A Net in Time

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Bible

The Maxwell Leadership Bible

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Today I am reviewing an interesting bible called The Maxwell Leadership Bible.    This bible presents lessons in leadership by John C. Maxwell.  Written in the NKJV, John C Maxwell says “If you want to learn leadership, go to the greatest Book on leadership ever written – the bible.”

About the Author

John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert.   He has written several books.  Mr. Maxwell is the founder of EQUIP and the John Maxwell Company. He mentors Fortune 500 companies, and Christian businesses/leaders worldwide. 

About the book

Every believer is a person of influence. In the Maxwell Leadership Bible, leadership expert John C. Maxwell shows you the principles of leadership taught in God’s Word and how to use them. Whether you are an employee, a boss, a parent, or a neighbor, you are a person of influence in your part of the world. Throughout the pages of Scripture, John Maxwell has assembled the time-tested and irrefutable biblical principles of leadership to equip and encourage leaders with his signature approach, including the 21 Laws of Leadership, the 21 Qualities of a Leader, biographical profiles, and hundreds of notes.

What you Get

The bible I received was a heavy, hard-back bible.  Contained within it’s page you will find these lessons:

  • the 17 laws of teamwork in action
  • 25 ways to win with people
  • 6 strategies for extraordinary leadership
  • three laws of growth
  • 21 qualities of discernment
  • as well as many other lessons

Leadership profiles, both good and poor leadership examples.  There were more examples of Good leadership than poor.

Each book opens up with an introduction to the book including an overview of the leadership lessons contained within. 

Occasionally images would scatter the pages, all with a point of highlighting a leadership principle. 

Frequently, gold highlighted boxes would appear.  These would be smaller lessons that fit well with the text on the pages. 

The NKJV is a good translation of the bible.  Comfort font  is used for the biblical text which is quite easy to read.  The font used to introduce bible books was larger, the font in the explanation boxes smaller, but all of it was easy to read. 

My Thoughts

To be honest, I had never heard of John C Maxwell before I chose to review this bible.   I haven’t read every note or article found within this large study bible, but nothing that I did read set off alarm bells.  🙂  

Just as every focused study bible does, this bible focuses solely on it’s message.  Leadership.  You won’t find behind the scenes stories, settings, or time period maps.  What you will find are copious amounts of leadership examples.  Showing us, for the most part, excellent examples of leadership so that we, the reader, can take heart and learn to be leaders in our spheres of influence. 

I appreciated that Mr. Maxwell, not only showed good examples of leadership, but bad ones too.  Showing us how to work around opposition, what to expect, and what bad leadership looks like.   Being forewarned is good yes?  🙂

disclosure

The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible

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Okay, today I have an illustrated bible story book that I would like to share with you.   The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible is the name, but it’s less of a bible and more of a story book, and that is how I approached it.  It’s always nice to have a wonderfully illustrated story book to help children better understand the mysteries of God isn’t it?  Mr. Juarez has done an excellent job of bringing the 45 stories within these pages to life. 

the spirit of god illustrated bible

From the Cover:

The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible brings to life more than 40 Bible stories that help readers understand that God’s Spirit has been with us since the beginning of time and continues to be with us today. From the glory of creation through the powerful letters of Paul, God’s Spirit is living in his people. Old and New Testament stories such as Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joseph, the Baptism of Jesus, and Pentecost come alive with dramatic illustrations by Fernando Juarez and moving text by Doris Rikkers. This is a special storybook Bible that will appeal to both children and parents alike.

About the Author:

Doris Rikkers is a freelance writer and editor who has written many bestselling children’s books and Bibles. Although she loves the ocean, she lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, surrounded by her books, her flower gardens, and her family and friends.

What you get:

312 pages of bible stories complete with full colour illustrations. I like how every page is illustrated that shows specific aspects of the story presented.  Some of those stories are “the day the Spirit was sad”, “The Spirit helps Amasai Speak Up”, “How will Jesus come?” and “the Spirit Stays”.   Most of the titles have the word Spirit in the name. The focus seems to be more on how the Spirit of God moves, rather than on all three persons of the Trinity. 

Spirit of God Illustrated BibleAren’t the illustrations well done? They aren’t excessively Caucasian, they show the type of clothes worn in the day, and provide good talking points with children.  The type of bottles that would hold oil, or how an angel might look, or even how a baby might be swathed. 

spirit of God illustrated bible
The text is clear and easy to read, meant to be read with a child sitting next to you or in your lap. It is written in simple enough language to that grade 3-5 students should have no real problems reading for themselves aside from some of the Biblical names like Zechariah, Nazareth, and Belshazzar.

Each story is introduced with a bible verse and where it comes from in the bible.  For instance in the story “The Spirit makes Daniel wise” we are told it comes from Daniel 5, the verse Daniel 5:11 is highlighted. Then we are told the story of Daniel and Belshazzar and the writing on the wall.   This story was well done, and many of the rest were as well. 

My Thoughts:

Forty-five stories round out the pages of this illustrated story book, stories that showcase God’s power and presence.  Okay, I have a couple of bones to pick.  I dislike story books being portrayed as bibles, particularly when they similarly sized as a bible. This is a story book, not a bible. The fact that it is a story book is further demonstrated when they change the actual bible story to something that is close, but not quite the same.

God never looked around at the time and said “this is really good.” He said “it is good”.  There’s a difference, he saved the demonstratives for when he made people. It may seem nit-picky, but you have to be nit-picky.  These books tell children about GOD, not some random character with whom you don’t need to do your due diligence.  This is almighty God.   

With all story book bibles, read them with a keen eye for truth, and help your children understand God’s word. Be aware that this illustrated bible story book focuses on the work of the Spirit….and sometimes stretches at point a bit. Overall a nice story book that introduces 29 Old Testament stories and 16 New Testament ones. I loved the fact that not just the familiar stories were used, but some not as familiar as well such as Azariah and Jahaziel. I don’t ever recall reading about in another story bible for children. It’s good to learn these unfamiliar tales as well isn’t it?   Help children see God in action through his people. 

Overall, this is a good story book with bible stories, read them, read the bible too, and help your children grow in the knowledge and fear of the Lord. 

the spirit of God illustrated bible

The Spirit of God Illustrated Bible
Doris Wynbeek Rikkers, author
Fernando Juarez, illustrator
Zonderkidz
312 pages, hardcover, illustrated bible story book

Elementary, faith, biblical
View a sample.
Reviewed for: FlyBy Promotions.

 

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller/FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Review: The Woman’s Study Bible

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Imagine a study bible, meant for women, edited by women.  Would that intrigue you?  Now imagine that this Woman’s Study Bible is a beautiful bible, hardcover done in a beautiful floral pattern.  Would that bible be encouraging to you to receive God’s truth for transformation, hope and balance?  Thomas Nelson as produced a lovely hardcover NIV Woman’s Study Bible,to encourage women to spend time in God’s word.  Stories about women, for women, with notes and quotes to encourage. 

review of the the NIV woman's study bible.

What do you get?

The NIV, The Woman’s Study Bible has everything you look for in a good study bible. Book notes that tell you about each book, it’s themes, author, date, outline and so forth.  I found this bible to be a sturdy hardcover.  It was easy to read, and the standard complement of maps were in full colour as easily used.  The bible itself is done with colour throughout.  

It was interesting to read the variety of quotes found throughout the pages.  Study notes lined the bottom of the pages, bringing deeper understanding to the text. 

The bible is sturdy and the font size is readable. It is very easy to read and the maps are beautifully illustrated. The use of full colour throughout makes this bible enjoyable to navigate.

Scattered throughout the bible were small essays that were interesting to read, and seemed spot on.  Mind I didn’t read all of them, but the many that I read didn’t raise any alarm bells for me. 

My Thoughts:

Oh…this is such a pretty bible, and the quotes are great.  I really appreciated the front section of the bible where women could list their spiritual mentors.  Isn’t that a neat thing to have?  To think on and have yourself reminded by?  But one doesn’t live on prettiness, quotes and other people.  One lives on God’s word explained.  The numerous essays and articles, and the extensive indexes help women to dig deeply into God’s word.   That makes this a good, useful bible.  The pretty aspects just are great bonuses.  🙂

The Woman's Study Bible (NIV)
Thomas Nelson
Hardcover
Woman, Study Bible,
Reviewed for: BookLookBloggers. 

Where can you find: Amazon Link.

Other bibles I have reviewed:

Unapologetic Bible.
Study bible for kids.
My Jesus Bible.
Revolution Bible.
Readers Bible. 
Visual Study Bible. 
Jesus Storybook Bible.

Review: NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible

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When I received the NKJV Unaplogetic Study Bible I said to my hubby, “Wow, isn’t this a beautiful bible?”   It’s simply is a beautiful bible, not only the cover, but how it is designed to help people know God better.   Isn’t that the point of a study bible?  To help people know God more?  The goal of this bible is to inspire Christ-like thought, belief, speech and action.  

The NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible, a great resource to help you think through current issues in the church.

This red-letter bible has a number of various useful features, the predominant feature being the various notes found within the pages.  Most Study Bibles that I have used with have historical background, and explanatory text on the bottom half of the page.  The NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible takes a somewhat different approach.   They use notes and articles found from the Kairos Journal to deepen the understanding of the bible.   These historical to present day articles delve into topics in a way that a normal study bible cannot. 

This means that when you are reading the bible, you are predominately READING the bible, and not a bunch of helpful little notes at the bottom of each page.  This bible is not the same as most study bibles. You need to understand the study bible wants to help you think through issues that we need to consider now-a-days, and does this through the use of well written articles, interspersed throughout the pages.  Sample article pages from NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible.

These articles are divided into 8 categories: Church, corruption, Economics, Education, Family, Government, Sanctity of Life and Virtue. Each section is colour coded.  A image like the one below is found on the opening page of each book.  A white star in the block under each type of article you can find showing you if an article is found in that book of the bible.  The articles found come from biblical, historical, Quotations/Writings and Commentary. catefories used in NKJV unapologetic Study bible

Each book of the bible has an introductory page, on which the book is introduced. The background, content, insight, and a brief outline is given. A central verse is highlighted.   As you could see from the image below, 2 Chronicles has 6 articles placed in it. 

chapter introduction of NKJV unapologetic Study bible

The articles included vary in length, most are one page long but some go a bit longer. You can find the articles referenced at the end of the bible. I did not read every article presented, but the ones I did were well-written and thought-provoking. I did not find anything that set off any alarm bells. You will find over 200 articles, 70 historical quotations and 50 profiles of historical figures. There are two indexes: canonical and topical. 

My Thoughts:

This is a bible for pastors and individuals who want to deepen their understanding of God’s word and his standard for living.  The articles presented are biblical and further the understanding of who God is and his call upon our lives.  I was delighted to be introduced to the Kairos Journal and wish I were a pastor so I could fully utilize it. 🙂  Some of the articles on this site are public, so I urge you to visit it, if only to get your brain thinking on various topics. 🙂   Would I use this bible?  It’s a hard one to answer.  If I wanted a hard copy of a bible, this would be one I would use.  I liked the articles I read.  I didn’t find them detracting or distracting God’s word, but rather giving me insight which helped me think more deeply. I love my online bible though… and would be hard pressed to give it up.  🙂  This NKJV Bible though… it’s a good one and worth keeping. 

picture of cover NKJV unapologetic study bible 
NKJV Unapologetic Study Bible
   Confidence for such a time as this
Thomas Nelson
Hardcover, Fly-Overleaf, Study Bible
bible, study, kairos journal
Reviewed for: BookLookBloggers.

Where to find: Amazon Link.

Bibles and Devotional Plans

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What with the new year coming up and people starting to think about making a new start I thought I would talk with you abit about doing regular devotions (yes, talking to myself here as well) and about some of the different bibles you could use in your journey.

First up, what do I use? 

This is the bible I use almost exclusively when I am not at home. 

It’s the ESV bible app.    It’s on my phone, I use it for church, devotions with the lad and whenever I need quick access to God’s word.  

I love it’s portability, and how this translation was done.  Suits me all round. 

 

Devotions on line catch me using this site: BibleGateway.  I like that I can toss the footnotes out, and customize it to my preferences.   

One of the things I really like is that if I am struggling with understanding a passage is just how easily I can switch from one translation to another.   Different translations bring insight. 

Bibles:

Over the past year or so it’s been my delight to review a number of different bibles, I’d like to point out some of our favourites.

Hubby’s Choice: The NIV Reader’s Bible. 

This is just a lovely book.  Good paper, great readability.  Just read the bible just like you would any other book. Not looking for verses or section headings, just the words of God written down for you.    He’s not a fan of the NIV but he likes this bible just for it’s readability.

My Son’s choice: Kids NIV Visual Study Bible.  

For my son’s church youth group he needs to have a physical bible and over the year he’s had a chance to see different bibles and the various elements that make them useful.  He had one he used a lot until he saw this Visual Study Bible and asked if he could have it instead. 

 

 

 

Some other bibles of note that we’ve seen:

Faith Builders Bible.  There was much we liked in this theme based bible. 

The Jesus Bible.  Which I know I reviewed but in the change from one site to another I can’t find it.  A nice bible that my son preferred until The Visual Bible came along.  And I have to admit, if I needed to pick one from this list, this bible would be the one I would use.   It was very simple, just a nice solid bible. 

NIV Revolution Bible.  This is a bible geared to guys.   Good bible this one with lots of helps to encourage young men in their journey of faith. 

ANYWAYS, Before I forget the point of this post… It’s the start of a new year coming up.  Have you thought about becoming more focused in your study of God’s word?

Devotional Readings/Bible Study

Navigator’s have some bible reading plans. 

Bible Study Tools has a number of differently focused bible reading plans for you to consider. 

BibleGateway has some bible reading plans you might like to follow. 

You can follow along on this blog as I do my devotions.  I tend to read through books of the bible and post my thoughts as I go through sections. 

You can follow along with Traci’s Group on Facebook. 

If you simply want to read through the bible in a year and are good with checklists, go here!

 

Original Photo: Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Review: NKJV Study Bible For Kids

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Theme bibles are all the rage you know?   We have bibles for kids, women, men, boys, girls, outdoor bibles, readers bibles… bibles of all shapes and sizes, translations and focus groups.   That’s not necessarily a bad thing you know?  Because helping people read God’s word is one of many steps that can help reach lost souls for the Lord.    We have so many, you might ask, why do we need more?  For this simple fact: We don’t know if THIS translation or THIS style will reach even one more person for the Lord.   So today I bring you a really colourful bible called “NKJV Study Bible for Kids”.

Tommy Nelson has come out with a colourful bible to intrigue your children.  The bright colours on the cover attract, and those colours are repeated throughout the bible with the various topical helps they have inserted. Printed on slightly heavier than normal bible quality paper, it is easy to carry for youth. 

Each of the topics is presented in a “let’s make it relevant to the children” manner, from defining more difficult words, to helping the reader to connect with important biblical people.  The NKJV Study Bible for Kids is “The Premier NKJV Study Bible for kids”.

The features/articles include:

Timelines
On Location: Maps
Spotlight: Stories of the Bible – e.g. God’s Gift to Joseph, Living Wisely
Starring Rolls: Profiles on major people of the Bible – e.g. Deborah, Eunice, Stephen, Samuel
Action!: Articles on day-to-day articles that are relevant to kids – e.g. Learning, community, obedience
In Focus: Definitions
Epic Ideas: Info on must-know topics – e.g. God keeps promises, God loves honesty, The Scarlet Cord

What I liked:

What I like in the NKJV Study Bible for Kids, is the myriad of helps contained within the pages.  850 different topic boxes under such headings as “Behind the Scenes”, “Spotlight”, “Action”, “Epic Ideas”, “Starring Roles”, “In Focus”, “On Location” and “Time Lines”.   You will also find a dictionary/concordance, an index for all the topics, and a quick reference section.  The scripture reference is on the edge of each page which is rather helpful.

I liked how each topical area is clearly delineated as to the focus and separating it from the text of the bible. 

I liked the fresh look of the cover, seriously.. all those colours intermingling on the cover.. just seemed bright and cheerful to my eyes.  🙂

Things I wasn’t as keen on:

Each page is outlined in colour. Just wasn’t my thing, I prefer clean edges in my bibles for ease of note taking. It is quite pretty and eye-catching so it might be a draw for some… and it does fit with the theme of the cover so THAT’s a good thing.  🙂

NKJV Study Bible for Kids - 
     The Premier NKJV Study Bible For Kids
Tommy Nelson
Study Bible, 
Trade Paperback, 

Reviewed for: BookLookBloggers. 

Where you can find it: Amazon Link.

 

Review: NIV Reader’s Bible

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The NIV Readers Bible is a really nice book.  Hardcover, well bound that comes in a protective sheath.

Do you know what a reader’s bible is?

No?

Well.. A reader’s bible is one that doesn’t break up the whole bible into chapters and verses.  You just open it and read it like any other book.  No headers to interrupt the flow, no verses to break up a sentence of thought.  Just straight-forward text to make just setting down and reading a pleasure.

Now this version puts reference notes at the top… so that let’s say you are reading along and go.. ooh.. interesting thought, let me grab my commentary and explore that a bit more.. you don’t end up having to find a bible with verses to track it down.  The quiet page header let’s you know where abouts you are in the book and you can just look up that thought catcher easily.

I love how this bible has the 10.5 point type font printed in a single column, reading just like a regular book.   The footnotes are included at the end of every book. The footnotes are broken down per chapter.   The lovely grey ribbon is excellent for holding your place.

This Bible was designed to provide a seamless reading experience.  This bible is so well made.  Cloth over book cover, easy reading font.  Cause you know how most bibles have this tiny font… this one doesn’t..  It feels good in the hand, not too heavy, kinda like a regular bible for weight, but nice a solid like a normal book.

As with any bible, there is a set of references in the back, helping you understand the historical measurements and other such things.

NIV Reader's Bible
Zondervan
Soft cover over board
Bible, 1984 pages, all ages
Reviewed for: BookLookBloggers.

Where can you find it?   Amazon Link.