Bible can’t help but be refreshing when it leads us into the presence of God.

What does your regular practice of Bible reading look like?

For a long time I got a discouraged because I’d read a bit in the morning and by lunchtime I’d have forgotten what I’d read. I suspect I may not be the only Christian who has had that experience… What’s the point of reading the Bible if you can’t remember it? A friend answered that question for me when they pointed out that when I was seven years old I ate a lot of food. I can’t remember what it was, but it did me good at the time. Often we can ‘pooh pooh’ the small revelations we have when we read the Bible. ‘What did you learn from the Bible this week Andy?’ ‘Oh not much at all, I just learnt that Jesus is compassionate, not a lot, just that.’ I’ve discovered that reading the Bible is all about the small revelations! It’s about a gentle drip drip drip. It does us good even if we can’t always remember what we read.

I’ve found it’s not always about spending hours in the Bible but reading it regularly. I tend to read the Bible in one of three ways:

• 1) As a novel – just sitting down with a book of the Bible and reading it through;
• 2) Studying it – getting a helpful commentary online or from the book shop and going through a bit of scripture each day;
• 3) Meditating on it – just taking one verse, writing it down on a scrap of paper and then chewing on it (mentally not literally) throughout the day.

What would you say to a Christian who is struggling to read the Bible?

Me too! Reading the Bible can be tough, especially when we get to one of those random bits in Ezekiel. Or even when I’m in a less random bit! I’d say commit to doing it, pray about it, do it with a friend. Start with the passages that excite you – and after a while, challenge yourself with the bits you’re less sure about. Another mistake I know I’ve made in the past is spending too long looking for some deep and hidden truth in a passage; to be honest, I find I get much more out of just focusing on the main and the plain meaning of the text.

What is your prayer for the Biblefresh initiative?

That others and myself would fall more in love with Jesus as we discover him in his Word and as his Word reaches into our lives.

Andy Croft is Associate Director of Soul Survivor and co-author of Storylines: Exploring the Themes of the Bible.

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