Posts tagged ‘Bible’

August 25th, 2010

Psalms: Life Change Series book review

by MB

I have been reading through this book from the Life Change Series called “Psalms”.  This book is meant to help you study God’s Word in a deeper way.  From the website, its says:

“Lord, teach us to pray.”

The book of Psalms is an answer to that prayer, leading those who study it into new emotional depth in their prayer and their daily lives.

Your prayers will be enriched and you will acquire a richer revelation of the God who invites you into a lifelong conversation.

Includes 10 lessons, background information on Psalms, resource recommendations, and a “How to Use This Study” section.

This book is a simple concept, but for me, it was inspiring. I have a hard time really digging in and dwelling on passages of scripture. This book helped me do that. It focused on specific types of passages (so it didn’t go in order as laid out in the Bible), for instance, one chapter was on “Prayers of Repentance”, which helped me view many of these prayers in a different way. Instead of just reading Psalms “as is”, I was able to really think about how I pray and how I talk with God and how the authors of this book felt when they wrote such prayers.

This book is not rocket science, so people who are already studying and doing a good job of it probably would find it unnecessary. For those who need something to get them motivated or who struggle in their Bible Studies (and can use all the help they can get!), this is a great book and well worth the price. Right now its even on sale!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Technorati Tags: , , ,

CategoryBible Resources, Book Reviews | Comment2 Comments »

Tags:
August 23rd, 2010

Do you know me?

by MB

Over the past few weeks, I’ve realized how little I spend time praying.  Sad really.  Prayer is very close to God’s heart and without prayer, how can God be glorified in my life?  I was trying to come up with ways God has answered prayers in my life as I read Psalms last night and I realized, I never really ask for things.  It’s not like I NEVER pray.  But I think up to this point, I just feel like God does not answer my prayers.  Maybe its just something in me.  This overall distrust of who God is.  I say that not to say that this thinking is right, but something that God has been showing me over the last few weeks.  I don’t trust God.  The truth is, God does answer prayers, but not how I want Him too.  The issue here is pride and pride (thinking I know better than God does…or that I know God at all) is not something I want in my heart.  But there it is.  Aren’t you glad you know me? (ha ha).

So my list of answered prayers is next to nil.  So apparently, me taking over isn’t helping either.  Why do I think that if I don’t pray, that my desires will be granted?  What is it in me that thinks God is not big enough to take whatever my circumstance is and do something great with it?  Well, I could dig deep and find answers.  There are probably many reasons.  It just boils down to me not trusting who God is.  It’s a flawed view of His character.  I can quote Bible verses all day long, but in the end, do I really believe them?  I so want to.  But I can’t make my own heart change.

All of this to say, I’ve been making more of an effort to “make my requests known” to God.  For my family, for my friends, for homeschooling, for my feelings and my sorrows, for my thankfulness, for the people that surround my life and cause me both joy and grief…and throughout my day I try to remember that nothing is too little or too big for me to speak to God about.  It’s an attitude of prayer.  Unfortunately, I think many of us feel that talking to God is a once a day event or maybe a once a week event.  We don’t think that God wants us to speak to Him in prayer throughout the day.  I don’t mean like a crazy person talking to oneself.  I mean that in our hearts, no matter where we are, asking God to help us with whatever it is.  I must admit, I get much too busy for God and think I do not need to speak to Him.  I sometimes forget that God is right here with me.  I wish that I would just get it!  I wish that I always knew that He was right here and didn’t feel it was every inappropriate to go to Him; or that I was too good for that kind of thing.

I’m a head knowledge kind of girl I guess. I know a lot of things about God.  I’ve been hearing biblical stuff, both true and false ideas, since I was a little kid.   I’m almost 33 now.  I still feel I don’t know His character very well.  I know about Him, but I don’t feel I know Him. There is a difference.  I have read the Bible plenty, but with blinders on.  When you have blinders on, you don’t take in too much.  You know things…maybe lots of things about the Bible.  Has it sunk in?  Can you apply it when necessary?  I don’t think I can very well.  I struggle with it being a heart knowledge thing.  Yet in the end, I see this in myself and I hate it.  I do want God to change me and I do want to be able to  trust God in everything, but I’m not quite there yet.  Not sure how to get over something so huge and flawed.  How do some people just get it and others don’t?  I feel like every bit of my walk with God has been a fight….a fight to know who He really is and to know Him and to keep on seeking Him.  Does anyone else ever feel this way?

Technorati Tags: , ,

CategoryBible, Christian Walk, God's Sovereignty, Serving God | Comment5 Comments »

Tags:
August 14th, 2010

ESV Study Bible

by MB

Last week, I decided to purchase a Bible through Desiring God.  (If you don’t know who they are, you should check them out).  I buy many of my books through Bethlehem’s bookstore which is owned by Desiring God and I always find their stuff less expensive.  So I took a look at their website and found this ESV Bible.  It came highly recommended by John Piper (who is my Pastor at Bethlehem) and so I gave in and purchased it.  I have some other study Bibles and Application Bibles here and I love them too, but I find them lacking a little bit.  With contributors like Wayne Grudem, J.I. Packer, Justin Taylor (I love a book he helped write called “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God”), and David Powlison, as well as Piper himself, I was hoping that I would be not only impressed, but would grow from their insights and contributions to this Bible.

As a note, I am not a theological person.  I just want to study the Bible and have it be clear to me.  And of course, I love pictures to show the kids.  I like connections that can be made in the Bible and seeing that with graphs or pictures or related Bible verses.  So, in a way, I’m no one special.  I’m just an average Bible reader.

So first of all, here is what it looks like:

It comes in a nice boxed case.  The one I got was “Trutone Classic Black“.  This picture doesn’t really do it justice.  It’s really pretty.  I even tweeted yesterday about how I didn’t want to touch it because it was so pretty.  Desiring God tweeted back “the sure way to ruin it would be to let it stay in pristine condition.”  Yes, indeed!  But still, its beautiful.

The cool thing that I did not realize that came with this Bible is free access to the ESV Online Study Bible.  It is said to contain all the same features that the print version plus the “ability to create personal notes, to search and follow interactive links between notes, maps, articles, charts, timelines, illustrations, and cross-references; and to listen to audio recordings of the ESV Bible.”  So I went and checked it out and I’m super excited about it!  It is so cool!  I’m not kidding.  Ok, I love that I can listen to the audio because I’m auditory, but also because I think it will help me as I homeschool!  So, so awesome.  Then there are devotionals, you can make the print bigger or smaller, you can highlight text and save it…this really is a worthwhile resource as well.  All for the price of an already great Study Bible.

There are so many cool things about this Bible.  The text is readable, the pictures and graphs are colorful and not at all dull like most Bibles, and their is plenty of notes and commentary and introductions.  It’s just full of information and helps.  The Bible is kind of big and fat, but I’m ok with that because it is after all, a “Study Bible”.  That’s why I purchased it, for study.  And there is so much in this Bible that I can use, for myself and for my family.

Very nice readable print

Colorful pictures

Well laid out introductions on the books of the Bible

Graphs and helps to further your study of the Bible

Notes and commentary (I love this)

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to study God’s word to understand it better and apply it to their lives.  I think it makes a great resource personally for myself, but also as I homeschool my children to learn God’s word.  I think the online Bible and interactive resources are wonderful for me and my family as well.  I’m so excited to dive right into this book.  So far, I’m pleasantly surprised by this resource and I love it.  I might be a little biased though since God used this man to change my life (and yeah, I know I’m not a perfect example, but God’s still working on me):

Disclaimer: I was not paid, I did not receive a free book, I didn’t get squat to write this review.  I just did it out of the kindness of my heart and because I like it so much :)

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,

CategoryBible, Bible Resources, Book Reviews, Christian Walk | Comment8 Comments »

Tags:
June 16th, 2010

Let me introduce you to my new friend Anger

by MB

I’m such a justice person.  I just want things to always be fair and I hate when they are not.  I want to stick it to the man.  I want to make them pay.  I want to take revenge and make the other party realize the pain they’ve caused.  The problem is, I don’t determine what is fair nor is it my job to make sure they pay.  This verse keeps coming in my head over and over and over from Romans 12:

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

I especially hate the next part of the verse because it means I have to do something I don’t like…something I don’t think is “fair”:

On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

I say this because I don’t want to fight anymore with whatever plans God has. I don’t want to run a ministry or take it over. My mom set it up and if the people that want to run it–the board–then whatever things they do is between them and God. One day they will have to answer to Him for what they have done. I just need to trust in that. I haven’t. Instead I think its unfair. The problem is that I think I’m better than God. And I’m not. He knows so much more than my tiny mind can fathom and whatever purposes He has behind this, its for His good and mine too. I’m just struggling with the justice thing and being angry that I can’t get my way.

