The Return

Yes, this is the Open Bible from years ago that has been re-issued. It was great then and it still is now. My favorite helps are the Biblical Cyclopedic Index and, believe or not, the maps. The index lists a word, defines it, and then covers the uses or occurrences by category. That opens lots of new areas for consideration from the very beginning. The maps are readable, colorful and color coded, and are assembled in chronological order from the Genesis period to modern times. There is so much more there to explore. This Bible makes study fun. There are other study helps too that included the Jewish feast dates, the Maccabean period, and brief summaries of the Apocrypha. I don’t think they published a version of this that includes those books of the Apocrypha, but the summaries give the reader some insight into them. Each book starts with a helps section and an outline. Throughout the reading notes give alternate readings. Cross references? Of course. There’s so much...

In 15 minutes a day?!! I had to see this book. Believe it or not, this book lives up to expectations. Morgan states in his preface that his aim is to be concise and recommends a textbook he uses in his classes for those that what to learn more. Condensing any major religion into a 15 minute read is a challenge and one that I feel he has met well. He defines religion at the start and that is helpful given the various ideas that exist. There is also a brief discussion of why looking at other's religion is important. Especially so now in the globalization of nearly everything. His descriptions give the basics of each religion covered. Remember the 15 minutes a day thing. Another of his aims is to be descriptive and not necessarily comparative and to avoid the “mine’s better than yours” rhetoric. In that he generally succeeds. As he admits, a person’s cultural point of view is difficult to avoid, and from time to time you will see in his word choices some minor reflection...

Review: You’re Stronger than You Think: The Power to Do What You Feel You Can’t Dr. Les Parrott Tyndale House Publishers 2012 This book is a great start place for anyone who is tired of feeling helpless, hopeless, and all those other discouraging words that you hear from within or without. If you’re ready to lose that, start here. This book has a companion workbook and an opportunity to access an online strengths profile. After reading through this book I would suggest investing in both of those items, too. Early on Dr. Parrott promises no psychobabble and holds to that promise. He draws from his own experience, the experiences of others, and a copious number of professional studies to back up his observations and advice. And yes, he does included Biblical references where they are pertinent. Other sources are interspersed with that, as well. He organizes his book around some familiar points, heart, mind, and soul. Each section examines the strengths available and som...

Review: Relentless Pursuit: God’s Love of Outsiders including the outsider in all of us Ken Gire Bethany House Publishers 2012 Poignancy, insights, revelation and even humor from time to time. It’s all in Ken Gire’s Relentless Pursuit. That’s what I found in this book. Gire uses his own life as an example, along with others to be sure, to illustrate the love of God and His untiring desire to re-gather His people to Himself. Gire makes several references to the poem The Hound of Heaven, which I had never read before and it is included in this book. It is quite a poetic endeavor and I recommend it to this reader. Gire also mentions toward the conclusion of his book a reading of this poem that can be found online that helped me appreciate it even more. Do check that out, but this isn’t about the poem, but Gire’s book. The title confused me. Outsiders? Who is the outsider? The guy that doesn’t go to my church, the lost, the high school student that has been unfriended? ...

Empty promises. The things that don’t live up to expectations. We’ve all experienced that disappointment and in this book Pete Wilson works through the most common varieties of empty promises. He not only draws from his own life, but also from the lives he has seen lived around him for his examples. Biblical examples abound as backdrops to show us that this is not a new thing. What is new, for me anyway, is calling the problem broken promises rather than idolatry. While the latter is at the root of the problem, the symptom most of us experience is that emptiness when we expected fullness. It is an easy read, but not trite. It is a familiar read, and sadly one that we just don’t seem to heed. It seems every time we try the next gimmick dangled in front of us first and have to relearn this lesson. This is true not only in our religious life, but the secular as well. Keeps the presses turning on either side of that great divide. Happily, Wilson does add some helpful ideas at...

Review: Unashamed to Bear His Name R.T. Kendall Chosen Books 2012 How to review this book? The author is an accomplished author, pastor and speaker. Intimidated? A little bit. But if his aim is that it will change my life (from the preface) I thought I’d see what he had to say. After meandering around some points and coming back to others, I must say that his aim is partially fulfilled in this book. He has written in the gap between evangelicals and charismatics and in doing so probably will lose one side or the other. Maybe both? Right or wrong in what he writes, sadly. And that is a problem for his writing this and for the church as well. Maybe it will not be so in the years to come. The strength of this book is the encouragement to persevere and not be ashamed of the Gospel. His journey is an example of just that. It does take courage to step out and do what you know is right, regardless of the cries from the establishment. I do not agree with some of what h...

Review: My Own Worst Enemy Janet Davis Bethany House 2012 “Shining is not pride.” and “Hiding is not humility.” OK, she has my attention right from the start. What does she mean and how does that square with Biblical teaching? Well, don’t want to spoil the book for you so I’ll let you decide if she makes her case or not. Davis’ book has a subtitle, too, that speaks volumes. “How to stop holding yourself back.” Through a series of case studies and her own story the author illustrates just how that happens not only to most of us, but also to the women of the Bible. She revisits many of them and shows their growth and strength in a way I had not thought about before. And I think she’s on the mark with her work. The cases studies are not dry reading. She depicts real people with real emotions in real circumstances in real struggles. You will find yourself in at least one of those chapters I can guarantee. Or maybe more than one. Please read closely about the time fram...