“Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation” by Joel R. Beeke and William Boekestein

Why Christ Came by Joel Beeke and William BoekesteinBook Details:
  • Authors: Joel R. Beeke and William Boekestein
  • Category: Devotional
  • Book Publisher: Reformation Heritage (2013)
  • Format: softcover
  • Page Count: 108
  • ISBN#: 9781601782687
  • List Price: $10.00
  • Rating: Highly Recommended

Review:
Why? Every young child’s favorite word is “why?” Why do we have to go to bed now? Why can’t we have licorice for dinner? Why do we have to always brush our teeth?

With the hustle and bustle of another Christmas season upon us. It is the grown up children among us who are asking “Why?” Why make such a fuss with wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, when the kids are just going to break the toy in a couple days and complain about it. Why go through with painful family trips to the in-laws, awkward holiday parties at work and endure the rush at the mall?

Christmas ultimately is much more than gifts and toys, we know. It is about a baby in a manger, and a donkey standing in the stable (or is the donkey really part of the picture?). The routine nature of Christmas choirs and holiday schedules threaten to have us asking “Why?” even as we think about the Christ child. We get it, Christ came. Can’t we make more of a fuss over the cross and the empty tomb?

Meditating on the incarnation

Against this backdrop, authors Joel Beeke and William Boekestein present 31 meditations on the incarnation in a little book titled Why Christ Came. Unlike many Christmas devotionals, this book does not recount the Scriptural account of Christ’s birth. It doesn’t play gotcha about the donkey and other extra-Scriptural additions to the Christmas story. Instead this book focuses on the big question: Why.  Why is it so special Christ came?

In thinking about the Scriptural teaching concerning why Jesus came, what purposes he aimed to fulfill, and what reasons compelled him to come, our hearts will be redirected from the contemporary holiday bustle and even from a traditional churchly pursuit to a fuller contemplation of the very nature and work of the God-man, Jesus Christ.

Each of the 31 meditations are short and fit in 3-4 pages (with large font). The entire book can be read in a little more than an hour, if you are a slow reader like me.

Why Christ came

The chapters focus on the reasons for Christ’s incarnation and include some of the following answers:

  • To Save Sinners
  • To Destroy the Devil and His Works
  • To Bring Great Joy
  • To Reveal God’s Love for Sinners
  • To Bring Peace
  • To Bind Up Broken Hearts
  • To Make Us Partakers of the Divine Nature
  • To Be a Merciful and Faithful High Priest
  • To Satisfy Our Deepest Thirst
  • To Reveal God’s Glory

As you can see, these aren’t the typical Christmas devotions. The authors include a Scripture-packed exploration of each theme and often add poems, excerpts from a Psalter, and quotes from the Reformers or other notable Church leaders. As a Baptist, I appreciated the many quotes from the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession and the like. Those documents are not very familiar to me and yet they are rich in Scriptural reflection.

Evaluation

The authors are definitely Reformed, but mostly steer clear of controversial matters. And apart from one or two statements that might seem questionable to some, the large part of the work will meet with approval from any gospel-loving Christian who is hungry for Christ.

This small and readable work has a catchy cover and an inviting tone. I encourage you to pick up a copy and add it to your Christmas reading this year. It would make for a great series of family devotions or for personal devotional reading during the advent season.

About the authors

Joel R. Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and a pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

William Boekestein is pastor of Covenant Reformed Church in Carbondale, Pennsylvania.

Where to Buy:
  • Westminster Bookstore
  • Amazon.com
  • Christianbook.com
  • Direct from Reformation Heritage

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Reformation Heritage Books. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

Meditation on Isaiah 40:1-11 by Alec Motyer

Isaiah by the Day: A New Devotional Translation by Alec MotyerI have been making my way through Alec Motyer’s book Isaiah by the Day: A New Devotional Translation. This hardcover, wide margin book presents Motyer’s fresh translation of Isaiah and includes textual notes as well as introductory material and a devotional thought for each of the 71 readings in the book. It is very well done. Written with the heart of a pastor and the care of a scholar, this volume brings the book of Isaiah alive, and the devotions help the reader apply the text personally.

I want to share an excerpt from this book, from the passage covering Isaiah 40:1-11 (day #43 in the book). I trust you will be blessed by reading this passage as I was. You may also want to go out and pick up a copy of this book for your own devotional reading in the future.


Day 43 ~ Isaiah 40:1-11

The consolation of the world (40:1-42:17)

Astonishingly, no sooner has Isaiah pronounced judgement on Hezekiah’s sin than he is directed to organise messengers of comfort. But (maybe because exile to Babylon prompts thoughts of the wider world) the comfort-message covers all the earth, Israel and the Gentiles.

Consolation for the Lord’s people: Voices of consolation

40:1. Console, console my people,1
      your God keeps saying.
2.    Speak lovingly to Jerusalem,2
      and call out to her,
      that her time of duress has been fulfilled,
      that the punishment of her iniquity has been accepted,
      that she has received from Yahweh’s hand
      the exact payment for3 all her sins.

The first voice: Yahweh coming; worldwide revelation
3.    A voice!4 Someone is calling out:
      In the desert,
      clear a road for Yahweh,
      make straight through the open plain
      a highway for our God.
4.    Every valley must be raised,
      and every mountain and hill lowered,
      and the rough ground must become flat,
      and the mountain chain a pass.
5.    And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
      and all flesh will see it together:
      for it is Yahweh’s mouth that has spoken.

The second voice: Human transicence and the permanent Word
6.    A Voice! Someone is saying, Call out,
      and someone is saying, What am I to call out?
      All flesh is grass,
      and all its reliability like a flower of the field.
7.    Grass withers, flower wilts,
      for Yahweh’s Spirit has breathed on it.
      Ah, surely, the people are grass!
8.    Grass withers, flower wilts,
      and the word of our God rises up5 for ever.

The third voice: Good news for Zion
9.    To a lofty moutain, up with you,
      Zion, bearer of good news!
      With strength raise your voice,
      Jerusalem, bearer of good news.
      Raise your voice: do not fear.
      Say to the cities of Judah:
      Behold! Your God!
10.   Behold —
      as a strong one,
      the Sovereign Yahweh will come,
      his arm6 ruling for him.
      Behold!
      the wage he has earned7 is with him,
      and his work is in front of him.
11.   Like a sheperd who shepherds his flock,
      in his arm he gathers the lambs,
      and in his bosom carries them;
      those with young he guides along.

1Plural imperatives. Against the background of the dire prediction of exile and loss, the Lord has such a full message of consolation that not just Isaiah but unnamed others are summoned to bring the consoling word. Far from judgment having the last word (39:6-7) consolation has the first word!

2 Lit., ‘Speak to the heart of’ — as of an ardent lover wooing his beloved, Gen. 34:3.

3 Lit., ‘the double’, referring to one thing exactly matching another. The preposition ‘for’ (The Hebrew prefixed preposition be) expresses ‘price/value/payment’.

4 See 13:4.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5 The literal meaning of qum. Used to express not just the continuance of the Word while all else wilts but its certainty of fulfilment and its capacity for active intervention — ‘so stand up and be counted’.

6 ‘Arm’ symbolises personal strength. cf., 33:2; 52:10. In 51:9-10 (cf. 53:1) the Lord’s arm is personified, and one is therefore tempted to use the upper case here, ‘Arm’.

7 Lit., ‘his wage’, but a pronoun with ‘wage’ always points to the wage-earner. In ways Isaiah has yet to explain the Lord has worked and earned a wage. The ‘work’ he has accomplished lies in front of him, i.e., the people who are his flock.

