Bibles for Children

There are a lot of great children's Bibles out there. These are the Bibles my children own.

This one was my son's first Bible.

He got it when he was one. We read him these stories over and over. Now he is nine and has passed it on to his little sister. She loves to read it at bedtime. Her favorite story is of the woman that poured the perfume on Jesus.

When our son was six, we got him the Comic Book Bible. He read this Bible through so many times, the front cover fell off! This Bible exceeds the Bible story books I had as a child. It includes the major and minor prophets, Paul's ministry, and even the book of Revelation, which is more than typical Bible story books. My son knows more about the prophets and Paul than I ever did as a child. Now when we read through the Bible as a family at dinnertime, he recognizes many things from his readings. This is exciting to me, because the more times you hear information the further it sinks in and the more wisdom you can get from it. It's just wonderful for me to see him get this exposure at this young age.

(I have NO idea why this font has insisted on being underlined!)

Last year, after my son had read through the Comic Book Bible so many times, I started thinking it was time for him to move up to the next level. I started to notice certain stories that were missing from the Comic Book Bible. It is a fabulous Bible, it just doesn't contain every single story, it would be too big for kids if it did.

We bought him the Picture Bible. It doesn't have the humor that the Comic Book Bible had, but it still has a comic book format, with frames and conversation bubbles and includes more content. So it was a good step up. If we had bought this one for him at six, I think it would have overwhelmed him and he probably wouldn't have had the interest in reading it, like he did the Comic Book Bible. But now, at nine (we bought it when he was eight), he is really enjoying it. He is almost done reading it through for the first time.

So, like I said, there are a lot of great Bibles available, but these are the ones we own and enjoy.

Analogy

I have been thinking a lot about this whole law and grace thing, after studying Galatians and now starting Romans.

You may or may not know that I am VERY into the topic of food and health, click here to read my health blog.  The thought occurred to me yesterday that law and grace can be compared to diet.

Let's say you are experiencing health issues and your doctor tells you to go on an allergen-free diet.  You can't have any dairy, eggs, wheat, or soy.  You are going to feel VERY restricted, you will feel bondage.  I guarantee, it won't be fun, you will be thinking about all the foods you can't have.  Everywhere you look, there are foods that you can't eat!

Now, let's say that you are studying about health and learn that something isn't good for you, sugar, for example.  You start cutting back on sugar, you may cut out desserts altogether, you may cut out soda altogether, you may start reading labels and becoming more aware of what foods have sugar in them.  It's not a hard thing for you to do, it's relatively easy, you don't desire sugar as much as you used to, you desire to eat more healthy.

This is the difference between law and grace.  Law puts you in bondage, it says what you can and can't do and humans are rule-breakers by nature.  Grace gives you the desire to do what's right and pleasing to the Lord.  It's easy.

Perhaps another analogy will help you.  Let's talk about music.

As a teen, I was told by my church, my parents, and my school that secular music was bad and I was not allowed to listen to it.  Well, remember I said before that we humans are, by nature, rule-breakers.  I rebelled and listened to secular music every chance I got.  Music was my life, I love all types of music, from classical, to jazz, to hard rock.  To tell me I couldn't listen to a huge group of music was unbearable.

Now many years later, I still have a wide repertoire of secular music I enjoy, but I find that if it's not true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report (Phil. 4:8), I don't have the desire to listen to it.  (There is actually a lot of good, quality secular music out there, it's not a clear-cut, secular versus Christian thing.)  In fact, I find the desire for music, on a whole, is just not there like it used to be.  I would rather use my time to listen to a podcast of one of my favorite Bible teachers.

As Christians we do not have a big list of dos and don'ts, it is not a life of bondage and restriction.  We have the power of the Holy Spirit working on the inside of us (Phil. 1:6 & Gal. 5:22) so that we want to please the Lord.  And it is not that since we are no longer under the law, we are free to do as we please, either!  (Romans 6:1-2)  Our lives are no longer our own, we have been bought by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28) and when we get a true revelation of His sacrifice and His love for us, we want to please Him.  When we have faith in His redemptive work (His Word, His instructions), and obey the things He leads us to do (be a doer, not a hearer only), it is easy, because of His grace.

Information

We just came home from church and it was a great message.

Our pastor taught us about how Jesus gave people information, He didn't just inspire them.  He was constantly teaching the people.

Inspiration is important, but you can't do much with it, unless you have information.  You will need information about how God's kingdom works in order for Him to work in your life, in order to have peace in your life, in order to have healing in your life, in order to have financial prosperity in your life.

Hosea 4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

And this is exactly WHY I have started this blog--to inspire you to study God's Word for yourself!  That is where you get the information about who God is, what God's plan is and how you fit into it, and what your response should be.

