JOURNEY OUTSIDE THE CAMP

TNIV Noteworthy New Testament

This is so cool. For years, I've been trying to figure out a way to take notes in my Bible. The best method I have so far is having a Moleskine notebook with my Bible each time I'm reading it. I've seen other folks take apart a Bible and insert empty pages and then re-bind the pages, creating what is known as a blank Bible so you can take plenty of notes right in the Bible itself. Okay, I have to admit that I can't bring myself to cutting up a Bible so that plan is out.

Enter the TNIV Noteworthy New Testament . Zondervan has taken the blank Bible concept and produced a nice-looking, Moleskine-like Bible where all the right pages are completely blank! You can now take as many notes as you like. How cool is that? Too bad this edition is only the NT though. I guess it would make the Noteworthy Bible too thick if they put in the Old Testament as well. How about a two-volume edition then? I wouldn't mind that. You can get a good look at the Noteworthy Bible at this blog: Bible Design and Binding.

The Big Picture Story Bible

A few weeks ago, my wife stumbled upon this book when we were browsing at SKS Books. It's entitled, The Big Picture Story Bible. We were immediately taken with it because it takes a child through the Bible in a chronological manner. I'm a big fan of teaching the Bible chronologically because it explains the Gospel message fully, starting with the Old Testament. The Bible's big theme is how God created the world for his glory and when it fell in sinned, how he restored the world through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. A lot of times, kids are taught the saving work of Jesus but they don't understand why it has to be this way. They don't understand the idea of substitution, they don't understand what sin really is, how righteous God is and so on. Only by having a good understanding of the whole story, starting from Genesis, does God's story and plan become clear. Then children can readily understand, believe and trust in what God has done. We've seen this happen many times in the classes that we teach chronologically.

The Big Picture Story Bible does an excellent job of making the Gospel clear. We grabbed the last two copies that were on the shelf. One copy was a for a birthday gift and the other copy my kids have been devouring. The illustrations are very good and the story is written clearly and simply. A very very good resource for teaching kids the Bible's main message and taking children right through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

What I learnt from Billy Graham

Billy Graham is turning 90 on 7 Nov. He’s been blessed with an amazing ministry and God has used him mightily for the past six or more decades. I came across some a blog entry and a news article about his life and ministry and what really resonated with me was though he had many responsibilities and such a big ministry, he was still humble, down-to-earth and a very engaged family man.

His family is very large: he has 19 grandchildren. As far as I can tell, many of them are faithful Christians. He has a grandson, Tullian Tchividjian, who is a pastor at New City Church in Margate, Florida. Tullian recalls that his grandparents were always gracious to family members, even when they went off the deep end. Billy never waved a finger or told his children to get their acts right or say they were tarnishing the family name. Billy was always well aware of his own sinfulness and so he reached out in love to others.

He also loved to keep in touch with his family. He would much rather spend time with his family then hang out with world leaders. And his grandsons say that he is a simple man, preferring cafeterias to fancy restaurants and cheap suits to expensive clothes.

Just from those little bits of description of what Billy Graham is like, I am deeply encouraged. His humbleness is something to emulate. He is humble because he appreciates God’s magnificence. I must learn to love God’s magnificence more. He is loving and gracious because he is keenly aware of his own sin nature and more aware of how much grace God extended to him. I must learn to be more aware of my own sinfulness and of God’s sovereign grace. He made time for his family despite a busy work schedule. I must remember that God’s mandate for me at this season is to raise my family in the way of the Lord and that means spending time with them at the expense of career, friends, hobbies and other earthly distractions.

[Learn more about how Billy Graham affect people's lives at ThankYouBilly.com]