The Pilgrimage

Recently my reading of Scripture has been greatly enriched by two award-winning new reference works. 

One is the Archaeological Study Bible.  This is filled with enlightening articles and beautiful color pictures of biblical sights and artifacts.  It is fantastic in helping the serious student of Scripture understand the historical background of the text. 

The other is The IVP Atlas of Bible History.  Again, the photos are color and the articles are first-rate scholarship that is easy to understand.  It works chronologically, meaning that the articles, maps, and pictures follow the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  Another wonderful resource for helping us understand the historical background of the text.  

Both these new resources are attracting rave reviews, and for good reason. 

If you can catch it before it leaves the theatres, The Kite Runner would be two hours well-spent.  It is among the most moving films I have ever seen. 

The film is based on the beautifully written novel by Afghan writer Khaled Hosseini, and sticks close to the book.  (If you’ve been in Starbucks over the past year you’ve probably seen the book while waiting in line for your latte.)

Without giving everything away and ruining it for you, it is the story of two boys growing up in Afghanistan in the 1970’s.  Amir is the son of a progressive, westernized businessman in Kabul.  His best friend Hassan is the son of his father’s servant.  The boys who play these two roles are incredible. 

The film shows the suffering of the Afghan people, first under the Soviets and later under the Taliban.  The portrait of the evil and hypocrisy of the Taliban is harrowing.  Amir, who escaped with his father to America after the Soviet invasion in 1979, returns to his home country in 2000 on a mission.  I will say no more. 

But while historical events and regime changes are shown in The Kite Runner, that is really not the heart of the film.  It is full of themes that affect everyone.  It is about friendship and family, fear and courage, love, loss, and loyalty.  Your spirit will be stirred.  Check it out.

(Warning:  Even though the movie is only PG-13, it is not for young children.  There is some heartbreaking sexual abuse.)   

One of the great growth years of my Christian journey was 1991, when I read the Bible through for the first time. 

Like most people who grow up in a Christian home and a good church, I was taught the importance of reading my Bible from an early age.  Unfortunately, I was also like most in that my Bible had too often sat on the shelf collecting dust. 

But powerful – even radical - things happen when we actually get around to reading God’s Word.  That year was transformational for me.  In reading the Bible through, the Big Picture started to come together.  I started to see the tapestry formed by the major biblical themes.  I started to really begin to grasp the biblical principles that one sees over and over in reading the Bible from cover to cover.  Consequently, I started to think more biblically about all kinds of issues…which is the starting point for living differently. 

Something that helped that first time I read the Bible from cover to cover was that I had a partner to talk with about each day’s reading.  That was Melissa.  We were just dating at the time, and I was in North Carolina going to seminary and she was in Virginia.  Still, during our daily phone conversations we would take a few minutes to talk and sometimes pray about what God had shown us in His Word that day. 

Reading the whole Bible together had an incredible impact on us as individuals and as a couple.  It also helped hold both of us accountable.  If one of us slipped in our reading, the other could encourage.  Furthermore, in talking with one another each day about the reading, it drove what we were learning that much deeper into our minds and hearts.

I hope you will read the Bible through this year, using the bookmarks our church is providing.  What’s more, I hope you will take the journey with others, and talk about what you are learning.  Let’s make 2008 a banner year in our lives and in the life of our church family!  

One of the great memories of my childhood is sitting in my mom’s lap while she read books to me.  I loved to cuddle up close to her and hear her read. 

God used those times to knit my heart closer to her…and He also used that time to give me a love of reading that has never left me. 

But what is really great is when you can read to your children and learn the deep truths of God’s Word simultaneously.  Let me tell you about two fantastic books to read with your children.  Both are beautifully written and centered on Christ.

The first is The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones.  It isn’t often that I call new books “classics,” but I believe this one will be regarded as a classic in Christian literature.  Sally Lloyd-Jones is an amazing writer.  She weaves in lots of humor that kids love, and beautifully shows how the great stories of Scripture all point to the Savior.    

Charles Spurgeon once said of his preaching, “I take my text and make a bee line to the cross.”  That is precisely what Sally does as she retells these Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments.  She shows how every story points to the Savior.  You and your children will grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and your love for Christ as Sally shows how each biblical story whispers His name. 

Parents, buy this book! 

Another recent book does much the same thing:  The Big Picture Bible Story Book, by David Helm, is also excellent and Christ-centered.  Like Sally, David retells great Bible stories and vividly shows how the whole Bible points to Jesus.     

Both books are colorful and wonderfully illustrated.  You’ll read them over and over to your children, and as you do so your love for the Savior and your knowledge of God’s Word will grow deeper and deeper.  Just click on the titles above to order them.  There are spiritual riches waiting for you and your children.