Customer Reviews

Devotions for Lent (Holy Bible: Mosaic)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This devotional, drawn from Holy Bible: Mosaic NLT (Meditations), is full of engaging artwork, thoughtful quotes, and challenging devotional writings--all centered around a unique set of lectionary Scripture readings for the season of Lent. The quotes, writings, and art are drawn from all around the world and throughout history--as early as the 2nd century and spanning time up to the present.

Highly recommended.

This collection of devotions taken from the Holy Bible: Mosaic is filled with wisdom, prayers, and focused scripture for the corresponding weeks of Lent.

Being a Southern Baptist you might find it odd that I read this book. Not sure I would have if it had not been offered as a free Kindle download (see below for link to the Kindle version). Just a quiet little miracle that God would have me jump out of my box to read this one.

Any book focusing on and filled with God's word is worthy of reading and I have learned not to `passover' them in the future.

A devotional of select scriptures is beautiful for anyone, even this Southern Baptist. I found this book to be quite enjoyable, though I read it at one sitting and not weekly as it was intended.

As noted in the Introduction, this would be a book fit for personal study, group study, or even for a church group as a whole.

Wide variety of great Christian men and women from a great span of history are included with quotes and meditations such as:

William Ralph Inge (1860-1964)
"Christianity promises to make men free; it never promises to make them independent."

F. B. Meyer (1847-1929)
"[Most Gracious Lord] enable me so to live that I may daily do something to lessen the tide of human sorrow and add to the sum of happiness."

Watchman Nee (1903-1972)
"God must bring us to a point ... so that we no longer dare trust ourselves."

The Tyndale Editors words are quite endearing as well. Additionally, the artwork included added to the reverence of the books content. Do I recommend this book, certainly. To anyone who observes Lent or anyone who just loves God's word.

Reviewed by: Keiki Hendrix
Reviewed for: The Vessel Project

I love this Devotional book for Lent, full of information, scriptures and prayers, I almost didn't get it because I am not catholic, but man alive am I glad I got it. It is for everyday of the year.
Love reading the verses daily, the information is for all who love the Word of God and sometimes need a little extra. Trust me it is for you.
Mary Ann from Safford Arizona (ps: any other Safford people out there with the kindles)

When I first submitted this review, I had no idea the controversy that would follow and as a result the negative 'helpful' votes it would generate. Lent is such a reverent and important part of the Christian calendar, that I felt and still feel that it deserved a more meaningful and insightful devotional book. So with that said, here is my review:

The introduction promises great things, "Each weekly meditation centers around a specific theme and uses several elements to create an environment for a meaningful experience with God."

Week 1:
"The season of Lent walks us through the grief of Jesus' last days before his crucifixion. As we read Jesus' personal conversation with his disciples in the upper room, we imagine the joy of friendship coupled with the sadness of a friend's imminent betrayal. As we enter into the darkness of Jesus' arrest, trial, and beating, we weep with those first Christians, and in our efforts to save Jesus from ourselves, we grieve in our Peter-like betrayals.

The tradition of Lent- a forty day sacrifice- is one way of mourning the death that sin has caused in our lives. As we see Jesus perfectly withstand Satan's temptation in the wilderness, we admit our own shortcomings, our own inadequate sacrifices. This period of "giving up" has a profound way of recalling our desperate need for Jesus Christ."

OK, I managed to put the entire week of meditation in those two little paragraphs! Not much. And while there are a few works of art and a few quotes from famous people, I just was not impressed.
The book promises great things and delivers a crumb.

Summary: This booklet has been taken directly from Lent portion of the Mosaic Holy Bible. As their website puts it, "Encounter Christ by reflecting on the words of Scripture and the art and writings of Christians across time and cultures. Includes full-color artwork; contemporary and historical writings; prayers, poems, and hymns from throughout church history."

Six weekly studies are included:

Week One - Identifying Discontent
Week Two - Dependence
Week Three - God's Holiness and Grace
Week Four - Sin and Death
Week Five - Fasting
Passion Week - Hope

Approximately 30 pages are full text of each week's Scripture readings.

Review: I'm not familiar with the Mosaic Holy Bible, but this is a good introduction to the type of devotional material that is included. I really like the idea of blending historical and contemporary writings with quotes, poems, artwork, hymns and prayers. I also like the idea of guided Scripture readings aligned with the church season (e.g. Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost). Finally, I thought the material they selected was excellent and engaging rather than dull and stale.

This 78 page booklet is very nicely put together. It is not the meatiest thing you'll find, but is a great guide for persons looking to be in tune with the Lenten season. A few drawbacks are that the font is very small (8 point at most) and it may be a stretch to find a week's worth of material for each section. Also, the Scriptures are taken from the New Living Translation and some people find this translation too simplified/fluffy.

Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this booklet.

Not every Christian or every church celebrates Lent. However, I think it is a good way to prepare one's heart for Easter, which is the most important day on the Christian calendar, in my opinion.

`Devotions for Lent' from Holy Bible: Mosaic,' in the New Living Translation, is a devotional which is broken down by weeks:

Week One -Identifying Discontent
Week Two - Dependence
Week Three - God's Holiness and Grace
Week Four - Sin and Death
Week Five - Fasting
Passion Week - Hope

In addition to devotionals, written by such giants of the faith as John Charles Ryle, Karl Barth, Watchman Nee, each week includes scripture readings, taken from the Holy Bible: Mosaic (New Living Translation). The scripture readings come from both the Old Testament (primarily messianic predictions) and the New Testament.

This lovely little book also includes full-color artwork, contemporary and historical writings, prayers, poems, and hymns from throughout church history. I especially thought the artwork was a nice addition. The paintings and photographs come from all over the world and throughout the centuries of Christianity.

I think it is important that we turn our hearts to the Lord all the time, but particularly at this time of year. This devotional does not take a lot of time away from busy schedules, but it sets our hearts in the right direction. This can be used individually, in a group, or as a church.

I really enjoyed this little devotional. It makes me want to check into the Holy Bible: Mosaic, from which it is derived.

This book was provided to me by Tyndale House for review purposes.

Reviewed by Andrea Schultz - Ponderings by Andrea - [...]

Spiritually motivational excerpts to reacquaint yourself with in honor of Lent. Inspirational and easy to read.

"Devotions for Lent" is a beautiful collection of devotions, scripture readings, and meditations from Christians across the ages. This book of weekly devotions, taken from the Mosaic Bible, is a wonderful resource for family, individual, or church devotions.

Each devotion is coupled with beautiful color images taken from contemporary and historical art pieces. Unlike other devotions I've read, "Devotions for Lent" pairs the writings of ancient church fathers like Augustine with contemporary religious leaders from across the globe.

The devotions are short and easy to read. Topics include: "Identifying Discontent," "God's Holiness and Grace," and "Hope." All of the scripture readings are printed in the New Living Translation and are located at the back of the devotional. This pocket-size book is the perfect size for stowing in a purse or briefcase.

I've enjoyed the devotional thus far, and look forward to using it for the remainder of the Lenten season.

I am thankful to Tyndale for providing me with a complimentary copy to review.

This book does have great devotions, no issue with that. However, there is not enough! The devotions are weekly, but not long enough to break down to read a bit each day unless you want to read a paragraph or two a day, which would mean that you would have a hard time following this from day to day. While I will say that the devotions are more than "a couple of paragraphs," they do not really have much meat to them either. There are some poems, some quotes, and some scripture, and "talk" inbetween. Thought provoking, but not enough of it.

Please, next time, break it down into days, with a weekly theme (see The One Year Book of Devotions for Couples to see what I mean).

This book has many gems. It changes your focus from deprivation to godly devotion. HIGHLY recommend.