You haven’t seen a book review on Blakeyblog for a few months, but not because I haven’t been reading. Since my last review I’ve read five books, but none of them were really review material. I got a CBD catalog in the mail today and I looked through it to see if there are any new ones I want to order. Jerry Bridges’ latest caught my eye, so I may order that here soon.

The truth is there just aren’t that many great books out there. Sure we have Amazon, Borders and Barnes and Noble, but I’m talking about Christian books. I was at a large local Christian bookstore a couple of weeks ago to get a specific book and noticed that under each category there are dozens of books. In the “Relationships” section there are dozens of titles all tailored to any and every view on guy-girl relationships. I saw ones about kissing dating goodbye, or kissing it hello, courtship, a couple about singleness being a more godly choice, how to date with boundaries, how to date with passion, how to breakup and how to find a man worth keeping. As I looked through the titles and some back covers I said to myself, “What does the Bible say?!”

I moved on to the “Parenting” section and the selection was just as broad. Some say it’s all about discipline, or family meal times each day, some say you should spank your children, others said that was the worst thing you could do, only use time-outs. There were lots of books about how to survive the teen years and even a few about parenting adult children. Obviously people have a lot to say and I know that using discernment some books in both sections could be very helpful.

I can see how someone could get caught up in reading all the books offered from the Christian community about how to live their life. These authors are for the most part claiming to be Christians and their books have some Scripture or references in them. From the surface, Christian books could seem like an easier route than studying the Bible. These authors have found the best graphic design for the catchy cover photo and have thought up gripping titles and luring chapter headings. But when we open the Bible we feel confused, unsure of where to look for the answers we need for that specific question of what to do in a specific situation so many people just end up feeling frustrated or bored. Maybe we would rather pick up a little 10 step how-to with Dr. So-and-So instead of the Bible. We might feel apathetic about the Bible sometimes but the psalmist who wrote chapter 119 didn’t, and we need to take notes from his example!

97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.

98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.

99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.

100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.

101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.

His constancy in God’s Word has given him a wisdom that surpasses the craftiness of enemies, the knowledge of teachers and even the experience of elders. That should be so stunning to us because usually we place a big importance on what the author’s credentials are and life experience tends to be seen as a main “authority” in a lot of these Christian books. This is a powerful reminder to me that God’s wisdom always exceeds man’s wisdom.

His response to God’s Word is two-fold: meditation and obedience. It doesn’t sound like doing this is confusing or a drag. It sounds like this reading and responding to God’s Word is the joy of his heart and what he loves to do! I realize this doesn’t mean the psalmist didn’t have any extracurricular reading, but I was convicted by the intense adoration and enthusiasm he had for God’s law. I need to have this passion for meditating on and obeying the Bible. God’s Word isn’t just another title on the shelf after all. It is the Book.