Marriage Bible

The “Marriage Devotional Bible” for couples.

This is the beginning of a new year. One thing we are starting new this year is using the “Marriage Devotional Bible” published by Zondervan Publishing House. It is in the New International Version.
The authors of the devotionals include: Dave and Claudia Arp, Bob and Rosemary Barnes, and Les and Leslie Parrott. They are all involved in many ministries and have written many books on relationships.
The Arps are the founders and directors of Marriage Alive International and have written several books including “The Second Half of Marriage” and “10 Great Dates.” The Barnes are involved in many ministries that work with families and have written several books including: “Great Sexpectations,” “We Need to Talk” and “Rock-Solid Marriage.” The Parrotts are co-directors of the Center for Relationship Development at Seattle Pacific University and have written several books including “Becoming Soul Mates,” “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts” and “Questions Couples Ask.”
Devotions are provided for everyday in the week and one for the weekend in the “Marriage Devotional Bible” each written by one of these couples. It can be started at any time during the year. We just happen to be starting at the beginning of January. Also each devotional takes less than 10 minutes to read including the suggested scripture it refers to.
In addition to the devotionals there are book introductions which give an overview of each book in the Bible. There are also quizzes called “Just Between You and Me” which allow for discussion between spouses.
Another feature is profiles of couples in the Bible. These offer readers points of discussion and application to improve their relationship with God and their spouse. They show both good and bad examples of married couples in the Bible.
Indexes are also included to help find certain topics from the devotions, such as communication, prayer, intimacy and finances. Other indexes included are for the “Couples in the Bible” and “Just Between You and Me” segments.
For those wishing to read through the Bible there are several plans in the back that give three different ways to do that. They include: reading the Bible for the first time, reading through the entire Bible in one year and then also in two years. Then it lists each book of the Bible and a place to check off each chapter that has been read.
Other things included in the back are weights and measures mentioned in the Bible and approximate American and metric equivalents for them. Then at the end are about 15 pages to write personal notes on.
There are many other good devotional books out there, many of which we have used in the past. This is the current one we are using beginning this week. We would love to hear from our readers about new things they are doing this year.