Book Review: A Season of Grace

Season of Grace. (Under Northern Skies #3) Lauraine Snelling. 2018. Bethany House.  320  pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:

August 1910
The rocking chair on the porch made all the difference.

Premise/plot: A Season of Grace by Lauraine Snelling is the third book in the Under the Northern Skies series. The first two books in the series are The Promise of Dawn and A Breath of Hope. The books focus on a Norwegian immigrant family as they settle down in America at the turn of the century.

The first book primarily focuses on Signe and Rune and their children. The second book introduces more of their family: Nilda and her brother Ivar. (Both are siblings of Rune.) The third book sees even more of their family coming over and settling in. (Including their mother) But in this third book the focus shifts considerably.

The heroine is truly Nilda--and Nilda alone. She's been given an opportunity to work as a companion/assistant of sorts to a wealthy woman who lives in town. She is being taught social graces--learning English, learning the piano, learning social customs and niceties. There are socials nearly every week. Several men seem potentially interested in her. But one man continues to haunt her--or at the very least haunt her dreams. The man who attempted to sexually assault her back in Norway. Dreng.

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved the first two books in this series. I got very bonded with Signe and her family. Part of me wanted more of the same in this third book. I wanted to stay on the farm. I wanted the focus to be on the entire family: Signe, Rune, their three sons, their daughter; Ivar and Nilda; the new family members--widows both. I was enjoying this book--up to a point--the point where Dreng started becoming the central focus.

I hated the fact that Nilda was discouraged from following her instincts. I hated the fact that even when Nilda spoke up about what happened to her in the past and spoke of his reputation--this wealthy society woman chose to keep inviting him into her home every week. I hated that she arranged for them to have a private meeting so that he could "apologize" to her and smooth things over. I hated that she was actively encouraged to socialize with the man who attempted to rape her. I hated that he knew where she lived. I hated that Nilda was isolated from her family. I don't think that Dreng would have been so bold to seek her out again and again and again if she'd remained on the farm surrounded by her brothers. (Though perhaps he would have all the same.) I hated that there was no distinction made between forgiveness as a step for personal healing and forgiveness as an invitation to welcome the abuser into one's life. I hated that when it came down to believing him or her--almost everyone believed him. "I've changed; I have. I'm no longer the man who did those things." "This wasn't a one time thing. He makes a habit of attacking women. He attacked me. I've talked to other women he's attacked. The women in our town talked to each other, looked out for one another, warned each other. His family knew about this and did nothing." She was essentially accused of privately slandering Dreng; she wasn't being fair to him. He could have changed. She doesn't know that he hasn't changed. He deserves the benefit of the doubt. It's a serious thing to cut someone socially and uninvite him into your home.

Nilda needed a better advocate, a better friend.


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Away in a Manger

Away in a Manger. Scholastic. 2018. Little Scholastic. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Away in a manger, no crib for a bed. The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.

Premise/plot: This is a picture book adaptation of the Christmas carol, "Away in a Manger." The picture book features the first two verses of the traditional carol. It does not feature the third verse or stanza. (Though I think the third stanza was added later to the song and was not part of the original song.) The illustrations are part of the "Bible bb's" brand. Perhaps the cutesy illustrations will appeal to a certain audience.

My thoughts: Apparently "Bible bb's" is a brand. The brand boasts, "Bible bb's are the cutest most lovable Bible heroes that enable faith based families to bring the stories of the Bible to life and spread the Good News."

It isn't surprising that the website is all about selling the brand, selling products. They feature collectible figures, plush toys, and two books--so far. The collectible figures include: baby Jesus, adult Jesus, a burning bush, Peter, Goliath, Mary, Moses, Noah, Paul, and young David. The plush figures include: David, Goliath, Mary, Noah, and Paul. The other book is "Jesus Loves Me."

Do Christian children need "Christian" toys to play with? Is there any value in having a collectible figure of your Lord and Savior?

It would make sense to have play figures for the Nativity story. Mary. Joseph. Baby Jesus. Shepherds. Sheep. Wise men. Camels. Angels. Donkey. (Other animals, etc.) Children can "act out" the nativity story as they prepare to celebrate the Savior's birth. Not that having a nativity in your home--child friendly or not--is a necessity. It isn't. But these toys don't really seem to be filling that need.

We have Mary and baby Jesus. (Why no Joseph?????)

We have Noah--all on his own.

We have adult Jesus and the apostles Peter and Paul. (The disciple Peter is holding a key). (Paul is holding a book--not a scroll, but a book.)

We have David and Goliath.

We have Moses and the burning bush.

The book itself is nice enough, pleasant. I'm just not convinced that the toys are a good--or necessary--thing.


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

McGee and Me #4: Exodus 1-18

Exodus 1-18 (Thru the Bible #4) J. Vernon McGee. 1975. 170 pages. [Source: Bought]

I recently bought a complete set of J. Vernon McGee's Thru the Bible commentary series. These books are loosely based on his popular radio program. I have read a handful of his commentaries in the past--including this one--but I plan on reading and/or rereading all of the commentaries (again). 

His commentary on Exodus is divided into two books. The first covers Exodus 1-18; the second covers Exodus 19-40. 

First sentence: The first few verses of Exodus connect it with the account of Genesis.

McGee's commentary reprints the text of the King James Version. These first eighteen chapters of Exodus are action-and-drama packed. They are weighty chapters as well. God appears to Moses in a burning bush. God begins to reveal himself to Moses as the great I AM. The God we meet in scripture is sovereign, almighty, compassionate. He has heard the cries of his people, and he is ready to act--ready to deliver. It is in the book of Exodus that Passover is introduced. This is incredibly weighty stuff that McGee is covering.

I loved reading this commentary. I disagreed a few times. (For example: "God says to us, “This is the salvation I offer you. Take it or leave it.” He wants us to take it but leaves the choice up to each individual." And, "If we place our faith in the work of Jesus Christ for us, we will be saved. God has a great plan of salvation but man must come to Him for it. He will redeem you with an outstretched arm.")  But overall, he had some great insights. In particular, I found his commentary on the plagues of Egypt and Passover to be insightful.

Quotes:

