Publisher's Synopsis
I published a memoir in 2011 entitled "I Fought the Lord, and the Lord Won" that included an appendix with the goal of helping reluctant Bible-readers to better navigate the Old and New Testaments. My book's Biblical appendix even highlighted suggest entry points for reluctant readers to make it easier for them to engage with God's inspired Word once a reader discovered their own personal comfort zone in Bible reading. I was hoping once readers became comfortable with one book in the Bible that intrigued them, the appendix might launch them to discover the unique value of the Bible as a "how-to" manual for modern day Christian living. From a sales point of view, my memoir was a huge success! However, I sadly learned via candid comments from family and close friends, that my memoir's Biblical appendix was not all that helpful making them become accomplished daily Bible readers. And as hard as it might be to believe, I spent an EXTRAORDINARY amount of time compiling that 17-page Biblical appendix! SO . . . here is a new resource to try to engage you more intimately with the Bible! This compilation is an attempt to help readers find the power of the Bible via what I named this new resource: "Holy Bible - New Light Version" (NLV). In this NLV compilation, I have selected Bible verses that resonate with me and then provide a brief commentary to bring each verse alive in contemporary terms. It is my hope that you will refelct on the verse, read the commentary and consider its significance regarding what might be happening in your life today. In total, the Bible has 1,189 chapters and 31,173 verses. Like "Light-Beer," this resouce is a low-fat version of the roundly 800,000 words in the Bible. Let's just consider Genesis as an example. Genesis has 50 chapters, 1,533 verses, an duse 38,262 words to deliver the entirety of God's inspired story. In my NLV compilation, I selected just 33 of the 1,533 verses for you to read "ALOUD." Why do I suggest you read this book aloud? One of the hardest things to do during daily quiet time is to keep our minds from wandering. Just as soon as we begin to pray or meditate on God's Word, it's as if someone turned a radio on, broadcasting all sorts of stuff from our lives. Once we start thing about those things, we inevitably lose contact with God. Because of such thoughts, many of us leave our time of daily devotions distracted and discouraged. We may plan to spend time with God later in the day, but the reality is that we rarely do. We've been robbed by our own thoughts! Giving God our thoughts during quiet times requires that we discipline our minds to pray. Speaking out truth about God often turns our thoughts from our problems to his great resolution power. And keeping a notebook nearby to write down distracting thoughts will help you put them aside until you can attend to them later. So please, try reading this resouce aloud! I pray I have chosen wisely and that this NLV compilation becomes a daily resource for you! I suggest you spend just few mintes each day reading one short Bible verse, and then consider, with the help of the commentary immediately after each verse, the verses' relevance in your life that particular day. If you read and consider just one verse grouping each day, my hope is that you will intimately grasp the essence of the Bible story, from beginning to end, in just six months time! Further, this NLV resource has only about 57,000 words. That compares favorably to the 800,000 words in the Bible. Heck, if you get to the end of this short NLV compilation inspired and maybe even discover you you have become a better person, perhaps you might circle back and use the Biblical appendix in my 2011 book to delve deeper into God's Word. That would indeed be a blessing. Good luck! Jim
