Friday, September 30, 2016

September Accomplishments

September Accomplishments

  • Became very active on twitter. @operationbible if you want to follow me!
  • Finished the ERV (English Revised Version, 1885) which has been a "lifetime" goal for me. (Well, since I first discovered it existed about five or so years ago). 
  • Started my "microscope" Bible reading project. Using the HCSB, I'm journaling my way through Genesis!
  • Shared my first impressions of the NIV Journal the Word Bible
  • Shared a top ten list. I thought long and hard about WHO I'd love to see record the song "Because He Lives."
  • September's Scripture Chain


This month's Bible reading (August 28-September 24)

ERV

  • Luke
  • John
  • Acts
  • Romans
  • 1 Corinthians
  • 2 Corinthians
  • Galatians
  • Ephesians
  • Philippians
  • Colossians
  • 1 Thessalonians
  • 2 Thessalonians
  • 1 Timothy
  • 2 Timothy
  • Titus
  • Philemon
  • Hebrews
  • James
  • 1 Peter
  • 2 Peter
  • 1 John
  • 2 John
  • 3 John
  • Jude
  • Revelation


ESV

  • Genesis
  • Exodus
  • Leviticus
  • Numbers
  • Deuteronomy
  • Joshua
  • Judges
  • Ruth
  • 1 Samuel
  • 2 Samuel
  • Matthew
  • Mark
  • Romans
  • 2 Corinthians
  • 1 John
  • 2 John
  • 3 John
  • Jude

Wycliffe New Testament, 1388

  • Matthew

NASB

  • 1 Thessalonians
  • 2 Thessalonians

HCSB

  • Genesis 1-23

Books I've Reviewed This Month:

Christian fiction:

  1. Good Good Father. Chris Tomlin and Pat Barrett. 2016. Thomas Nelson. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
  2. The Revolt. Douglas Bond. 2016. P&R. 240 pages. [Source: Review copy]
  3. Crossroads in Galilee. Elizabeth Raum. 2016. BJU Press. [Source: Review copy]
Christian nonfiction:

  1. Unashamed: Healing Our Brokenness and Finding Freedom from Shame. Heather Davis Nelson. 2016. Crossway. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]
  2. Miracle Man. John Hendrix. 2016. Harry N. Abrams. 40 pages. [Source: Library]
  3. Overcoming Sin and Temptation. John Owen. Edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic. 2006/2015. Crossway. 462 pages. [Source: Review copy] 
  4. Don't Follow Your Heart. Jon Bloom. 2015. Desiring God. 196 pages. [Source: Downloaded for Free]
  5. 52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables. Bob Welch. 2014. Thomas Nelson. 224 pages. [Source: Bought]
  6. Song of Songs. Ian M. Duguid. 2016. P&R. 216 pages. [Source: Review copy]
  7. Winning Balance. Shawn Johnson and Nancy French. 2012. Tyndale. 256 pages. [Source: Library]
  8. What Grieving People Wish You Knew About What Really Helps (And What Really Hurts). Nancy Guthrie. 2016. Crossway. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]
  9. Voice of a Prophet. A.W. Tozer. 2014. Regal. 208 pages. [Source: Bought]
  10. Unshakable. K. Scott Oliphint and Rod Mays. 2016. P&R. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]
  11. The Lion First Book of Bible Stories. Lois Rock. Illustrated by Barbara Vagnozzi. 2012. Lion Hudson. 96 pages. [Source: Library]

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: 52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables

52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables. Bob Welch. 2014. Thomas Nelson. 224 pages. [Source: Bought]

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is one of my favorite books. It is one of my favorite books to reread. I had intended to wait until I reread this one before reading Bob Welch's 52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables. But I couldn't wait. I gave into temptation. (For me, I don't think it mattered. I found myself knowing--remembering--all the characters and plot twists.)

52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables would be a good devotional choice for fans of the novel or even fans of the musical. The entries are a good length--not too long, not too short.

Each chapter shares one lesson. Lessons include:
  • Religion isn't the answer
  • Political opinions are unworthy idols
  • Love means letting go
  • We need to see people as God sees people
  • Goodness requires no audience
I would definitely recommend this one. I liked it.

Favorite quotes:
Being poor in spirit is the deepest form of repentance because it acknowledges our desperate need for God.
Nothing lifts Jesus’ message of hope more than those who live it out in the lives of others; nothing disparages it more than those who don’t.
To believe in one-size-fits-all thinking is to set yourself up to be a victim of the same assumption, should others do likewise about a group of which you’re part.
TO READ HUGO’S DESCRIPTION OF JEAN VALJEAN CARRYING Marius through the Paris sewer system is to be reminded of love at its grittiest, grimiest, gut level. Can you think of anything more repulsive than carrying what amounts to a corpse through streams of human waste, sometimes up to your chin, while rats scamper about?

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Quotes from the Cloud #31

This year, I hope share weekly posts of quotes. These quotes are from authors I'm reading and enjoying from the Clouds of Witnesses Reading Challenge
To repress the outward acts of sin, and compose the external part of thy life in a laudable manner, is no great matter; even carnal persons, by the force of common principles, can do this: but to kill the root of corruption within, to set and keep up an holy government over thy thought, to have all things lie straight and orderly in the heart, this is not easy. It is a constant work. The keeping of the heart is a work that is never done till life is ended. There is no time or condition in the life of a Christian which will suffer an intermission of this work. ~ John Flavel
When will we come to the point of repentance, throw all the excuses out the window and fall on our faces before God and an open Bible? ~ A.W. Tozer
Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world whatever the cost, the world in its mind and outlook as well as its practice, and you deny yourself, and take up the cross and go after Christ. Your nearest and dearest, and the whole world, may call you a fool or say you have religious mania. You may have to suffer financially, but it makes no difference. That is repentance. ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Think greatly of the greatness of God. ~ John Owen

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Book Review: Song of Songs

Song of Songs. Ian M. Duguid. 2016. P&R. 216 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: What on earth is the Song of Songs about? If that is your response to this biblical book, then you are certainly not alone.