Thought for the day: Isaiah 40:1-11

The most wonderful thing about these verses is not the beauty of their expression (though that in itself would have been enough), nor the attractiveness of what they reveal (though, again, that would suffice), but the place where they come. Doom has been pronounced on Hezekiah (39:6-7), and with it the death knell seems to have been sounded for all Isaiah’s glittering predictions of a coming king. At this darkest of moments, the call goes out to speak the word of comfort (v. 1), to proclaim hardship finished and sins forgiven (v. 2), to announce that Yahweh himself is on his way with worldwide significance (vv. 3-5), that his word and promises can never fail (vv. 6-8), and that Zion’s people are the flock he has worked for and now holds in his tender care (vv. 9-11). This is the Lord undefeated even by our most grievous sin; the Lord who never calls back the word he has spoken, and who cannot be deflected from its fulfilment! It will all become even more wonderful as Isaiah develops his message in these chapters. We will learn what the Lord’s ‘arm ruling’ means, that it is in truth his ‘arm’ — the Lord Jesus anticipated in his executive might; we will discover what ‘work’ he has done to earn the ‘wages’ he desired — his people, his flock. So much wonder lies ahead, but let us never lose sight of this initial wonder or fail to stand in awe of it. It is what he is towards us as sinners and failures: it is the way his intentions triumph over our frailties. The Sovereign God is never more sovereign than in the work of mercy and salvation, and it is those who know they have most signally erred and strayed from his ways, who, within the blessed arena of salvation, feel most gently the warmth of his shepherding arms around them, and know themselves for sure to be the lambs of his flock.

~ Taken from Isaiah by the Day: A New Devotional Translation, by Alec Motyer, (Christian Focus: 2011), pg. 188-190.


Pick up a copy of this book at any of the following online retailers: Amazon, Westminster Bookstore, ChristianBook.com, or direct from Christian Focus.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Christian Focus. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

“Greek for the Rest of Us: The Essentials of Biblical Greek” by William D. Mounce

Greek for the Rest of Us by William D. MounceBook Details:
  • Author: William D. Mounce
  • Category: Biblical Language
  • Book Publisher: Zondervan (2013)
  • Format: softcover
  • Page Count: 320
  • ISBN#: 9780310277101
  • List Price: $29.99
  • Rating: Highly Recommended

Review:
Have you ever wanted to learn Greek? A good number of Bible students and faithful church attenders have given a yes to this question. But these same people are often perplexed as to how they can actually learn Greek, Some may find themselves overwhelmed in a introductory Greek class and conclude that it will have to always be “just Greek to me.”

Bill Mounce, perhaps more than anyone else, has made it his mission to make the study of biblical Greek accessible to everyone. Not content to be the author of the most widely used introductory Greek textbook (Basics of Biblical Greek), Mounce has provided a wonderful resource for those of a less scholastic bent with his excellent book Greek for the Rest of Us: The Essentials of Biblical Greek. Now in its second edition, Greek for the Rest of Us is more useful than ever and comes complete with a host of online and additional resources to guide the reader into a greater understanding of biblical Greek.

Why study Greek?

Some may wonder why all the fuss about Greek. If the English of the King James Bible was good enough for the Apostle Paul, why do we need to study Greek? In all seriousness, why exactly should we bother with the study of Greek? Mounce sees at least five benefits from the study of biblical Greek:

  • making sense of the information that Bible software shows
  • finding what the Greek words mean
  • seeing the author’s flow of thought and his cental message
  • understanding why translations are different
  • reading good commentaries and using other biblical tools that make use of Greek (p. viii)

Three books in one

Mounce’s plan of attack is to teach the reader just enough Greek for what they need. His book is divided into three sections which will teach the reader foundational Greek, church Greek, and finally functional Greek.  Those making it through the entire book, with the online homework assignments, will actually cover the equivalent of two years of Greek. But many will not need that level of detail. Here is how Mounce delineates what each level of Greek will cover:

  • Foundational Greek teaches you enough Greek so you can use the Bible study software, understand a Strong’s Bible, and do Greek word studies.
  • Church Greek teaches you more Greek so you can understand a reverse interlinear and use better reference works, especially commentaries.
  • Functional Greek teaches you even more Greek so you can be comfortable working with a traditional interlinear and go even deeper into the best commentaries. (p. viii)

Greek on the bottom shelf

Mounce is a teacher extraordinaire. He has a gift in bringing concepts down to the bottom shelf where anyone can understand them. Illustrations, charts, pictures and examples abound. In everything he stays very practical and helpful. The layout of the book is easy to read and clear. He gives sample entries in Greek dictionaries that are recommended for those in foundational Greek. He provides screenshots from a variety of Bible software programs (some accessible freely online) and explains how to use them. And he covers interlinears and references a host of Greek tools that would be a benefit for those aiming to keep their Greek. 

One of the best features of this book is his development of phrasing. He shows how to break down a passage of Scripture into meaningful phrases and examine how they are strung together in the text. As the level of Greek understanding grows, he returns again and again to the phrasing model adding more and more to the exegetical strategy he is teaching. Finally he provides a wonderful group of semantic tags for the functional Greek student to use in selecting which relationships different phrases have to each other in a given text. This method has immediate relevancy for Bible teachers, students and pastors.

Helpful cautions for the budding scholar

Along the way, Mounce offers careful cautions to those just stumbling into the stimulating world of Greek. He reins in the tendency to find meaning in a word’s etymology and make too much of word studies divorced from the actual context of a given passage. He also provides some helpful thoughts as he begins to expand on verb tenses:

[After covering this material,] does this mean you can look at a verb and decide for yourself what its nuance is? Probably not…. Does this mean you can argue with a commentary or translation based on your knowledge of Greek. Absolutely not. You just don’t know enough Greek…. Will you be able to see why translations are different and be able to follow the discussion in commentaries? Yes. (p. 126)

He also gives a thorough treatment of Bible translation differences and the differences between the different Greek text families (Byzantine manuscripts vs. Alexandrian, etc.). There again he cautions those who are not fluent in Greek from presuming to know more than they do when it comes to the realm of textual criticism. As a Bible translator himself, he explains how all Bible translations are interpretive by their very nature and highlights the difficulties inherent in translation. Even so, he does not recommend dynamic translations for serious Bible study (p. 268).

Mounce also details what to look for and how to use good Bible commentaries. In short, Mounce doesn’t leave you with Greek on the brain, but brings you to where you can apply the Greek you have in ongoing Bible study.

Evaluation

This book is the most helpful introduction to Greek I’ve seen. It can be used for a wide variety of contexts, and would make a perfect resource for a church-led Bible institute class. It would allow some to be exposed to Greek and give others the tools to pursue it at a greater level. There is also a nice laminated resource sheet with declensions and common vocabularly words that is available along with this title and would make a great learning aid suitable for such an institude class.

The book would also serve well as a reference tool in its own right for those trying to remember some Greek fact which has been muddied by the passage of time. There are online tools and even vidoe sessions that go along with the book, making it ideal for personal study, and it could even work for a homeschooling family aiming to introduce biblical Greek to their children.  

One point to bring out here, is that this book will highlight differences in Bible translations and while it doesn’t answer every question raised, his explanation does favor the modern scholarly consensus favoring the Alexandrian texts. It can still be used with great benefit by those favoring a Majority text view, in my opinion, however. There may be various points where one may disagree with Mounce’s approach, but in the whole he is to be thanked for giving the church such a useful resource.

Author Info:
William D. Mounce (PhD, Aberdeen University) lives as a writer in Washougal, Washington. He is the President of BiblicalTraining.org, a non-profit organization offering world-class educational resources for discipleship in the local church. Formerly he was a preaching pastor, and prior to that a professor of New Testament and director of the Greek Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of the bestselling Greek textbook, Basics of Biblical Greek, and many other resources. He was the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version translation of the Bible, and is serving on the NIV translation committee. See www.BillMounce.com for more information.

Where to Buy:
  • Amazon.com
  • Christianbook.com
  • Direct from Zondervan

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Zondervan. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

Book Briefs: “To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain” by Matt Chandler

To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain by Matt ChandlerTo Live is Christ, To Die is Gain, was the first book I’ve read by Matt Chandler. Chandler is a young pastor in Dallas who faced a scary ordeal with a brain tumor, but whose testimony shone through even the darkest days of suffering. Chandler is connected with the Acts 29 church planting network and the Gospel Coalition. I jumped at the chance to read this book, thinking he would open up to some of his own struggles at death’s door. I didn’t find that, but I did find a lot of excellent teaching in a helpful, accessible style.

The book is a Bible study on the book of Philippians, and a masterful one at that. Chandler draws you in to the text, fleshes out helpful context by describing Paul’s mission to Philippi and at one point sketching the entire life story of the Apostle Paul. Chandler can paint a picture well, and he also has a pulse on where the average church attender is, spiritually. His book challenges and woos, it focuses on the Gospel and attacks any kind of legalism, yet he is inviting and encouraging too. He shares a lot of stories, many of his own life and family, but only once does he briefly touch on his struggle with cancer. But that aside, the book is an excellent treatment of perhaps the most loved epistle of Paul.

The Christian Audio version of the book plays nicely, although I missed hearing Chandler’s voice do the reading. Having heard him in person and listened to an mp3 online, his distinctive voice would make the title even more appealing. But the reading is done very well, and easy to listen to. I enjoyed To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain as I drove back and forth to work, and it made for an excellent devotional time as I prepared for my day. In any format, this would make for a great devotional read. The message of Philippians will challenge you to live a joyful, confident Christian life, that doesn’t shrink from declaring the gospel and living a sacrificial life for Christ’s glory, whether we live or die.

Pick up a copy of this book at any of the following online retailers: Amazon, ChristianBook.com, or direct from christianaudio.com.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by ChristianAudio.com. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.

Book Briefs: “God in My Everything: How an Ancient Rhythm Helps Busy People Enjoy God” by Ken Shigematsu

God in My Everything by Ken ShigematsuWho in 2013 does not feel busy? At times I feel like I’m spinning even when sitting still! And I am not alone. The frantic pace of life threatens to choke the life out of Christian faith.

Ken Shigematsu, pastor of the Tenth Church in Vancouver, gives us a guidebook on how we can slow down and set up a “rule of life” that will direct our hearts to God in the midst of life’s craziness. Shigematsu draws from ancient monastic practices as well as the writings of a variety of Christian leaders from years gone by. He doesn’t set up an impossible hoop that today’s Christians must jump through, instead he advocates a wise approach that takes the best lessons from ancient devotional practices and adapts them in a realistic and hopeful manner for today’s church.

When you mention monastic practices, a wide variety of reactions are sure to arise. Some will see Martin Luther whipping himself to rid his soul of the devil, and others will see Simon Stylite sitting atop his pole for thirty years. There is a danger in going after monastic rituals, don’t get me wrong. Monastic devotion apart from a clear understanding of the grace of God in the gospel of Christ, can be soul-damning. I would have wanted more caution in this book about this fact. That being said, however, there is something to be learned by the devotion of the monks and the practices they set up to direct a community of faith to God.

God in My Everything, is more than just a monastic manual. It is really anything but that. Shigematsu envisions the Christian life as a growing plant that needs support by a trellis consisting of life practices that we establish. The roots are prayer, sacred reading, and an experience of Sabbath — rest and communion with God. The activities of life then support our trellis: friendship; covenant sexuality or it’s twin, celibacy; and family. Our bodies are made to relate, and also they need to be restored through attention to the physical body’s needs, time enjoying life and nature (play), and a careful use of our resources (money). Ultimately, we reach out through a Christian approach to work, justice and living out a witness to the watching world.

I appreciated the book’s emphasis that all of life is to be lived for God’s glory, and that the joys of life are not divorced from Christian devotion. There was an emphasis on social justice and good deeds, but not at the expense of Christian witness and gospel declaration. Shigematsu strikes a good balance in this book, and people from a variety of Christian denominations can appreciate his contribution. We go wrong when we lose that balance and stress one area of life to the expense of others. The beauty of this approach is that it can be adjusted to a variety of life situations and is a healthy encouaragement to take stock of your current lifestyle and how you can better arrange your life to pursuit a joyful relationship with our Heavenly Father. To that end, Shigematsu includes several examples of individual “rules of life” written by a variety of people as plans for how they will live out a God-centered life in their own everything.

This book will challenge you to examine your devotional life and not just that aspect of your life either. It will call you to experience God in all areas of your life. For that reason I encourage you to read the book in a spirit of openness and prayer, not looking for the few things you can nitpick. I don’t agree with all of Shigematsu’s advice, but in the whole he is spot on. May more of us determine to live out all of our lives to God’s glory and honor.

Pick up a copy of this book at any of the following online retailers: Amazon, ChristianBook.com, or direct from Zondervan.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.