It's Arrived!

You've heard me talk about this book for months and I've just received my first advance copies. I'm grateful for my writing partners Randy Southern and Selena Sarns who made my role as editor very easy.

The book releases July 2. For more information on some upcoming events click here.

Sample articles from the book can be enjoyed here.

This is from the introduction to the book:

The influence of the Bible is impossible to ignore. Even with some of the impressive sales records of books in the last few years, the Bible remains the best-selling book of all time. Although it is an ancient text, it is an amazingly relevant source of wisdom and truth for today. While fad diets, books, and apps come and go, the enduring truths of the Bible have changed millions of lives—and they can change yours too. 

In creating The Bible: 100 Ways It Can Change Your Life, we haven’t tried to overanalyze the Bible or rewrite its meaning for a contemporary audience. Instead, we’ve treated the Bible the same way countless people have treated it for thousands of years: we simply have taken it at its word. Throughout history, people have believed it, organized their lives around it, and improved their lives as a result.

These same words from this sacred book still whisper to our souls, drawing us toward something bigger than ourselves. The Bible offers powerful pearls of wisdom about daily life, our relationship to our culture, our relationship to God, and our relationship with others.

Whether you read the book all in one sitting or take one page a day and reflect on its meaning, The Bible: 100 Ways it Can Change Your Life will lead you in discovering the eternal truth and wisdom of God revealed in the pages of the Bible. Join us in uncovering these timeless treasures of what you need in order to live wisely in today’s world. 

And here are some sample pages. (Page layouts by Symbology Creative)

The book releases in July. If you want to pre-order a copy, you can do that at Amazon by clicking here.

Believe is An Action Verb

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

At the very beginning of his ministry on earth, Jesus said, “The time has come.” He had arrived. The world as people knew it was about to be changed forever. And people would need to take action. People would need to repent and believe the Good News.

     But there’s more to believing than lip service, isn’t there? Believe is an action verb. Belief in Jesus has to affect the way that we live or it’s not sincere. Jesus asks us to repent and to believe in the gospel. This means that we need to accept him as Savior and give our lives to him. It means we have to submit to his will for our lives. It means we have to follow his lead at all costs.

     Worshiping Jesus should affect every aspect of our lives in every possible way. None of this is easy. None of this is simple. But when we do it, our whole life changes for the better. We become healthier, happier people, who make the world a better place.

Dear God, thank you so much for your Son. Please help us to live out our beliefs. Please help us to make believe an action verb. Amen.

This devotion was written for Once a Day: At the Table Family Devotional. This is a family-oriented devotional book written by my writing team & me. Reprinted with permission.

Free Atlas Giveaway

Knowing where biblical events happened can help you understand the the Bible a little bit better .

I originally created this atlas for Barbour Publishing in 2008 and it has become one of the best-selling Bible Atlases of the last 5 years.  This edition contains 75 maps that use NASA technology to guarantee accuracy,  helpful descriptions that help you connect the Bible story to the maps, and beautiful photos that bring life and color you can't normally find in most boring Atlas products.

I'm really excited that Barbour has just released this atlas in a pocket, easy to carry edition. To celebrate this release, I'm giving away 5 copies to those who randomly sign up through my Rafflecopter giveaway.  

Sign up here: http://bit.ly/FreeBibleAtlas

Or if you don't want to wait until the end of the contest for your copy, you can order one here:

Feeling Shame?

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1–2)

DEVOTION

We are told that we are forgiven for our sins. But sometimes we don’t really “feel” forgiven. Sometimes we carry some of that old guilt around, for good measure.

     As Christians, we don’t have to do this. We don’t have to be slaves to our guilt, to our condemnation, because Jesus has set us free from all that. He has given us new life. Jesus took the penalties of our sins on himself when he gave his life on the cross. If we allow ourselves to feel guilty about sins that God has forgiven us for, we are essentially saying that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t big enough to cover our sins—and we know that this just isn’t true. 
     If you hear a voice telling you to feel bad about the sins for which you’ve already been forgiven, know that this voice is not the voice of God. Your guilt is valuable to the enemy. But he can’t do much with your freedom. And you are free. You are free from the law of sin and death. Jesus Christ set you free two thousand years ago at Calvary.

PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for Calvary. Thank you for forgiving us for our sins. Please set us free from guilt and condemnation. Amen. 

This devotion was written for Once a Day: At the Table Family Devotional. This is a family-oriented devotional book written by my writing team & me. Reprinted with permission.

Feeling Salty?

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:13–15)

DEVOTION

Is it a compliment to be called “salt”? How about “light”? It must be because that’s what Jesus wants his followers to be.

     Salt doesn’t make itself known in a bold way, but it changes whatever it comes into contact with. It brings out goodness. That’s the kind of influence God wants us to have—at school, in the office, around the neighborhood. He wants us to influence those around us, not in a showy, look-at-me way, but in quiet, subtle ways—not only by what we say, but also by what we do, the way we treat other students, the way we treat teachers, the way we go about our work.

      If we live in a way that’s pleasing to God, people will notice. Even better, some of them may get the courage to follow our example. In that way, we bring out goodness in others. 

As light, we reflect God’s goodness on others. We treat them as he instructs in his Word. We let them know through our actions and words that we care about them and that God cares about them.

     If we commit ourselves to the principles of Matthew 5, we’ll discover what God can do with a little salt and light.

PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for giving us such key roles in your work here on earth. Give us the wisdom, courage and creativity to help people in need—at work and at school. Amen.

This devotion was written for Once a Day: At the Table Family Devotional. This is a family-oriented devotional book written by my writing team & me. Reprinted with 

Jesus' Favorite 8 Topics (Video Blog)

Could you countdown the 8 topics Jesus taught on most often?
# 8....
# 7 ...
# 6....

Follow along in in this 20 minute video blog.

Bible Overview Video Blog

Earlier this spring I created a 20 minute overview of the Bible. How do the books fit together? Is there a single story line? The next 20 minutes could help you put the pieces together.

Click below to watch.