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For the Love of God
For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word
Complete with a daily Bible-reading plan, this devotional is sure to encourage and edify readers as they make their way through God's Word in the course of a year.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1998
414 people are currently reading
1036 people want to read
About the author
D.A. Carson
339 books738 followersDonald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received the Bachelor of Science in chemistry from McGill University, the Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two adult children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
December 31, 2020
Good job, Don.
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December 31, 2021Daily devotions/commentary from D.A. Carson to read alongside read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan. Can’t recommend these two volumes highly enough! Transformed my quiet times. Perfect (short!) length to give a little insight to daily Bible reading.
April 9, 2019
I have been a believer since 1987 and over the years I have had various plans for a daily intake of God's Word, the Bible. For the last few years my wife and I have followed the venerable Bible reading plan of Robert Murray M'Cheyne. In this volume Carson writes an insightful and unifying comment on one of the day's readings. For those of you that are married this is the one plan that BOTH my wife and I enjoy. I have found it to be strengthening to both my soul and marriage. Spending time in the same sections of God's Word with my wife has been a blessing. We have both found Carson's insights to be profound and applicational. Each page has (1) the date at the top followed by (2) four passages to be read followed by (3) Carson's short unifying comments. M'Cheyne's plan takes the reader through the NT and Psalms twice and the remainder of the OT once.
January 2, 2022
Read along with my first time through the M’Cheyne. Wow, such an eye-opening, great resource.
December 31, 2023
Overall, this is a helpful companion and guide for the M’cheyne reading plan. I found many of the commentaries insightful, and useful to impacting my memory with the passages of the day. I especially enjoyed the few that connected the various readings together.
However, as I approached the end, his allegorical theology became increasingly evident. I disagreed on most of his commentary on Revelation (which unfortunately was his focus for the majority of December). For that reason, I will most likely not reread.
However, as I approached the end, his allegorical theology became increasingly evident. I disagreed on most of his commentary on Revelation (which unfortunately was his focus for the majority of December). For that reason, I will most likely not reread.
August 24, 2012
I thought this book was outstanding. Dr.Carson has written a short, devotional commentary corresponding to the daily schedule from Robert Murray M'Cheyne's bible reading plan. In Carson's own words, "My aim...
is to provide edifying comments on some parts of the texts, and thus to encourage readers to reflect further on the biblical passages they are reading." He achieves this nicely. If you are using or planning to use the M'Cheyne plan, this is an invaluable resource.
is to provide edifying comments on some parts of the texts, and thus to encourage readers to reflect further on the biblical passages they are reading." He achieves this nicely. If you are using or planning to use the M'Cheyne plan, this is an invaluable resource.
January 28, 2023
A solid daily reader based on McCheyne's system of reading through the Bible in one year. Carson expounds simple, one-page meditations on one or two of the chapters read that day.
Due to the limits of space, Carson obviously cannot go in to great depth with each reading, but overall the studies are wise and useful and often informative.
Due to the limits of space, Carson obviously cannot go in to great depth with each reading, but overall the studies are wise and useful and often informative.
December 31, 2018
I’ve tried many different Bible reading plans and have typically failed at them. Probably largely due to lack of discipline, but this year I was finally able to complete a plan and I think it was partly because of this particular plan and coinciding commentary.
D.A. Carson’s commentary is short but insightful and helpful when reading a lot of hard to understand passages. And even while reading books like Leviticus and Numbers he gives you something to think about which is nice because it’s easy to gloss over those and not get much out of them.
The setup of the plan is in such a way that just reading Volume 1 you could read through the NT twice and the OT once in the year. However the commentary in this book only follows the first two provided passages- which is what I did. (Meaning read the NT once, and half the OT) Reading volume two will have a new set of commentaries that will go through the NT again and the rest of the OT.
The only disappointment I had with the book is that some of the commentaries discussed a different chapter than I had wanted information on. Which isn’t a big deal, and maybe it was good because it caused me to seek answers on my own through other means.
If you struggle with following through on Bible reading plans- give this a shot, it might be just what you’re looking for!
