In a world where bad news is just about everywhere you look, it’s a great blessing to get our hearts around some good news for a change! 

Coincidentally, the good news is about… the good news, the Bible! According to Circana Book Scan, U.S. Bible sales have shot up by 22% through October compared to the same period last year, significantly outpacing the less than 1% growth in overall print book sales. In addition, 2019, 9.7 million Bibles sold, but in just the first 10 months of 2024, sales have already exceeded 13.7 million — a 41% increase. 

Social media influencers and celebrities openly sharing their faith have contributed to the trend, according to Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of HarperCollins Christian Publishing in the Wall Street Journal.

The Washington Stand reporter Sarah Holliday shared, “The Wall Street Journal wrote that ‘Bible sales are up 22% in the U.S. through the end of October, compared with the same period last year.’ According to the outlet, there are several potential factors for why this is the case. 

Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, believes “people are experiencing anxiety … related to artificial intelligence [and] election cycles.” 

All of which “feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be okay.” Maybe Crosby is right. People want to know they’re going to be okay, and so they’re turning to the Bible.”

My friend Cheryl K. Chumley, online opinion editor for the Washington Times writes, “The twisting of evil as good has gone on for very long. The point is this: Without a higher authority, humankind is apt to define rights and wrongs and goods versus evils in ways that personally suit. 

And framers understood this. John Adams put it succinctly: “[Statesmen] may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand,” he said, as the Library of Congress notes. Without religion, morality becomes that of one’s own making. As secularism rises, freedom falters; individualism is squashed; liberty dies; government grows; collectivism thrives; tyranny ensues — and society crashes.”

She continues, “America’s foundation is God’s word. From the Mayflower Compact to the Constitution to modern-day courts of law, it’s biblical teachings and Judeo-Christian beliefs that have kept this country on a path of civility and prosperity and served as a model of individual rights and freedoms that have been the envy of nations of the world for decades. Everybody wants to come to America Everybody wants a taste of that American Exceptionalism. Everybody wants to know what it’s like to live in a country where individuals are granted rights and liberties by their Creator, and where governments are only instituted among the citizens to protect and preserve those inherent birth rights and liberties. But God-given rights and liberties only last as long as God is kept in that equation. Take Him out and it becomes “government granted.” 

We believe that our rights here in America come from God. We do not believe our rights come from our government or any government for that matter. We do not believe our rights come from our group. 

Another word for group is union, another word for union is soviet! The thought that because of my group I have rights is not what we believe as a nation. You must go to another country to believe that. 

Our founders said that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Nowhere else in the world treasures life like America. Nowhere else in the world treasures liberty like America.

In sermons over the years, I have heard many preachers quote this old but every bit true thought about the Bible. “This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.”

Oswald Chambers observed, “The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” Perhaps we have arrived at a pivotal moment where many are tired of living in fear of everything and are finding desire to live for something. The good news is, when you truly seek the Lord, that’s when you’ll find him! 

Tim Throckmorton is the president of Lifepointe Ministries.