When talking to a friend, I told her that if I didn’t have my anger, there would be no reason to even get out of bed. If I wasn’t angry, why would I even get up and move and be? I fear it is all I have these days. I know that being angry is wrong and being resentful is a sin. I know this. Yet, I feel like I can’t move if I don’t cling to it because it stirs me to action otherwise I’d just be a lump of flesh under the blankets drowning in my own tears. I’d have no reason to move or get out of bed or care. I’m not exactly sure where that leaves me. I just know I’m tired of fighting, being angry, being spiteful, being resentful, and I have to leave it all up to God. It’s hard. It’s harder though to fight God. My soul hates it. I’m tormented by it. Fighting God is a losing battle. I know I’m gonna lose.

Like Jonah, I am faced with the ugliness of my sin. He sat in the belly of the whale. I sit in the pit of my despair. Both are horrible places to be and both stink. Yet, I hope out of it comes something meaningful. I just don’t know what that is yet.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

CategoryChristian Walk, God's Sovereignty, family life | Comment8 Comments »

Tags:
May 25th, 2010

That interesting book

by MB

I was reading Esther with my kids last week.  This year we have been going through the Old Testament together, chronologically.  We haven’t covered every single verse, but most of the stories we have gone through.  Sometimes I read the Bible and I am just amazed at how much I don’t know or certain verses I haven’t heard before.

The entire story and the background to Esther is just captivating.  In kids storybooks, they do not do a good job of telling such a rich story especially about the Jews.  I didn’t even know anything about the Jews and their struggle until I was an adult.  That’s sad.  That’s history and a big part of the Bible.

So here’s the part of the story, and my summary of it that really made me go “Hmmm?”  And maybe you have heard this part before, but I never did and I thought it was almost comical.  So Haman hates the Jews,  hates Esther’s cousin Mordecai too.  He even has these gallows built by his house because he wants to hang Mordecai on it. He wants them all dead, so he convinces the King to get laws made (not to his knowledge) to kill the Jews, but he does so in a shady kind of way.  Mordecai is distraught and asks Esther to go before the King and plead with him for her life.  And Esther, I love her response because she knows this could lead to death, says “If I perish, I perish”.  She resigns herself to the fact that her actions could lead to death, but doing nothing is not an option if she wants to save her people, the Jews.  So she goes and the King accepts her and she requests that the King and Haman come to a banquet that she has prepared.  So the King agrees.

They come to the banquet, but when asked what the request is, Queen Esther asks them again to come to another banquet.  Did she have second thoughts?  I probably would.  At the second banquet, she tells the King about Haman’s evil plan.  She tells the King of her people, the Jews and how they will be killed because of Haman.  The King is furious.  He goes outside to cool off.  As he does, Haman is pleading with Queen Esther for his life and hanging all over her, begging her to ask the King to save him.  The King sees this and he says, in Esther 7:8

The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”

WHAT? I never even heard that part before! Of course, I wouldn’t expect to read this in a kids Bible storybook, but I just found it odd that I had NEVER read it at all before. It made me wonder if the King was more mad about the Jews being destroyed or about him falling all over Queen Esther. All of it was God’s plan. Haman was hung on the same gallows that he made for Mordecai, the King made a new law that the Jews could defend themselves, which they did. And the Bible tells us in Nehemiah, that many of them return to Jerusalem and rebuild its destroyed walls and gates and become a city again.

Looking at Esther as just a cute story about a girl who marries a King and saves her people is only one small portion of a bigger story. It has been really great to see how all the pieces fit in the history of the world and how God planned it all out this way. It also helps give hope because we know that one day, God has a perfect ending. Just like He delivered His people from evil, He will do that again for us. God’s endings are perfect.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

CategoryBible | Comment6 Comments »

Tags:
« Older Entries