D.A. Carson’s commentary is short but insightful and helpful when reading a lot of hard to understand passages. And even while reading books like Leviticus and Numbers he gives you something to think about which is nice because it’s easy to gloss over those and not get much out of them.
The setup of the plan is in such a way that just reading Volume 1 you could read through the NT twice and the OT once in the year. However the commentary in this book only follows the first two provided passages- which is what I did. (Meaning read the NT once, and half the OT) Reading volume two will have a new set of commentaries that will go through the NT again and the rest of the OT.
The only disappointment I had with the book is that some of the commentaries discussed a different chapter than I had wanted information on. Which isn’t a big deal, and maybe it was good because it caused me to seek answers on my own through other means.
If you struggle with following through on Bible reading plans- give this a shot, it might be just what you’re looking for!
October 7, 2015
I am not a devotional fan at all but this was a gift and I love it!! Carson is an intelligent man who is able to explain the Bible without compromising hard truth. He has you read one chapter from 4 different books of the Bible every day but then has commentary on just one of the chapters. This way you read the Bible in a year I think. It sounds like a lot of reading but it can easily be done in 30 minutes and I really like reading Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and something else.
December 31, 2016
Great Companion.
This book puts you on a great reading plan for the Bible and then encourages, clarifies and convicts you through pointing you back to the text and the history surrounding the text.
This book puts you on a great reading plan for the Bible and then encourages, clarifies and convicts you through pointing you back to the text and the history surrounding the text.
April 21, 2023
I largely continued my own daily reading plan (Psalms/OT/NT) while working through Don Carson's comments on the plan he followed here. I'm glad I did because, Scripture being Scripture, it made for so many points of contact that were timely in my own experience. I can't recommend these books highly enough and look forward to beginning with Volume 2 directly.
January 1, 2021
So great for keeping you on track with daily Bible reading and the short daily commentaries are very insightful.
February 1, 2024
A solid devotional/commentary to accompany one’s Scripture reading. Helpful and would recommend!
December 20, 2021
Probably the best daily companion to the Bible available.
D.A. Carson hangs his comments, insights, and devotional guide on Robert Murray McCheyne's Bible-reading plan, which takes the reader through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament and Psalms twice. I first started using this Bible-reading plan in 2005, and have found it to be the best!
A truly 5-star read!
D.A. Carson hangs his comments, insights, and devotional guide on Robert Murray McCheyne's Bible-reading plan, which takes the reader through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament and Psalms twice. I first started using this Bible-reading plan in 2005, and have found it to be the best!
A truly 5-star read!
May 1, 2015
A rather theological daily devotional
1 December 2012
This is the first of a two volume set that provides a daily Bible reading over the period of a year. The concept that Carson used was a system developed by a Scottish pastor that if followed would enable you to read the entire Bible over the year and the readings (from what I can remember) were two New Testament readings, and Old Testament Reading, and a Psalm. Since I do not have the book in front of me (it is back in Adelaide) I cannot say for sure, but I believe that if you follow the readings you end up reading the New Testament and the Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament once.
Carson only writes on one the the passages that is read, though if the passages turn out to be complementary then he will write on both of them. As is standard for some of these reading guides he writes a one page devotional that is generally (but not always) application. The problem is that Carson is a theologian, so he tends to be more esoteric rather that writing something that we could apply to our lives, but then again many Christians actually don't like application because it ends up being too hard. Studying theology is great because it helps us understand who God is and how he died on the cross so that we may be saved, but we hate application because that is all about how we should live (and surprise, surprise, the not having sex before marriage is the easy part, it is the actually loving one another that is hard).
I ended up using this book simply because I needed some guide for a daily reading of the Bible. Now, I have found that having a Bible reading guide is quite helpful because not only does it keep you in the habit of reading the Bible daily, it can also help you navigate your way through the book. I have tried the approach of reading without a guide and I end up discovering that I am really not sure what I actually want to read and then end up not reading it at all.
