19. The Bookends of the Christian Life

The Bookends of the Christian Life. Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington. 2009. March 2009. Crossway Publishers. 160 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Most of us have experienced the difficulty of putting books on a bookshelf without having a set of bookends to keep them in place. You know what happens.

The Bookends of the Christian Life is one of my favorite books. I've read it three times now: once in 2010, once in 2013, and once in 2024. The bookends of the Christian life are justification and sanctification. These two fundamental, essential doctrines are incredibly helpful when understanding and applying the gospel. One can understand these doctrines without knowing the doctrine's name. It's not the fancy theological terms that make the doctrine wonderful. Some may be unfamiliar with these essential doctrines, however. Sometimes gospel presentations are more on the shallow end. Sometimes one thinks, well, I've heard the gospel once...I'm saved...I don't need to spend any more time thinking or studying the gospel. But the gospel is something that we need to live in, grow in, saturate ourselves with. The gospel is relevant and timely every single day of our lives. The authors encourage readers to preach the gospel to themselves daily. The book is in some ways a thorough going over the gospel--in all its wonderful glory, both simple and complex. 

From my previous review(s):

 The Bookends of the Christian Life is a) short b) straightforward c) relevant. It is written to be understood and applied. Though the subject is theological in nature, it is PRACTICAL theology. It introduces a way of thinking about your life by introducing the notion of bookends. If you don't want your faith to be a complete mess, you need bookends for your faith. One of the bookends is the righteousness of Christ; the second bookend is the power of the Holy Spirit. The book never assumes that readers know what "the righteousness of Christ" is. Or that readers understand what "the power of the Holy Spirit" is. It does not assume that readers have a working understanding of the doctrines of justification, imputation, or sanctification. It explains essential doctrines in a friendly non-condescending way. It is very refreshing. 

The book is ALL about the gospel. But it also spends some time addressing three serious gospel enemies: self-righteousness, persistent guilt, and self-reliance. How can believers fight against these three enemies? By preaching the gospel to themselves every day. By leaning on the bookends of the faith. By relying on Christ's righteousness and the POWER of the Holy Spirit. This book is all about TRUSTING the promises of God. 

Favorite quotes:

What is the righteousness of Christ, and why do we need it as the first bookend? The word righteous in the Bible basically means perfect obedience; a righteous person is one who always does what is right. This statement assumes that there's an external, objective standard of right and wrong. That standard is the universal moral will of God as given to us throughout the Bible. It's the law of God written on every human heart. It's the standard by which each person will ultimately be judged. Our problem is that we're not righteous. (19)

We know we need a Savior, so we trust in Christ to redeem us from the curse of God's law. But though we believe we're saved as far as our eternal destiny is concerned, we may not be sure about our day-to-day standing with God. Many of us embrace a vague but very real notion that God's approval has to be earned by our conduct. We know we're saved by grace, but we believe God blesses us according to our level of perfect obedience. Consequently, our confidence that we abide in God's favor ebbs and flows according to how we gauge our performance. And since we sin every single day, this approach is ultimately discouraging and even devastating. This is exactly why we need the first bookend. (21-2)

At the cross, Jesus paid the penalty we should have paid, by enduring the wrath of God we should have endured. And this required him to do something unprecedented. It required him to provide the ultimate level of obedience--one that we'll never be asked to emulate. It required him to give up his relationship with the Father so that we could have one instead. The very thought of being torn away from the Father caused him to sweat great drops of blood. (Luke 22:44). And at the crescendo of his obedience, he screamed: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). The physical pain he endured was nothing compared to the agony of being separated from the Father. In all of history, Jesus is the only human being who was truly righteous in every way; and he was righteous in ways that are truly beyond our comprehension. (23-4)

Even though in ourselves we're completely unrighteous, God counts us as righteous because he has appointed Christ to be our representative and substitute. Therefore when Christ lived a perfect life, in God's sight we lived a perfect life. When Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, we died on the cross. All that Christ did in his sinless life and his sin-bearing death, he did as our representative, so that we receive the credit for it. It's in this representative union with Christ that he presents us before the Father, "holy and blameless and above reproach." (Colossians 1:22) There's an old play on the word justified: "just-as-if-I'd never sinned." But here's another way of saying it: "just-as-if-I'd always obeyed". Both are true. The first refers to the transfer of our moral debt to Christ so we're left with a "clean" ledger, just as if we'd never sinned. The second tells us our ledger is now filled with the perfect righteousness of Christ, so it's just as if we'd always obeyed.... The news of this righteousness IS the gospel. (26)

