Book review - Explore by the Book - 90 days in John 14 - 17, Romans, James, by Tim Keller and Sam Alberry
Devotional books are great, aren't they. Nobody would suggest that we need anything to supplement reading the straight Bible text, but sometimes some brief comments, some questions, some observations made by someone who doesn't think exactly like we do just help the Bible's text and message to hit exactly the right spot in order to help us.
90 days in John 14 - 17, Romans, James, is an excellent example of a helpful devotional book. Written by two leading figures in the evangelical scene, covering a good range of Bible books and giving you undated devotions for three months, what more could you possibly want?
You get the John passages and James dealt with by Sam Allberry and Romans by Tim Keller. These four chapters of John are very rich and sometimes you really need to stop, think and digest what you've read. So it's great that Allberry has dealt with the passages slowly - sometimes just a handful of verses per day - using helpful questions to bring out the meaning of the text, brief comments to elucidate and then little sections to apply and pray about what you've been considering. Romans and James are dealt with equally usefully. Keller navigates carefully the more controversial passages of Romans; Not all readers will agree with his position on Romans 7 and 10, of course. The same could be said of Allberry on James 5. But the passages are dealt with helpfully and usefully.
It would be churlish, niggardly and snide in a book of this size to want more detailed explanations. Or perhaps it would encourage the authors if we are left wanting more. Perhaps that is just what our response should be to these daily glimpses into light. Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of the book in electronic format in exchange for a fair and truthful review.
90 days in John 14 - 17, Romans, James, is an excellent example of a helpful devotional book. Written by two leading figures in the evangelical scene, covering a good range of Bible books and giving you undated devotions for three months, what more could you possibly want?
You get the John passages and James dealt with by Sam Allberry and Romans by Tim Keller. These four chapters of John are very rich and sometimes you really need to stop, think and digest what you've read. So it's great that Allberry has dealt with the passages slowly - sometimes just a handful of verses per day - using helpful questions to bring out the meaning of the text, brief comments to elucidate and then little sections to apply and pray about what you've been considering. Romans and James are dealt with equally usefully. Keller navigates carefully the more controversial passages of Romans; Not all readers will agree with his position on Romans 7 and 10, of course. The same could be said of Allberry on James 5. But the passages are dealt with helpfully and usefully.
It would be churlish, niggardly and snide in a book of this size to want more detailed explanations. Or perhaps it would encourage the authors if we are left wanting more. Perhaps that is just what our response should be to these daily glimpses into light. Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of the book in electronic format in exchange for a fair and truthful review.
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