IMPERIAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST - INTERACTIVE MAP:

This is an interesting interactive map that may be useful in your bible study/reading. 
Source: mapsofwar.com

REFLECTIONS ON JUDGMENT:

Texts: Nahum, Revelation 1-3

It is easy to read Nahum and feel a sense of pride, that God will judge the wickedness of His enemies.  It is easy to identify with captive Israel.  But turn the pages to Revelation, and it suddenly becomes difficult to identify with the ones being judged -- the Church.

We say to ourselves, "Islam will be judged.  The Atheist will bow his knee.  Al Qaeda will be brought down. Murderers and rapists will pay."  It indeed may be so, but the Bible strongly conveys a message that judgment starts with His own people first!  It starts in His Church; with his Bride.

Have I abandoned my First Love for another?
Have I been failful?  Am I faithful?
Is there something from which I need to repent?  Do I need to turn and run from my sin?
If God were to search my heart, would He find hidden in it wickedness?
Is my faith dead or dying?  Do I need to strengthen what remains?
If I were tried and tested today, would I emerge faithful?  Would I place my trust in Jesus Christ?
What in my life needs to be refined by the fire of God's glory?  What lukewarmness to be addressed?

"Life Application Study Bible Devotional: Daily Wisdom from the Life of Jesus"

I must admit, I've never been a big fan of the typical "devotional". I find them too simplistic, enabling the problem of our already-busy lives. Rather than really slowing down and excavating deep into God's word, devotionals dig more like spades.

That said, I still volunteered to review this study/devotional bible to give it a chance. The basic format of this particular study bible is this: each daily devotional is one page long. Along the outer margin of each page is the passage being considered, and each passage is typically only a verse or two. Since this bible is only a "gospels" devotional, longer passages aren't a necessity. It's definitely not bogged down in heavy bible reading. The main section of each page consists of a review and setting of the passage in consideration. The last paragraph of that main section typically asks a couple questions for life application. Finally, in the same outer margin mentioned earlier is a prayer recommendation that relates to the topic under consideration.

Given my reservation for devotionals, I found that I actually like this devotional bible. This one has caused me to pause and rethink my position on devotionals. God has a marvelous way of speaking to people through His word, regardless of depth of study. If He chooses to speak, He will and send the needed messages at the right times.

In the early weeks of review, I was literally enduring a week of strong physical temptation. For two consecutive days, the passage spoke to my struggle as though God sent me a personal message on those particular days. The words were precisely what I needed to read/hear. It's difficult to dismiss those occurrences as mere coincidence.

So, do devotionals "work"? I guess I'd say they do. Do they provide all the sustenance we need in our spirit? I still say no. But even body builders don't eat full meals every time they eat. Sometimes they snack.

All-in-all, I give this devotional bible 4 stars. It doesn't blow my mind, but it certainly changed it.


I received this bible from Tyndale Publishers free of charge in exchange for my unbiased review of it. I was not promised rewards or threatened to provide a positive review. All opinions are mine.

"The Book of Man", by William Bennett

"The Book of Man" is no mere book, but a volume. Want a good workout? Carry this one around a while! It's thick with short stories about various great feats of great people throughout history, specifically men.

The stories in this volume don't display courageous men solely in battle. Although one section of stories does just that, these stories also reveal the character of men in the way we compete in sports, how we work, the way we worship, our leadership in the home, etc. One quote that I really like is borrowed from Lt. Cmdr Eric Greitens, author of "The Heart and the Fist", and is found in the short "Profile: A Navy SEAL". He writes, "...we live in an America that offers its young men very few tests, very few cultural markers through which they can, to which on the other end they can say, 'You know what, I've become a better person, I've become a man'" (p. 263).

The Book of Man is a neat book, one in which the reader can freely skip around. Its not a book one would read cover-to-cover in a week. Instead, it makes for a good "bathroom reader", for the coffee table, or even a gift for a pastor to supplement his sermon illustrations. I imagine it could be used by men's groups to facilitate discussion in issues that run far deeper than politics, war, and sports. It's deeper intent is in dealing with courage, faith, honesty, honor, etc - the things that truly matter in life.

Something I would have liked to see is a few pictures of the men described in their stories.  Not because the book is so big and in need of visual relief, but because it's always nice to put a name with a face. Unfortunately, however, there are none. But that's the only gripe I have with this book, and it's not even a major one.

That said, I give "The Book of Man" 4 stars out of 5.


I received this book free of charge from Booksneeze in exchange for my unbiased review. I have not been threatened, coerced, or promised reward in any way to provide a positive review. All opinions are mine.

SUNSET STOP SIGN:

This is one of my favorite pictures I've ever captured...and it was Entirely by accident. The sunset in Michigan this past Thursday evening was glorious and I hoped to capture its magnificence. The first picture i attempted with one of our "Blue Gooses" just didn't do much. Then I thought to encapsulate the golden sun in the center of the "O" of the "stop sign". What you see is the result.

By the way, the stop sign is an old tradition in the Michigan State Police, dating back to The time we began driving cars on patrol. It used to be used as a tool to stop cars from the side rather than from behind. Now it's there primarily for looks, but can also be used at night to reveal who we are when we pull into an unsuspecting citizen's driveway at night.

REMINDERS OF YOU:

I absolutely love when God sends reminders of Himself.  Just as I love it when my wife secretly stashes a love note in my lunch bag for me to find later during my work day, I also love when God does the same.  He seems to do it often if only we pay close attention.

Shortly after a co-worker passed away, I received an email from his former wife.  She posed some heavy questions, and we talked our way through them.  She recounted for me a story of God sending reminders of Him.  One of her favorite insects as a young child were the little yellow butterflies we see about this time of the year.  When standing at her loved-one's gravesite, she said a little yellow butterfly flittered into the scene, flew around her sons, and then flew away.  Not to be ignored, a few days later, another little yellowbutterfly floated into her world and away again as she entered a laundromat.

She couldn't easily dismiss the two occurrances and coincidence.  She was hurting and in need of God's peaceful presence.  "Could it be that God was using one of His creatures -- those little yellow butterflies that you like so much -- to remind you that He hears your prayers and is always near?  He knows you like those butterflies, so He sent a couple just to whisper, 'I love you'."

She needed our conversation for closure; I needed it for encouragement.  And that conversation served as the door-opener for God's reminders to me. 

A heavy temptation had been in-and-out of my radar for quite some time.  Since I am currently reviewing a daily-devotional study bible, I picked up where I had left off the previous day in my readings.  Somehow, in some strange way, the passage of study weaved its way into my world...as though it was divinely inspired for that moment in time.  I still remember the lesson: "In what area of your life is the Holy Spirit leading you to be holy?" 

Ouch!  I knew the rightness and wrongness of the decisions that lay ahead, and God was sending a message my way.

Fast forward another day or two.  Still struggling under the weight of this heavy temptation, I picked up the same study bible...resolved to behave wrongly.  I picked it up as I said to myself, "Ok, God, I'm going to give You another chance to answer before it's too late."

The lesson from the passage: "What decisions do you know the Holy Spirit is leading you to make in following God?"

Ok, God, you have my full attention.  I cried.  "I know You care.  I know You love me.  I know You're involved.  But now I need to You to intercede for me.  I'm in trouble here, and I need Your help."

Like the Faithful Father He is, He answered.  Faster than ever.

Thank You, God, for sending reminders of You.

IN ISLAM, RAPE VICTIMS DIE:

KARACHI, PAKISTAN -- Kainat Soomro is a 17-year-old Pakistani girl who has become a local celebrity of sorts in her battle for justice in the Pakistani courts, a daring move for a woman of any age in this country, let alone a teenager. She is fighting to get justice for a gang rape that she insists happened four years [2007] ago in Mehar, a small town in Pakistan.  (Here in America, we fight as best as we can on bahalf of the victim to bring scumbags to justice.)

"I was walking home from my school and I went to the store to buy a toy for my niece," she said, staring at the floor of the office. "While I was looking at things a guy pressed a handkerchief on my nose. I fainted and was kidnapped. Then four men gang raped me."

As she shared details of her days in captivity and multiple rapes, she kept repeating, "I want justice, I will not stop until I get justice." After three days, she was finally able to escape she said. As she spoke, her father gently tapped her head. He said he tried to get Kainat's alleged rapists arrested, but instead he was rebuffed by the police.

According to the Kainat family's account, the tribal elders declared her kari, (which literally means black female), for losing her virginity outside marriage. (Kinda' difficult to call this a simple "loss of virginity".  It's not like she woke up one morning and said, "Hey, I think I'd like to get raped today so that my family will be pressured to kill me.)

In Pakistan, women and men who have illicit relationships or women who lose their virginity before marriage are at risk of paying with their lives.

"These are matters of honor and the leaders call a jirga and they declare that the woman or the couple should be killed," said Abdul Hai, a veteran field officer for the Human Rights Commission in Pakistan. These acts of violence are most commonly labeled as "honor killings."

The most recent report from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan noted that in 2009 roughly 46 percent of all female murders in Pakistan that year were in the name of "honor." The report noted that a total of 647 incidences of "honor killings" were reported by the Pakistani press. However, experts say that actual incidences of "honor killings" in Pakistan are much higher and never get reported to the police because they are passed off by the families as suicides.

Kainat said that despite the pressures her family refused to kill her.  (I'm proud they are standing against all odds on behalf of their daughter, even if it brings danger upon themselves.  Pray for them!) And that defiance has left the family fearing for their lives. The family's new home in Karachi has been attacked a number of times.

But, according to Abdul Hai, Kainat is lucky: "The woman or the girl usually gets killed and the man gets away," he said. "Over 70 percent of the murdered victims are women and only 30 percent of victims of honor killings are male."

In Karachi, Kainat and her family are now sharing one room in a run-down apartment block, and they have to rely on charities to help them pay for food.

"We go hungry many nights," said Kainat's older sister.

But their fight might never pay off. A local judge has already ruled against Kainat in the case. "There is no corroborative evidence available on record. The sole testimony of the alleged rape survivor is not sufficient," the judge said in a written decision. (Sadly, this reminds me of the ancient Jewish custom of not trusting the testimony of women. It's one of the horrible truths set forth in the bible that I cannot stand.  Ironically, God would use the testimony of a woman to declare the risen Messiah!)

Another problem is that material evidence is usually not collected in rape cases in Pakistan since the police rarely believe rape victims and therefore don't order rape kits in a timely manner.

Without medical tests to corroborate her story, it remains Kainat's word against the alleged rapists. But even having lost her case at the local court, Kainat insists, "I am not giving up, I will take this all the way to the Supreme Court of Pakistan."  (Yeah, good luck with that one.  I'm almost certain the Islamist society in which you live has one court in bed with the other, and they're both clutching the "satanic verses".  Come to Jesus, Kainat family.)


This story was reported with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, an Atlantic partner site.