Faith involves both a renunciation and a reliance. First, we must renounce any trust in our own performance as the basis of our acceptance before God. We trust in our own performance when we believe we've earned God's acceptance by our good works. But we also trust in our own performance when we believe we've lost God's acceptance by our bad works--by our sin. So we must renounce any consideration of either our bad works or our good works as the means of our relating to God. Second, we must place our reliance entirely on the perfect obedience and sin-bearing death of Christ as the sole basis of our standing before God--on our best days as well as our worst. (28)

Every day we must re-acknowledge the fact that there's nothing we can do to make ourselves either more acceptable to God or less acceptable. Regardless of how much we grow in  our Christian lives, we're accepted for Christ's sake or not accepted at all. (29)

There's an important lesson here for all of us. Genuine love for Christ comes through 1) an ever-growing consciousness of our own sinfulness and unworthiness, coupled with 2) the assurance that our sins, however great, have been forgiven through his death on the cross. Only love that's founded on both of these foundations can be authentic and permanent. (34)

We need to intentionally bathe our minds and hearts in the gospel every day. (40)

Self-righteousness turns grace on its head because it views the sinner as deserving God's blessings rather than as undeserving. (43)

To the very end John Newton remembered both his sin and the gospel. On his deathbed at age eighty-two, he said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior." (59)

Thomas Wilcox put it like this: "The gospel is for sinners, and only for sinners." (68)

But it's not enough to merely see the righteousness of Christ as all-sufficient; we must see it as all-sufficient for us. Jesus was perfectly obedient in our place, as our substitute. Have we lacked purity? Jesus was pure in our place. Have we lacked patience? Jesus was patient in our place. In every area we see failure and sin, Jesus was successful at providing a perfect obedience that's credited to us. Whenever we see Christ's righteousness as all-sufficient for us, shifting our dependence to it should be almost irresistible. (70)

Although all of God's blessings are in Christ, they're distributed and applied to us by the Holy Spirit. (83)

As we look to the Spirit to work in us and enable us to work, we should realize that he uses various spiritual instruments, often called the "means of grace." They're the means by which we're "strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus."... We have a responsibility to respond to each means of grace the Spirit provides. We're to participate in using them to our spiritual advantage. The term spiritual disciplines is used to describe this process and to emphasize our responsibility. Through practicing the spiritual disciplines, we avail ourselves of the means of grace.... the disciplines themselves are not the source of spiritual power. Only the Holy Spirit is. The disciplines are his instruments to transmit his power. (99)

The Holy Spirit uses our growing appetite for enjoying our relationship with God as a powerful encouragement in our battle against sin... When we enjoy God more than sin, we give him an even deeper level of glorifying love, a level he alone deserves.  (117)

Just as by nature we assume we earn our salvation by our good works, so by nature we assume we grow spiritually by our own effort and willpower. What's wrong with this kind of self-reliance? Everything. (125)

John Stott described the best place to find the basis for such humility: "Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves...until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there at the foot of the cross that we shrink to our true size. (143)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

18. If the Boot Fits

If the Boot Fits. Karen Witemeyer. 2024. 368 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: She'd only been home from school for two weeks, and already her father was trying to marry her off. Silently fuming, Samantha Dearing yanked open the door to her father's study and stepped inside.

Premise/plot: If the Boot Fits is the second book in the Texas Ever After series by Karen Witemeyer. Samantha Dearing is the daughter of a "cattle king" and her father is anxious to see her wed. Samantha wants to marry sure enough, but not just anybody and definitely not someone just of her father's choosing. She wants to follow her heart and marry for love. 

The novel opens at the close of a party--a "ball," if you will--Samantha has not found her one true love. But she has caught someone sneaking around her father's property. And that someone--somehow, someway--has left a boot behind. In his flight, however, he does take time to save Samantha's younger brother, Clint, who is in pursuit. 

Asher Ellis has no love for Mr. Dearing, but, his daughter on the other hand seems oh-so-charming and quite lovely. Not just on the outside, but a GOOD person through and through. She's teaching Asher's younger brother to read, and he is teaching her to ride a horse.

As she settles into the community, it seems someone in the community wants her dead....can Samantha survive long enough to see if the boot fits her one true love?

My thoughts: I'm not sure if I'm all the way committed to the notion of this being a Cinderella retelling. It is clumsy--in my opinion--if that is the sole determinator of the book's success. However, if you remove that somewhat gimmicky premise, the book is definitely worth reading. I do love Asher and Samantha; individually and together, these two are easy to like/love. Both are genuinely good people. The book has plenty of drama--though none from stepmothers or stepsisters. In fact, I'd argue that Karen Witemeyer has taken the intensity level completely off the charts. If you want DRAMA that goes all the way--full force on dangerous predicaments and true life-or-death peril--then this one delivers. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #8

Current Bible reading

One Year Bible for Women (KJV): Leviticus 6-18; Mark 3:7-8:10; Psalms 37-41; Proverbs 10:3-16; 

NASB 95 (TCR): 1 Chronicles; 2 Chronicles; Ezra; Isaiah 40-66; Song of Songs; Ecclesiastes; Hosea; Joel; James

KJV (World): Jeremiah 30-52; Lamentations; Ezekiel; Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi; Matthew; Mark 1-8

ESV Creeds and Confessions: Genesis 16-50; Exodus 1-14; Matthew 15-28; Mark; Luke 1-17; Nehemiah 5-13; Esther; Job 1-32; Acts 15-28; Romans; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians 1-2; 

BSB: Isaiah 7-16; John 3-5; 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #7

Current Bible reading

ESV (with Apocrypha): This is the final week for this one--at least right now. I've been using this one to do the Daily Office (2019) lectionary/calendar. But it just isn't working for me. Genesis 41-47; Matthew 1:18-25; 2-6:1-18; Jeremiah 41-47; 2 Corinthians 9-13; Romans 1-2; 

ESV Creeds and Confessions: Genesis 1-15; Matthew 1-14;  Ezra; Nehemiah 1-4; Acts 1-14; 

1 Year Bible for Women (KJV): Exodus 26-40; Leviticus 1-5; Matthew 25-28; Mark 1-3:6; Psalms 31-36; Proverbs 8-10:1-2; 

KJV (World) Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah 1-29;

NASB 73: (This is the final week for this one because I FINISHED IT!!!!!!) Luke; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1 Peter, 2 Peter

NASB 95 (Thompson Chain Reference): Genesis; Isaiah 1-39; 1 Peter; 2 Peter;

BSB: Isaiah 1-6; John 1-2; 

G4L Revelation 5-8: NIV 84 (Revelation 1-8); 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

2. New American Standard Bible (1973)

New American Standard Reference Edition. 1973. God. 1899 pages. [Source: Bought]

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

This was my third time to read the 1973 text edition of the New American Standard Bible. The NASB is published by the Lockman Foundation. I have read several other text editions of the NASB: 1971, 1973, 1977, 1995, and 2020. The two that I keep coming back to again and again and again and again are the 1977 and 1995. Still, I find the 1973 irresistible when I find it at a thrift shop. 

The 1973 is long out of print. While you can still buy brand new copies of the 1977 text edition, the 1971 and 1973 have not stayed "in print." If you don't have it in your collection, it isn't a huge deal. The 1977 can satisfy all your vintage needs. In terms of thee and thou, etc. 

The copies I have found have all been single column with side column references. Also verse by verse. Also black letter.  I've also only ever found copies that have notes, underlinings, and other markings. I've never found a "clean" copy. This has given me the freedom to mark it in myself. It also shows me that previous owners have found the NASB helpful and good. 

My start date: January 14, 2024. My end date: February 13, 2024.

PSALM 23

The LORD is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

He makes 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 His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil: for Thou art with me;

Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

Thou hast anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

17. The Watchmaker's Daughter

The Watchmaker's Daughter. Larry Loftis. 2023. 384 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Tick. Tick. Tick. It was a soothing sound, methodical and predictable. 

The Watchmaker's Daughter is a [new] biography of Corrie Ten Boom and family. Her father, Casper Ten Boom, was a watchmaker [like his father before him]. Casper [and Corrie] followed in his footsteps in other ways. As a young man, Willem Ten Boom, Corrie's grandfather, began to take a [genuine] interest in the welfare of the Jewish people. The opening chapter reveals that he held prayer meetings to pray for [the [peace of] Jerusalem and the [blessing of the] Jews. A hundred years later, those prayers would be more fervent and needed. The Ten Booms saw this horrifying situation unfold. The Ten Booms could not stand by and do nothing. They opened their home and began hiding Jews, helping them to escape from the Nazis and near certain death. 

Corrie Ten Boom wrote her own autobiography, The Hiding Place. If you've read The Hiding Place do you need to read The Watchmaker's Daughter? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not. 

The two differ mainly in scope. The Watchmaker's Daughter is a more expansive, big picture story. The Hiding Place is more narrow in scope; it is a biography of HER life and HER family. She does not try to tell the story of Anne Frank or Audrey Hepburn. She does not try to loop in (for lack of better word) other players into the story. 

The book is more history-history than spiritual biography. That is another way the two differ. Though you cannot tell the story of Corrie Ten Boom [and family] without writing of their faith in God. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #6

Current Bible reading:

ESV with Apocrypha: Genesis 34-40; John 18-21; Matthew 1-1-17; Jeremiah 34-40; 2 Corinthians 1-8;

Through the Bible in a Year ESV Podcast with Ray Ortlund; Genesis 1-15; Psalms 1-7; Matthew 1-9;

KJV One Year Bible for Women: Genesis 39-50; Exodus 1-25; Matthew 12:46-50; 13-24; Psalms 17-30; Proverbs 3:33-35; 4-7;

KJV (World Publishers): 1 Kings; 2 Kings; 1 Chronicles; 2 Chronicles; Jude; Revelation

NASB 1973: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Matthew, Romans 7-16

G4L (Growing 4 Life) Revelation 5-8: BSB, KJV

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

16. God Is Kind

God Is Kind. Jamie Calloway-Hanauer. Illustrations by Patrick Brooks. 2023. 24 pages. [Source: Library] [Board book, children's book]

First sentence: Dear little one,

I have good news for you:

God's kindness is in all

That we see and we do.

His kindness is how

he shows us his love,

watching and guiding us

up from above.

Trigger Warning: GLITTERY COVER. GLITTERY COVER. GLITTERY COVER.

This board book is written in rhyme. It features an all-animal cast of characters. (Not that there are characterized characters.) The theme is God's kindness. 

This book is serviceable. It isn't awful. It isn't great. I would say the rhythm and rhyme of it is serviceable. I think sometimes sound theology is sacrificed for the rhymes. OR perhaps theological soundness wasn't first priority regardless? I would say the book is theologically generic and written to not offend anyone for any reason whatsoever. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

15. My Jesus

My Jesus: From Heartache to Hope. Anne Wilson. 2022. 196 pages. [Source: Library] [Memoir, Biography, Music Industry]

First sentence: I sat on the front step with my backpack loaded for adventure, tapping my tennis shoe on the concrete. My older brother, Jacob, was supposed to pick me up at 3:00 that autumn afternoon, but he was late as usual.

This memoir is essentially the story behind the song, "My Jesus." It is a memoir capturing a very specific time in Anne Wilson's life. The book focuses on a) her coming to faith as a teen, b) the death of her older brother, Jacob, c) her being led by the Spirit to sing a song at her brother's funeral, d) everyone encouraging her to record a video of her singing the same [funeral] song, e) her singing video being 'discovered' on YouTube, f) how she got a manager, g) how she had songwriting sessions with others h) how she got a record deal i) the release of her single, "My Jesus." The overall main theme being how grief transformed her faith and her family. 

This felt more like it could have been or should have been a feature length article in a magazine, a blog post (or two), or a vlog series on YouTube. Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate and love the song, "My Jesus." I do like the country sound of Anne Wilson. 

For better or worse, it seems like Anne Wilson's faith is more than a little on the charismatic side. She talks of prophets and prophecies, dreams, visions, etc. Some of the theology feels a little questionable, a little strange, perhaps. There were a handful of scenes that just weren't my cup of tea. It's fine as a memoir, but I wouldn't classify it as "christian living." Her life story shouldn't necessarily serve as advice for others. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

14. Just Once

Just Once. Karen Kingsbury. 2023. 336 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Red was the last color, the very last. That's what Dr. Edmonds was saying. Irvel Myer's mind would splinter and fracture and fade under the burden of Alzheimer's, and she would forget the love that long ago caused her world to stop and stare in awe. 

Just Once is a story with framework. The outer frame is Irvel and Hank recording their love story with a personal camcorder in 1989. Irvel has recently been diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimer's. The couple wants to record their love story for each other--something to view together on good days and bad--and for their children, grandchildren, etc. These tape(s) become lost but are rediscovered by either a grandchild? a great-grandchild? The inner frame, the "main" story, the heart and soul of the novel, is a series of flashbacks. These flashbacks follow Irvel and Hank during the 1930s and 1940s. 

This has a "Notebook" like feel to it, but it is so much better--in a way. Less drama/trauma. Less smut. I enjoyed Irvel and Hank in both timeframes. I did. They were delightful characters. The book is strongest when it it sharing the romance. The book is weakest, however, when sharing details about their work during the Second World War. Which is fine. No complaints that I didn't feel historically grounded in the war details. Some books you do, some books you don't. The romance was strong. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

13. A Season of Harvest

A Season of Harvest (Leah's Garden #4) Lauraine Snelling. 2024. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: "Make sure you send me a telegram when you get to Linksburg."

What should you know about A Season of Harvest? 1) It's historical ROMANCE set in Nebraska in 1868. 2) It's the FOURTH in a series. 3) Each book focuses on a family of sisters; each novel features at least one romance. 4) There are brothers but they are less important because their romances aren't featured. (Okay, that might be an exaggeration). 5) By the fourth book there are dozens of characters to keep track of. No characters are dropped. 6) If you do not read the novels close together, you may end up super-confused OR super-frustrated OR both.

I have read the other novels in the series. At least I am mostly sure I have read the first two books. (I think I've read the third.) It wasn't recent enough for me to remember ANY details about the story. Not the sisters' names. Not the husbands' names. Not the kids' names. No major plot twists. No minor plot twists.

Is this one written so that it could stand alone? No. Not really. To start with the fourth book would be like tuning into a movie when you've only got thirty minutes left. You might pick up enough to know if you want to watch the movie in its entirety. You might like it enough to want to know the title so that you could seek it out to watch it. But you'll have more questions than answers. When it comes to this novel, I felt the characterization was relying so much on reader's previous knowledge in other books that it was a little lacking.

I did like that the novel shows how the Civil War still has WOUNDS--literal and figurative--that are open. Four or five years might have passed but for those who fought, for those who lost brothers or husbands or fathers or sons, it's still FRESH and very much still a trauma to work through. 

Larkspur and Lilac are the two single sisters when the novel opens. The other three novels in the series has focused on the other sisters and their romances. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

1. NKJV Sovereign Wide Margin

New King James Version, Sovereign Collection, Wide Margin. God. (Thomas Nelson Publisher). 2022. 1696 pages. [Source: Bought] [Bible]

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

This one was a birthday present. 2023 was the year I discovered I actually liked the New King James Version. This was my FIRST experience with a wide margin Bible.

I love, love, love, love, LOVE the layout of this Wide Margin Bible in the Sovereign collection published by Thomas Nelson. It is DOUBLE COLUMN. It is red letter. [I would have preferred black letter, but you can't have everything.] The margins are just about perfect. 

There are many New King James text-only Bibles out there. There are probably even many wide margin New King James Bibles out there. I love the quality of the Sovereign collection. 

Is it a must if you already have a New King James Bible you love? Probably not. But if you are looking for either a wide margin Bible [this one comes in the New King James and the King James Version] OR a NKJV with great layout, then this one is worth considering. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon #5

Current Bible reading

ESV with Apocrypha: Genesis 27-33; John 14-17; Jeremiah 27-33; 1 Corinthians 12-16. Luke 2:22-40

NKJV: Daniel; Isaiah 40-66; Jeremiah; Lamentations;  Ezekiel; 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

KJV One Year Bible for Women: Genesis 3-38; Matthew 2:13-23; 3-11; 12:1-45; Psalms 2-16; Proverbs 1:10-33; 2, 3:1-32

KJV: Job, Joshua; Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel

NASB 73: 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel; Acts 12-28; Proverbs; 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Romans 1-6

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

12. Simplify Your Spiritual Life

Simplify Your Spiritual Life. Donald S. Whitney. 2003. 208 pages. [Source: Library] [Christian nonfiction; theology; Christian living]

First sentence (from the introduction): The world is more complex than ever, and it becomes more so by the nanosecond. As a result, almost everyone eventually feels the need to simplify. For many people, simplifying means nothing more than "doing less." But simplifying is not so much about doing fewer things as it is about doing the right things. 

First sentence from chapter one: Does your spiritual life sometimes seem more like a burden than a blessing? Does your spirituality seem to exhaust you as often as it refreshes you? Have your spiritual practices become "just another thing to do" in an already overcrowded, stress-filled schedule? If so, then you need to simplify your spiritual life.

To be completely honest, I'm conflicted about this one. 

On the one hand, I do think the title isn't well-matched with the contents. This book isn't going to exactly "simplify" your spiritual life. If anything, I think the book would complicate your spiritual life. In other words, instead of "doing" two to three things as spiritual discipline--which I would say is a LOT for most people if we're being completely honest--it would be like here do these ten things to "simplify" your spiritual life. Are ALL the things beneficial to the spiritual life? Probably. Maybe. Mostly. Are all the things necessary to the spiritual life? Maybe. Maybe not. Truly grace and mercy covers all. One can't embrace the idea of "God doesn't love you more if you read your Bible AND God doesn't love you less if you don't read your Bible" and then stack up dozens of musts that are necessary to "being a Christian." 

The book reminds me of a FEW iconic I Love Lucy moments. One episode that this book brings to mind is the episode where Lucy (and Ethel) are working in the chocolate [candy] factory. The second episode this book brings to mind is the episode where Lucy (who wants to be in Ricky's show, of course) is "refreshing" her ballet skills so she can audition as a professional ballerina. 

Simplify this one does not. It just doesn't. It is authoritatively and practically giving you a dozen things to keep in mind if you want to grow spiritually. But it also feels like you've been thrown overboard in stormy seas with no life preserver.

One must always always always keep in mind that there are no short cuts in the spiritual life. If one picks up this book expecting to find short cuts, this is NOT that book. 

On the other hand, this one offers SHORT, super-practical chapters that are organized by topic. Probably a good third if not a good half are super-obvious as well. Like read your Bible. Read your Bible with a plan. Create a Bible-reading routine--a time, a place. Or don't watch television at all. Avoid the internet if you can help it. [Neither one of those would be easy advice to follow. Well-intentioned or not.] When it comes to prayer, pray without filler, pray through your plans for the day at the start of the day, pray Scripture, pray when walking, etc. Take your sin seriously. Don't be comfortable with sins--big or small. No sin is harmless to the soul. SING OFTEN. Be prepared to evangelize. 

There is genuinely good advice. Whitney is a big advocate of both PRAYING the psalms and SINGING the psalms. He also argues that you should be MEDITATING in addition to reading Scripture. Reading is the "exposure" to Scripture and meditating is the "absorption" of Scripture. He does give two different sets of questions to aid in meditation.

Here is his "Philippians 4:8" questions:

What is true about this, or what truth does it exemplify?

What is honorable about this?

What is right about this?

What is pure about this, or how does it exemplify pruity?

What is lovely about this?

What is admirable, commendable, or reputation-strengthening about this?

What is excellent about this (in other words, excels others of this kind)?

What is praiseworthy about this? 

And the "Joseph Hall" questions:

What is it (define and/or describe what it is) you are meditating upon?

What are its divisions or parts?

What causes it?

What does it cause, that is, what are its fruits and effects?

What is its place, location, or use?

What are its qualities and attachments?

What is contrary to, contradictory of, or different from it?

What compares to it?

What are its titles or names?

What are the testimonies or examples of Scripture about it?

Honestly, I'm not sure how helpful/beneficial these questions are. The first seems like you are asking the same question eight times. The second seems like you'd need a doctoral degree and two decades of pastoral experience to make head or tails of it.

He's not done yet, it's not enough to read and meditate on Scripture. One must read, meditate, and STUDY. 

He covers these basic categories a) personal Bible reading b) personal prayer c) family worship d) corporate worship e) journaling f) in-depth study (file folders and file cabinets are mentioned). 

His advice in journaling includes asking yourself these questions before you start:

Have I been fervent in prayer?

Have I after or before every deliberate conversation or action, considered how it might tend to God's glory?

Have I after any pleasure, immediately given thanks?

Have I planned business for the day?

Have I been simple and recollected in everything?

Have I been meek, cheerful, affable in everything I said or did?

Have I been proud, vain, unchaste, or enviable of others?

Have recollected in eating and drinking? Thankful? Temperate in sleep?

Have I thought or spoken unkindly of anyone?

Have I confessed all sins?

A few of those sound potentially beneficial. Others are more puzzling. The list comes from George Whitefield who lived in the eighteenth century which might explain why some of the questions are so confusing. 

He has a list of thirty-one journal prompts. [Not enough to tempt me to try journaling]

But here is his second list of TEN questions to help journal-writing:

1. What was the most important thing that happened today?

2. What did I learn today?

3. Where did I see God at work today?

4. What was the most significant thing that someone said to me today?

5. When was I most aware of the Lord today?

6. What was the most helpful thing I read today?

7. What should I have done differently today?

8. How can I simplify my life tomorrow?

9. What could I do to glorify God the most tomorrow?

10. What difference can I make in someone's life tomorrow?

The good news is that he does count nap-taking as a spiritual discipline or spiritual activity.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible