Scripture Chain

...But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:18-21

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. Deuteronomy 6:6-8

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Psalm 34:11

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done. Psalm 78:1-4

My son, keep your father's commandment,
and forsake not your mother's teaching.
Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life. Proverbs 6:20-23

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:14-17

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Sarah's New World

Sarah's New World: The Mayflower Adventure. (Sisters in Time #1) Colleen L. Reece. 2004. Barbour Books. 138 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Twelve-year-old John Smythe lay flat on the floor of the dark hallway. His right ear was pressed against the crack under the door to the parlor. He strained to make out what his parents' low voices were saying.

Premise/plot: Sarah and John Smythe are two of the children aboard the Mayflower. The Smythe family is excited to be going to the New World, a place where they can worship freely without threat of persecution. But the journey to America will not be an easy one. The voyage will be difficult for both Pilgrims and Strangers alike.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I may not love, love, love the cover. But books should not be judged by their covers in the first place, right?! I will add that this is more John's story than Sarah's story. He is two years older. He is the one who likes to eavesdrop. He's the one who is often sharing news--even gossip--with his family. He is the one who is more adventurous and active on board the Mayflower. Sarah is definitely more of a passive heroine. She listens. She scolds. She obeys. She encourages.

The book blends fictional characters in with historical figures--men, women and children who actually sailed on the Mayflower. The book does a good job of providing context. Part of this comes through info dumps--sections of text where a LOT of information is shared via dialogue for the benefit of young readers. Faith is central to the family and there is discussion of what religious freedom is and why it's important.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: In His Image

In His Image: 10 Ways God Calls Us To Reflect His Character. Jen Wilkin. 2018. Crossway. 176 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: If you’ve ever said, “I just want to know God’s will for my life,” this book is for you.

Premise/plot: In His Image isn't your typical what-is-God's-will-for-my-life 'self-help' book. I'm tempted to put in the exclamation: far from it! Wilkin writes:

God is always more concerned with the decision-maker than he is with the decision itself... For the believer wanting to know God’s will for her life, the first question to pose is not “What should I do?” but “Who should I be?” The Bible plainly answers the question “Who should I be?” with “Be like Jesus Christ, who perfectly images God in human form.”

We were created in the image of God, and we are called to reflect that image. Wilkin has selected ten characteristics of God that we are called--commanded--to reflect in our lives.

God is holy. We are called to be holy. God is love. We are called to love. God is good. We are called to be good. God is just. We are called to be just--to love justice, to hate injustice. God is merciful. We are called to show mercy. God is gracious. We are called to be gracious. God is faithful. We are called to be faithful. God is patient. We are called to be patient. God is truthful. In fact he is the way, the TRUTH, and the life. We are called to be truthful as well. We are to love truth--treasure it--and hate lies. We are to remember who is incapable of lying and who is the father of lies. God is wise. We are called to be wise. We are called to live with discernment.

The first chapter is of the utmost importance. She writes, "the Bible wants our first thought about God to be that he is holy." She warns, "If we emphasize any of his attributes above or apart from his holiness, we fashion him after our own imagining or for our own ends."

Holiness permeates the entire Christian profession. It lies at the very center of the gospel. We are not merely saved from depravity; we are saved to holiness. Conversion entails consecration. Growing in holiness means growing in our hatred of sin. But reflecting the character of God involves more than just casting off the garment of our old ways. It entails putting on the garment of our new inheritance. Growing in holiness means growing into being loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, truthful, patient, and wise.

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. It's a GREAT book on the character of God. It's a great book on how to live the Christian life. Or if you want to get fancy--it is a great book about sanctification.

This book may appear to be just for women--especially for women. It is a book EVERY believer would benefit from reading. This book wisely keeps the Word of God front and center.

Favorite quotes:

Sin can cause us to love a version of God that is not accurate. This is the basic definition of idolatry, a disordered love. Ironically, one of the most common forms our idolatry takes is the disordered love of the love of God. The overemphasis of God’s love is even evident in non-Christians. They may know very little of the Bible, yet many know and are quick to quote the truism that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The statement “My God is a God of love” often has as its subtext the idea that his love precludes him ever acting in wrath or justice, or in any way that does not fit our human conceptions of love.

When we begin to follow Christ, we resolve to love God even if it costs us. And it does cost us—it costs us our pride, our comfort, our self-will, our self-sufficiency. At times, it costs us amicable relationships with family, our expectation of safety, and more. But in laying these aside, we learn the worthiness of the object of our love in a deeper way. We find increasing freedom, and as we mature, we resolve to love God no matter what it costs us.

When we begin to follow Christ, we resolve to love our neighbor even if it costs us. And it does cost us—it costs us our preferences, our time, our financial resources, our entitlement, our stereotypes. At times, it costs us our popularity, respect, and more. But in laying these aside, we learn the brokenness of the object of our love in a deeper way. We find increasing empathy, and as we mature, we resolve to love our neighbor no matter what it costs us.

There is no way to reach genuine repentance without striving to grasp the justice of God’s wrath. As long as I view his wrath as excessive or cruel, I labor under a limited understanding of the danger and depravity of sin. And I labor under a limited understanding of Calvary.

Justice is getting what we deserve. • Mercy is not getting what we deserve. • Grace is getting what we do not deserve.

Christians should not have a reputation for being merely fair. We should have a reputation for playing favorites with everyone except ourselves.

The Bible is our great Ebenezer, a memorial stone to the faithfulness of God, carefully recorded and preserved for his children. When we grow forgetful of God, or when we question whether God has forgotten us, we can turn there to gaze on his steadfast love to all generations. Unlike generations before us, we have unprecedented access to this priceless reminder. Bibles by the billions, literally. And every copy, from the dog-eared to the disregarded, is whispering, “Remember.” Remember the God who remembers you. Believers whose Bibles are worn have known their need of its message. To them, reading its pages is not just a dutiful practice but a delightful privilege. They know that between its covers a glorious truth is repeated for their great benefit: God is worthy of our trust. When we spend time in the Bible, our lives begin to bear witness to its faithful message. We ourselves become stones of remembrance for those around us, giving faithful testimony that God is worthy of our trust, no matter what.

To be human is to do battle daily with impatience. And battle it we must, because of the close connection between impatience and anger. In my experience, these two states are usually separated by about a nanosecond.

The world’s solution to the problem of impatience is not to develop patience, but to eliminate as many situations that require it as possible.

We simply cannot get away from the patience of God portrayed in the Bible. God is patient with his children with regard to their sin. He is patient to bear with us as we progress along the path of sanctification, forgiving our sins again and again. He is patient to work out our deliverance in good time. He is patient to await a harvest, and patient to bring in the sheaves in the fullness of time. Our God is “not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

Jesus Christ lived thirty-three years shoulder to shoulder with sinners, no doubt tempted constantly to sinful impatience and quick anger. Yet, the Bible records only two instances in which his anger manifested itself. Two.

Patience is not just the ability to wait, but to abide. It is not just gritting our teeth and waiting for a circumstance to change or a trial to resolve, crossing days off on a calendar. It is living daily in the awareness that God holds all things together, and that, in the grand scheme of things, whatever trouble we face during this life is light and momentary. Sin and suffering have an expiration date. They are not eternal. Those who wait patiently for the return of Christ do so with the assurance that all things will be made new and with the conviction that every day until that day counts toward eternity.

God is truth. He is its origin and its determiner. What he defines as true is eternally true, unchangingly true. Because he is truth, all of his actions reveal truth and all of his words declare it. As the fullness of truth itself, God is incapable of lying, though sometimes our limited perception may cause us to doubt that this is the case. Satan knows this, and tempts us just as he tempted Eve. He suggests that if we sin, we will not surely die, as God has said. Like Eve, we cross the line into sin, only to find ourselves still breathing in and out—not dead—and we mistakenly assume that the Serpent is the bearer of truth.

We need our gathering times to remind us that the truth we are staking our lives on is a truth we share with every believer in our congregation. Moreover, it is a truth we share with every believer who has ever lived. It is an ancient truth that suffers no loss of integrity with the passage of time. In fact, the longer it endures, the more its witness is confirmed.

It is not personal truths we need, but rather shared truth preserved and passed down from one believing generation to the next, personalized to us in our current day. That shared truth is available within the pages of God’s Word to me and to all who believe.

We can’t discern what’s false if we don’t train our eyes on what is true. The best weapon we have for discerning true teaching from false teaching and sin from righteousness is “the sword of the spirit, the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17). The Word of God is a weapon, forged to combat forgery. We must know how to handle the Bible rightly, and we must know it as comprehensibly as possible in our lifetime. If spiritual warfare is the purview of the Father of Lies, we must arm ourselves with truth. Truth is a book, and that book is a weapon.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Week in Review: April 29 - May 5

Beyond Suffering Bible, NLT

• Ps. 101-150
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Songs
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah 1-8

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

My Victorian Year #18

This week I'll be sharing quotes from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening and J.C. Ryle's Old Paths.

From Morning and Evening:

We need winds and tempests to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten bough of self-dependence, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope.

How comprehensive is the love of Jesus! There is no part of His people’s interests which He does not consider, and there is nothing which concerns their welfare which is not important to Him. The smallest interests of all His saints—are all borne upon the broad bosom of the Son of God. Oh, what a heart is His, that does not merely comprehend the salvation of His people—but comprehends also, all their diverse and innumerable concerns!

Divine omniscience affords no comfort to the ungodly mind—but to the child of God it overflows with consolation. God is always thinking upon us; He never turns aside His mind from us, and has us always before His eyes! This is precisely as we would have it—for it would be dreadful to exist for a moment, beyond the observation of our heavenly Father.

The Lord always did think upon His people—hence their election and the covenant of grace by which their salvation is secured. He always will think upon them—hence their final perseverance by which they shall be brought safely to their final rest. In all our wanderings, the watchful glance of the Eternal Watcher is evermore fixed upon us!

In our sorrows He observes us incessantly, and not a pang escapes Him! In our toils He marks all our weariness, and writes in His book all the struggles of His faithful ones.

These thoughts of the Lord encompass us in all our paths, and penetrate the innermost region of our being. Not a nerve or tissue, valve or vessel, of our bodily organization is uncared for.

It is a sweet and blessed event which will occur to all believers in God’s own time—the going home to be with Jesus. In a few more years the Lord’s soldiers, who are now fighting “the good fight of faith” will be done with conflict, and have entered into the joy of their Lord.

But although Christ prays that His people may eventually be with Him where He is, He does not ask that they may be taken at once away from this world to heaven. He wishes them to stay here. 

Jesus does not plead for our instant removal by death—for to abide in this world is needful for others—if not profitable for ourselves. He asks that we may be kept from evil—but He never asks for us to be admitted to the inheritance in glory—until we are fully matured.

Dying in faith has distinct reference to the past. They believed the promises which had gone before, and were assured that their sins were blotted out through the mercy of God.

Dying in faith has to do with the present. These saints were confident of their acceptance with God, they enjoyed the beams of His love, and rested in His faithfulness. Dying in faith looks into the future. They fell asleep, affirming that the Messiah would surely come, and that when He would in the last days appear upon the earth, they would rise from their graves to behold Him.

Ah! if you had no devil to tempt you, no enemies to fight you, and no world to ensnare you, you would still find in yourself evil enough to be a sore trouble to you, for “the heart is deceitful above all things—and desperately wicked.”

Believer, you do not make use of Christ—as you ought to do. When you are in trouble, why do you not tell Him all your grief? Has He not a sympathizing heart, and can He not comfort and relieve you? But no—you are going about to all your friends—except your best Friend, and telling your tale everywhere, except into the bosom of your Lord.

Are you burdened with this day’s sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood—use it, saint, use it! Has a sense of guilt returned upon you? The pardoning grace of Jesus may be used again and again. Come to Him at once for cleansing!

Do you deplore your weakness? He is your strength—why not lean upon Him? Do you feel naked? Come here, soul—put on the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. Do not stand looking at it—but wear it. Strip off your own righteousness, and your own fears too—put on the fair white linen, for it was meant to wear.

Do you feel yourself sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up the Beloved Physician! He will give the cordial that will revive you.

There is nothing Christ dislikes more—than for His people to make a show-thing of Him, and not to use Him. He loves to be employed by us. The more burdens we put on His shoulders—the more precious will He be to us.

What a sweet title, “My people!” What a cheering revelation: “Their God!” How much of meaning is couched in those two words, “My people!”

Dear friends, can you, by faith, see yourselves in that number? Can you look up to heaven and say, “My Lord and my God—mine by that sweet relationship which entitles me to call You Father—mine by that hallowed fellowship which I delight to hold with You when You are pleased to manifest Yourself unto me as You do not unto the world?”

Can you, by humble faith, lay hold of Jesus’ garments, and say, “My Christ”? If you can, then God says of you, and of others like you, “My people;” for, if God is your God, and Christ is your Christ, the Lord has shown special, peculiar grace to you—you are the object of His choice, accepted in His beloved Son!

The true way to handle a matter wisely—is to trust in the Lord. This is the sure clue to the most intricate labyrinths of life—follow it and find eternal bliss.

From Old Paths, chapter nine, THE CROSS OF CHRIST

What do we think and feel about the cross of Christ? I want to examine what one of the greatest Christians that ever lived thought of the cross of Christ. The man I mean is the Apostle Paul The place where you will find his opinion, is in the letter which the Holy Ghost inspired him to write to the Galatians. The words in which his judgment is set down, are these, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now what did Paul mean by saying this?

Let others, if they would, look elsewhere for salvation; let others, if they were so disposed, trust in other things for pardon and peace: for his part the apostle was determined to rest on nothing, lean on nothing, build his hope on nothing, place confidence in nothing, glory in nothing, except “the cross of Jesus Christ.”

Heaven or hell, happiness or misery, life or death, blessing or cursing in the last day,--all hinges on the answer to this question: “What do You think about the cross of Christ?”

Let me show you, first of all, what the Apostle Paul did not glory in. There are many things that Paul might have gloried in, if he had thought as some do in this day. He never gloried in his national privileges. He never gloried in his own works. He never gloried in his knowledge. He never gloried in his graces. He never gloried in his Churchmanship. Now if the apostle Paul never gloried in any of these things, who in all the world, from one end to the other,-who has any right to glory in them in our day?

Learn, I say, this day, that you are very unlike Paul. Your Christianity is not the Christianity of the New Testament. Paul would not glory in anything but “the cross.” Neither ought you.

Oh, let us beware of self-righteousness! Open sin kills its thousands of souls. Self-righteousness kills its tens of thousands.

Be thankful if you have grace, but never glory in it for a moment. Work for God and Christ, with heart and soul and mind and strength, but never dream for a second of placing confidence in any work of your own.

Once more I say, let us beware of self-righteousness in every possible shape and form. Some people get as much harm from their fancied virtues as others do from their sins.

Let me explain, in the second place, what we are to understand by the cross of Christ. What did St. Paul mean when he said, “I glory in the cross of Christ,” in the Epistle to the Galatians? The cross sometimes means that wooden cross, on which the Lord Jesus Christ was nailed and put to death on Calvary. This is not the cross in which St. Paul gloried. He would have shrunk with horror from the idea of glorying in a mere piece of wood. The cross sometimes means the afflictions and trials which believers in Christ have to go through, if they follow Christ faithfully, for their religion’s sake. This also is not the sense in which Paul uses the word when he writes to the Galatians. He knew that cross well: he carried it patiently. But he is not speaking of it here. But the cross also means, in some places, the doctrine that Christ died for sinners upon the cross,--the atonement that He made for sinners, by His suffering for them on the cross,--the complete and perfect sacrifice for sin which He offered up, when He gave His own body to be crucified. In short, this one word, “the cross,” stands for Christ crucified, the only Saviour. This is the meaning in which Paul uses the expression, when he tells the Corinthians, “the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:18.)

Jesus Christ crucified was the joy and delight, the comfort and the peace, the hope and the confidence, the foundation and the resting-place, the ark and the refuge, the food and the medicine of Paul’s soul.

Depend upon it, the cross of Christ,--the death of Christ on the cross to make atonement for sinners,--is the centre truth in the whole Bible. This is the truth we begin with when we open Genesis. The seed of the woman bruising the serpent’s head is nothing else but a prophecy of Christ crucified. This is the truth that shines out, though veiled, all through the law of Moses, and the history of the Jews.

Take away the cross of Christ, and the Bible is a dark book. It is like the Egyptian hieroglyphics without the key that interprets their meaning,--curious and wonderful, but of no real use.

But if you have not yet found out that Christ crucified is the foundation of the whole volume, you have read your Bible hitherto to very little profit. Your religion is a heaven without a sun, an arch without a key-stone, a compass without a needle, a clock without spring or weights, a lamp without oil. It will not comfort you. It will not deliver your soul from hell.

As long as you live, beware of a religion in which there is not much of the cross.

Let me show, lastly, why all Christians ought to glory in the cross of Christ. 

People seem to me to forget that all Christ’s sufferings on the cross were fore-ordained. They did not come on Him by chance or accident: they were all planned, counselled, and determined from all eternity.

People seem to me to forget that all Christ’s sufferings on the cross were necessary for man’s salvation. He had to bear our sins, if ever they were to be borne at all. With His stripes alone could we be healed. This was the one payment of our debt that God would accept: this was the great sacrifice on which our eternal life depended.

If I listened to the wretched talk of proud men, I might sometimes fancy sin was not so very sinful! But I cannot think little of sin, when I look at the cross of Christ.

Oh, no! what Jesus paid for, Jesus will surely keep. He paid dearly for it. He will not let it easily be lost. He called me to Himself when I was a dark sinner: He will never forsake me after I have believed.

When Satan tempts us to doubt whether Christ’s people will be kept from falling, we should tell Satan to look at the cross. 

Other religions cannot tell us of a dying Saviour. They cannot show us the cross. This is the crown and glory of the Gospel. This is that special comfort which belongs to it alone.

“All,” said a dying missionary, “there is but one thing needful on a death-bed, and that is to feel one’s arms around the cross!”

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Renewing Your Mind

Renewing Your Mind: Basic Christian Beliefs You Need To Know. R.C. Sproul. 1973/1998. 218 pages. [Source; Bought]

First sentence: When a person embraces the Christian faith and says with assurance, "I believe...," that person has truly embarked upon life.

In The Prayer of the Lord, R.C. Sproul provided commentary on the Lord's Prayer. In Renewing Your Mind, R.C. Sproul provides commentary on the Apostle's Creed. Sproul walks believers--whether new or old--through each line of the ancient creed.

It is a thoughtful introduction or reintroduction to the essentials of the faith. These beliefs--these doctrines--form the core of Christian belief and should inform our practice. These doctrines should renew our minds as we grow in the faith.

R.C. Sproul writes, "This book is about living that life to the fullest, about renewing your mind so that your thinking conforms to the mind of Christ. Our spiritual creation in Christ inaugurates an intellectual and emotional creation, but does not complete it. Some old thought patterns and philosophical assumptions remain. To deal with those we need to move our metaphor of the Christian life from the nursery to boot camp. Now comes basic training in righteousness, the hard work of truth calisthenics to develop strong, disciplined faith muscles."

I would recommend this one! Here are some of my favorite quotes:

The Holy Spirit does not call us to faith in general, but to faith in particular--to faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (19)

Healing and prosperity are not God's purposes in "I believe..." faith. They are not God's promises. In fact, the Bible promises over and over that Christians will suffer many things. Suffering allows us to share in the humiliation and suffering of our Lord; pain makes us more effective witnesses and more mature lovers of God, dependent on him for strength. (23)

We came from somewhere significant and we are headed toward a destination of importance. (55)

The only basis for Christian hope lies in the believer's participation in the Man of Sorrows and Christus Victor--the triumph of Christ. (115)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Crossroads Among the Gentiles

Crossroads Among the Gentiles. Elizabeth Raum. 2018. BJU Press (JourneyForth). 152 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:

Journey 1
A Child of Samaria
Your little sister never walks; she runs. She collects pebbles and makes tiny houses for stick people. And she chatters constantly. No wonder Mama is tired.

Premise/plot: Crossroads Among the Gentiles is essentially a Christian choose-your-own adventure novel. It features three interactive stories: "A Child of Samaria," "Bartholomew's Younger Brother," and "Susanna's Daughter." All three stories are set in Bible times during the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Each story has multiple opportunities for little readers to make a decision and determine the course of the story.

My thoughts: I love the premise of this one. I do. I enjoyed reading choose your own adventure stories as a kid. I'd have loved to read ones set in Biblical times as a kid. So I'm happy to recommend these now for Christian families. (I believe this is the THIRD book in their series.)

I am pleased with the back matter as well. I appreciate the fact that the author provides a list of bible stories she used as sources--as inspiration--for each of the three stories. Readers can go straight to the source and read these verses and stories themselves.


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Biblea