Customer Reviews

The One Year Through the Bible Devotional (One Year Books)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm about half way through this book and these are my first impressions:

Pros:
1) I love having the Bible chopped up into manageable portions that I can read each day. Some are longer than others, but everything has been doable.

Cons:
1) The devotions are not the best/deepest devotions I've read and some are rather superficially tied to a chapter or verse.

2) It is difficult to read both the devotion and the Bible reading within the same sitting. I appreciate the attempt at combining the two, however it hasn't been very successful in my personal experience. I tend to spend more time in personal reflection when I do devotions (and those portions of scripture are very specific to a single topic). When I read scripture its primarily for information gathering and understanding (and may or may not cover a wide range of topics). You wouldn't read a newspaper the same way you'd read a novel. I feel the same way about devotions and reading scripture. Attempting to do both at the same time does not work very well.

If you want to get the most out of this book, you might need to set apart time in your day to read the scripture first, then later in the day read your devotion (or vice versa).

This devotional has changed my way of how I study scriptures and how they can be applied to my Everyday Life in a positive way. I have recommended and given this book as a gift to those desiring to know God on a more personal level, but not knowing how to do it.

This guidebook and devotional is the best ever! I am and for majority of my life have been very much involved in the ministry in any church we attend(ed). So, I was very particular about what book would best suit my needs of spiritual growth. The great aspect of this book is that it is designed for a new believer or seasoned believer...it doesn't matter if you have known Christ for 1 month or 10 years. It ministers to everyone.

This book has not only changed my life, but also those whom I have recommended this book to. We have incorporated this devotional as a recommended reading for all who attend our "First-Time Members Orientation Class". We have received such an overwhelming positive response to this devotional and its impact on their spiritual lives. It has truly been a great tool in ministering others, teaching one how to establish a daily pattern of reading and studying the bible on a personal level.

It was also a great guide to help me "Read the Bible In A Year" in the order of how the scriptures are structured...not jumping around like some other devotionals that I have reviewed do.

If you are considering buying this book and really desire to enrich your spiritual life and walk with Christ...this is the book for you. I have spent countless days and hours searching for the right devotional that doesn't give you a person's opinions or interpretations but rather what the Bible actually says...a Word-based devotional...this is definitely the one!

I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed but blessed and filled..."Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)"

Although I've only been using this book for 14 days, which got me right through Genesis already, I already find it very helpful. I've tried reading through the Bible before but sometimes felt myself just reading to get my chapters done and not really absorbing the text. This book gives me suggestions, before I read the chapters, of what to look for in the text, making it a bit more interactive, and then asks reflective questions at the end to help me keep what I read in my mind a bit longer and also to find a personal application.

I'm curious to see how it will deal with Numbers and Chronicles but so far I really like it!

My pastor recommended this book and it was excellent. Having the author insights and thought before each daily reading really helped me to understand what the bible meant. I agreed with the author interpretation and I found reading 15-30 minutes a day very easy. The first year I tried reading this I fell behind, DO NOT FALL behind if you are a slow reader or someone trying to decipher each daily reading. In 2010 I tried (Jan 1) but gave up around mid February I found having my bible to be cumbersome, but in December 2010 I prepared myself by installing a free bible on my cell phone or smartphone, and installed the bible on my iPod touch. Having my two electronic gadgets made it easier to read while waiting, riding the bus or train. I had company to visit in August 2011 and fell behind by 24 days, it took some time to catch up so I advise anyone to go ahead and read ahead 2 or 4 days in advance especially when something is coming up that may divert your attention. So many adventures and wars, but most important was the new found patience and knowledge that I gained.

If you struggle to find a devotional guide that both gets you into the Scriptures everyday and yet isn't so overwhelming in its daily assigned readings that you begin defeated by the impossibility of it your goal before you even begin reading . . . then this devotional guide is for you. While this book is helpful in even guiding your meditations as you read the Word to let the Holy Spirit apply His truth to your heart, DO NOT EXPECT TO GROW IN YOUR LOVE FOR JESUS, HIS WORD, OR HIS PEOPLE without being willing to put in a lot of work. Easy-believism is not a Biblical teaching! You do not come to Christ to have all of your problems suddenly disappear, but you come to realize in daily life how to deal with your struggles through Jesus' presence with you each step of the way. Thus, we are called to imitate the faith of leaders who have gone before us (Hebrews 13:7 tells us to "consider the outcome of their faith and imitate their lives") like George Muller who would often wake up hours early to pray and study the Bible. In doing such, we must never look for or expect our becoming like Jesus to be easy. Romans 1:30-32 tells us there is a resting and a wrestling to our daily faith: we rest in the finished work of Jesus that makes us accepted before God but this necessarily leads to our continual wrestling with our natural lazy sinfulness which has not fully been experientially put to death within us! Just as Jesus has gone through the path of suffering to glory (Romans 5:12-21) so we also must travel the same road. But the promise of our reaching that state of bodily and spiritual glorification is guaranteed by Jesus' already received it Himself! As He was raised to life eternal so all who have been united to Him by faith will one day follow. Even now, the Holy Spirit is the Christian's guarantee of these wonderful hopes to come! But now, take up the Holy Scriptures and WORK to read daily in order to see Jesus and become like Him. He is both the means and the prize of the goal. Possess Him by faith and you will have all you ever need in this life.