So don't delay--first, you need to be in a church that is preaching the Word, not just making you feel good; and two, start a habit now of reading God's Word!

What Do I Obey?

This could also be titled, "What is God's Will For Me?"  But since this is a study I did with my nine-year-old son, I used kid-friendly terms.

Since we finished up our study of God's grace (see here), we had to see what God's Word instructed us to DO.  Because God's grace works together with our faith and we read in James that faith without works is dead.  Works being obedience.  So what do we obey?

::The Ten Commandments  -  Exodus 20:1-17

::Parents  -  Ephesians 6:1

::Be humble  -  James 4:6 & Isaiah 14:12-21  (story to illustrate the effects of pride)

::Be givers and tithers  -  Malachi 3:10-11, Luke 6:38, & II Corinthians 9:7

::Be a hard worker  -  II Thessalonians 3:6-13, Proverbs 10:4-5, & Proverbs 12:24

::Love our neighbors as ourselves  -  Luke 10:25-37, John 13:34-35, & Romans 13:9-10

::Be a servant  -  Phillipians 2:3-8, John 13:1-10, Mark 8:1-10, & Mark 9:33-34

::Preach the gospel  -  Mark 16:15-20 &  II Timothy 3:14-4:5

::And most importantly of all--Love God with all your heart!  -  Deuteronomy 6:5

I covered these over the course of two weeks with my son.  Obviously, this is a list geared toward a child.  You can search the scriptures and find many, many more specifics of God's will for your life.  Specifics about your role as a wife, husband, a single person, parent, employee, boss, how to handle your finances, what God's plan is for you and what His purpose is for all of us as humans, and yes--even what and how to eat!

What is God's will for your life?  Search in His Word and find out!

Pondering

The other night, in conversation, the topic of Michael Phelps came up.  Specifically, his indiscretion--what he did, what the repercussions have been, etc.

I said, "They might not let him compete in the next Olympics."

Another answered, "Now that's not fair, that's his private life, he's so talented!"

This made me stop and think and my reply was that perhaps that is right, maybe that was going a bit too far.

But the next morning I was still thinking about it.  I thought back to a sermon I had listened to recently.  The speaker was talking about how Marxist ideas and philosophies and ways of thinking have wormed their way into our country and culture and system of education.  Rather than teaching logic as generations did in the past, this new method is to teach compartmentalization.  This is a big word for putting things in separate categories, compartments, boxes.  I think I will refer to it as "box thinking". 

This "box thinking" teaches that all areas of our lives fit into different compartments and there is a different set of rules and values for each area.  Religion is in one box, science in another, your careers and goals in yet another.  They are all inter-dependent and don't have anything to do with one another.  The rules are also relative, what you feel is right and wrong for you, may not be right or wrong for another, and that is okay.

Our children have been learning this way for decades.  It is not just our children, but us and even our parents.

So, all this came back to me as I was pondering our conversation.  The thought struck me, "Is this a result of our 'box thinking'?  Are we excusing his behavior because we think too much in our separate little boxes?  And, are we practicing any of this 'box thinking' in our own lives?"

Is God's Word applicable to ALL areas of our life?  Or is it just reserved for Sundays, when we go to church, because that is the religion/spiritual box of our lives?  Do we only call on God when we are in dire straits, OR, do we get up and seek God's wisdom for our every move?  Do we look to the Word for wisdom in our marriages, or are we seeking the advice of Oprah and Dr. Phil?  Do we study what God's Word has to say about parenting, or do we reach for the latest issue of our Parenting magazine?  What about other areas, like how we handle our money, or what we eat and how we eat?

I say to you now--you will not experience God's peace until you let Him in to ALL areas of your life!

Ask yourself, "Am I putting God in a box?  Do I feel that what I do in my 'private life' is only my concern?"  It may sound cliche, but it will be the difference between joy and sorrow.

Whether Michael Phelps should be banned from the next Olympics or not isn't relevant.  Let us consider this, though---perhaps the Olympics has a code of ethics as do other sports franchises and even many private schools.  This disregard for these codes of ethics comes from this "box thinking".  Whether the Olympics has a code of ethics or not, Michael Phelps is representing the Olympic establishment and as such, perhaps has no "private life".  Just as we are Christ's representatives on this earth, our "lives" are not our own, so we don't have "private lives"!

I preach to myself here as much as any of you.  I can look back and recognize where I was practicing this "box thinking".

Do you need to get rid of this kind of thinking?  I find it's like peeling an onion, you can peel back a layer at a time.  I am by no means saying I have attained perfection in this area.  We are all at different places in our growth.

As you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, you recognize areas of your life that are filled with the world's belief system and way of thinking and you start to shed that.  Then, you will come upon another layer and shed that, and so on and so on.  We do this by renewing our minds to God's Word.  (Romans 12:2)

Book of Romans

I am now studying the Book of Romans and listening to a commentary by Dr. Chuck Missler.

Here are some of my notes from today (these are random thoughts, they may or may not tie together):

Remember the story of the prodigal son?  Did the father say, "My son has become good!"?  No, he says, "This is my son who WAS dead, and is alive again; he was lost and now is found."  The point is not that the son was reformed, but that he never lost his sonship.  Christ did not come to make bad men, good, but to give dead men life!

Faith will yield obedience, but obedience does not yield faith.  (This is interesting to me and ties in with my study here.  Are our works of God or self?)

Grace is a tough concept for us to wrap our brains around.  Grace is what God ha done, and He has done it entirely of His own initiative--we can't add anything to it, yet at the same time, as a result of that, we are called to obedience.  It's strange how many people will receive Jesus as their Savior, without recognizing the obligation of receiving Him as their Lord.  You and I are sold out 100% to a King!  It's the Lordship of Christ that is so often overlooked in our Christian walk.  (More on this in the next post.)

Good stuff!

Law Versus Grace

I have finished up my study on the book of Galatians and it was wonderful!!!  Now I am moving on to Romans, which will take the topic into further depths.

I really liked this comparison that Dr. Chuck Missler did on law and grace, so I thought I would post it here.

The law is perfect, that's why imperfect people cannot keep it.  See Psalm 19 & 119.

The law is holy, that's why sinners are condemned by it.

The law is just, that's why it can't show mercy to the guilty.  Showing mercy is not just.

The law condemns the sinner, but grace redeems the sinner.

The law reveals sin, but grace atones for sin.

By the law is the knowledge of sin, by grace is the redemption from sin.

The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

The law demands obedience, grace bestows and empowers us to obey.

The law says do and do not, grace says it is done, it is finished.

The law says continue to be holy, grace says it is finished.

The law curses, grace blesses.

The law slaves the sinner, grace makes the sinner alive.

The law shuts every mouth before God, grace opens the mouth to praise God.

The law condemns the best man, grace saves the worst man.

The law says pay what you owe, grace says, "I freely forgive you all."

The law says the wages of sin is death, grace says the gift of God is eternal life.

The law says the soul that sins, it shall die, grace says believe and live.

The law was done away (fulfilled) in Christ, grace abides forever.

The law puts us under bondage, grace sets us free.

Memorization

As I mentioned here, memorizing scripture is important.

The passage that we have chosen to memorize this week is in keeping with the theme of obedience.  (More on that here.)

Psalm 19:7-11

The law of the Lord is perfect,

  converting the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure,

  making wise the simple;

The statutes of the Lord are right,

  rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure,

  enlightening the eyes;

The fear of the Lord is clean,

  enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

Yea, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them Your servant is warned,

And in keeping them there is great reward.

See also Psalm 119:165 and my articles here and here on heavenly rewards.

Psalm 30

I read this Psalm this morning and was encouraged.  I hope it will encourage you, too!

Psalm 30

I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,

And have not let my foes rejoice over me.

O LORD my God, I cried out to You,

And You healed me.

O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;

You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life;

Weeping may endure for a night,

But joy comes in the morning.

Now in my prosperity I said,

“I shall never be moved.”

LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;

You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

I cried out to You, O LORD;

And to the LORD I made supplication:

“What profit is there in my blood,

When I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise You?

Will it declare Your truth?

Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

What I Am Listening To

I have been listening to selections from the 3rd Annual Strategic Perspectives Conference, hosted by Koinonia Institute.

You can buy the DVD of the entire conference, download individual Mp3 files, or listen to some of it by radio broadcast, as I have done (here and here).

I have especially enjoyed listening to Bill Cloud.  He talks about how we think in linear fashion, but should think the way God does--in cycles.

I also really enjoyed Walid Shoebat, a former Muslim who gives Biblical insight from an Islamic point of view.  Click here for part 1 and here for part 2.

John Loeffler's presentation was also great.  Can you weather the storm?  Click for part 1 here and part 2 here.

And I saved the best for last--Bill Stolebarger's message was awesome!  This is Dr. Chuck Missler's ministry partner.  I heard Dr. Missler say essentially the same as this message a couple years ago when he visited our church and it changed my life.  If you only listen to one of these messages, this is the one to listen to.  I have already listened to it twice and will listen to it again in the next few days.

Verse For Today

Ps. 119:165

Great peace have those who love your law,

and nothing causes them to stumble.

With talk of peace all around, it is only those who love God's Word that have true peace.

More on that here.