Deuteronomy 31:6

NIV Integrated Study Bible - A New Chronological Approach For Exploring Scripture

Let me start out by cutting to the chase, this is a phenomenal bible. Even if you already own 20+ different bibles (like I do), chances are this bible will be like none other you’ve owned or read.

Every year I enjoy reading the bible cover-to-cover, and this year I wanted to try a new approach, reading the bible in chronological order. I began using a plan that told me what to read and when. The plan I was using wasn’t bad but I had to continuously flip pages from one book to the next within each days reading. Then one day I found out about the release of this bible, I couldn’t get it into my hands fast enough. When it finally arrived, it totally exceeded my expectations.

Why am I so happy with it, and how did it exceed expectations?

For starters I did not have a bible that was actually written in chronological order, I had plans within my bibles that told me where to flip to next if I wanted to read chronologically, but I haven’t owned a bible written in this fashion before. For example: Genesis is the first book, but Job (not Exodus) follows Genesis; Psalms that were written by Moses are inserted in their proper places within the Pentateuch, and of course all chapters are labeled so the reader is never confused about what they are reading and from what part of the bible.

Simple convenience may not be enough for someone to be convinced they need this bible if all they wanted to do is to read in chronological order, but that’s not all there is to it. Although this bible does a fabulous job in its order and layout it goes even one step further by inserting parallel verses which are related. It’s hard to convey this feature without giving examples. The first example is what you might expect: the parallel listing of the Gospel stories. Another completely random example is Genesis 25 and 1 Chronicles 1:32-33; in the Genesis passage it lists the decedents of Keturah and parallel to it is 1 Chron 1:32:33 which also lists Keturah’s decedents. This is a fabulous way to compare the verses in the bible and seeing the cohesion between the books and authors. These parallels are all throughout the bible.

One other feature I really love is the sectional chronology charts. These charts tell you the date of events in the bible, what worldly events correspond to the biblical, and what kingdoms existed when. Finally, there is a timeline on every page that always reminds the reader where they are in history.

I absolutely love this bible and all the features within it. I can’t think of a thing I’d do differently if I were the author. I want to thank Zondervan for providing me with this incredible bible for my honest review, and I very highly recommend everyone to try “a new approach for exploring scripture” using this bible.

A Simple and Clean NIV Bible

This is a neat little bible that I thought had a good concept. It’s not a study bible, in fact there is no commentary at all,  no introduction to books or any sort of extra input apart from the insertion of some of today’s most well known worship songs. I was hoping that the songs would be found near the verses at inspired them but unfortunately they were dispersed at random throughout the bible.

As one who loves worship music, owning over 500 CD’s and 1000’s of MP3s I thought this bible would be a perfect match for me. But the reality is that although it’s a neat concept, having the lyrics within the pages of the bible and a short reflection on the song by the song writers, it didn’t really help in integrating the bible with worship any more than what I had already come to know.

It was nice to learn a little bit more about the songs that I so frequently sing, but it isn’t necessary to buy this bible just for that. It’s a great idea of having the cords for the top 20 worship songs in the back, but again it’s not necessary to buy this bible just for that. At the very end of the bible there are also 5 interesting pages going over what is worship, the history of worship music, celebrating worship music, and going beyond the music.

Overall it’s your ordinary NIV bible, simple and clean with a small exception of the songs. I look foreword to using this bible during my church worship, but I have to say if you already own an NIV bible then maybe don’t get this bible because you won’t likely miss out on much but rather get a another translation altogether and experience something new.

Thank you to Zondervan for providing me with a copy of this bible for my honest review of it.

A Testament To What God Can Do

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Jun 21, 2013 - 288 pages
When God Intervenes is an awe-inspiring testimony of an incredible mother who though has experienced hell on Earth through constant battles for her life yet has never failed to give God the glory and put Him first.

Dabney Hedegard has a story like no other, myself being a medical student I can attest that she is alive only by the grace of God. This book is her story, when I started it I couldn't put it down. It was a rollercoaster of emotion, as soon as something got better something else got worse. For years she’s been fighting death and her story reminds me of Job, who through trails and afflictions never cursed God but on the contrary developed a deeper more intimate relationship with Him.

Do you know someone with a health condition plaguing them? Get them this book! Dabney is a testament to what God can do. He can save anyone, from anything, even the brink of death – and not just once! Regardless if you answered yes or no to my previous question this is an absolutely amazing story and needs to be made into a movie someday. Get it. Read it. I guarantee you WILL be blessed by it and in the end you, like me, will be saying wow, what a mighty God we serve.
I want to thank Tyndale Publishers for blessing me with a copy of this book and may you be blessed when you get a chance to read it!

Refreshing, Thought Invoking.