• There is a continual responsibility of teaching the Word of God to each generation. If we neglect to teach the Bible, the time will come when it will be forgotten.
• Satanic attempts to cut off the line leading to Christ run all the way through the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
• In my opinion no person can study the Word of God and become anti-Semitic.
• Nothing is begun or ended in this book. It is simply a continuation of the story that started in Genesis and continues on into the Books of Leviticus and Numbers.
• God asks us to believe that which is good and solid. God never asks us to do foolish things. Jochebed did a sensible thing. She made a little ark and put Moses in it.
• At that very moment was the right time for the child to cry. In fact, the Lord pinched little Moses and he let out a yelp. And God brought together two things that He has made—a baby’s cry and a woman’s heart.
• This is a very human story we are reading, friends. God has something to tell us on every page of His Book.
• The very mother of the child was called to nurse him and be paid for it! You cannot beat that, friends. You cannot beat God when He is moving in our hearts and lives.
• God gives two reasons for delivering Israel: 1. He heard their groanings. 2. He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• God saved us for the same reason He saved Israel. He found nothing in us that called for His salvation. He makes it quite clear that we are not saved because of any merit we possess. Paul explains it in Romans 3:23–24, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The word freely means “without a cause.” We have been saved from our sins without a cause. It is the same word our Lord used when He said that He was hated without a cause (John 15:25). 
• The fact of the matter is that God saw us in the blackness and darkness of sin and ignorance. He saw that we were hopelessly lost and not able to save ourselves.
• God’s love provided a Savior. God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son, John 3:16 tells us. However, it was not His love that saved us; it was His grace. We are saved without a cause by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
• There never has been and never will be anything good in us. This is why we cannot produce anything good. This is why God gives us a new nature when we are saved, and why the old nature eventually must be destroyed.
• God saw our desperate condition and saved us. God had a plan, but He did not ask the human race what they thought about it.
• Although Moses had been brought up in the court of Pharaoh, he didn’t know enough to take off his shoes in the presence of a holy God. And I’m afraid many folk today get familiar with God. God is teaching him a great lesson about the holiness of God. We need to learn this lesson too.
• When God redeems, He not only redeems from something, He always redeems unto something. We have been saved from sin unto holiness and heaven.
• If you are saved today, you are completely saved. You will be just as saved a million years from now as you are today because you are in Christ. You have been brought out of Adam and put in Christ. You have been brought out of death and put into life. You have been brought out of darkness and put into light. You have been brought out of hell, if you please, and put into heaven. That is redemption: it is out of and into.
• God cannot use us when we are too strong. It is out of weakness that we are made strong.
• In Genesis God is Creator. He is Elohim, the mighty God, the self-existing One; I AM WHO I AM. This is the God who is sending Moses to deliver the children of Israel.
• Probably nothing was ever quite so organized and meaningful as these plagues. They were directed very definitely toward the idolatry of Egypt. Pharaoh asked the question, “Who is the Lord? I do not know Him, and I do not intend to let Israel go.” So God introduced Himself and did it by bringing plagues on the land of Egypt.
• Each plague was leveled at a different god of Egypt. There were thousands of temples, millions of idols, and about three thousand gods in Egypt.
• The power in Egyptian religion was satanic and Satan grants power to those who worship him.
• God directed His plagues against the idolatry in Egypt, against Pharaoh, and against Satan. It was a battle of the gods.
• It is important to understand that there was purpose in the plagues of Egypt. God challenged the gods of Egypt to a contest and defeated them.
• The expression “Let my people go” has been made famous in a picture. I wish we could make the question “Who is the Lord?” famous. It is the best question of all today because you have to know Him before there can be any deliverance for you.
• God is not dependent upon anything in creation. He does not lean upon anything; rather, all of creation leans upon Him for support. God wanted Moses to lean upon Him too.
• We have a Savior today who tells us who He is and what He is going to do. He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. The seven “I wills” of redemption are: 1. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 2. I will rid you out of their bondage. 3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. 4. I will take you to me for a people. 5. I will be to you a God. 6. I will bring you into the land. 7. I will give it to you for an heritage.
• God chose believers in Christ before the foundation of the world which places it before all time—in eternity past. The reason for the choice was not found in the believers, but in the all-wise purpose of God. He does not struggle to love His own in spite of their failures. God loves His own because it is His nature to love. He wants to be our God.
• Frankly, reading all these names is boring to me and puts me to sleep, but they are important and thrilling to God. He is insistent that the genealogies be recorded. God wants us to know about whom we are reading and who His children are. God feels the same way about you and me. He wants us to be the sons of God through faith in Christ.
• Pharaoh was like the politicians of today who will not say what they actually mean. They feel one way and speak another way. Pharaoh did not want to let the children of Israel go, and yet he wanted to appear as a benevolent ruler.
• There is some question about the word serpent in this passage because there is very little history concerning the snake in Egypt. Actually the word used here is crocodile. During the days of Moses there were many of these creatures living in the Nile river and ponds throughout the land. The rod changed into a crocodile.
• The Hebrew word tannin translated “serpent” in this chapter is not translated “serpent” anywhere else in the Bible. In the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel it is rendered “dragon.”
• Pharaoh said, “All right, you may sacrifice, but stay in the land.” This is the same kind of compromise that many Christians make. It is always satanic. This compromise says we can be Christians but not narrow ones. Be a broadminded Christian and don’t change your life.
• Chapter 12 is a high point in the Book of Exodus. Here we find the institution of the Feast of the Passover. 
• The first division (chapters 1–11) deals with Moses, the deliverer. Chapters 12–14 deal with the deliverance of Israel. The first was a deliverer, now it’s the deliverance. The deliverance is actually not by Moses. The deliverance is first by blood. God delivered them by blood and by power. And our redemption today is by blood and by power.
• The blood that the Lord Jesus Christ shed on the cross paid the penalty for our sins. The power of the Holy Spirit makes it real and effectual in our sinful hearts.
• Redemption is the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross for us and the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
• There are two prominent points of emphasis in this verse: (1) the blood, and (2) the family. The Israelites have become a nation and God is going to deliver them, but He will do it by families and by the individuals in the family.
• Note that each family had a lamb. Thousands of lambs must have been slain that evening, but the sixth verse reads, “Israel shall kill it in the evening.” These many lambs were speaking of another Lamb. God looked at all of these lambs as that one Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the Passover offered for us.
• The observance of the Passover was a family affair, and I am afraid that our churches today are guilty of dividing families. Families should be together in church.
• This sacrifice could not be eaten raw because it spoke of the judgment of sin in human lives, and this requires sacrifice and the fire of judgment. When a person comes to Christ, he comes as a sinner. The sacrifice was not to be soaked with water. This simply means that we must trust Christ and Him alone. Unfortunately there are many today who are trusting in water for their salvation. Everything was to be roasted. It was the judgment of fire.
• I do not believe that you can be converted and continue living a sinful life. This does not mean that you will not sin occasionally, but it does mean that you will not make a habit of living in a pattern of sin.
• God said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” No one was saved because he was doing the best he could, or because he was honest, or because he was a good person.
• God cannot arbitrarily or big-heartedly shut His eyes to sin and do nothing about it, any more than can a judge today when the guilty are brought before him.
• The death sentence is upon all of us. But God is gracious, and an innocent life may be substituted for the guilty.
• If we receive Christ, we are saved from the judgment that we deserve as sinners.
• “Leaven” is being mixed into the teaching of the Word. All of the cults and “isms” use the Bible, but mix false doctrine with it. This is what the children of Israel were told to avoid.
• Unleavened bread is not palatable. There are a great many people who do not like the study of the Bible, the pure, unleavened Word of God.
• You say, “I’m free!” Are you really free? You have been bought with a price—the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The blessing comes when you give yourself to Him voluntarily and put Him first.
• We do not need the visible presence of God in order to walk by faith.
• If we could go with the astronauts to the moon and look down on this little earth of ours, we would see people lost in sin. Actually our world is a pretty hopeless place; a great burying ground. Man has been on the march for over five thousand years. Where is he marching to? Man is marching to the grave. It isn’t pretty, but it is true. Man is the most colossal failure in God’s universe. Unless God moves on their behalf, they are doomed. And you and I could never be redeemed unless God did it, friends. Redemption is the work of the Lord.
• Before they crossed the sea, they sang the blues loud and long, and they will be returning to the Desert Blues again because it will be their theme song as they travel through the desert. For a time, however, they lustily sang the song of redemption.
• God does not want anything from the world. He is saying to a lost world, “What will you do with My Son who died for you?”
• You may not realize it, but the oasis of Marah is a normal Christian experience. When a bitter experience comes to a Christian, it is a puzzling and perplexing thing. Some people say, “Why does God let this happen to me?” I cannot tell you why certain things befall Christians, but I do know that God is not punishing them. He is educating them and preparing them for something. In the pathway of every believer there is a Marah. God has arranged it all. Someone has said, “Disappointments are God’s appointments.” I have found this to be true.
• God uses a branding iron. I remember West Texas, in the spring of the year when the calves were branded. As a boy I would see the branding iron put down on a little fellow. Oh, how he bellowed! It made me feel sort of sad to hear him cry. But from then on everyone knew to whom he belonged. After a calf was branded, it would not get lost. God does that for us today.
• It is the Word of God that our Lord wants us to feed upon. If you haven’t had that taste of manna yet, I suggest that you come to Christ and taste of it. Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
• In addition to this, John 6:51 quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
• The bread that Israel ate was manna, which was a picture of Christ, the Bread of Life. Christ is also the Water of Life, and the rock is a picture of Him. It contrasts the unbelief of the people (you see, they doubted God here) with the solid rock.
• The smitten rock is a picture of the death of Jesus Christ. 
• The world is thirsty. I ask you personally and particularly, Have you been to that smitten Rock for a drink of living water? God says if you drink of that water you will never thirst again.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in Review: October 28-November 3

New English Bible

• Deuteronomy
• 1 Kings
• 2 Kings
• 2 Chronicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Haggai
• Malachi
• John
• Acts 
• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Revelation

King James Version

• 2 Samuel 19-24
• 1 Kings
• 2 Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles

ESV Systematic Theology

• Genesis
• Proverbs
• Matthew 1-18

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

My Victorian Year #41

This week I'll be sharing quotes from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening and J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew.

From Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25

Matthew 25:1-13

• The whole chapter contains three great divisions. In the first, our Lord uses his own second coming as an argument for watchfulness and heart-religion. In the second, He uses His own second coming as an argument for diligence and faithfulness. In the third, He winds up all by a description of the great day of judgment, a passage which for majesty and beauty stands unequaled in the New Testament.
• We see for one thing, that the second coming of Christ will find His Church a mixed body, containing evil as well as good.
• After all our preachings and prayings--after all our visiting and teaching--after all our missionary exertions abroad, and means of grace at home, many will be found at last "dead in trespasses and sins!"
• We see, for another thing, that Christ's second coming, whenever it may be, will take men by surprise.
• We see, in the next place, that when the Lord comes again, many will find out the value of saving religion too late.
• At present, we must all be aware, the vast majority of professing Christians care nothing at all about it. They have no sense of sin. They have no love towards Christ. Repentance, and faith, and grace, and holiness, are mere words and names to them. They are subjects which they either dislike, or about which they feel no concern. But all this state of things shall one day come to an end. Knowledge, conviction, the value of the soul, the need of a Savior, shall all burst on men's minds one day like a flash of lightning.
• We see, lastly, in this parable, that when Christ returns, true Christians shall receive a rich reward for all they have suffered for their Master's sake.
• Washed in the blood of atonement, clothed in Christ's righteousness, renewed by the Spirit, they shall meet their Lord with boldness, and sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb, to go out no more.
• The believer may have much tribulation, but he has before him abounding consolations. Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. The day of Christ's return shall surely make amends for all.

Matthew 25:14-30

• Vigilance is the key note of the first parable, diligence that of the second. The story of the virgins calls on the Church to WATCH, the story of the talents calls on the Church to WORK.
• We learn, in the first place, from this parable, that all professing Christians have received something from God. We are all God's "servants." We have all "talents" entrusted to our charge.
• We learn in the second place, that many make a bad use of the privileges and mercies they receive from God.
• To hide our talent is to neglect opportunities of glorifying God, when we have them.
• We learn in the third place, that all professing Christians must one day have a reckoning with God.
• There is a judgment before us all. Words have no meaning in the Bible, if there is none. It is mere trifling with Scripture to deny it. There is a judgment before us according to our works--certain, strict, and unavoidable. High or low, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, we shall all have to stand at the bar of God and to receive our eternal sentence. 
• We learn, in the fourth place, that true Christians will receive an abundant reward in the great day of reckoning.
• We learn in the last place, that all unfruitful members of Christ's Church will be condemned and cast away in the day of judgment.
• The ruin of the lost soul will be found to be his own fault. Those words of our Lord, "you knew," are words that ought to ring loudly in many a man's ears, and pierce him to the heart.
• Let us leave this parable with a solemn determination, by God's grace, never to be content with a profession of Christianity without practice.

Matthew 25:31-46

• Let us mark in the first place, who will be the JUDGE in the last day. We read that it will be "the Son of Man," Jesus Christ Himself.
• Let us mark, in the second place, who will be JUDGED in the last day. We read that before Christ "shall be gathered all nations."
• Let us mark, in the third place, in what manner the JUDGMENT will be conducted in the last day. We read of several striking particulars on this point. Let us see what they are.
• The last judgment will be a judgment that will bring joy to all true believers.
• The last judgment will be a judgment that will bring confusion on all unconverted people.
• Let us mark, in the last place, what will be the FINAL RESULTS of the judgment day.
• Who shall describe THE BLESSEDNESS OF ETERNAL LIFE? It passes the power of man to conceive.
• It can only be measured by contrast and comparison. An eternal rest, after warfare and conflict--the eternal company of saints, after buffeting with an evil world--an eternally glorious and painless body, after struggling with weakness and infirmity--an eternal sight of Jesus face to face, after only hearing and believing--all this is blessedness indeed. And yet the half of it remains untold.
• Who shall describe THE MISERY OF ETERNAL PUNISHMENT? It is something utterly indescribable and inconceivable.
• Let us ask ourselves on which side of Christ we are likely to be at the last day. Shall we be on the right hand, or shall we be on the left? Happy is he who never rests until he can give a satisfactory answer to this question.

From Morning and Evening

• “I have chosen you out of the world.” John 15:19 Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard—for some are made the special objects of divine affection.
• Do not be afraid to dwell upon this Scriptural doctrine of election. When your mind is most heavy and depressed, you will find it to be a bottle of the richest cordial.
• Desire to have your mind enlarged, that you may comprehend more and more—the eternal, everlasting, sovereign love of God.
• This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption, “Our Father.” There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, “I will arise, and go unto my Father.”
• This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father “in heaven,” and ascends to devout adoration, “Hallowed be Your name.”
• The child lisping, “Abba, Father,” grows into the cherub crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy!”
• There is but a step from rapturous worship—to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration, “may Your kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
• We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, even unto the ends of the earth, and of His dominion there shall be no end.
• Praise should always follow answered prayer; as the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground.
• Do not deny a song—to Him who has answered your prayer and given you the desire of your heart.
• To forget to praise God—is to refuse to benefit ourselves; for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life.
• It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith. It is a healthful and invigorating exercise which quickens the pulse of the believer, and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service.
• Weak hearts will be strengthened, and drooping saints will be revived as they listen to our “songs of deliverance.”
• Praise is the most heavenly of Christian duties. The angels do not pray—but they cease not to praise both day and night;
• A backslider, if there is a spark of spiritual life left in him—will groan after restoration. In this renewal, the same exercise of grace is required—as at our conversion.
• We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We needed faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like faith can bring us to Jesus now.
• We needed a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now. No man can be renewed without as real and true a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s energy—just as he felt at first, because the work is as great, and flesh and blood are as much in the way now—as ever they were.
• Let your personal weakness, O Christian, be an argument to make you pray earnestly to your God for help.
• Yes, Lord, You did indeed know me in my fallen sinful state, and You did even then, choose me for Yourself.
• When I was loathsome and self-abhorred, You received me as Your child, and You satisfied my craving needs.
• Since then, my inward experience has often been a wilderness; but You have owned me still as Your beloved, and poured streams of Your love and grace into me to gladden me, and make me fruitful.
• Yes, when my outward circumstances have been at the worst, and I have wandered in a land of drought, Your sweet presence has solaced me.
• Most gracious Lord, I magnify You for all Your faithfulness to me in trying circumstances; and I deplore that I should at any time have forgotten You and been exalted in heart—when I have owed all to Your gentleness and love. Have mercy upon Your servant in this thing!
• No rank, possession, or character, shall suffice to save a single soul who has not believed in the Lord Jesus. My soul, behold this wide-spread judgment and tremble at it.
• All men are negligent of their souls until saving grace gives them reason, then they leave their madness and act like rational beings—but not until then.
• Precious is the assurance that our God never changes! The wheel of providence revolves—but its axle is eternal love!
• “Horror grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken Your law.” Psalm 119:53 My soul, do you feel this holy shuddering at the sins of others? If not, you lack inward holiness. 
• It cannot but grieve gracious souls—to see what pains men take to go to hell. They know the evil of sin experimentally, and they are alarmed to see others flying like moths into its blaze!
• Sin makes the righteous shudder, because it violates a holy law, which it is to every man’s highest interest to keep—it pulls down the pillars of the society.
• Sin in others horrifies a believer, because it puts him in mind of the vileness of his own heart—when he sees a heinous sinner, he cries, “He fell today, and I may fall tomorrow!”
• Sin is horrible to a believer, because it crucified his Savior! He sees in every iniquity—the nails and spear. How can a saved soul behold that cursed kill-Christ sin without abhorrence?
• It is an awful thing to insult God to His face. The good God deserves better treatment, the great God claims it, the just God will have it—or repay His adversary to his face!
• “You put all my tears into Your bottle,” implies that they are caught as they flow! The suppliant, who groans out his words, will be well understood by the Most High God. He may only look up with misty eye; but prayer is the falling of a tear!
• Tears are the diamonds of heaven! Sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah’s court, and are numbered with the most sublime strains which reach the majesty on high!
• Our God not only hears prayer—but also loves to hear it. “He does not forget the cry of the humble.”
• Prayer is the Christian’s never-failing resort in any case, in every plight. When you cannot use your sword—you may take to the weapon of all-prayer.
• Leviathan laughs at the javelin—but he trembles at prayer. Sword and spear need furbishing—but prayer never rusts;
• When God does not answer His children according to the letter—He does so according to the spirit.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

McGee and Me #3 Genesis 34-50

Thru the Bible: Genesis 34-50. J. Vernon McGee. 1975. 180 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: Frankly, Jacob made a mistake by stopping in Shalem, for there is going to be a scandal at this point in the family of this man.

I recently bought a complete set of J. Vernon McGee's Thru the Bible commentary series. These books are loosely based on his popular radio program. I have read a handful of his commentaries in the past--including this one--but I plan on reading and/or rereading all of the commentaries (again). 

His commentary on Genesis is broken down into three volumes. The first volume covers chapters 1-15. The second volume covers chapters 16-33. The third volume covers chapters 34-50. 

Readers continue learning about Jacob--Israel--and his sons and daughter. The focus is primarily (though not exclusively) on Joseph. McGee points out Joseph's many similarities to Christ. At one point he lists over twenty ways the two men are similar. 

I appreciate his casual, reader-friendly approach. Not many commentators would begin chapters by saying "this chapter is as necessary as a fifth leg on a cow." Yet I believe McGee has done that at least twice in his Genesis commentary. (I can't remember if they're both in this third volume or if it's one in the second volume and one in the third.) 

Quotes:

• Sin needs to be spelled out. There was a time when sin was sin, but now they’ve taken the “s” off of it, and you’re in the “in” group if you’re a sinner.
• But that’s not the way God spells sin. He still spells it S-I-N. And you will notice that “I” is right in the middle of the word—that’s where all of us are.
• God have mercy on Christians who shape their lives by those who are around them and who are constantly looking for the effect their conduct is going to have on others.
• It is a wonderful thing to stand for the truth, and when you stand for it, then you don’t have to compromise. How wonderful it is when we will do that.
• Many expositors say that it was a tragic thing for Jacob to stop in Shalem, and I must say that I have to go along with that partially. But I have one question to ask: Was Jacob ready for Beth-el? Was he ready for the experiences that God was going to give him?
• No, I think that the tragic things that took place in chapter 34 were the result of a man who had been walking in the energy of the flesh. There had been a deflation of self, but there was no discernible faith in God. Because he did not have faith to go on to Beth-el, he stopped at Shalem.
• There are too many folk who six days a week are serving some other god, and on Sunday they try to serve the Lord. Many Christians, even fundamental believers, have their strange gods, and then they wonder why their service in the church on Sunday is not a thrilling experience.
• My friend, you are going to have to put away your strange gods. I don’t know what yours might be. It could be covetousness.
• You have to deal with sin in your life. You cannot come to church on Sunday and dismiss the way you have lived during the week that has just passed.
• After all, you take a physical bath and use a deodorant before you come to church, and yet there is spiritual body odor in our churches because there is no confession of the sin, no cleansing.
• Sin ruins lives, and sin ruins families; sin ruins communities, and it ruins nations. This is the problem with our families and cities and nations today. There is just one cause: God calls it sin.
• There is no one in Scripture who is more like Christ in his person and experiences than Joseph. Yet nowhere in the New Testament is Joseph given to us as a type of Christ.
• May I say that the Word of God makes good sense if you just let it make good sense. We are the folk that don’t make the good sense.
• This is another chapter [Genesis 38] that seems to be about as necessary as a fifth leg on a cow.
• Our Lord came into a sinful line. He was made in all points like as we are, yet He Himself was without sin. He came into that human line where all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
• You wonder why this chapter is in the Bible. It is in the Bible as a warning to us. It is in the Bible to let us know that God did not approve of sin, and it explains why God took Israel out of the land of Palestine and down into the land of Egypt.
• Today we hear that if we are going to witness to this generation and if we are going to communicate to them, we’ve got to get down to their level. I disagree with that. God has never used that method to witness. God has always, under all circumstances, asked His people to live on a high and lofty plane. 
• Maybe God has called us to witness to a few. But I have news for you: If you give out the Word of God, it will have its effect.
• He [Joseph] is the Old Testament example of Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
• Even our misfortunes, heartbreaks, and sufferings are for our good and His glory.
• There is a hedge about every child of God, and nothing gets through it without the permission of God.
• Dr. Torrey used to say that Romans 8:28 is the soft pillow for a tired heart. And someone else has put it like this: “God nothing does, nor suffers to be done, but what we would ourselves, if we but could see through all events of things as well as He.”
• Discouragement is one of the finest weapons Satan has—discouragement and disappointment.
• Anything you or I do for the Lord should be done to the praise of God. Make sure that God gets the glory for it.
• If we could recognize God’s hand in our lives today, it would give us a different outlook on life!
• I want you to note that Joseph never misses an opportunity to give a testimony for God.
• Jacob’s life in Haran typifies the man of God who is living in the flesh. Jacob’s life in the land of Canaan typifies the man of God who is fighting in his own strength. Jacob’s life in Egypt typifies the man of God who is walking by faith.
• Why are these lists of names given to us in the Scriptures? Doesn’t God have more important information to give to us? My friend, there is nothing more important than our Lord Jesus Christ, and this is the genealogy that leads to Him.
• Have you heard of the Lamb’s Book of Life? The question is: Is your name written there?
• How important are you? Well, I don’t know you—probably have never heard of you—but God knows you. In fact, He has numbered the very hairs of your head! 
• He delighted in putting their names down because they were His. This again causes me to ask you the question: Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
• He chooses no man because of his natural ability. How don’t misunderstand me. God can use talent, but it must be dedicated to Him!
• It is the grace of God that has transformed us sinners into a kingdom of priests, my friend. All believers are priests today.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Bible Review: The New English Bible

The New English Bible. Oxford University Press. 1970. 1502 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: In the beginning of creation, when God made heaven and earth, the ear was without form and void, with darkness over the face of the abyss, and a mighty wind that swept over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

This was my second time to read through the whole Bible in the New English Bible translation. I first read and reviewed it in January 2017.

At first my plan was to divide up my reading over five weeks or so.

Week one: Matthew, Genesis, Psalm Book I: 1-41, Proverbs, James, Galatians, Romans, Ephesians, Joshua, Hosea, Joel
Week two: Mark, Exodus, Psalm Book II: 42-72, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Judges, Ruth, Jeremiah, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
Week three: Luke, Leviticus, Psalm Book III: 73-89, Hebrews, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy,  Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Week four: Acts, Numbers, Psalm Book IV: 90-106, Ecclesiastes, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Titus, Philemon, Jude,
Week five: John, Deuteronomy, Psalm Book V: 107-150, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Job, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation

But. I ended up reading it in about fifteen days. I blame the reader format. Chapters and verses are not at all emphasized. It's in a single column format. But I don't blame only the reader format. The Word of God is just TASTY. I'm a glutton for the Word of God. I devour and savor it. Sometimes I devour more than savor. This was one of those times. Sometimes I savor more than devour. But as I said I almost couldn't help myself.

I don't love, love, love the New English Bible. I really enjoy the Old Testament--especially the book of Psalms. (Though still the KJV is my favorite and best). I do enjoy the gospels--for the most part. But when it comes to the epistles--the letters--especially the letters of Paul--I do not enjoy the NEB translation. I find that any book that centers around doctrine--theological ideas--is lacking. The word choices of the NEB just lack the solid-ness of other translations.

Quotes:

• But thou, LORD, art a shield to cover me: thou art my glory and thou dost raise my head high. I cry aloud to the LORD and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep, and I wake again, for the LORD upholds me. Psalm 3:3-5
• Thine is the victory, O LORD, and may thy blessing rest upon thy people. Psalm 3:8
• Know that the LORD has shown me his marvellous love; the LORD hears when I call to him. Psalm 4:3
• Now I will lie down in peace, and sleep; for thou alone, O LORD, makes me live unafraid. Ps. 4:8
• For thou, O LORD, wilt bless the righteous; thou wilt hedge him round with favour as with a shield. Psalm 5:12
• Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am weak; heal me, my very bones are shaken. Psalm 6:2
• God, the High God, is my shield who saves men of honest heart. Psalm 7:10
• O LORD our sovereign, how glorious is thy name in all the earth! Thy majesty is praised high as the heavens. Psalm 8:1
• I will praise thee, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell the story of they marvellous acts. I will rejoice and exult in thee. Psalm 9:1-2a
• The words of the LORD are pure words: silver refined in a crucible, gold seven times purified. Psalm 12:6
• But for my part I trust in thy true love. My heart shall rejoice, for thou hast set me free. Psalm 13:5
• Thou, LORD, my allotted portion, thou my cup, thou dost enlarge my boundaries: the lines fall for me in pleasant places, indeed I am well content with my inheritance. I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel: in the night-time wisdom comes to me in my inward parts. I have set the LORD continually before me: with him at my right hand I cannot be shaken. Psalm 16:5-8
• Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is the fullness of joy, in thy right hand pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11
• I love thee, O LORD my strength. The LORD is my stronghold, my fortress and my champion, my God, my rock where I find safety; my shield, my mountain refuge, my strong tower. Psalm 18:1-2
• The way of God is perfect, the LORD's word has stood the test; he is the shield of all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30
• Thou hast given me the shield of they salvation, thy hand sustains me, thy providence makes me great. Psalm 18:35
• The LORD lives, blessed is my rock, high above all is God who saves me. Psalm 18:46
• The heavens tell out the glory of God, the vault of heaven reveals his handiwork. Psalm 19:1
• The LORD is my shepherd; I shall want nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, and leads me besides the waters of peace; he renews life within me, and for his name's sake guides me in the right path. Even though I walk through a valley dark as death I fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy staff and thy crook are my comfort. Thou spreads a table for me in the sight of my enemies; thou hast richly bathed my head with oil, and my cup runs over. Goodness and love unfailing, these will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Psalm 23:1-6
• Make thy paths known to me, O LORD; teach me thy ways. Lead me in thy truth and teach me; thou art God my Saviour. For thee I have waited all the day long, for the coming of thy goodness, LORD. Remember, LORD, thy tender care and thy love unfailing, shown from ages past. Do not remember the sins and offences of my youth, but remember me in thy unfailing love. Psalm 25:4-7
• The LORD confides his purposes to those who fear him, and his covenant is theirs to know. Psalm 25:14
• The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the refuge of my life; of whom then should I go in dread? Psalm 27:1
• One thing I ask of the LORD, one thing I seek: that I may be constant in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4
• 'Come,' my heart has said, 'seek his face.' I will seek thy face, O LORD; do not hide it from me, nor in thy anger turn away thy servant, whose help thou hast been; do not cast me off or forsake me, O God my saviour. Psalm 27:8-9
• Wait for the LORD; be strong, take courage, and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14
• O LORD my God, I cried to thee and thou didst heal me. Psalm 30:1
• 'Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me; LORD, be my helper.' Thou hast turned my laments into dancing; thou hast stripped off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my spirit may sing psalms to thee and never cease. I will confess thee for ever, O LORD my God. Psalm 30:10-12
• Blessed be the LORD, who worked a miracle of unfailing love for me when I was in sore straits. Psalm 31:21
• Happy the man whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put away! Happy is a man when the LORD lays no guilt to his account, and in his spirit there is no deceit. Psalm 32:1-2
• I will teach you, and guide you in the way you should go. I will keep you under my eye. Psalm 32:8
• The word of the LORD holds true, and all his works endures. Psalm 33:4
• I will bless the LORD continually; his praise shall be always on my lips. In the LORD I will glory; the humble shall hear and be glad. O glorify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD's help and he answered me; he set me free from all my terrors. Psalm 34:1-4
• Taste, then, and see that the LORD is good. Happy the man who finds refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
• How blest are those who know their need of God; the kingdom of heaven is theirs. How blest are the sorrowful; they shall find consolation. How blest are those of a gentle spirit; they shall have the earth for their possession. How blest are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail; they shall be satisfied. How blest are those who show mercy; mercy shall be shown to them. How blest are those whose hearts are pure; they shall see God. How blest are the peacemakers; God shall call them his sons. How blest are those who have suffered persecution for the cause of right; the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Matthew 5:3-10
• There must be no limit to your goodness, as your heavenly Father's goodness knows no bounds. Matthew 5:48
• Set your mind on God's kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well. So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own. Matthew 6:33-34
• Always treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12
• Put all your trust in the LORD and do not rely on your own understanding. Think of him in all your ways, and he will smooth your path. Do not think how wise you are, but fear the LORD and turn from evil. Proverbs 3:5-7
• God's every promise has stood the test: he is a shield to all who seek refuge with him. Add nothing to his words, or he will expose. you for a liar. Proverbs 30:5-6

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible