A few weeks ago at church I was chatting with a friend. She’s a new author – she just got her first publishing contract and was sharing about the timeline to publish her book.
She’s quite brilliant. She’s an accomplished women’s bible study leader. She’s got a publisher excited to publish her devotional book. I’ve no doubt that when it hits shelves next year, it will bless the socks off thousands of women around the nation and the world.
I don’t like to compare myself to others, but she’s definitely got a lot going for her.
We’re part of a writers group I call the “Chi Rho Writers” at our church. It’s a fun opportunity for those of us who write to get together and encourage one another.
So I did the natural thing and shared about my latest project, Give Us a King! It’s my Bible Study / Workbook about the history of Israel in the times of the ancient Kings.
I was shocked at what came next…
She said “I don’t know very much about that.”
She’s a mature Christian, a Bible student, an author of Christian books. But the time of the kings was really outside her range of knowledge.
I probably shouldn’t be surprised when this comes up. I mean this isn’t a part of the Bible that a lot of pastors preach on. Sunday School classes probably steer clear of these books. Small groups tend to go for Paul’s epistles over King Asa…
But, this portion of the Bible is important for Biblical Literacy. Understanding the full sweep of God’s message to His creation. If it was important for God to write it down, we ought to pay attention and understand.
As a writer, I am not like most people. I have a high and exalted view of God’s Word. In fact, I think the last 2 books I’ve written have been on the Old Testament (Give Us A King! and Study the Bible: Old Testament). There are treasures in the ancient books that are worth exploring.
So you can think of me as weird or well-rounded.
If you would like to be more well-rounded (see how I cast my vote!), I’m running a sale on my book Getting to Know God’s Word. I ran an advertisement on a site called Faithful Reads – and the price is reduced almost $5 for the ebook for the rest of the week. So I might as well tell you about it!
Getting to Know God’s Word looks at the whole Bible (including the time of ancient kings of Israel and Judah) and shows you how each part of the Bible is essential to the greater story that God is telling. There are no “throw-away” books or irrelevant books. God’s story would be incomplete without all 66!
So if you’re like my author friend – a long-time christian, experienced with the Bible, faithful in church attendance – but you still have holes in your biblical knowledge, this would be a great way to expand your knowledge and deepen your faith.
And until the weekend, you can save a bundle doing so!
You can find the book on my website (this is the method that supports me the most), on Amazon.com or on Amazon.co.uk.
Just be sure to do it before the weekend when the price goes back up!
Looking forward to next time. I’ve got an interesting story about my dad that I’m excited to share!
Dennis