Published by Thomas Nelson, May 7 2013 - 224 pages, hardcover
What is time and what does it mean for us? N.D. Wilson does a remarkable job in his book Death by Living, weaving theology and story telling like only a few writers before him have ever done. From the get go we see his love for stories, the works of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien are mentioned all throughout the book, and rightly so, for Wilson’s ability to write and articulate himself is comparable to the likes of Lewis and Chesterton.

This book does not dive straight into the meaning of life, time, and etc. but rather takes the scenic route to get to the point. Like the works of Chesterton and Lewis, one cannot appreciate them if read with haste and such is Death by Living. Although I’m not used to reading story books (this is not a fiction book) with theology weaved in the background, this was a masterful work by Wilson which made me slow down as I read, forced me to ponder, and reflect on the time I’ve spent and have yet to spend here on this planet. 

If you are looking for a refreshingly different book on spiritualty look no further. Wilson’s masterful story telling skills mixed with his knowledge and experience of God simply calms the soul of the reader. Should you get this book? Yes, but do me a favor and don’t read it to fast, enjoy it, brood over it, and may God bless your reading of this book.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with this copy of this book, may it be a blessing to many others.

Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon Church

A fascinating and truly gripping story, Unveiling Grace, allows a rare glimpse into the Mormon church. Lynn K. Wilder writes about her family, how they converted too, and from Mormonism, and all the other stuff in between. I personally have a heart for Mormon people, seeing how sincere they are, I always wondered what goes on inside their world and how do I introduce the TRUE gospel to them. This book equipped me with what I was looking for.

It’s a unique perspective because it allowed me to see why people become Mormon, what happens when you become a Mormon – and what it takes to maintain being Mormon. It taught me many of the interworking’s of the Mormon church and doctrines they believe and teach. I believe and know from personal experience that nothing is more effective in teaching other’s about the truth unless you know where they are coming from and can show that you understand what they teach but can show them that they are wrong – that’s exactly what happened in this book. It provides the information needed to understand the Mormon church and how Mormon’s act and think.

I love how in the back of the book, although done throughout the book, it gives a chart showing the discrepancies between what the bible teaches and what the book of Mormon teaches. In no way does this book bash the Mormon church, but it points out, respectfully, how wrong the church is and how contrary their beliefs are from the true gospel.

With all this information mixed in with a divine story I could not put this book down. I feel ready, equipped, and compelled to go out and share this story and the good news of the true gospel to any Mormon that crosses my path.

If you have any interests in learning why the Mormon church teaches a false gospel, and what exactly that false gospel is, or if you have missionaries coming to your door, friends, family, or anyone that is Mormon in your life I HIGHLY recommend this book. This book has the power to change lives.
Thank you to Zondervan for providing me with a copy for my honest review of this book, it has truly been a blessing to read and encourage everyone to read it too!

NIV Leadership Bible: Leading by The Book - By Zondervan

A leader faces decisions and consequences (good or bad) almost on a minute-to-minute basis, in fact we all do no matter what status we have and the NIV Leadership Bible attempts to guide the reader into making Godly and wise decisions. The bible it self is well made and beautifully organized. Beautiful cover, great sized print, but unfortunately the publishers chose to leave out red lettering for Jesus, something I value.

The “leadership” part of the bible is organized into 52 weeks, with each week being structured around a particular skill (week 1: Long-range planning; week 2: Structure/ Organization; etc.). Each week is further divided into a 5-day outline always introducing the skill, e.g. long-range planning, and who God is, who I am, how it works, and what I do. Essentially this is a daily devotional (for 5 days of the week), which talks about the skill and perhaps a character that portrayed that specific character or a story in which it is seen.

The readings/devotionals are really a quick read, some a minute or 2, others a tad bit longer, but in my opinion do not have to much depth or anything profound to say. Sure there are some days which contain more substance then others but in general I did not walk away having learnt anything new. The real substance of the daily devotionals, for me anyway, was not reading what the authors had to say any particular day but sitting meditating and trying to apply what I just read for myself in my daily life – but to be perfectly honest though this bible makes it easier to do this because it lists the skills for you, it is in no way necessary and if one sits and mediates and tries to apply scriptures to their daily life anyway then they probably wont come up with anything new reading the daily devotionals in this bible.

There are other aspects of the bible which are nice such as character profiles, which relate to leadership in some way, introductions to each book in the bible, which are also more about the leadership skills that are found in the book then a thorough introduction of the books. As well as “insights” boxes all throughout the bible which are small blurbs here and there discussing a skill or personal development issue relating to a verse or passage in scripture, something I found of zero value to me personally.

Again though these features are nice, they are put there to show leadership skills and qualities, not for a thorough and in depth look at character profiles and introductions to each book – there are study bibles meant for that. So for the purpose that this bible is a leadership bible I say it attempts to do the job well, it brings in as much opportunities as possible to talk about leadership skills and qualities, I just feel a lot of it lacks substance. These are my personal opinions and statements, I given this bible for my honest review of it.