This is how he reveals himself, in human lives and circumstances. So we cannot pick the Bible off the shelf for instant answers - we have to work with it. No doubt we wish sometimes that the Bible was just a set of rules to be applied, or a philosophical treatise answering all our ultimate questions, but it demands more from us than that - and in a sense treats us more seriously than that. God's authority does not crush us with dogma or rules but invites us to discover and live his truth today. Guides Thirdly we are fortunate to live in an age and in a country where there are many useful guides and helps to reading and understanding the Bible - and we ought to take advantage of that fact.
New translations can bring a freshness to familiar texts.
The Sunday readings here at church provide passages to take with you into the week. Why not glance at them, take from them a phrase a day, and see what light it throws on the events of that day.