Where do you live and go to church?

I live in Ascot Vale but go to church in North Baldwin, Melbourne.

Name a Bible character you resonate with and why.

Ezekiel. I always had a vivid imagination and he wrote his prophecy in pictures, not words. My favourite description of his book is that it is Isaiah with a bigger special effects budget. It does not speak to your mind so much as your imagination, painting pictures there that last longer than the individual verses. God was the author of the book but the man he used would have been a great fantasy writer if given the chance.

What are you reading in the Bible at the moment?

With my three boys I am finishing off the last chapter of the Gospel of John before moving on to Revelation. I’m up to Deuteronomy with my own quiet times.

Where do you read the Bible?

I read pretty much everywhere as I carry around my bible in my tablet, phone and computer. But most often I read on the couch in the morning before my kids wake up, or in bed next to my wife after they fall asleep.

What’s one thing from the Bible that’s stuck in your head at the moment?

I have had one image from the bible stuck in my mind for over seven years and that is the magnificent picture of God as husband of his people, of the church as the bride of Christ. Particularly I am captivated by Ezekiel 16 with God as the abused husband who still hunts down, forgives and remarries a wife who kills his children, gives away his gifts to her lovers, and publicly commits adultery. It gives “God is love” a whole new meaning.

Name one part of the Bible you keep coming back to again and again and why.

Psalms and Ecclesiastes. I suffer from depression and that is the key part of the Bible that reminds me that I’m not alone. Psalms is filled with laments and Ecclesiastes paints the world with pessimism. Those books remind me that even with the same hope I have in a good God it is not wrong to see this world in the same grey shades that I do.

Describe one of your Bible reading failures and what you learnt.

Don’t read the Bible on a hot humid night in Perth when you are upset. I completely ruined a perfectly good ESV that way – it got completely soaked with sweat and tears after I fell asleep on it.

What advice would you give someone struggling to read the Bible each day?

Name one verse that demands that of you? There isn’t one. Read what you can, when you can. Carrying an electronic Bible with you in your phone enables this very effectively as you can read it on the tram, train, bus, plane, at work, at uni, etc. Learn to read for enjoyment (whether the Bible or not). If reading is not a chore then reading the Bible won’t be either.