The Bible has fallen on hard times. This is hard to imagine because there are Bibles of every color, design, purpose and target group. There are even more translations—and even still more commentaries on the text of the Bible. Obviously owning a text of the Bible is not our problem. The problem is we don’t know how to read it anymore. Or, maybe better said, we don’t trust our readings of it anymore. Or, we trust “our” reading but not “theirs”. For some, suspicion and cynicism of the Bible even runs deeper: “How can anyone believe in a God who does or doesn’t do so and so…like in the Bible”.

Today my TiE Group was discussion chapter seven of Dallas Willard’s Hearing God. In the chapter we read the following sentences. I post them hear as a possible step for regaining confidence in the text and our ability to grow as followers of Jesus through it:

We will be spiritually safe in out use of the Bible if we follow a simple rule: Read it with a submissive attitude. Read with a readiness to surrender all you are—all your plans, opinions, possessions, positions. Study as intelligently as possible, with all available means, but never study merely to find the truth and especially not just to prove something wrong. Subordinate your desire to find the truth to you desire to do it, to act it out!