One of the perks of working at TGBC is getting a sneak preview of The Briefing before it comes out.
But I must confess that the title of the March issue’s main article, “The lost art of public Bible reading”, didn’t exactly grab me.
The piece itself, though, did. There’ll be more blogs on it soon (or you can just get a copy of The Briefing here): but here’s what jumped out at me as I scanned the first page.
The Bible says to churches “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Timothy 4 v 13).
And the word “devote” can also be translated “addiction”. So you could translate the verse:
“Be addicted to the reading-out-loud of the Bible”.
Wouldn’t it be great if “addicted” accurately described our attitude to God’s word? Hooked. Can’t get enough. Keep going back. Feel the lack of it if we go too long without.
I’d love to be addicted to Scripture. Unfortunately, too often I’m happy going cold turkey. Sometimes I kick the habit altogether.
But tomorrow, as I hear “the public reading of Scripture”, I’ll be praying that I get addicted, hooked on the amazing experience of hearing the God of heaven, the One who flung stars into space, speak to a bunch of his fallen, flawed creatures.
Can’t wait.
Carl is Publisher and Co-CEO at The Good Book Company and is a member of Life Church Hackbridge in south London. He is the bestselling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as Series Editor of the God's Word For You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