Song of Songs by Ian M. Duguid is a commentary. It doesn't present just one way to think about the book, Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon). And I don't mean it merely presents three or four ways that scholars have interpreted it through the centuries, a mix and match approach. No, I mean it's a layered approach. Each layer reveals truth. For example, there are verses that could say something practical and down-to-earth about marriage. But those same verse have something to say to us spiritually or theologically. I really appreciated how by the end of each chapter, Duguid had found a way to take readers to Christ, back to the gospel, back to who we are now that we are joined to Christ.

As a single woman, I could appreciate this aspect of it perhaps more than any other. A how-to-have-a-great marriage book isn't topping my to-read list. But the book has a lot to say to people who are not married, who may never marry. This book had a lot to say about who Christ is and what Christ has done. For that reason alone, it is worth reading.

Another reason? Well, the author references Jane Eyre several times! (The conclusion of the biblical story is the God of all creation declaring joyously about his church, "Reader, I married her!")

Favorite quote: No matter what others say about you, or what the voices in your head say about you, if Jesus Christ the Crucified calls you his beloved, then that is what you really are.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

My Year with Newton #5

Today I am continuing to share my reading experience with John Newton. I have completed John Newton's sermon series on Handel's Messiah. I am moving on to his LETTERS. 

Today's letter is titled, "The Present and Future Rest of True Believers."
We need a Savior, and he must be a mighty one; but though our needs and sins, our fears and enemies, are great and numerous, we are convinced that the character of Christ is sufficient to answer them all.
We need a rest, a rest which the world cannot give.
Heaven will be a rest from all SIN. No 'unclean thing' shall ever defile or disturb us forever! We shall be free from sin in ourselves. This alone would be worth dying for!
Indwelling sin is a burden under which even the redeemed must groan, while they sojourn in the body; and those who are most spiritual are most deeply affected with shame, humiliation, and grief, on account their sins—because they have the clearest views of the holiness of God, the spirituality of the law, the love of Christ, and the deceitfulness of their own hearts!
Again; we shall be free from all the displeasing effects of sin in others. Our hearts shall be no more pained, nor our ears wounded, nor our eyes filled with tears—by those evils which fill the earth.
A glorious rest awaits you, where sin and sinners shall have no place, nor the alarms of war be any more heard.
Heaven will be a rest from all outward AFFLICTIONS, which, though necessary, and, under the influence of Divine grace, profitable, yet they are grievous to bear; but then they will be necessary no more.
Where there is no sin—there shall be no sorrow.
Heaven will be a rest from SATAN'S TEMPTATIONS.
Heaven will be a rest from unsatisfied desires. Here on earth—the more we drink, the more we thirst. But in heaven, our highest wishes shall be crowned and exceeded; we shall rest in full communion with Him whom we love; we shall no more complain of interruptions and imperfections, of an absent God, and a careless heart.
Our title to it cost him dear; he purchased it for us with his own blood; but to us it comes freely. Sincere faith in Jesus puts us in immediate possession of the first-fruits, the pledge of this inheritance; and faith will lead us powerfully and safely, through all hindrances and enemies, to the full enjoyment of the whole.
FAITH unites us to Christ; gives us an immediate interest in all the benefits of his life, death, and intercession; opens the way of communication for all needful supplies of grace here, and insures to us the accomplishment of all the Lord has spoken to us of, in a state of glory.
Commit your souls to him—and then fear nothing.
He will fight your battles, heal your wounds, refresh your fainting spirits, guide you by his counsel while here, and at last receive you to himself!
Believers, what should you fear, or why complain? Look back to where the Lord found you dead in sin, helpless and hopeless, and insensible of your danger! Look forward to what he has provided for you—a crown of life, and a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Monday, September 26, 2016

Book Review: Winning Balance

Winning Balance. Shawn Johnson and Nancy French. 2012. Tyndale. 256 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The first score I ever received was given on January 19, 1992, at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines.

Premise/plot: Winning Balance is an autobiography of gymnast Shawn Johnson. Most of the chapters conclude with a 'lessons learned' feature. Partially this is a spiritual autobiography as well. Johnson includes in her life story her spiritual testimony. How much is 'spiritual' and how much is plain and simple biography? I'd say the spiritual aspects of it are like the toppings on a sundae. I would say it's definitely for gymnastics fans. (She's not John Owen.)

My thoughts: I love, love, love gymnastics. I do. I've watched it since the late 80s and it's a sport I'm passionate about. So I was definitely engaged with this one. It was quite a change from the biographies I read on Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller. Of the three coaches, I think Shawn Johnson's comes across best.


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Week in Review: September 18-24

ESV

  • Judges
  • Ruth
  • 1 Samuel
  • 2 Samuel
  • 1 Kings 1-6
  • Matthew
  • Mark
  • Romans

HCSB

  • Genesis 12-23

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

First Impressions of the NIV Journal the Word Bible

I have had the NIV Journal the Word Bible for almost a full week now. (It is a review copy, by the way). I definitely like it. And there is potential for love to grow, I'd say.

It is a text-only Bible. There are no book introductions, no study notes, no cross references, no concordances, no maps, no reading plans. This isn't that kind of Bible. Do I miss the extras when they are not there? Not really. Sure, I wish for short one or two page book introductions now and then. (Some books I "need" a little extra help placing in context.) But for the most part, text-only suits me just fine. In fact, I read text-only Bibles more often than not. By choice. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes that stuff is just a distraction.

It is single column. Each page has wide margins--lined margins--creating a square of Bible text. It is an oddly comforting shape. One I didn't expect to be drawn to. But I am.

The font size of the text is on the small side, I won't lie. The good news? I seem to be in the minority in preferred font size. My eyes enjoy a good 9 to 10 point font. The rest of the world? Well, they seem to be moving more and more towards a 7 to 8 point font. (This year alone, I've specialized in ordering large-to-giant-to-super-giant editions of the Bible in my favorite translations. The largest font size I've got is 18 point.)

The weight of the book is great. Because it is on the light side, one can easily read it in bed or sitting in a chair. One can easily carry it back and forth. There's a delicate balance between weight and font-size that must be achieved if a Bible is to be 'for me.' Too heavy, and it's not practical. Font impossibly small, it's not practical. (That's why study Bibles are becoming increasingly impossible for me to use--no matter how much I wish it was otherwise.) Because it is light enough to hold as close as I need to see, I can still manage this one.

Laying flat. It is ESSENTIAL in my opinion for a Bible to actually lay flat. So many Bibles have impossible margins where you lose the last word or two of text on each line. The NIV Journal the Word Bible is excellent at laying flat.

Black letter. I really love that this edition of the NIV Bible is black letter. The words of Christ are not in red in this particular Bible. I much prefer black letter Bibles to red letter Bibles. I do like that readers have choices. It is possible to get black letter or red letter in most translations. (With a few exceptions. I've spent YEARS of my life searching for NASB bibles that were both black letter and in paragraph format.)

Paragraph format. Poetry is still poetry, of course. But the prose sections are in paragraph format instead of verse, verse, verse.

Thickness of the paper. It is not as perfectly thick as it would be in my dream Bible. That being said, the pages are slightly thicker than what is being used in most Bibles. I think with each passing year, Bible pages are getting thinner and thinner. And it's becoming more and more difficult to read one page at a time. There is some bleed-through on this one. Not horrible or awful. But some. (One Bible I received recently--I won't name names--you could see about five or six pages of Bible text bleeding through. It makes me think: do publishers not understand that the Bible is for reading, and reading comfortably?)

Conclusion: I do think this Bible was put together with care and with readers in mind. I have not tried journaling in it--at least not yet--because I'm not sure what pens or pencils would be safe to use. If you have recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Saturday, September 24, 2016

September's Scripture Chain

  • Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3
  • O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:1-5
  • For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:13-16
  •  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
Inspiration: Reading Genesis
Translation Used: ESV

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Friday, September 23, 2016

Book Review: What Grieving People Wish You Knew...

What Grieving People Wish You Knew About What Really Helps (And What Really Hurts). Nancy Guthrie. 2016. Crossway. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: I have to tell you something up front: I think you're awesome. I assume you're reading this book or considering reading this book because you want to figure out how you can be a better friend to people around you who are going through the devastation of losing someone they love.

Premise/plot: What Grieving People Wish You Knew About What Really Helps is a nonfiction book written from a Christian perspective. The first chapter focuses on "What To Say and (What Not To Say). The second chapter focuses on "What To Do (and What Not To Do)." The three remaining chapters handle a variety of subjects: social media, if it's a good idea or a bad idea to talk theology to the grieving, frequently asked questions.

My thoughts: The book isn't just one person's idea of what works and what doesn't. (I hate the phrasing of that. The grieving are not a problem to be fixed, and talking to a grieving person isn't something to just check off your to-do list.) Guthrie has compiled dozens--if not hundreds--of statements from real people about the grieving process. You hear not just Guthrie's professional opinion, or even her personal opinion, you hear from people--just like you, just like me--who are sharing their stories, sharing their hearts. And all this for the cause of helping the average person better know how to respond to others.

Can a book truly teach you how to be compassionate and avoid horrible blunders? Maybe, maybe not. But I think it can help the anxious.
It matters less what you say than that you say something.
When you're grieving, you know who has acknowledged it in some way and who hasn't. You just do.
Your purpose in saying something is to enter into the hurt with them and let them know they are not alone.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Quotes from the Cloud #30

This year, I hope share weekly posts of quotes. These quotes are from authors I'm reading and enjoying from the Clouds of Witnesses Reading Challenge

God's working in us [in sanctification] is not suspended because we work, nor our working suspended because God works. Neither is the relation strictly one of cooperation as if God did his part and we did ours so that the conjunction or coordination of both produced the required result. God works in us and we also work. But the relation is that because God works we work. ~ John Murray
“ Every sin is so voluntary, that if it be not voluntary it is not sin.” ~ Augustine
There will be no inward peace until God is exalted over us and we are abased. We can read all the books in the world and we can read the Scriptures through once a year and sing our way through the hymnal, but when it is all over, we will never find peace or victory until God is given the place in our hearts that He has in the universe. ~ A.W. Tozer
Sin sets its strength against every act of holiness and against every degree we grow to. ~ John Owen
Let not that man think he makes any progress in holiness who walks not over the bellies of his lust. ~ John Owen

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Book Review: Overcoming Sin and Temptation

Overcoming Sin and Temptation. John Owen. Edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic. 2006/2015. Crossway. 462 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Overcoming Sin & Temptation contains three of John Owen's books: Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It, and The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of Indwelling Sin. Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor edited this Crossway publication. They've added footnotes to help explain Owen's vocabulary, paragraph headings to help readers follow Owen's arguments, this is in addition to summaries at the beginning of each book and extensive outlines at the close of the book. For this reason, I think going with this edition of the book is your best option.

Overcoming Sin & Temptation is a weighty book. Owen tackles subjects that would make him unpopular in any generation--most likely. But the same thing that makes him an unpopular choice makes him a relevant one. I speak, of course, of SIN. The book tackles: sin, temptation, law, grace, and sanctification. It isn't just that the book speaks of sin in the lives of unbelievers. (Perhaps making it easier for a Christian to point a finger, and say, SEE, This is speaking about you, and you, and you.) It speaks of indwelling sin in the lives of believers. (It would be hard--if not impossible--to read this one without feeling he is talking about you.) He is urging readers to fight against the flesh, to battle against sin and temptation, to always, always, always, always choose Christ over the world. He wants readers to see sin as God sees sin, to be disgusted by it, to absolutely hate it and be intolerant of any sin--no matter how small--in their lives. We are to MORTIFY sin.

Sin usually takes up a small amount of space in our books. We talk about sin, perhaps, but then rush into the good news of what Christ has done, what Christ is doing, what Christ will do--on our behalf. If we talk about sanctification at all, we're always super careful to talk at least as much about justification. Owen's balance is a bit different from modern writers. And I don't think that's a bad thing. It is not that Christ is missing in this one--it's just that Owen doesn't go about seeking to reassure readers on every single page that all is well with their souls. (Not that Owens is saying that assurance is impossible or that one can "lose" one's salvation.) Rather he's saying, there is war all around you, there is war WITHIN YOU, you need to fight against it. He's also not saying that we can stand in our own power and strength. That we can just try harder and do better. Much is said about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Would it surprise anyone if I said that the idea of mortification--or the degree or intensity of it--was almost like a foreign concept to me? I think even in Christian circles, most don't take spiritual warfare "against the flesh" and against Satan THAT seriously. I think that's why Owen is a good choice. He makes you think, consider, reconsider.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

My Year with Newton #4

Today I am continuing to share my reading experience with John Newton. I have completed John Newton's sermon series on Handel's Messiah. I am moving on to his LETTERS. 

Today's letter is titled, "A Guide to Godly Disputation."
There is a principle of SELF, which disposes us to despise those who differ from us; and we are often under its influence, when we think we are only showing a fitting zeal in the cause of God.
Whatever it is that makes us trust in ourselves, that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party—is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit!
Self-righteousness can feed upon doctrines—as well as upon works! A man may have the heart of a Pharisee, while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the creature, and the riches of free grace!
Controversies, for the most part, are so managed as to indulge—rather than to repress this sinful disposition; and therefore, generally speaking, they are productive of little good. They provoke those whom they should convince—and puff up those whom they should edify!
If our zeal is embittered by expressions of anger, invective, or scorn—we may think we are doing service of the cause of truth, when in reality we shall only bring it into discredit! The weapons of our warfare, and which alone are powerful to break down the strongholds of error, are not carnal, but spiritual. They are arguments fairly drawn from Scripture and experience, and enforced by such a mild address, as may persuade our readers, that, whether we can convince them or not—we wish well to their souls, and contend only for the truth's sake. If we can satisfy them that we act upon these motives, our point is half gained; they will be more disposed to consider calmly what we offer; and if they should still dissent from our opinions, they will be constrained to approve our intentions.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Monday, September 19, 2016

Book Review: Good Good Father


Good Good Father. Chris Tomlin and Pat Barrett. 2016. Thomas Nelson. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: A colorful kite soared in the sky, and then whoosh--it caught on an oak tree branch. "Don't worry. I can help!" Tucker called, tugging the kite this way and that. Tucker was a littler bear. Helping others made him happy...and his friends needed lots of help.

Premise/plot: Tucker, a small bear, decides to go to see the King who lives in the castle where the door is always open. He's going because he wants to ask the King for help. Along the way, he meets a lot of animals. He hears a LOT about what the King is like. He's a warrior. He's a teacher. He's a farmer. He's a doctor. Tucker doesn't know what to think. He just knows that he must see the king and bring him the perfect gift. Tucker learns a LOT after he meets the King himself. He knows exactly how to describe him--He's a GOOD, GOOD FATHER.

My thoughts: I love, love, LOVE the song "Good, Good Father" written by Pat Barrett and Tony Brown. This picture book was written by Chris Tomlin and Pat Barrett. Does it work as a story? Yes! I really loved this one. Does it work as theology? Yes and no. As long as one doesn't try to make it an allegory, I think it works well enough. Doctrine can come later. And the point of picture books isn't to drill one on doctrines. (For example, none of the animals describe the King as jealous or angry or a judge. While some of his friends are described as being sick or in need of help, Tucker himself doesn't come with a need of his own. He doesn't see himself as being just as much in need as his friends. Also, to be theologically precise, God is not the Father of every single person. We are not all children of God. The 'door is always open' to God's children (believers) but the door is Jesus Christ. There is no other door. And it is through him that we become the children of God.) This picture book won't give readers--of any age--a full treatment of God's attributes. But I don't think it should have to. Picture books should not necessarily be weighty. Overall impression: LOVED it.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Microscope Bible Reading Project

This quote by D.L. Moody has inspired me to try something a little different.
THERE are two opposite ways to study the Bible. One is to study it with a telescope, taking a grand sweep of a whole book and trying to find out God’s plan in it; the other, with a microscope, taking up a verse at a time, dissecting it, analyzing it. ~ D. L. Moody, Pleasure and Profit in Bible Study
My intention--from this day forward--is to read daily (or near daily) with both a telescope and a microscope. To have one Bible going with a telescope--large chunks, big picture, steady pace. And another Bible--a second Bible--going with a microscope: a chapter or two at a time, rereading again and again, putting myself in the text, asking questions, JOURNALING.

Now I've been experimenting with journaling since January. But this is the first project-driven journal.

Right now, my MICROSCOPE project is using the HCSB translation. Choosing the HCSB was no accident, choosing to read it slowly and deliberately--with a microscope--was. I found myself three or four days in a row just reading and rereading Genesis 1. About the third or fourth day when I still wasn't ready to move forward, I was like, maybe I should embrace this. Maybe I should give myself permission to take AS LONG AS IT TAKES instead of pushing to finish.

I don't think there is anything wrong with fast-and-steady and BIG PICTURE. That is my natural habit. It just is. My name is Becky. I read fast. I read a LOT. I reread always. So it will be going out of my comfort zone to slow it down, to stay still--to BE still--and focus.

Now I'm not taking the super-scholarly approach and trying to learn Hebrew or Greek.

My TELESCOPE project--currently--is trying to finish the ESV. My very lovely aunt surprised me with a large print ESV Bible in the spring. I've loved reading it. I have. And I have just seventeen books or so left--out of 66. So I'm hoping to finish that Bible soon. Perhaps even by October?????

I'm already planning ahead for how I want to spend my October through December. I'm considering, emphasis on considering, trying to read the Bible in 90 days. I've never done it during this time of year before. (I've done it in January-March, I believe, and June-August). I have narrowed it down to two choices: the NIV JOURNALING THE WORD Bible or the MEV. I've never read the MEV all the way through. But I just received the loveliest review copy of the NIV Journaling the Word Bible. (Which would you choose?!)



© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in Review: September 11-17

ERV

  • 1 Thessalonians
  • 2 Thessalonians
  • 1 Timothy
  • 2 Timothy
  • Titus
  • Philemon
  • Hebrews
  • James
  • 1 Peter
  • 2 Peter
  • 1 John
  • 2 John
  • 3 John
  • Jude
  • Revelation

ESV

  • Leviticus
  • Numbers
  • Deuteronomy
  • Joshua

HCSB

  • Genesis 1-13


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Friday, September 16, 2016

Book Review: Unshakable

Unshakable. K. Scott Oliphint and Rod Mays. 2016. P&R. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]

This book was originally published in 2008 as Things That Cannot Be Shaken. The title--and the arrangement of the book perhaps--was inspired by a hymn written by John Newton, "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken." It definitely uses the hymn--and the Scriptures its based on--as a starting point for its theological discussions.

I do not believe there is one central theme in this one. I think it would be easiest to say it's about living the Christian life well. It is about some central truths of Christianity and how those truths are being attacked (by some) within and without the church. I would not go so far as to say it was an apologetic book with a primary focus of how to defend the faith or how to witness to a skeptic.

The book does spend some time on the Bible, on defending the Bible and establishing it as the authority in the Christians' life.

Favorite quotes:

The truth of God and the authority of God are summed up in what God has spoken in His Son.
The fact of the matter is, if we fail to see Holy Scripture as authored by God, and therefore as the ground of its own authority, we will fail to understand what Scripture actually is.
We have to "own" the truth of God's Word if we honestly claim to believe it.
To think biblically about the Lord's presence is to put to death those dark and hidden places of our hearts in order that the light of the gospel might overpower us.
A heart that is only sinful will sense no tension in its perpetual disobedience.
The pattern of the Christian life looks something like this: the more we grow and obey God's Word, the more sin we see in our lives; the more sin we see in our lives, the more we want to get rid of it and know God's forgiveness. The Christian life is a struggle for holiness; as Christians, in this life we are always at war. This is the normal Christian life.
Daily, real faith in Christ looks like a battle.


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Thursday, September 15, 2016

True or False with A.W. Tozer

It's been over a year since my last game of True or False with A.W. Tozer. Today's questions come from The Voice of A Prophet

1. True or False:
Christianity is not a commercial commodity or product.
2. True or False:
There seems to be no condemnation element in the church anymore. Conviction has lost its place, and nobody is calling the church to repentance. There is nothing to repent for anymore. We are God’s happy, happy little children, dancing our way into heaven. What a pathetic description. 

3. True or False:
It is not the messenger; it is the message that needs to be proclaimed. The most significant thing about the prophet is the message he conveys, and that message had better be rooted in the heart of God.
4. True or False
The church is being flooded with books that are adversely affecting a whole generation of Christians.
5. True or false
There is no virtue in always condemning yourself, because the Word of God shows us what is right in us as well as what is wrong.
6. True or false
Every move of God in an individual heart begins with a deep sense of discontent. God cannot help anyone who does not first have a deep discontentment with himself.
7. True or False
No battle is ever won on the day it is fought.
8. True or false
All real dangers are spiritual dangers, and there is not any other kind. 
9. True or false
If we go down in complete surrender, we take a shortcut to victory. If we stand up and fight for ourselves, we take a shortcut to defeat.
10. True or false
What is desperately needed in the church today are men and women who are so obsessed with God that only God matters.
11. True or false
Today we have fixed up Christianity so that we go around telling people how easy it is. We gather people together and say, “You’ve got it all wrong. Jesus is not going to lay any burdens on you. He is going to take them off. He is not going to let you get into trouble; He is going to pull you out of trouble. Serving the Lord is the easiest, smoothest, slickest thing in all the world. You can have a wonderful time and just be happy, happy, happy, and then go to heaven.” Many people believe in this contorted position of being a Christian. If we had the courage of Elijah, we would tell them, “If you will follow Jesus, you will have His enemies; if you follow Jesus, you will have His troubles; if you follow Jesus, you will have His rejection; if you follow Jesus, they will think the same of you as they did of Him, and what they thought of Him can be seen on a hill outside Jerusalem. They took Him out and nailed Him on the cross.”
12. True or false
We moderns know everything but ourselves. We do not know ourselves because we cannot get quiet enough. The trouble with us is that we cannot get quiet enough to wait on God. We have the idea that if we are not talking, something’s wrong. Somebody has to be talking all the time. Someone has to be making a rattling noise of some sort. 
13. True or false
To the average person today, God is just an idea, nothing more.
14. True or false
It would be morally and psychologically impossible for God to prepare the way of the Lord. We are to prepare the way of the Lord. If God Himself got out of His chariot and built the way, it would be to violate His own nature and the nature of man. Man himself must prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. The way of the Lord is not smooth, and God cannot move in as He wants to move in. If we are to see the glory of the Lord revealed, we are going to have to prepare a way for the Lord.
15. True or false
You can learn more from a man who fails than from a man who succeeds if the failure brings him to surrender to God.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Book Review: Voice of a Prophet

Voice of a Prophet. A.W. Tozer. 2014. Regal. 208 pages. [Source: Bought]

I definitely enjoyed reading A.W. Tozer's Voice of a Prophet. Even when I found myself disagreeing at times with Tozer, I was thoroughly engaged. (Chances are good there will be a round of True or False with A.W. Tozer coming soon.)

So what is this book about? Well, Tozer has words for the church and about the church. Prophets spoke God's message--not their own--to God's people. It was a very rare case indeed when the message was well-received and popular. People do have a tendency--no matter the century--to want to hear what they want, to hear what will flatter them most and challenge them least. Tozer is asking where are the men who speak for God today? Where are the men who will speak the truth boldly to this generation? He claims that instead of prophets, today the church is filled with 'sons of prophets.' He writes, "To them it is important to interpret the message in such a way as to fit present circumstances and culture. They do not want to do anything that would cause any harm or embarrassment to the culture around them." And, "The thing I cannot understand or accept is the entertainment aspect of today’s sons of the prophets. For some reason, they go to Hollywood to get their authority these days. In all of this, the sons of the prophets are careful to leave out any offensive parts. They are very selective about the truth they present. What they present is true, but what they leave out is devastating." He asserts that we have more false prophets than prophets today.

Tozer examines the lives and messages of biblical prophets: Isaiah, Jacob, Abraham, Elijah, Elisha, etc. He looks closely at the Bible, at how God used 'ordinary' people to do extraordinary things.

Tozer's tone is bold and zealous. I'm not sure Tozer knew another way to convey his message!!! It is his zeal for the Lord that I appreciate most. It is his love for God, his love for the Word of God, his uncompromising tell-it-like-it-is approach that makes him timeless.

Favorite quotes:
When the church turns her back on the past, she has no sense of her future. She is like a ship without a rudder, floundering in a vast sea of uncertainty.
It is my humble opinion that when a person loses sight of the origins of the Church, it no longer is the Church. Therefore, the question is, what is it? Have we come to a stage in this generation that the so-called church is promoting everything and anything that will add to its numbers?
Heresy is presenting truth but conveniently leaving out some of the truth.
When we sensationalize the gospel message, we out of necessity must take it out of context. There was nothing sensational about dying on the cross. To try to sensationalize this is to miss the whole focus of the crucifixion. To turn the crucifixion into entertainment is about as blasphemous as you can get.
To take the character of God and twist it in such a way as to make God out to be someone He is not must be condemned for what it is. To redefine God in terms that help someone’s personal agenda can only be called blasphemous.
The false prophet would tell you that if you are a Christian you should not experience any bad times. Everything should go wonderfully for you. You should prosper and be successful in everything you touch your hand to. That sounds fine, but it has no root in the Word of God. What it does do is take the focus off what God has for us.
A wise prophet gives his message from God and then gets out of the way. No prophet hangs around for the accolades of the people, because they are not coming. A prophet’s job is done when he has delivered God’s message.
We have tried to make God in our image, and because we have made Him in our image, we think we can explain everything He is supposed to do. If you can explain everything about God, it really isn’t God.
I charge that in the modern evangelical church we are not consciously aware of a Presence. We are not consciously aware of God. We do not hear God’s voice; we hear only a recording of His voice. We do not see God’s face; we see only a painting of His face. We hear not the sound of His voice; we hear but an echo of that sound. We are always once removed from God.
When we stop looking at a picture of God and begin looking at God; when we stop hearing the echo and hear God’s voice itself; when instead of having God in history we have Him in experience, we will begin to know what Abram knew when he fell on his face before God.
We are to become the incarnated Word, walking around giving flesh to the doctrines we believe.
It is not the presence of others that cures loneliness; it is the presence of God.
The Bible was given to be a path leading us to God; and when the Bible has led us to God, and we have experienced God in the crisis of encounter, the Bible has done its work. It is not enough that you should memorize Scripture.
The one essential thing we need to remember is that the glory of God is our chief objective in life, not the winning of souls. The winning of souls always comes second to the glory of God. But God, being who He is and the kind and loving God that He is, has so arranged it that the more He is glorified, the more people are saved. So, it works better to glorify God first.
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

My Year with Newton #3

Today I am continuing to share my reading experience with John Newton. I have completed John Newton's sermon series on Handel's Messiah. I am moving on to his LETTERS. 

Today's letter is titled "Christian Liberty" and dates from 1776.
Love is the clearest and most persuasive indicator: and when our love to the Lord is in lively exercise, and the rule of his Word is in our eye — we seldom make great mistakes.
From the time we know the Lord, and are bound to him by the cords of love and gratitude — the two chief points we should have in our view, I apprehend, are, to maintain communion with him in our own souls, and to glorify him in the sight of men.
That which is our cross — is not so likely to be our snare.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Monday, September 12, 2016

Book Review: Crossroads in Galilee

Crossroads in Galilee. Elizabeth Raum. 2016. BJU Press. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Your first choice: Who are you? If you are a boy from the vineyard, turn to A Boy in the Vineyard. If you are the fishermen's sister, turn to The Fishermen's Sister. If you are the tax collector's brother, turn to The Tax Collector's Brother.

Premise/plot: Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books?!?! Crossroads in Galilee is a "Choose Your Journey" book. The premise is the same. Readers choose between three characters (2 boys, 1 girl). Within each journey there are plenty of decisions--big and small--for readers to make. Not all journeys end well. I came across at least one or two that were less than ideal. But most do end well--with the reader ending up believing and trusting in Jesus.

My thoughts: I really, really, really love the idea of this one!!!! IF this book had been around when I was a kid, I would have read it a dozen times, I think.

At the end of the book, the author shares a list of bible passages for each of the three journeys. Readers get a good, solid behind-the-scenes experience of following Jesus.

For example, journey one: Matthew 3:1-12, Matthew 3:13-17, John 1:35-36, Luke 3:10-14, Luke 3:18-20, Mark 6:17-29, Matthew 11:2-3, Matthew 11:4-6, Matthew 11:7-15, Luke 4:33-37, Matthew 8:21-22, Matthew 8:23-27, Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 4:3-9.

The back matter also includes more in-depth information to help readers place these stories into context.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Week In Review: September 4-10

ERV

  • Romans
  • 1 Corinthians
  • 2 Corinthians
  • Galatians
  • Ephesians
  • Philippians
  • Colossians

ESV

  • Exodus

NASB

  • 1 Thessalonians
  • 2 Thessalonians



© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Ten Artists I'd Love To Record "Because He Lives"

Here is my list of ten artists that I'd LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see record my favorite song, "Because He Lives." (Think Gaithers not Matt Maher)

1. Michael Tait (Newsboys). I love his voice I do. I loved his voice with DC Talk, as a solo artist, as part of the rock opera Hero!, as part of the Newsboys. I think his voice would be great on this song.

2. Michael W. Smith. He has two hymn albums already. I would love to see him do a fast version of "Because He Lives." (In the style of his "Victory in Jesus" and "I'll Fly Away.")

3. Rend Collective. I think Rend Collective would probably do their own arrangement of this…and likely it would be fast and happy and joyful and FUN and unique.

4. Alan Jackson. He's released two hymn albums--both of which I love. I think it would be a good fit.

5. George Strait. While I'm thinking country, I'll just add that I think King George should release a hymn album.

6. Andrew Peterson. He's one of my favorite artists, one of my favorite singer-songwriters. I think I could handle even a slow version of Because He Lives if he was the one singing it.

7. Bart Millard (MercyMe). I enjoyed Bart Millard's two hymn albums…and I do enjoy MercyMe! Either way I think this would be a good thing!

8. Carman. The first hymn album that I really LOVED, LOVED, LOVED was Carman. Carman plus some gospel background singers could be awesome with this one!

9. Laura Story. Anyone who can make me cry with "Blessings" is sure to bring me to tears with "Because He Lives."

10. Aaron Shust. It wasn't easy filling this tenth slot. Because I had two or three artists that I could have chosen. (Casting Crowns comes to mind. Jeremy Camp as well. Even Third Day.)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Friday, September 9, 2016

Book Review: The Revolt

The Revolt. Douglas Bond. 2016. P&R. 240 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: August 26, 1346 was my birthday. I mused on how many other men--French or English--had birthdays on this day.

Premise/plot: The Revolt is historical fiction set in England in the fourteenth century. It has alternating narrators. The first narrator is Hugh West'all, an Oxford scholar, who along with a fellow named Alfred, becomes friends and colleagues with John Wycliffe. Hugh, for example, eventually joins those recruited by Wycliffe to translate the Bible into the English language. And during this process--both his translation work and his relationship with Wycliffe--he has an "aha" moment where he realizes what grace is and that it is FREE. The second narrator is Willard. His life is also touched by Wycliffe's teaching. But his journey to faith is something different. He is a peasant carrying heavy responsibilities: since his father's death, he's caring for his mother and sister too. And surviving isn't all that easy. Oh, and, did I mention THE PLAGUE?!?!

My thoughts: I really loved this one. Perhaps not cover to cover and every single word. But it was LOVE all the same. I enjoyed spending time with Willard and his sister. His sister was a sweet, tender, generous soul, almost too good to be believed. Willard could never be described as sweet and tender. But he's a man with deep, strong convictions. Also some anger issues! He sees all the injustices in the world and he wants to do something but can't because he's a peasant, a nobody. I also enjoyed spending time with Hugh and Alfred. This friendship seemed genuine, and, it added some much needed humanity to the book. The Hugh chapters needed "rescuing" from so much reflection. Luckily, Hugh has Alfred and later John Wycliffe.

Finally I have to say that I LOVED spending time with John Wycliffe. I loved reading about Wycliffe preaching and teaching to the crowds--of ALL classes. I loved reading about his desire to make the Bible accessible to ANYONE AND EVERYONE in English.

I would definitely recommend this one if you love history or historical fiction.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Quotes from the Cloud #29

This year, I hope share weekly posts of quotes. These quotes are from authors I'm reading and enjoying from the Clouds of Witnesses Reading Challenge
The Lord’s Prayer teaches you to recognize your great misery and corruption before God. In other words, if you think about what you are praying, you will soon notice you’re blaspheming God. You will become terrified by your own prayer. For you certainly haven’t kept God’s name holy. And whoever isn’t keeping God’s name holy is dishonoring his name. Moreover, dishonoring God’s name is a serious sin, and you would deserve the punishment of eternal fire if God were to judge you. Where, then, will you turn? Your own prayer punishes you and works against you. It accuses and deplores you. You’re stuck, lying there. Who will help you? After you have sincerely repented and are humbled by recognizing the miserable position you’re in, then the comforting teaching will come and lift you up again. The Lord’s Prayer teaches you not to despair but instead to ask for God’s kindness and help. You must firmly believe that he will hear you, because he is the one who taught you to pray this way. The result of your prayer will be that God won’t credit your sin to you or deal with you harshly. God approves only of those who seriously confess that they have dishonored his name and sincerely want it to be hallowed at all times. However, it isn’t possible for people to be saved if they trust in their consciences and don’t think they’re dishonoring God’s name, for these people are still too confident, secure, arrogant, and irreverent. They’re not the kind of people Christ speaks about in Matthew: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). They don’t understand the Lord’s Prayer and don’t know what they are praying. ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, October 23
Our passion for God should lift us above the elements of the world into the heavenly spheres, where God's praise is supreme. ~ A.W. Tozer

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Book Review: Don't Follow Your Heart

Don't Follow Your Heart. Jon Bloom. 2015. Desiring God. 196 pages. [Source: Downloaded for Free]

First sentence: Follow your heart is a creed embraced by billions of people. It's a statement of faith in one of the great pop-cultural myths of the Western world--a gospel proclaimed in many of our stories, movies, and songs.

Premise/plot: The premise of this one is simple: The Bible is clear: we must follow God's heart, not ours. It may be a simple premise, but, it probably won't be popular. This is a book of thirty-one devotions urging you to follow Jesus and die to self. A book reminding us that we have a BIG, BIG sin problem, and that our hearts are not trustworthy and honest.

My thoughts: I am not a big devotional reader. Usually. But now and then I come across one I can't help recommending. This is one of those meaty devotionals packed with meditations that will help you to preach the gospel to yourself daily.

It was a well-written book that made me think.
What are the satanic strongholds that spiritually imprison people, the strongholds that we seek to destroy? Arguments and opinions? Where is the battle raging? In our thoughts.
When we are angry, discouraged, depressed, anxious, self-pitying, fearful, or irritable, it is likely because we are believing something very specific. To battle sin is to battle unbelief--or destroy arguments.
Meaning comes from God, and we receive it through his word.
The gospel we need won't be viewed in our mirrors. For that, we need to look through a window. And that's what the Bible is. The Bible is not a mirror; it is a window. It is through the Bible that we come to see reality.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

My Year with Newton #2

Today I am continuing to share my reading experience with John Newton. I have completed John Newton's sermon series on Handel's Messiah. I am moving on to his LETTERS. 

Today's letter is titled "Indwelling Sin and the Believer" and dates from 1772.
The more vile we are in our own eyes — the more precious He will be to us! A deep repeated sense of the evil of our hearts — is necessary to preclude all boasting, and to make us willing to give the whole glory of our salvation where it is due!
But though my disease is grievous, it is not desperate; I have a gracious and infallible Physician. I shall not die — but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
If the evils we feel were not capable of being overruled for good — He would not permit them to remain in us. This we may infer from his hatred to sin — and the love which He bears to his people.
Though sin wars in us — it shall not reign in us. And though it breaks our peace — it cannot separate from his love.
When they were wandering — He brought them back. When they were fallen — He raised them. When they were wounded — He healed them. When they were fainting — He revived them. By him, out of weakness, they have been made strong. He has taught their hands to battle, and covered their heads in the day of battle. In a word, some of the clearest proofs they have had of his excellence — have been occasioned by the mortifying proofs they have had of their own vileness. They would not have known so much of him — if they had not known so much of themselves!
Whoever is truly humbled — will not be easily angry, nor harsh or critical of others. He will be compassionate and tender to the infirmities of his fellow-sinners, knowing that if there is a difference — it is grace alone which has made it! He knows that he has the seeds of every evil in his own heart. And under all trials and afflictions — he will look to the hand of the Lord, and lay his mouth in the dust, acknowledging that he suffers much less than his iniquities have deserved.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Monday, September 5, 2016

Book Review: The Lion First Book of Bible Stories


The Lion First Book of Bible Stories. Lois Rock. Illustrated by Barbara Vagnozzi. 2012. Lion Hudson. 96 pages. [Source: Library]

The Lion First Book of Bible Stories contains eighteen stories. Eleven of the stories are taken from the Old Testament. (Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and Goliath, Jonah, and Daniel.) Seven of the stories are from the New Testament. (These all focus on Jesus and his disciples. There is a balance between his teaching, his storytelling, his miracles.)

