A record number of Americans are buying Bibles.
Bible sales jumped 22% in October, which is particularly notable as total print book sales have remained flat or increased by just 1%.
This caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal, with the headline, “Sales of Bibles Are Booming, Fueled by First-Time Buyers and New Versions.” Fox Business hosted Hallow CEO who is leading people on that App through a Pray 25 Advent Challenge said they are tracking evidence of rising revival.
We’ve seen events on college campuses across the country– including Auburn and Texas A&M, The Ohio State, the Univ of Arkansas and the University of Florida— where tens of thousands of students are reengaging with the Gospel, along with thousands of salvation decisions and hundreds of public baptisms.
Now what? Who is ready to walk in discipleship with these new believers? Could it be you?
I am thinking about the story of Philip and the man on the chariot.
Acts 8 tells us the Holy Spirit sent Philip to a desert road, where he saw an important man, riding in a chariot, reading the book of Isaiah. Then, the Spirit told Philip to run up to the chariot and stay near it. Here’s what happened:
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
Acts 8:30-35
We read that story and think Philip got his opportunity handed to him on a silver platter— these things don’t happen to us today.
Well, the WSJ is telling us to think again.
So, two questions:
1. Who are you running alongside today? You may right now have a neighbor, a friend, a work out buddy or a family member who is exploring the Bible for the first time or for the first time in a long time. How will they know what they are reading?
Like the Ethiopian, they may just be asking for someone to explain it to them. But notice the simple way Philip approaches this man. He simply begins with asking some questions. Let’s be curious like Philip. We can ask:
- What are you reading?
- Do you understand it?
- May I read it with you — starting right where you are and going at your pace?
2. Are you ready for a Gospel opportunity? This means, are you in God’s word? Do you read and study it for yourself? It will be hard to give what you do not have.
Gratefully, we do not do this alone. The Spirit led Philip to the road, and to the chariot. Are you totally Holy Spirit dependent and responsive to the Spirit’s leading? This means developing a heart that is sensitive to the Spirit, a life consistently reliant on God through prayer and a schedule that is submitted to God’s will, not our own priorities of the moment.
We learn one more thing from the story in Acts 8— the point of it all. “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”
All of Scripture points to Christ! We do not read the Bible for information, but transformation. To read the Bible with another person— is to tell them the good news about Jesus. Can you really do that? By the power of the Holy Spirit, yes.
Resources
If you aren’t sure where to start, or if you want to have some resources at the ready when the opportunity presents— here are a few options for personal study and preparation or for going through with someone exploring the Bible:
- Find a good study Bible, which can help provide meaning and context to what you are reading— ESV Study Bible, CSB Study Bible, NIV Study Bible are a few good ones.
- Utilize an “overview” tool to get the big story of the Bible— for example Fly Through the Bible: A brief introduction by Colin Smith.
- Follow a Bible reading plan — for example The Bible Project has reading plans, topical videos and overviews for each book of the Bible.
