Pick up the Bible. Devote yourself to a lifetime of reading and studying. Piggyback off the efforts of brilliant scholars. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help. Listen to good preaching. Keep making connections and keep digging. Fill your mind with wonder not only at the beauty of Scripture but at the greatness of our God.

If you have a couple of extra hours, or even if you don’t, you really should listen to this interview with Jim Hamilton on the Room for Nuance podcast (Apple Podcasts | Spotify| YouTube). It’s about his new book on the literary structure of the Gospel of John. I listened while I was exercising and kept wishing I had a pen to write down some of the insights. The podcast blew my mind. Even though I’ve read the Gospel of John many times and have even preached through it, I saw things and made connections I’d never seen before.

I’m grateful for the scholarship of someone like Jim Hamilton and the insights he’s given us. I can’t wait to read his new book.

I’ve read through the Bible numerous times. Right now, I’m taking a ten-year deep dive through every book of the Bible as I work on my Big Idea Bible project. Yet, podcasts like the one I mentioned make me realize I could live hundreds of years and still only scratch the surface of the Bible.

No matter how much we learn, there’s always so much more. This should lead us to two qualities: humility and awe.

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