Q&A with Max Lucado

General Editor, The Devotional Bible

Nelson Bibles

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Q: What kind of Bible is The Devotional Bible?

A: There are a lot of different kinds of Bibles. Basically Bibles fall into two divisions: informational and inspirational. Informational Bibles are very helpful and absolutely essential. They tell you the population of Jerusalem, the history of Habbakuk. Those things are important. There are times, however, when we need some inspiration.

We need to know “Does God love me on Thursday morning when I don’t want to get out of bed?” We need to know why Heaven is so great. We need to know God really does love lonely people. We need inspiration. Some days, we need just a little bit of courage, a little bit of passion.

There are Bibles that are good for the head. This Bible is really geared to go through the head down to the heart. We don’t neglect facts, but we don’t limit the teaching to facts. We try to go into the faith and take it down a level.

Q: How is The Devotional Bible different from other Bibles?

A: There are two or three differences in features about this devotional Bible that I think make it unique and set it apart from others. First is the quality of authors who are quoted. And I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about a variety of well-respected, godly men and women, who make very valid contributions to helping us understand God’s word.

Likewise, all throughout the text, there are paragraphs from quality books that allow you into the presence of a writer who will help you understand a passage. In essence, what the reader of The Devotional Bible is getting is a “best of” Christian library. Through these quotes from a variety of authors, the reader doesn’t have to have ten or fifteen books sitting around. It’s all in one place.

Q: Who would be most interested in reading The Devotional Bible?

A: This Bible is especially appropriate for people who want a deeper relationship with God, who are not searching just for facts about God. I think most of us are hungry for something more than information, and most of us are looking for something that will speak to our hearts as well as give us hope.

Q: What other readers did you have in mind while editing The Devotional Bible?

A: I think this Bible is especially appropriate for people who are unfamiliar with the Bible, who don’t know how to get their hands around it. What we’ve done in The Devotional Bible is taken this big book and put windows in it, so light comes in. Light comes in through devotional readings. Light comes in through suggested daily studies. Light comes in through quotes in the margins. There are more than 350 devotional readings in the margins, so that when you’re reading a passage that’s just a little bit tough, you can look over and see what Chuck Swindoll or I had to say about a specific topic.

Q&A with Lucado, The Devotional Bible, page two

Q: Why should someone read The Devotional Bible?

A: If you’re searching for a Bible that will help you with facts and nothing more, this probably isn’t your book. If you’re looking for a Bible that will help you with facts but also descend into your heart and help you with faith, this is your book. If you just want information about places and locations and dates, you can get that elsewhere, but if you want something that gives you not just information, but also inspiration, then this is the Bible that you need.

Q: Do you think The Devotional Bible is a good gift-giving Bible?

A: I will give this Bible to people who don’t like to read the Bible, to people who feel it’s a little too cumbersome to understand, to people who typically don’t like to read because the translation is on a level that we can understand without compromising the validity and the quality of the ancient writings.

A Bible like this is phenomenal for busy people because most of us simply don’t have time to read a passage, then go to a library or web site to find out what other writers have said about this passage. And most of us, even if we had the time, wouldn’t know where to start.

Q: How do the writings from you and others amplify the Biblical text?

A: There’s a passage in Mark’s Gospel that says Jesus always used stories to preach things. Jesus, the Master Storyteller, teaches us the importance of balancing stories with application. He didn’t just tell stories. The beatitudes are a collection of applications. But He didn’t just give applications. He told the prodigal son story, the lost sheep, the lost coin and all of the parables. All throughout the Bible there is great power in story coupled with application. I think the power of The Devotional Bible is that it tries to balance both. There are some practical applications, and yet the reader will see a story about what we’ll find in Heaven or how to forgive somebody. Stories carry us and take us to a point of application where we can learn a lesson.

Q: Why does The Devotional Bible use the New Century Version translation of the Bible?

A: What’s incredible about the New Century version is the confluence of readability and accuracy. We tend to lean toward one extreme or the other—the translation is either so accurate that it is not in a language that we speak daily, or is so conversational that accuracy is compromise. What I have found in the New Century Version is a translation that accomplishes both—readability and accuracy.

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April 2003