You may find it funny that a guy like me actually reads the Bible on a daily basis, but hey, I am a Christian, and that is one of those things that enables me to be able to develop my relationship with God. What it does not mean is that I blindly accept everything that the guide says. I ask questions, and I believe that we should always be ready to ask questions and hold our teachers accountable. We also need to be prepared to confront our teachers as well, especially when we believe that they are straying from the truth, or even abusing their position. It is all well and good for people to devote their lives to serving God, but simply getting paid to walk around the city talking to people is not what I consider to be an appropriate use of one's time (I can do than during my lunch break, or even after work).
Some people have suggested that Christian bookshops fly in the face of what Christianity is all about. However as it turns out, I have recently walked into a Christian bookshop and have been applauded at what I have seen. I once scoffed at a friend for suggesting that Christian bookshops are making money off Christ, and I suggested that a worker does deserve his wages, however seeing the amount of rubbish that is being churned out, and the fact that many of these books only trumpeted a rather fundamentalist view of Christianity, my opinion has changed somewhat.
I guess we need to remember to put Christian books back where they really belong, and that is subservient to the Bible. These books are not meant to replace the Bible, but rather assist you in understanding the Bible and being able to work it out for yourself. God is interested in you personally, not as a replication of all the people around you. Further, being able to impress your Christian friends, and being accepted by them is not really what faith in God is all about. It is about a relationship with God, and when you begin to feel that his followers are suggesting that you are not good enough because of something that you do, then maybe you need to turn back to God and understand that he has accepted you the way you are.
1 December 2012
This is the first of a two volume set that provides a daily Bible reading over the period of a year. The concept that Carson used was a system developed by a Scottish pastor that if followed would enable you to read the entire Bible over the year and the readings (from what I can remember) were two New Testament readings, and Old Testament Reading, and a Psalm. Since I do not have the book in front of me (it is back in Adelaide) I cannot say for sure, but I believe that if you follow the readings you end up reading the New Testament and the Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament once.
Carson only writes on one the the passages that is read, though if the passages turn out to be complementary then he will write on both of them. As is standard for some of these reading guides he writes a one page devotional that is generally (but not always) application. The problem is that Carson is a theologian, so he tends to be more esoteric rather that writing something that we could apply to our lives, but then again many Christians actually don't like application because it ends up being too hard. Studying theology is great because it helps us understand who God is and how he died on the cross so that we may be saved, but we hate application because that is all about how we should live (and surprise, surprise, the not having sex before marriage is the easy part, it is the actually loving one another that is hard).
I ended up using this book simply because I needed some guide for a daily reading of the Bible. Now, I have found that having a Bible reading guide is quite helpful because not only does it keep you in the habit of reading the Bible daily, it can also help you navigate your way through the book. I have tried the approach of reading without a guide and I end up discovering that I am really not sure what I actually want to read and then end up not reading it at all.
You may find it funny that a guy like me actually reads the Bible on a daily basis, but hey, I am a Christian, and that is one of those things that enables me to be able to develop my relationship with God. What it does not mean is that I blindly accept everything that the guide says. I ask questions, and I believe that we should always be ready to ask questions and hold our teachers accountable. We also need to be prepared to confront our teachers as well, especially when we believe that they are straying from the truth, or even abusing their position. It is all well and good for people to devote their lives to serving God, but simply getting paid to walk around the city talking to people is not what I consider to be an appropriate use of one's time (I can do than during my lunch break, or even after work).
Some people have suggested that Christian bookshops fly in the face of what Christianity is all about. However as it turns out, I have recently walked into a Christian bookshop and have been applauded at what I have seen. I once scoffed at a friend for suggesting that Christian bookshops are making money off Christ, and I suggested that a worker does deserve his wages, however seeing the amount of rubbish that is being churned out, and the fact that many of these books only trumpeted a rather fundamentalist view of Christianity, my opinion has changed somewhat.
I guess we need to remember to put Christian books back where they really belong, and that is subservient to the Bible. These books are not meant to replace the Bible, but rather assist you in understanding the Bible and being able to work it out for yourself. God is interested in you personally, not as a replication of all the people around you. Further, being able to impress your Christian friends, and being accepted by them is not really what faith in God is all about. It is about a relationship with God, and when you begin to feel that his followers are suggesting that you are not good enough because of something that you do, then maybe you need to turn back to God and understand that he has accepted you the way you are.
December 31, 2019
I am just about to finish this year-long daily study of half the Bible. The other half will be next year in Volume 2. This is an exceptional conservative study by one of the brightest Biblical scholars of this or really any generation. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2021
If you are looking for a daily companion read to scripture this is a great for. This is volume one of two, each year I do have the verses in volume one and the corresponding reading provided then move to volume two for the second half. It’s just enough to keep you grounded in daily reading, his insights are not always totally relevant at the very moment but I always took away some gem every day. Read one page a day for 365 days with half the scripture and you will read the entire bible in two years (to me the best contemplative pace).
August 29, 2007
This is one of two volumes where D.A. Carson takes you through the whole Bible in one year (and the Psalms and New Testament twice in that year). He follows the reading plan of Robert Murray M'Cheyne (a very influential Scottish pastor who died at the age of 30 in 1843). There are four different passages to read each day and each day Carson picks one passage to write a one page reflection on. If you've never read through the whole Bible, this is a really great way to do it.
July 18, 2014
These 2 volumes of For the Love of God are the best read through the Bible program I've ever seen! In the introduction Carson says, "If there is something unusual about theses comments, it is that I have tried to devote at least some of them to helping the reader keep the big picture of the Bible's "story line" in mind, and to see what relevance this has for our thinking and living." This has been so helpful to me in seeing and understanding the unity of the Bible.
December 27, 2018
I used this Carson devotional as a companion to my annual journey through the Bible. This is a daily devotional that is paired with Robert Murray M'Cheyne's reading plan, https://www.mcheyne.info/calendar.pdf , I have enjoyed everything I have ever read by Dr. Carson and this book was no exception. I found plenty of nuggets of wisdom and insight and plenty of food for thought. I plan to use volume 2 next year.
April 7, 2012
Great companion to devotional Scripture reading. Contains the M'Cheyne bible-reading year plan. Each day there are 4 chapters, and Carson gives commentary on one of the chapters that focuses on fitting the passage into the history of redemption. The design is also great for families, which is how M'Cheyne originally intended it. (2 chapter in private, 2 chapters with the family).
July 17, 2020
This is a year-long series of devotions which are consistently insightful. It is attached to a Bible reading plan which takes the reader through the whole Bible once and Psalms and the New Testament twice over the course of the year. It proved to be very helpful for me, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
2020 update: Yup. Still true.
2020 update: Yup. Still true.
May 6, 2014
This is a fantastic accompaniment to daily readings of God's word and helped me make it through the whole Bible for the first time. Carson does an excellent job of helping you understand the passage and how it fits into to God's overall plan - the only time this wasn't true was when he didn't write on the passage I was stuck on! Highly recommend this to everyone.
May 29, 2012
This is an excellent daily reading commentary for the Bible. Carson offers four chapters of the bible to read then comment on one of them. His comments are interesting and insightful. The reading pace is fast so many may find themselves reading only a few of the "tracks".
January 1, 2018
This is a a daily reading and a companion to reading the Bible on a daily basis. It is jam-packed with Biblical wisdom, straight from the scriptures. There is so much to gain from this and I am launching another read in 2018. I highly recommend!
January 18, 2018
Have loved this daily devotional! Readings are just a page each to accompany two readings from Bible. Not too fluffy but rarely over my head. Looking forward to volume two and finishing the Bible (in closer to three or four years than the one you could take but oh well...)
July 27, 2011
Fantastic daily devotional in the form of commentary on one text from Scripture each day. A fantastic companion to a yearly Bible reading plan. This is part 1 of 2.
January 9, 2014
Great devotional that goes into what the Bible actually says rather than just expressing happy thoughts.
March 1, 2012
Excellent companion Bible-reading plan!
December 30, 2013
An outstanding companion to me this year. Very helpful insights and fuel for meditation in my walk with the Lord.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews