Sunday Salon: Week in Review: April 3-9

This week I...

finished Genesis in the ESV Seek and Find Bible
finished 2 Samuel in the NASB Thinline Bible
finished 1 Kings in the NASB Thinline Bible
read 2 Kings 1-9 in the NASB Thinline Bible
read Isaiah 46-56 in the KJV
read Obadiah in the RSV
read Jonah in the RSV
read Micah in the RSV
read Nahum in the RSV
read Habakkuk in the RSV
read Zephaniah in the RSV
read Haggai in the RSV
read 1 Corinthians in the NASB Thinline Bible
read 1 Timothy in the NASB Thinline, RSV, ESV Seek and Find Bible
read 2 Timothy in the NASB Thinline, RSV, ESV Seek and Find Bible
read Titus in the NASB Thinline, RSV, ESV Seek and Find Bible
read Philemon in the NASB Thinline, RSV, ESV Seek and Find Bible
read James in the NASB Thinline

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Preparing for the New Testament Read-a-long

I hope you'll join me next week as I plan to read the New Testament! I've already shared one plan I found on how to read the New Testament in a week, but you might want to consider creating your own personal plan. According to this page, there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. So if you were going to be perfectly even in your reading, that would be about 38 chapters a day--to cover the whole New Testament. (But the number of chapters can be misleading, since some chapters are longer than others. And since some are easier to read than others. Luke is longer than Matthew, for example!) I am going to try my best not to break up books, if possible, I'm not sure how practical that will be. (I may change my mind after the first day or two!)

NT Narratives

40. Matthew (28 chapters)
41. Mark (16 chapters)
42. Luke (24 chapters)
43. John (21 chapters)
44. Acts (28 chapters)

Epistles by Paul

45. Romans (16 chapters)
46. 1 Corinthians (16 chapters)
47. 2 Corinthians (13 chapters)
48. Galatians (6 chapters)
49. Ephesians (6 chapters)
50. Philippians (4 chapters)
51. Colossians  (4 chapters)
52. 1 Thessalonians (5 chapters)
53. 2 Thessalonians (3 chapters)
54. 1 Timothy (6 chapters)
55. 2 Timothy (4 chapters)
56. Titus (3 chapters)
57. Philemon (1 chapter)

General Epistles

58. Hebrews (13 chapters)
59. James (5 chapters)
60. 1 Peter (5 chapters)
61. 2 Peter (3 chapters)
62. 1 John (5 chapters)
63. 2 John (1 chapter)
64. 3 John (1 chapter)
65. Jude (1 chapter)

Apocalyptic Epistle by John

66. Revelation (22 chapters)

I was curious to see the chronological order of New Testament books as they were written. So I looked through the book introductions of the ESV Seek and Find Bible and came up with this order. Other study bibles might attribute other dates to books. But I decided to only look at one or two sources--if there was a question mark.

James AD. 44-49 (MacArthur Study Bible)
Galatians AD 48-51
1 Thessalonians AD 49-51
2 Thessalonians AD 49-51
Mark AD 53-55
1 Corinthians AD 53-55
2 Corinthians AD 55-56
Matthew AD 55-65
Romans AD 57
Luke AD 60-62
Acts AD 60-62
Ephesians AD 62
Philippians AD 62
Colossians AD 62
Philemon AD 62
1 Timothy AD 62-64
2 Timothy AD 62-64
Titus AD 62-64
1 Peter AD 62-63
2 Peter AD 64-67
Jude AD mid-60s
Hebrews AD 67-69 (MacArthur Study Bible)
John AD 75-85
1 John AD 75-85
2 John AD 75-85
3 John AD 75-85
Revelation AD 95-96


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: God Is Great: A Toddler's Bible Storybook

God is Great: A Toddlers Bible Storybook by Carolyn Larsen. Illustrated by Caron Turk. 2011. Crossway Publishers. 44 pages.


God is Great has seventeen short "stories" or "lessons" for parents (or grandparents) to share with the little ones in their lives. Eleven of these stories are from the Old Testament. Six of these stories are from the New Testament. These stories include: "God Makes Everything," "God Starts Over," "God Saves Joseph," "God Watches Over Moses," "God Gives the Ten Commandments," "God Makes the Walls Fall Down," "God Helps Sampson," "God Strengthens David," "God Uses Esther," "God Protects Daniel," "God Teaches Jonah," "God's Best Gift," "Jesus Feeds 5,000," "Jesus Teaches a Lesson," "Jesus Walks On Water," "Jesus Dies, But Not Forever," and "Jesus Gives Us A Job." 


It's a short book, perhaps not as comprehensive as The Big Picture Story Bible. But it is for a MUCH younger audience. Compared to books like Bible Stories for Girls and Bible Stories for Boys, it is quite refreshing. 


Each story is short and simple, a paragraph in length. One page for the story, one page for the illustration. (Though the illustration is often on both pages.) Each story concludes with a moral or lesson. Or perhaps principle is the better word? These include statements such as: God was here in the beginning! God hates sin. God's plan always happens. God protects his children. God guides us in how to live. God keeps his promises! God gives second chances. Nothing is too hard for God! God uses people. God's power is over all! God is patient. God's gift of love is Jesus. God cares about our needs. God is love. God is always with you. God has victory over death. God gives us strength! 


Here is the story "Jesus Dies, But Not Forever"

Jesus Dies, but Not Forever

Matthew 27:45-28:15, Mark 15:33-16:8; Luke 23:26-24:12; John 19:16-21. 

Jesus died on the cross. 

Some bad people put him there.

Jesus let them do it because he loves all people.

He took our punishment for the bad things we do.

Jesus' friends buried him.

But the story wasn't over.

God brought Jesus back to life!

God is more powerful than anything else, even death!

God has victory over death!

While I can't say that I loved this one--that I loved, loved, loved it, I did like it. I am glad to know that there are Bible story books available for even the youngest children. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: How To Get the Most From God's Word

How To Get The Most From God's Word. John MacArthur. 1997. Thomas Nelson. 168 pages. 


I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book. I found it easy to read, easy to understand. It's practical and relevant. One I'd recommend to just about anybody! 


If this book has a flaw, it would be the over-promotion of the MacArthur Study Bible. Now, I happen to love the MacArthur Study Bible. I own it in New King James, New American Standard, and English Standard Version. And it's always one of the first study bibles that I recommend to others when they're looking for a new bible, a new study bible. But even I have to admit that it's a bit too much to have the MacArthur Study Bible mentioned by name in almost every chapter. 


But this book has many, many strengths. It makes a clear, concise argument for the Bible--why believers should trust it to be the Word of God; why believers should be reading and studying it. There are also a few chapters on how to read the Bible--where to start, what "plan" is best for both the Old Testament and New Testament, how to dig into the Bible for yourself and begin interpreting and applying it. 


Here are the chapter titles. They speak for themselves as you can see!

• How Can We Know God?
• How Has God Spoken to Us?
• How Did God Inspire the Bible?
• What Does the Bible Say About Itself?
• How Important Is the Bible?
• Who Can Prove that the Bible is True?
• What Did Jesus Think of God's Word?
• Can Anything Be Added to the Bible?
• How Does God's Word Change Us?
• How Does God's Word Make Us Free?
• How Does God's Word Reveal the Lord's Will?
• How Does God's Word Help Us Grow Spiritually?
• How Does God's Word Makes Us Productive?
• How Does God's Word Prepare Us for Spiritual Battle?
• How is the Bible Organized?
• What Does the Bible Say?
• What Does the Bible Mean?

As much as I loved the book, overall, I just have to admit that I loved, loved, loved the last three chapters where it gets about as simple and straightforward as it can get. His plan for the Old Testament is to read it straight through Genesis to Malachi. He suggests once a year--around three chapters a day. His plan for the New Testament is very intense, perhaps you've heard of it? It is to read the same book for thirty days. For longer books, you divide them into smaller portions. So it might take you three months to read John or Luke or Matthew or Acts, but for most of the letters, one per month should work fine. His method would have you *know*  a book intimately. To saturate you in the richness and wonder of each book. 


From "How Does God's Word Help Us Grow Spiritually?"

Everybody wants to grow; it's just that some people want to grow with no effort. That's where the problem lies. (113)

From "How Is the Bible Organized?"

Everything revealed on the pages of both the Old Testament and New Testament is associated with those five categories. Scripture is always teaching or illustrating: 1) the character and attributes of God; 2) the tragedy of sin and disobedience to God's holy standard; 3) the blessedness of faith and obedience to God's standard; 4) the need for a Savior by whose righteousness and substitution sinners can be forgiven, declared just, and transformed to obey God's standard; 5) the coming glorious end of redemptive history in the Lord Savior's earthly kingdom and the subsequent eternal reign and glory of God and Christ. It is essential as one studies Scripture to grasp these recurring categories like great hooks on which to hang the passages. (147)

There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible. Only four of them don't involve a fallen world: the first two and the last two--before the fall and after the creation of the new heaven and new earth. The rest is a chronicle of the tragedy of sin. (148)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Sunday Salon: Week In Review: March 27-April 2

Reminder: I am hosting a New Testament read-a-long/read-a-thon April 11 - April 17! I'd love for you to join me!!!

This week I finished...

Joshua in the NASB Thinline Bible
Judges in the NASB Thinline Bible
Ruth in the NASB Thinline Bible
1 Samuel in the NASB Thinline Bible
1 Peter in the NASB Thinline Bible, NKJV Nelson Study Bible, Holman Christian Standard Study Bible, ESV Seek and Find Bible
2 Peter in the NASB Thinline Bible, NKJV Nelson Study Bible, Holman Christian Standard Study Bible, ESV Seek and Find Bible

I also read...

Genesis 1-26 in the ESV Seek and Find Bible
Isaiah 40-45 in the KJV

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: ESV Seek and Find Bible

ESV Seek and Find Bible. Crossway Publishing. 2010. 1888 pages.

The ESV Seek and Find Bible is designed to help children transition from Bible story books to the Bible itself. It offers readers the best of both.

On the one hand, it offers 130 illustrations and stories. Each story being three to four pages in length. Each consists of a full-page color illustration, a summary/story, and a seek and find section. Each 'seek-and-find' section consists of "where to find the story", "key bible verse," "three key questions," and "related Bible readings." These stories can be read and enjoyed on their own. (Though, of course, reading the stories from the Bible itself, would be a good thing. Something to encourage.)

On the other hand, it offers readers the complete text of the ESV Bible. Each book of the Bible is properly introduced. Readers can find out more about each book including a concise summary, the author and date, the key people, the central themes, the main purpose, and suggested memory verses. Throughout the Bible, there are character profiles--each character profile has a color illustration. All of this is done in a reader-friendly way. Nothing overwhelming. Everything is straight-forward.

For those readers who find books with 'too many words' and 'not enough pictures' intimidating (like Alice from Alice in Wonderland), the illustrations serve a good purpose. They can be visually appealing.  They help make this one more reader-friendly.

The back matter includes an Index of Stories, Index of Profiles and Illustrations, a Dictionary, and eight color maps. (And a very abbreviated introduction to the ESV text.)

What I liked about this one: I liked the design and layout. I liked the illustrations. I liked the symbols. I found them easy to understand and follow. I liked the size of the font. I liked the use of color. (They did NOT make Bibles like this when I was a kid.) I liked the fact that it was black letter. I liked the key questions, for the most part. I thought they were well written, well chosen. And, of course, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the ESV translation. I think this Bible could be used within the family or within a Sunday School room to great benefit.

I would recommend this one for home and church use. I would recommend it for adults working closely with children. Sunday School teachers, for example, might find this one of interest. They might want to incorporate some of these stories or questions into their lessons. I would recommend it to parents who enjoy reading the Bible and praying with their children. Reading it together, discussing it together. That could be a very good thing. I would recommend this one to children who are comfortable reading books on their own. Each child is different. So that might be, for one family, a third grader. For another family, it might be a fourth or fifth grader. Readers might be ready for the Bible stories before they are ready to read the text of the Bible itself. But this one offers both, so, it can "grow" as your child does.

I love the Bible, I do. I just LOVE it. And I think parents should not only be reading the Bible for themselves, but encouraging their children to read it as well.

Stories from Genesis: God Creates the World, God Creates Adam and Eve, Sin Enters the World, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, God Calls Abram, Abram Rescues Lot, God's Covenant with Abram, Abraham's Visitors from Heaven, Abraham and Sarah Isaac and Ishmael, Abraham and Isaac, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esau, Jacob's Dream, Jacob's Family, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and His Brothers, Joseph's Troubles, Joseph Saves People from Famine, and Joseph Forgives.

Stories from Matthew: An Angel Visits Joseph, The Visit of the Wise Men, John the Baptist Prepares the Way, The Baptism of Jesus, The Temptation of Jesus, Jesus Calls the First Disciples, Jesus Teaches How To Be Blessed, Why We Never Need to Worry, Jesus Walks on Water, The Transfiguration, The Triumphal Entry, The Passion of Jesus, The Resurrection of Jesus.

Examples of Key Questions:

From Noah and the Flood: How does God feel about sin? What did God provide so Noah's family and some of the animals could be protected from His judgment on the world? What has God provided so His people can be safe from His judgment on sin?

From Jesus Calls the First Disciples: What did Peter and Andrew do when Jesus called out to them, saying, "Follow Me"? What does it mean to be "fishers of men"? How can we learn to follow Jesus today?

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: The Practice of the Presence of God

The Practice of the Presence of God. Brother Lawrence. Joseph de Beaufort. 1982. Whitaker House. 96 pages.

Brother Lawrence (Nicholas Herman) was a monk who lived c. 1605-1691. This "Christian Classic" highlights his teachings. One part highlights his conversations with another person--presumably the compiler. The second part features a collection of his letters. They highlight his advice to others on how to have closer fellowship with Christ. The third part is a collection of his "maxims." The fourth part is a short biography of his life. I would actually recommend reading this book backwards--beginning with his biography, then reading his letters and maxims, and then reading his conversations. (The online editions of the book seem to *only* be the conversations and letters without the maxims and biography.)

What can I say about this one? It's short. It's straight-forward. It is asking readers to challenge themselves spiritually. Calling them to a better life, a higher life. But the text itself is not challenging to understand.

From the eighth letter:

Concerning wandering thoughts in prayer.

YOU tell me nothing new: you are not the only one that is troubled with wandering thoughts. Our mind is extremely roving; but as the will is mistress of all our faculties, she must recall them, and carry them to GOD, as their last end.

When the mind, for want of being sufficiently reduced by recollection, at our first engaging in devotion, has contracted certain bad habits of wandering and dissipation, they are difficult to overcome, and commonly draw us, even against our wills, to the things of the earth.

I believe one remedy for this is, to confess our faults, and to humble ourselves before GOD. I do not advise you to use multiplicity of words in prayer; many words and long discourses being often the occasions of wandering: hold yourself in prayer before GOD, like a dumb or paralytic beggar at a rich man’s gate: let it be your business to keep your mind in the presence of the LORD. If it sometimes wander, and withdraw itself from Him, do not much disquiet yourself for that; trouble and disquiet serve rather to distract the mind, than to re-collect it; the will must bring it back in tranquillity; if you persevere in this manner, GOD will have pity on you.

One way to re-collect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquillity, is not to let it wander too far at other times: you should keep it strictly in the presence of GOD; and being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it from its wanderings.

I have told you already at large, in my former letters, of the advantages we may draw from this practice of the presence of GOD: let us set about it seriously and pray for one another.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible