Genuine Leather Bible

I was first introduced to Ray Comfort and his ministry by a fellow missionary in Mexico. We watched some of the videos that are at his website and became excited when looking at what Mr. Comfort had to say concerning witnessing. Seeing the way personal evangelism has been done and taught over the last several years, it is no wonder that we have people in churches who have no assurance of their salvation, or who probably aren’t even saved. Of course I have no way of passing judgement on anyone concerning their salvation—nor would I want to.

This little book, God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life, is nothing new if you have read some of Mr. Comfort’s other books. But what he does in this book is focus on the core of why presenting only the good news of the Gospel without the conviction of the law is causing false conversions.

This book is not as  much about how to present the Gospel, but why you should do it using the law of God. When a person never understands that they are a guilty sinner before a just and holy God, they will never understand the good news that Jesus offers. This causes them to want salvation for the wrong reasons. They are told that: God loves them and God wants them to be happy. Salvation can give them a full and joyful life.* The problem is that when they have trouble in their lives and the joy is gone, they no longer want the salvation that goes along with it. Could they have been saved in the first place with that perspective on God and His provision? Again, I can’t know the answer to that, but I would venture to guess that they only came to Christ for the benefits, not the fact that they needed a Savior. And in that case, I would say they were never saved.

There is one illustration the author uses that I think sums up his whole point. The example relates to someone having a speeding ticked paid for them. A man comes up to a stranger and tells him that someone paid a $25,000 traffic ticket for the second person. The first person is excited that he can share the good news with the second guy. However, the second guy is offended that the claim is being made that he has supposedly broken the law in such a heinous way. This man has no recollection of committing such a crime. Instead of the man accepting the good news, he sees it as someone trying to publicly ridicule him.

However, if the first man approached the second man differently, the outcome would be different. The first man should explain to the second man that he has broken the law—help him understand that an offense has been committed. The explanation is that the police recorded the man driving 50 MPH through a neighborhood that was zoned for 15 MPH. The reason for the strict speed limit is that there is a blind child who lives in the area. The first man can bring proof from the judge stating that the offender was in that neighborhood at a certain time on a certain day. He would help the man to realize that he really was breaking the law. For his offense the man owed a $25,000 fine, or imprisonment. Now that the man understands he is guilty, it is an appropriate time to tell him the good news. The good news being that the fine was paid by someone else. At this point, the man who was guilty can see his need for someone to pay the penalty for him. He also becomes grateful to the person paying the fine. He is not offended, rather he is humbled because of what someone else has done on his behalf.

When we present the Gospel to others, we should start by helping them understand that they have broken God’s laws and are guilty. This can be done in a loving way, but it still needs to be done. The Bible repeatedly states that we understand our need for grace because the law has brought us to that point. Too many people are trying to preach grace without teaching the law. You end up with people claiming a Savior out of a desire to be happy rather than an understanding of their spiritual need.

This little 128-page book is full of guidance on why we need to consider a change in the way we present the Gospel.

At the Living Waters website (Ray Comfort’s ministry), they are giving away the book for the price of shipping. You are limited to 1 per customer and they don’t indicate how long the book will be available for free. They also offer a case of 48 books for $48. If you are interested in more than one book, but not 48 you can pick them up for $5 each at the website. Amazon sells them for $9.

When you are at the Living Waters website, take some time to read through their materials and watch some of the videos. They are well produced and I think it will be a blessing to you.

UPDATE: I found a new website they set up for this book. It gives the details of getting the book for free as well as other features. The book is available as a PDF and as an audio book that you can listen to at the website or download and put on your MP3 player.

*It is true that God loves people and can give them joy, but that is not what brings them to see their need of a Savior. These are things we experience after salvation. Salvation doesn’t come because we think that adding God to our lives will give us joy. Salvation is a result of humbling ourselves before a holy God in repentance for the wickedness of our sins.

Summary of the Book of 2 Kings

This is the second part of the book of Kings. Originally this book and the preceding book were combined into one longer book in the Hebrew Bible. The same thing happened with the books of Samuel and Chronicles (immediately before and after the books of Kings).

Second Kings covers about 270 years of history. This includes the reign of Ahaziah (son of King Ahab) to the Babylonian captivity and a bit beyond. The book covers about 26 years into the captivity (2 Kings 25:27).

Author

It is not certain who author of the book was, but tradition says that Jeremiah the prophet wrote the book.

Date Written

This book ends with the Babylonian captivity (plus a few years). Its contents end around 586 BC. The book was probably written some time between 586 and 540 BC if Jeremiah was the author. Jeremiah also wrote the book bearing his name about the same time.

Purpose of 2 Kings

Like the other books of history, this book seems to be more historical in nature as opposed to trying to drive home a certain lesson. It traces the history of Israel from the divided kingdom after the death of Ahab until the Assyrian captivity of Israel and the Babylonian captivity of Judah.

In the first and second books of Kings, the reader can see the progression of Israel from its glory to its downfall. The history of the wickedness of the kings and the nation show the decline and captivity of the great and mighty nation of Israel. When Israel began to abandon the God of heaven and chose to worship other gods and ideologies the nation declined in spirituality. Their sin resulted in punishment by slavery like they escaped in Egypt. Read the rest of this entry

I picked up Union and Communion for free at Amazon. It is Hudson Taylor’s comments on the book of Song of Solomon. This is the Kindle version, but even if you don’t have a Kindle reader you can read the book on your computer, iPhone or Android phone (as well as a few other platforms).

I am about half-way through the book. These comments aren’t meant to be a formal review of the book since I haven’t even finished it, but I wanted to just point out something and encourage you to pick up the book if you are so inclined. With it being free and short, you can form your own opinions.

I appreciate that he takes the reader through the verses and explains who is speaking in each part. Sometimes that is confusing with the Song of Solomon. Apparently his conclusions on who the speaker is is different from other interpretations at times because he says as much. I personally don’t have any strong opinions of who says which phrase.

However, the book bothers me. He interprets every word as if it has some hidden “deeper” meaning. He can’t take anything at face value. I realize the book is an illustration of our relationship with the Lord, but he seems to interpret it all in an eerie way. Anyone else feel this way? Or am I just kooky?

The book is free, short and easy to read. The half of the book I have read so far I was able to read on two short bus trips yesterday. So you don’t have to feel like you are wasting a lot of time reading it. Besides, it may be the excuse you finally need to install the Kindle software on your computer. Or, go out and buy a Kindle so you can load it up with 3,500 free books like this one.

Esther was a Jewish woman who was selected by the Persian King Ahasuerus to be his wife. He had banished his former wife and chose Esther through a contest. However, the king did not know she was a Jew. (Esther 1-2)

Esther’s uncle was Mordecai. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to Esther who passed the news to the king. The two men involved in the plot were hanged. In the book of Esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. (Esther 2)

One of the princes in the kingdom was Haman. Mordecai and Haman had a mutual disdain for one another. Haman devised a plan to eliminate Mordecai. He told the king that there was a people group in the kingdom that had their own laws and customs. If they were allowed to continue they might overthrow the power of the king. Therefore Haman convinced the king that this group should be killed. While Haman and the king did not know it at the time, he was asking the king for permission to kill the new Queen Esther. (Esther 3)

The law was created that allowed the Jews to be murdered. When Mordecai learned of the new law he spoke with Esther about asking the king to reconsider. She was loved by the king, but she did not have the authority to enter into the king’s chambers and talk with him at any time she pleased. Mordecai told her that God had allowed her to become the queen to help protect her people. Though conflicted with the thought of perishing by the hand of the king or by the new law in place, she determined to let the king know she was a Jew and that his new law would require that she be killed. (Esther 4)

Without an invitation into his presence Esther approached the king and invited him and Haman to a meal at her house. When asked what the occasion was, she said that she wanted to ask the king and Haman to return to her house the next day for another meal. The king agreed and Haman was pleased to be so favored by the king and his bride. (Esther 5)

However, Haman saw Mordecai that day and was enraged. He determined that he would kill Mordecai the next day by hanging. He requested a gallows be made to hang Mordecai in the morning. (Esther 5)

That night the king could not sleep. He asked that someone read to him about the recent events in the kingdom. He was reminded that Mordecai stopped a plot to kill the king. King Ahasuerus never publicly thanked Mordecai for his efforts, but determined to honor Mordecai the following morning. (Esther 6)

About this time Haman came to the palace to talk to the king and tell him that he would like to hang Mordecai the next day. The king was glad to see Haman because he had a question for him. Before Haman could give his request the king asked, “What should be done to the man I wish to honor publicly?” Haman thought that the king must be wanting to honor Haman for being such a good servant so he came up with the most elaborate plan to be honored by the king. He said the man should be paraded through the streets wearing the king’s robe and crown while riding on the king’s horse. (Esther 6)

Haman did not get a chance to tell the king that he wanted to kill Mordecai before the king told Haman, “You have come up with a great way to honor a man who saved my life. Gather everything you need and do just as you’ve said for Mordecai!” (Esther 6)

Haman was disgusted to have to honor Mordecai this way. After the parade he went home in a rage. But he was not able to vent very long because it was time to go to Queen Esther’s house for her banquet. When Haman and the king arrived at Esther’s house the king wanted to know what her request was. He was willing to give her up to 1/2 the kingdom. (Esther 6-7)

She told the king that there was a plot to destroy her and her people. The king was angry and asked who was behind the wickedness. When she pointed to Haman the king was furious. He went outside to think. Haman was arguing with Esther, supposedly not knowing she was a Jew. He was begging for his life because the king had already said the person behind the plot would be hanged. Haman got animated and excited. He fell onto Esther’s bed. When King Ahasuerus came back from the garden he saw Haman on his wife’s bed and grew even more angered at the thought that Haman was trying now to persuade his wife sexually. (Esther 7)

Haman was hanged that day on the gallows he intended for Mordacai. (Esther 7)

Esther made one more request to the king. That was that the law be reversed which would have destroyed the Jews. The law was rewritten to save the Jews and destroy the family of Haman. He was an Agagite, or an Amalekite. (Esther 8)

The celebration of the Jews that ensued after the new law was carried out was the beginning of the celebration called Purim. Today, Purim is celebrated by a public reading of the book of Esther. Each time wicked Haman’s name is mentioned the crowd will stomp their feet, hiss and yell to show their disdain for the villain of the story. (Esther 8-10)

Have you ever wondered where the places were on the map that the Bible talks about? There is a website called Bible Geocoding that maps out each place name on Google Earth according to where they appear in the Bible. For example, if you are reading Luke 2 you can look up that chapter on the website and it will place all the locations mentioned in the chapter on a map.

Ideally you would use Google Earth to look up the place names. This is because you have so much more control of what you can do with the information. There is also more information that is available while using Google Earth. However, you can also view the information on the satellite view of Google Maps by clicking the ‘preview’ link beside the chapter you are reading.

It is a nice tool to help you get an idea of where certain events took place in the Bible. Of course you could look up each place name on your own while you are reading. However, using this tool gives you a chance to pull up a whole chapter’s worth of places at a time and you can glance at the map while reading your Bible text.