Subscribers update

If you receive this blog through email or feed, the new feed is burned at http://feeds.feedburner.com/SeekingAKingdom

Immediate Transfer to new Domain

Hello everyone.

I have yet to complete construction of the new site, but it is running well enough as is. You can change your bookmarks to http://www.seekingakingdom.com

If you subscribe via reader, you can now subscribe by http://feeds.feedburner.com/seekingakingdom

You can also follow on twitter @seekingakingdom and on facebook http://www.facebook.com/jamestothelee

This domain, Deliverdetroit.com will soon forward completely to the new domain within 7 days. If you enter this address it will send you to the new site.

If you are a blogger and you currently link to Deliver Detroit, I will be re-routing the domain and forwarding it on. Please update your blog roll to reflect the name and domain change. I am grateful for your links and would like to keep them coming!

See you all there!

Reading through the eyes Jesus gave you, the Jesus Lens

How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture by Michael James Williams, Zondervan, 2012, 288 pages. Interest Group: Christianity/Bible/Reference

An Amazon search for "how to read the bible" yields an easy 5,529 results! Add some other search parameters and you are bound to expand that number exponentially. No question about it, there are plenty of books on reading the bible.

Methodological, pedagogical, philological, or just plain introductory methods can all explain how to get into and read the bible. What many believers would benefit from the most is reading the bible effectively. Scholars of all sorts can explain to you the content and intent of religious literature, regardless of their creed or allegiance, but the true effectiveness of reading the bible is found in doing it, internalizing it, and obeying it.

How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture is Michael Williams' attempt to remove the hype and the proverbial fluff and get to the nuts and bolts of understanding scripture. If you are disciple of Jesus Christ, it should be a no-brainer. However, this is not always the case. Fundamentally, Jesus is the one who has enabled us to see the truth of his words, it is through him we should read the truth of scripture.

I elected to review the book and the author's insights as he views the letters of John through the Jesus Lens. The author of John's gospel makes his agenda clear from the onset, the deity of Christ. The Jesus Lens tells us that we must see through the events of this gospel and discover the Father in the Son. Likewise the Son in the Father is a revelation that is important to the life of the disciple. Because of this union with each other, Jesus is divine and human. Without the perfection of deity, the imperfection of humanity could not be redeemed.

The epistles also attributed to John reveal the importance of truth and obedience to that truth. It is the Jesus Lens that again demonstrates the physical manifestation of God's love through the human presence of the divine son. Jesus Christ sets forth the standard and the instructions that enable us to follow in his footsteps. In other words, practicing the life he enables us to do through the life that he lived here on earth. This same revelation of truth and similitude to Jesus Christ is found in the refutation of error and the behavior we provide toward others, hospitality.

Williams' has done many old and new believers alike a great favor. He has pared down the truths of each book of the bible and allowed us to view them through the Jesus Lens. With a summary, contemporary application, and reference to how to read each book with Jesus as our interpreting lens, William's has developed an excellent tool. Whether you use it as a desk reference or a review tool after finishing a book in the bible, this book is very helpful for reminding us to see Jesus in all things, including our bible reading plans.

I received this book from Zondervan for the purpose of review. No books were harmed in the reviewing of this book.

What did Jesus teach? Commandments or Suggestions?

The Commands of Christ: What it Really Means to Follow Jesus, by Tom Blackaby, B & H Books , 2012, 176 pages. Interest Group: Religion/Personal Study/New Testament

The name of Tom Blackaby may not ring familiar in too many popular circles. If you knew of his father, Henry Blackaby and appreciated his work, you will appreciate Tom's also. They both establish themselves in their writing with a penchant for dedication to the instruction of God, and the fellowship that brings with it.

In his work, The Commands of Christ: What It Really Means to Follow Jesus, Blackaby sets out to establish parameters of Christian living, as spoken through the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ. With some introduction and very little pomp, Blackaby outlines the direction of the Christian's life by establishing a system. The system in this book introduces the command, quotes the scriptures from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, and then explains them in a practical manner. After reading each command and it's explanation, Blackaby ensures the reader of a modern explanation to apply personally in our own context.

Other reviewers have commented on the simplistic nature of the outline method Blackaby utilizes. I think this apparent weakness actually serves as a strength to be replicated by other authors treating similar topics. Although it is near impossible to avoid authorial bias in any work, Blackaby serves the text well by remaining without dogmatic denominational interpretation. At the end of the day, Blackaby aims to teach his readers the importance and simplicity of adhering to the commands of the Lord. He is also careful to ensure we remember the importance and distinguishing characteristics of those who claim to follow Jesus, that "if we love him, we will keep his commandments."

I received this book from B & H Books for the purpose of review. No books were harmed in the reviewing of this book.