Scripture Chain James 4:8

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Isaiah 1:16-18 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.

Psalms 86:10-12 For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.

Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Colossians 3:1-3 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 

Psalm 119:10-11 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. 

Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart. 

Psalm 119:37-38 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways. Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #31

Currently reading 

Revised Berkeley (Modern Language Bible): Psalms 110-150. Genesis 25-50; Exodus 1-4

King James:  Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi. 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

NASB 77: Proverbs; Acts; Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Romans; 

LSB (Giant Print): Genesis 1-26; Ezekiel 1-17; Acts 1-9.

BSB M'Cheyne: Judges 6-12; Acts 11-16; Jeremiah 19-25; Mark 5-11.

G4L (getting a head start on August) Psalms 1-4: LSB, NASB 95, 1539 Great Bible (Coverdale)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

8. KJV

Fourth Edition (1964) King James Thompson Chain Reference Bible. God. 1591 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

I started reading the King James Version--or rereading as the case may be--in May 2023. I read Psalms and Proverbs in May. I started the Old Testament and New Testament in June 2023. I finished July 28, 2023. 

I discovered this 'gem' at a used bookstore. Though almost all Thompson Chain Reference Bibles that I've seen are red letter, this one is BLACK LETTER. 

I would love to learn how to use the Chain Reference system. I didn't attempt to learn it this time around. I was just appreciating this one for the layout. I definitely plan to reread this one.

I love the King James Version. This was a good edition. It does have self-pronouncing text (syllable guidance). (This isn't my favorite feature. In fact it's a least favorite feature usually). It is verse-by-verse. I am getting more used to verse-by-verse, but I do prefer paragraphing.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #30

Current Bibles 

Modern Language Bible (Revised Berkeley): Psalms 79-109; Genesis 1-24

KJV: Ezekiel; Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; John; Acts 1-16

NASB 77: Esther; Job; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; Ecclesiastes; Song of Solomon; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Luke

BSB M'Cheyne: Joshua 23-24; Judges 1-5; Acts 3-9; Jeremiah 12-18; Matthew 26-28; Mark 1-4

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #29

Current Bibles 

Modern Language Bible (Revised Berkeley):  Psalms 44-78

NASB 2020: Psalms 52-150; 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.

KJV: Isaiah 46-66. Jeremiah. Lamentations. Luke 2-24. 

NASB 77: Ezekiel 30-48; 1 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles. Ezra. Nehemiah. Matthew 12-28. James. Mark.

BSB M'Cheyne -- Joshua 11-22; Psalms 144-150; Acts 1-2; Jeremiah 5-11; Matthew 19-25. 

Growing 4 Life (Life of Elijah): LSB,Wycliffe; ASV.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

7. NASB 2020 Thinline Bible

ISBN 9780310460534. NASB 2020. Thinline Bible, Premium Goatskin Leather, Brown, Premier Collection, Black Letter, Gauffered Edges, 2020 Text, Comfort Print. God. Zondervan Publishers. 1216 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Start date: May 30, 2023. End date: July 13, 2023. 

From GoodReads description (provided by publisher): 

Features:

The full text of the New American Standard Bible, 2020 Text
Hand-bound in a supple goatskin leather cover
Smyth-sewn and edge-lined construction for flexibility and durability
Gauffered page edges (printed gilded edges), with gilt line and perimeter stitching
Three double-sided satin ribbon markers, each 3/8-inch wide
Premium European Bible paper, 36 gsm
Generous yapp
Raised hubs on spine
Two-color page design throughout
Line-matched Bible text minimizes see-through
Black-letter edition
Less than one inch thick
Double-column, verse-by-verse format
Full-color presentation page
Exclusive Zondervan NASB Comfort Print typeface
9-point print size

My thoughts: I love this one. I do. I love it so much. I love just about everything about it. 

This isn't the first time I've read the NASB 2020 text. But it is the first time I read it and began to love it. I'm not saying it will replace the NASB 95 or the NASB 77. I still wish the psalms "sang" to me more in the NASB 2020. I'm not saying the translation is less accurate or inaccurate. Just that it doesn't "sing" to me like the wonderful, majestic older translations--particularly the 77 which retained the thees and thous. Still, even if I don't love, love, love the psalms as much as I'd hoped, the rest of the books definitely make up for it.

Psalm 23:1-6

The Lord is my shepherd,
I will not be in need.
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life,
And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever.

I think one of my favorite things about this edition in particular were the three ribbon bookmarks. Would I have loved it even more with four? Probably. But it's so nice to have more than one or two! I loved reading from three different books. I think that helped me keep a good, strong pace through this one. 

I also loved that it was black letter. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #28

Current Bibles (and reading)

Modern Language Bible (Revised Berkeley): Psalms 9-43

NASB 2020: Job 19-42; Psalms 1-51; Proverbs 18-31; Acts 16-28; Romans; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians. 

KJV: 1 Kings 17-22; 2 Kings; Isaiah 1-45; Matthew 12-28; Mark; Luke 1

ESV: 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

NASB 77: Ezekiel 1-29; Matthew 1-11

BSB M'Cheyne Joshua 4-10; Psalms 129-143 ; Isaiah 64-66; Jeremiah 1-4; Matthew 12-18.

Growing 4 Life -- Life of Elijah: KJV, NASB 77

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

54. Tell Me The Stories of Jesus

Tell Me The Stories of Jesus: The Power of Jesus' Parables. R. Albert Mohler Jr. 2022. [June] 256 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence from Introduction: Jesus came preaching the gospel of God--and he came telling stories. The most famous of Jesus' stories are the parables. They are not tame stories intended to deliver sentimental messages. They are not moralistic, like Aesop's famed fables. They are not fairy tales, such as the kind that abounded in medieval Europe. Nor are they stories intended for children, though children are often among the first to understand them. In the parables, Jesus was not concerned with mere self-improvement or trite moral messages. Not at all. God's own Son, God in human flesh, is who shared the parables with us. For this reason, Jesus' parables reveal nothing less than the kingdom of heaven and the power of almighty God expressed in both judgment and grace. They illuminate God's character and the hardness of sinful human hearts.

R. Albert Mohler's written a book about the parables of Jesus. He doesn't cover every single parable from all the gospels. He covers a variety of parables--of all lengths and types. Reading his insights and thoughts about the parables helped me appreciate them more. Parables--and the gospel in general--can feel too familiar to pack a punch. It is good, sometimes, to be reminded of how they felt to the original audiences--and to those hearing them for the first time. For better or worse, Christians can take so many things for granted that things that should be powerful, engaging, and sometimes shocking, just fall flat. Believers should pray for hearts to receive the gospel--not just once but every time the Word is read or preached. 

Quotes:

The parables are like hand grenades. Jesus took them out and set them before his hearers. Then...he pulled the pin out. Listen carefully, because the parable explodes. If you miss the blast of the story, you have missed the power of the parable.  

There is nowhere to hide when Jesus' parables come at us with their stabbing truth.

There is not one unnecessary word in any of the parables. 

Only the quickening power of the Holy Spirit can open hearts that sin has made dull. Only God's work of regeneration can explain how ears now hear hear and eyes now see--and hearts now receive the gospel. 

Moralism says, whether explicitly or implicitly, that God expects us to behave. But what expects of us is to believe in Christ. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

6. English Standard Version (Large Print)

ESV Large Print Bible. God. Crossway Publishers. 2001/2011. 1408 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

I used my revised "Power 60" Bible reading plan. Well, perhaps I didn't follow it exactly. I started May 26, 2023 and finished July 5, 2023. Clearly less than sixty days. But I'm like that. 

I read mostly from the Large Print edition. Give or take a few days subtraction/distraction. The truth is I couldn't settle down. I read two or three days in the ESV Creeds Bible. I read two or three days in the ESV Reformation Bible. But for the most part, like I said, I read from the Large Print edition. My copy--purchased used--is the 2011 edition of the ESV text. There has been another update. 

This particular edition of the Bible is double column, black letter, decent font size. 

I love the English Standard Version. It probably isn't my all-time favorite, favorite number one translation. But it's definitely in my top three. I've read it several times this year already. (Though to be fair, both, I believe were projects started in November or December of 2022. They just happened to finish in 2023.) 

I do recommend this translation. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #27

Current Bible reading (and plans)

Book of Common Prayer Psalter 1928 (Coverdale) Psalms 119:33-176; Psalms 120-150

Modern Language Bible (Revised Berkeley) Psalms 1-8; Proverbs 21-31;

NASB 2020 --2 Chronicles 26-36; Ezra. Nehemiah. Esther. Job 1-18. Ecclesiastes; Proverbs 1-17; Acts 1-15; 

KJV 1 Samuel 23-31; 2 Samuel; 1 Kings 1-16; Matthew 1-11; Titus; Philemon.

Williams New Testament 1937: 1 Peter, 2 Peter; 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

ESV. Jeremiah 30-52; Lamentations; Ezekiel; Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum; Habakku; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi; Matthew; Mark; Luke; John.

BSB M'Cheyne Dt. 30-34; Joshua 1-3; Psalms 119:73-176; Psalms 120-128; Isaiah 57-63; Matthew 5-11.

Growing 4 Life (Life of Elijah). Great Bible 1539. ASV.

Other books:

Tell Me The Stories of Jesus by R. Albert Mohler Jr.

Perhaps coming soon:

Unspeakable: Surviving My Childhood and Finding My Voice by Jessica Willis Fisher. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible