The Chronological Study Bible published by Thomas Nelson

The Chronological Study Bible

The sights, sounds, smells and feelings are tangible to me even after over forty years of life. I remember the nursery, with caring smiling faces, a sense of comfort and love and of course Nilla Wafers and Ritz crackers. The vestibule was full of friendly faces, pats on the head and warm conversations. Many of the faces in my mind have long since exited this planet, but their love for Jesus, the local community and their church lingers on in my memory. From there, years of Sunday school, Children's Church, Awana Clubs, sword drills and the like filled my mind and heart with the stories of the bible. From large flannel graph boards to story books, the narrative of the bible, God and Jesus were permanently carved into my person. In college the bible was studied as literature, language, exegesis, theology and each verse was parsed into little pieces of truth. We did study through the bible more than once, but we never wavered from the canonical flow of the books.

Can you imagine reading through a book of American History that was out of order? Let's say the narrative started with man stepping on the moon, then moved to the war of 1812, then to the Great Depression, then the signing of The Declaration of Independence and next to the War Between the States, finally ending with the Golden Era of Industry beginning in the 1900's. You would indeed have individual stories of historical fact about America and Americans, but it would be difficult to fully see the grand picture of the historical timeline of the USA. The bible most of us read and study from everyday is much the same way. Each book is truth and points to The Truth but, many times the narrative timeline is out of order.

The Chronological Bible does much to alleviate the problem. The editors carefully attempt at move books, chapters and verses of scripture from their canonical location to a location in the narrative that best reflects the historical order of the story of the bible, God and Jesus.

You will not notice much difference in order from Genesis to Ruth, but moving through the story on Israel’s first monarch Saul and picking up the life of a future king David, you will see a surprising and remarkable change. The editors become concerned with placing scripture in an historical order of timeline. The publisher makes it clear in the introduction that the order as chosen by the editors is not without mistakes, but in my view, the scholars did a pretty good job.

As I read I found Psalm 23 in the place where David may have penned this most beloved scripture/song, between I Sam 16 and 17. Just a few pages later, Psalm 59 appears in the story as Saul is attempting to kill David. Throughout the narrative of David’s life the Psalms he wrote appear in the story in their approximate historical order. The same will be found with the life of Solomon and his writings. The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and The Song of Solomon appear in his life when they may have been penned, or when they address the time of Solomon’s life. The entire OT is placed in historical order. The king’s are placed in historical time along with the voices and writings of the Prophets. Their words of warning, blessing and cursing are linked together with the life and reign of each king of Israel, Judah and the kings and leaders of the Jewish exiles and oppression. I read the text seeing the entire story placed on the giant time line of world history, not a disjointed and separated revelation of God, his people and His life.

You will see and experience the beauty of the bible narrative in a new way. Freed from the canonical order, the bible becomes a giant story novel of God and His relationship with His planet and creation.

For those of you who are people of Christian faith, the NT will bring a new clarity of the Life of Jesus and the first 100 years of the church. The four gospels and Acts are no longer five separate books, but a written story of the life and incarnation of Jesus and the founding of the Christian Church. The voices of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are clear, but they are interwoven into a chorus of story tellers. As you move through the founding of the church, the Epistles of the church leaders of Paul, Peter, John and the rest are read as they would have been written. I Corinthians is placed after Acts 19:22, the place in the narrative of Acts where Paul might have written and sent the letter from his time in Ephesus. The entire NT flows in this manner until you end with the book of Revelation.

The publishers have not only provided a new view of an age old text, but they have included tools in the text to help the reader along the way. By glancing at the top of each page the reader will find out what scriptures are included as well as the approximate dates of the writing. At each book change or mashup, the editors include transitional explanations as to why the passage was placed in that spot. Notes are included to explain important archeological finds and information as well as secular and biblical historical details. Maps and geographic information are printed on the page as it coincides with the story, making it easier to visualize the physical placement of the narrative details. Illustrations are ghosted unto the pages at intervals to give visual interest to the text. The opening pages of the book have a comprehensive introduction that explains each tool and even suggestions for their use.

I like this bible. As a matter of fact, I wish I had owned one many years ago. This presentation allows the story of the bible to flow in a narrative form that will remind you of a novel. During my time of reviewing a copy, I took the Chronological Bible with me almost everywhere and showed it to many people. Each one that looked at the book and allowed me to show them “how” it worked had one statement, “I gotta have one”.

With the positives I found, I do want to point out a few weaknesses the format has. I do not like the onion skin thin paper the book is printed on. I know this is normal paper for the bible industry, but it is too thin to take the abuse I give to my study bibles. I want thick paper that can stand a hand written note with a colored Sharpie, but alas, this may be a dream I will never experience in any bible. I liked the ghosted illustrations in the text, but the illustrations themselves reminded me of the flannel graph figures of my childhood-cheesy vs realistic. The binding is hardcover, but I don’t know if it can hold up to traveling in my backpack from bedside, to car floor, to coffee shop, to computer bag, to airport, to office desk and back again.

It is a bible I believe all readers of The Book will enjoy. I also feel you will see and experience the greatness of the story in a new and maybe even miraculous way.

Great day at the Shop

We had a great day at the Carpenter's Shop today. Dr. David Black spent the morning with us. He is a professor of N.T. and Greek at SEBTS. His main topic was to refute the arguments of Dr. Bart Ehrman regarding the N.T. scriptures

We all learned much and Dave and his wife Becky are a just plain fun people.
Check out the blogs and website they operate and their thoughts about their time with us.

Great interview with Bishop N.T.Wright

Bishop Wright is one of the bright spots in Christian theological scholarship. He has a deep respect for scripture and is not afraid to gently step on the toes of incorrect belief within the church of this age. The fact he appeared on the Colbert show says more about Colbert and the Comedy Channel than you can imagine...it actually says that a network for vulgar humor could be more in tune with spirituality than news networks.

Point Counter Point

There is a very interesting debate at BeliefNet. It is between two of faiths great thinkers. One is an orthodox theologian while the other has cast off his christian roots for free thought. They are discussing how pain and suffering relate to our faith and our God. Take some time to give the posts a read.


HT:Mike Morrell

Short visit, long implications...

The Pope visited one of the oldest synagogues in the U.S. on Friday. The video at the news website is less than 22 minutes. It may have been a short visit, but I believe this stop could have far reaching and positive effects on the church of the world.
A "raw" video of the visit was in the side bar this morning. It is worth the time to watch and listen. Rabbi Scheier gives a powerful illustration for followers of Yaweh to build relationships and work together. If we as the Body of Christ, (I include all Catholics and Protestants) as well as those who call on Yaweh, (Jews and Christians) would begin to know and care for each other, we could then love and care for a hurting, hungry world.

Another video at YouTube...

He's just so darn cute! Like a lynx.

I did NOT see the 60 Minutes piece last night, here is a link to the videos. My family and I were enjoying the N.C. State Fair and our share of fair food fare. Mr. Osteen has been a topic of conversation here in the Chalmers' home over the last few days. So, I would like to clear the air and make one statement.

Joel Osteen is NOT preaching the story of Jesus his father John Osteen preached. Joel Osteen is NOT preaching the truth of the good news of Jesus contained in the Bible. Period. There I said it.


Michael Spencer did watch the show. Here are his thoughts.
Just so you will know, Michael and I do not agree on some things. On this topic, I find myself in his camp, on his side, waving his banner.

Here are the thoughts of a real live, theologian and scholar.

I forget, wanna fight about it!

"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them."


"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?"

"What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving."

"People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

(HT:Russ for the awesome photos)

Quick Catch Up

Saturday was our first day selling at the Wake Forest Farmers Market. The crowd was good and we sold all but 1.5 quarts of the honey we took with us. Many candles and several bars of soap were purchased. We are looking forward to this Saturday;)

Another hot and busy week is shaping up in the work department. We are now framing a large post and beam porch. The heat was draining today, but we had a good rain this evening. The forecast is for more of the same the rest of the week.

I love reading the book of Proverbs, I always learn something each time.

Sweet Lies

As a person of faith, I want everyone to have an opportunity to know the God and Jesus of the bible. Yes, the God/Jesus of the bible, not the caricatures created by religion or denomination.

As a parent, I want my children to know the God/Jesus of the bible. I am not arrogant enough to think my girls should know my God/Jesus, because I want more for them than the God/Jesus I have lived. I'm sure I have a caricature of God/Jesus that I have created in my mind and heart through the years. I know I exaggerate certain parts of God's/Jesus' character that I need or am dependent on, while I diminish the parts that make me uncomfortable.
Some of you are saying, "But Jimmy, you are to be the spiritual leader, the spiritual guide for your family and church."
I know, but I must admit, "If you are going to follow me, you had better stay back a few feet, I may step off a cliff!"

My wife and I have prayed for our girls, from conception until now. We have pointed them toward God/Jesus, from conception until now. We have lived a stumbling-bumbling life of faith for them, from conception until now. We have taught them the greatness of the bible, from conception until now. We have taken advantage of each and every "teachable moment", from conception until now. All of these we will continue until we exit this planet.

We need help! We cannot, nor should not, be the only reflection of faith our daughters see and experience. They need to see the faith of their grandparents, aunts and uncles, community members and our spiritual family(church) and members of other spiritual families.

All that long introduction to say this: the past few years our daughters have attended World View Academy each summer. The leaders are great men, but are not perfect. They have caricatures of God/Jesus just like me. Still, they cling to God/Jesus and the bible with a passion.
I can and will highly recommend this organization as another tool for "teachable moments" of faith. Our girls learned lots this year and this past Sunday, they lead our conversation at "church". The springboard for there "sharing" was a lecture they heard by Brandon Booth.
It was titled, "Seven Sweet Lies You Already Believe". I have been thinking on this conversation since Sunday and want to spend a few posts discussing what my daughters learned and in turn, taught me. So, come back and read about the sweet lies.

Follow-up: My daughter Katy posted this morning about "her" faith and "her" walk.

I just gotta shout....Aaamaaaeeennn!!

The InternetMonk rants.

"Shake that bush one more time!!"

Old folks, old memories

The past few weeks I have been thinking about stories. Not just any stories, but stories that relate God's grace and mercy. I was purposefully attempting to remember stories that illustrated "the gospel". Stories that would illustrate the good news of Jesus even if Jesus and the "plan of salvation" were never mentioned in the telling.

I remembered one that fulfilled all the requirements I had set in my head for these stories.

• The story had to be a first hand account. That would limit me to people I knew or could communicate with personally.
• If the story could be put on film and was to have no audio tract, the visual pictures would still scream of Jesus and grace.
• The story had to involve "ordinary", "every day", "every-man" people. Not paid or trained church "professionals".

I communicated with a person directly involved in this story of grace. She is still alive and doing very well at 86. As a matter of fact, she is still writing stories of God's grace and mercy by the life she lives. Her energy and passion for serving people are amazing, but you cannot meet her yet. Monday she told me the story. For over one hour she told me stories, showed me pictures, read me scripture, newspaper articles, artifacts from a life and story that smells of "the gospel" and God's grace. In the telling she had to mention people I have known my whole life. Some have died, others have moved from the area, others are living life and Jesus daily, a few have moved into a retirement community in Pittsboro, N.C.
The story teller was quite blunt, she asked, "What are you doing on Wednesday?"
I had only one reply..."I have an open day on Wednesday."
I then called my mother Joyce, she knows the story and was involved in many ways.
"Mom, is your calendar open on Wednesday?"
"Yes", was her simple reply.
"Will you go with me and the story teller to the Pittsboro Christian Village to visit Mel Pierce?", I asked.
"Yes, son, you need to see Mel."

It was set. I would drive my 76 year old mother, the 86 year old story teller and her 93 year old house guest to Pittsboro to visit Mel Pierce and other christian old folks.

Oh yeah, you guys don't know Mel Pierce. Mel was a teacher. She was my high school chorus teacher and director of a touring choir I was part of in those years. She was also a wife to Wilber and mother to Scott, Polly and Penny. The entire family attended the church I did as a young man. They always wore the most beautiful hats to church each week. Mel, Polly and Penny wore the hats, not Wilber and Scott. Mel and Wilber sang duets on a regular basis. They could sing well. They sang "old school" church songs. I can still see them in my mind singing together.
Sometimes, Scott and Penny would join them and the duet would become a quartet. Wilber is in heaven now. Mel and my mother are dear friends of forty years. The story teller is also close to Mel.

Mel was and is a classic southern lady, even though she grew up around Chicago, Il. She enjoys beautiful things, good books and good friends, she also loves Jesus very much. She had a profound impact on my life as a young man. So did the story teller, and my mother, and my father and the list becomes endless.

We left Durham around 9am last Wednesday morning headed for Pittsboro. My mother, the story teller and Louise. The ride was fun, even though my mother and the story teller, we will refer to her as "ST" from here on out, disagreed on how we should drive to Pittsboro. I tried to drive "my" way...that lasted about 30 seconds.

Pittsboro Christian Village is a unique place. They have a few private homes, probably a dozen or so apartments and than a top notch care facility. Many older believers have spent their last years here with a good staff and excellent care. ST and my mother lead the way from room to room; speaking to each resident with love and genuine interest. You could tell they come often as staff and residents were familiar with the both of them. They were also happy to see me, a few were happy to see anyone. Many of the names and faces were people from my childhood. My mother and I made a visit or two to total strangers. I am always amazed how a five minute visit and a few words can seem to bring great joy to seniors.

Mother moved me on to Mel's room. Mel was there, sitting in her chair. She had the same aire of quality and dignity I had always known, just bent a wee-bit more. She greeted me with laughs and many hugs. We had a wonderful conversation for almost an hour. She cannot walk at this time without assistance, so a wheelchair is her vehicle up and down the halls. She loves the village and her life as it is. I heard no discouragement, no pity for herself. She was filled with thankfulness and praise for God and Jesus. It was good to spend time with her and I hope and pray God's grace and mercy will follow her up and down the halls as she wheels around.

I then went to visit Minnie Chandler. She is in her nineties and still painting beautiful pictures regularly. She and her husband Russell attended my 1st birthday party, so I have known Minnie my whole life. She and Russell were "old" when I was little, or it seemed that way to me.

I was invited to eat lunch in the dining hall. The meals are served family style at tables of five or six folks each. I spent lunch with five wonderful ladies, including a retired missionary/nurse who served in the Congo, Africa. the conversation was good and the food was..O.K.

After lunch many went to quarters for after noon naps. Mel P, Minnie C, ST, my mother, the 93 year old house guest and about six or seven other ladies went to the sitting room. They began to share stories of my childhood. They spoke of the communities of faith from my childhood, the pastors and leaders, camps and VBSes and songs. They wanted to sing!
we did, songs of the faith from the past. Songs with great theological depth and songs with shallow christian sentiment, but all, full of faith and trust and assurance that life does not end on this planet. For ALL of them, life today and tomorrow are dependent on a relationship with a person. A person that is real , alive and living with and in them. Dare I say it, that person is Jesus Christ! This group of ladies were an example to me of lives lived with Christ.

I Tim 4:12

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

For about an hour we sat and chatted and sang. There were laughs, a few tears and great faith. One by one, they walked, rolled and hobbled away. I rolled Mel back to her room and helped her get back into her chair. I was humbled!! I experienced much joy, much faith, much grace, much of Jesus while there.

My three passengers and myself returned to the Triangle via Chapel Hill and ended the day at ST's home. A pot of coffee was brewed and she began to tell the story again. This time I had my laptop, a good microphone and Audacity. I recorded the story for over one hour.I returned to the story tellers home again on Friday and recorded for over two hours. I now have over three hours of raw audio of a BIG story of God's grace, God's mercy and God's people. I also have the memories of a day at a Christian seniors village. I am attempting to edit the recordings, I am also attempting to be changed by my day with a bunch of old people and some old memories.

Matthew 25:31-46

I have been studying and teaching through the book of Matthew at church. This past Sunday, I skipped ahead a wee-bit to this passage. Lately, hunger has been an issue I have been thinking about and praying over. The real problem as I see it, is christians have spent years thinking about and praying over this issue. I don't know how much we have accomplished. Here are a few stats from N.C.

• The population of NC is a little over 8 million.
• Each day over 1 million N.C. citizens have "low food security". Low Food Security is a new term for HUNGRY.
• Of the one million, 81thousand of them are children in the Triangle. They are dependent on the school lunch program for one meal. That meal consists of institutional-pre-packaged-school-cafeteria-foods. On weekends, holidays and summer breaks, what do those children do?

No child in this nation should ever go hungry. No child in a state where agriculture is still king should go hungry. It matters not why they are hungry. It does not matter if they are rich, poor, educated or illiterate, red, yellow, black or white. If they are hungry it is OBSCENE!!
Matthew 25:31-46 is clear on this, the righteous ones were feeding and clothing and visiting and caring.

Take a listen...then stand up and dance!!

I enjoyed it...

I wanted to do something different this Easter.
Easter hymns and music are always great. "Up From The Grave He Arose", "Christ the Lord is Risen Today", "I Know That My Redeemer Lives", "He Lives", all are songs of easter that are forever etched in my memory of church and easter. The flowers, the new clothes, the ladies and girls in hats, and of course the Easter Sunrise service. All part of the pieces of Easters past. None of these memories is bad, I would not change them. I just wanted to add new rituals and new memories of Easters in the future.

At this time The Carpenter's Shop is not set up well for music. We meet in a local eatery... a bar and grill to be exact. We meet together, share our week, pray, talk, sometimes I teach, but mostly we are together as followers of Jesus and a spiritual family. Music has been tough the last few years, but God does not need our ego boost.

This past Easter Sunday was bitter cold in NC. In years past we have had Sunrise Service here on the farm where my family lives...we bagged it this year. One less Sunrise Service will not change the fact that the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive. Besides, I wanted to do something different.

I wanted to eat a meal with my friends and celebrate that Jesus is alive. Most of my best memories revolve around food, family, friends and food. You think about it. How many of your bestest memories include food? I believe it is because God created the enjoyment of good food to be linked with building strong relationships, with Him and with others. Eating together should be a sacred ritual of our churches today. Paul gives us a picture of "The Lord's Table" or Communion as being a feast of ALL the believers in Corinth, in 1st Corinthians. The feast was to celebrate the risen Christ and remember Him.

We met on Sunday morning at 11:30am. We had a meal together. We had a place set with one of the gorgeous communion sets in the picture. The chalice full of wine the plate full of a hand made loaf of rustic bread. We celebrated the end of our individual Lenten fasts. We talked of the sacrifice and how our lives had been changed by the time. We than took communion, big hunks of bread and cups full of wine. The cups we brought with us from home. They needed to have significance to each participant. The cup was to represent ALL that we have. All that we have has been redeemed by the resurrected Lord. We where there together, just like we are,
the bumps, the bruises, the victories, the failures, the good, the bad and the ugly, standing together with a hunk of bread and a cup of wine. ALL we are has been changed by the resurrection.

As far as I am concerned, it was a great Easter.

The Sower

TV was simple when I was young. Three channels were all you could watch. There were four, but PBS was "educational". Channel 11 WTVD was the ABC affiliate, based in Durham in a huge red brick building on Broad St. WRAL-TV was channel 5, the studio was on Western Blvd. in Raleigh. They had a HUGE tower that was full of Christmas lights each December. The NBC station was channel 28, I don't remember where they were, it always seemed they were moving from one place to another. UNC-TV was based out of Chapel Hill with studios on campus at UNC and in the RTP. By the early seventies there were also a few independents on the UHF band, and with a multi-directional aerial you pick up stations from Greensboro, Winston Salem and High Point.

In all of this there was one constant. A man from Metter, GA., Dr. Michael Guido, known as "The Sower". He always told great stories, with scripture and a good word about Jesus and God. He was never "preachy" with his words or his delivery. I have fond memories of his voice and the music that played. I knew he knew Jesus, and genuinely loved people. I happened to think about him today, and googled his name. I thought for sure after so many years he would be in his heavenly home. I was wrong, he is still going strong. Slide by his website and pay Dr. Michael Guido a visit. If you are a person of faith you will enjoy "Seed from the Sower", if you have no faith, you will experience a wee-bit of joy from Dr. Guido. Give him a listen and let me know what you think.

For my Emergent friends, Dr. Guido was missional before any of us were born!!

Bible Reading

Gordon Atkinson does a great job with these videos on reading the bible. At the moment there are seven, one or two more will be added to wrap up the series.