The length of each story is good: not too long, not too short. I'd say the average is between six and eight pages per story. The book has a lot of text. But the amount of illustrations balance out the text and perhaps will help keep children engaged.

The writing is good. The narrative style is light and entertaining. Nothing stilted.

I think there are strengths and weaknesses in this one. On the one hand, this retelling of Jonah is complete. It tells the WHOLE story. The Jonah-was-a-prophet-who-really-never-got-it story. Not all story book's capture that aspect of Jonah. The fact that Jonah was forgiven by God but didn't want anyone else--especially especially Israel's enemies--being forgiven by God too. On the other hand, I think some of the stories miss out on some important truths. For example, I think God's grace was completely absent from the story of The Garden of Eden. Grace is to be found--in several places, in several ways--in Genesis 3. Yet this retelling one only sees a harsh, angry God.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Book Review: Miracle Man


Miracle Man. John Hendrix. 2016. Harry N. Abrams. 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Ages ago, in a dry and dusty land, the people were in need. The land was a sick place, in need of healing. The land was a blind place, in need of sight. The land was a thirsty place, in need of water...the kind of living water that would last forever.

Premise/plot: Miracle Man is a picture book for readers of all ages. It is the story of Jesus. It begins, not with his birth, but with his ministry. The book ends on the verge of the greatest miracle of all: his resurrection. Readers see the empty grave clothes, the stone rolled away, and read the words, "But God's Son, Jesus, the Miracle Man, had in store one last glorious miracle...."

My thoughts: I thought the storytelling was excellent. No story book--or picture book--will ever take the place of Holy Scripture--but writers can creatively craft a narrative worth reading and sharing.

I definitely enjoyed this one. It was one of those books that I wanted to reread a couple more times before turning back into the library. One of those books that I wanted to get everyone in my family to read so I could talk about it with someone.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in Review: August 28 - September 3

ERV

  • Luke
  • John
  • Acts


ESV

  • Genesis
  • 2 Corinthians
  • 1 John
  • 2 John
  • 3 John
  • Jude

Wycliffe New Testament, 1388

  • Matthew 1-18

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Friday, September 2, 2016

Book Review: Unashamed

Unashamed: Healing Our Brokenness and Finding Freedom from Shame. Heather Davis Nelson. 2016. Crossway. 192 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Is Unashamed by Heather Davis Nelson a must-read? I'm tempted to say yes. I think the author is right in saying that everyone experiences shame in one way or another. In the book, she defines shame, differentiating between shame and guilt. She explores and discusses various types of shame. She openly talks about how past shame can be burdening down our lives and contributing to our ongoing sense of shame now. In other words, you can't bury your shame deep enough that it will stop affecting you. Ignoring it won't cure it. And she does this all through a biblical perspective. That's what I appreciate most. That's what I need--some big doses of the gospel. Jesus is front and center in this one, right where he belongs. And this book will likely touch many lives because of how truthful and forthcoming it is. It goes uncomfortable places, to be sure, it asks you to acknowledge things that you perhaps would like to keep hidden and buried forever. But there is the reminder that you are not alone, that you never have to be alone again. That shame--past, present, or future--is not your identity.

This is a book I think deserves to be read at least two or three times. Perhaps not every single chapter. But selectively. I think it would be a great book to read with a friend or in a group setting.

Table of Contents:
  • Introduction: Shame: Everyone Has It
  • Exchanging Shame for Beauty
  • Living Shamelessly Through Christ-Formed Community
  • Clothed in Christ: Body Shame
  • United to Christ: Social Shame
  • Free in Christ: Performance Shame
  • Response to Shame
  • Shame in Marriage
  • Shame-Free Parenting
  • Shame and the Church
  • Conclusion: A Shame-Free Destiny
Quotes:
Poor theology always leads to sinful practice, and sinful living is always rooted in poor theology--misunderstanding and misbelieving who God is, what the Bible teaches, and who Christians are.
I live my life according to a never-ending shame narrative. It must be interrupted by a better, truer narrative: a story that we've been telling alongside the stories of shame--the story of God's goodness, of his pursuit of wayward and shafe-filled and shaming people.
When we grow weary of fighting against shame, we often let it take up full residence in our lives, putting down roots into our identity so that we see ourselves as nothing but shameful.
We don't see shame as foreign, but as inherent to us... Shame is a foreign body. We are not to grow comfortable with our shame, or adapt to it through hiding and blaming. Shame's ultimate origin is no less dark than the Accuser of our souls himself, Satan.
We are to rewrite our shame stories moment by moment.
As someone created in the image of God and for the purpose of reflecting who God is, I am created to live before God alone. By his judgment, I stand or fall. And because my life is hidden with Christ, I stand!
Shame thrives in secrecy. It gains momentum in our heads as it spins around and around like a pinball, seizing our thoughts and then our emotions. It tells us to go far away from others, especially God.
We fight shame best when we talk to someone trusted about a shameful feeling, experience, or thought.
Freedom comes as I fix my eyes on Jesus, realizing that the cross is the focal point where my sin is forgiven and my shame is covered.
There was joy set before him, and so I can run freely after him in hope that his joy will also be mine one day.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Quotes from the Cloud #28

This year, I hope share weekly posts of quotes. These quotes are from authors I'm reading and enjoying from the Clouds of Witnesses Reading Challenge
All theology begins with God and ends with God, or it is not true biblical theology. Much that passes for theology today is simply the educated man trying to explain God through his own logic and reason. ~ A.W. Tozer
We need to protect ourselves from ideas that go beyond God’s Word and that separate Christ from God. ~ Martin Luther, Faith Alone, October 25
If you meet with a system of theology which magnifies man, flee from it as far as you can. ~ Charles Spurgeon
He is the best Christian who has the clearest knowledge of God in his attributes. ~ Richard Baxter

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible