Leviticus - a Humbling Experience

My friends and I are reading the Bible in 90 Days.  Our 90^th day will land on the day before Christmas Eve.  We thought this was a great way to keep Christ in the season. 

I’ve never read the Bible cover to cover.  I think I’ve read all of it, but never in a purposeful order.  At this point, we’re on Day 10 and in Leviticus.  If you aren’t familiar (I wasn’t fully) with Leviticus, the book deals primarily with the laws for sacrifice offering for sin, fellowship, etc. along with what is clean or unclean.  Wow – it’s quite a book.

The first impression I had was that I’d have to have a whole barnyard full of animals just for sacrifice.  I’d be at the Tent of Meeting daily offering my sacrifices to the Lord to cover my sins unintentional or otherwise.  Poor animals.  They’d all hide when they saw me coming.

How blessed are we that Christ sacrificed himself for us on the cross to cover that sin so that we no longer have to offer sacrifices to the Lord? 

I wonder, though, if we grow complacent when we don’t have our sin in the forefront each day.  We sin, we know it’s covered, we say a quick prayer and move on.  What if we still had to atone for our sins?  Having a constant reminder that we are being held accountable by the Lord would certainly change our actions. Or, would it?  It didn’t seem to in Biblical times. 

What I honor about the Bible is its truths.  Nothing is candy coated.  Human frailty is on display in all its grotesque forms.  Jews, Christians weren’t perfect then just like they aren’t perfect now.  Being a Christian doesn't mean you’re transformed into moral perfection, it just means that you honor Christ by striving for it.  We fail, we pray, we pick ourselves back up and start another day.

Eighty more days of reading the Bible – I’m humbled already. 

iShine Tween Boy's Bible Review

iShine NLT Bible
(Tween Boy Edition)

I was pleasantly surprised when the iShine Bible (boy’s edition) arrived. What a cool looking Bible! This is especially important because this Bible is made with tweens in mind. My youngest son, age 11, was excited as well. The cover feels like leather, is dark blue and has a “cool” young man on the front with a guitar in his hands. The cover just screams pre-teen to me.

Measuring at approximately 4.5 X 6.5 X 1, this Bible fits comfortably in the hand, can be carried around easily, and could be slipped into a backpack taking up little room, but providing plenty of comfort.

The Bible edition is New Living Translation (NLT) making it easily understood by the tween reader. Of course, the majority of the content is exactly what one would expect. After all, it’s a Bible! The print is quite small – I wouldn’t choose to read this copy with my old lady eyes, but my young man has no problems reading the smaller print.

In addition to the Old and New Testament, there are three sections: 1. You have Value, 2. You have a unique Identity in Christ, and 3. You have a Purpose to fulfill. Each section helps the tween understand that to God he is a VIP. The sections are incorporated with thicker paper and standout design/text making them easy to access. They include encouragement written at a tween’s level along with scripture to follow up what is being said. The most important aspect of these sections is they show how relevant the Bible is to each and every person yesterday, today and in the future. Sometimes relevance is where people get stuck – helping youth understand that this isn’t archaic jargon, but a guidebook for living is important.

Additional links are provided so that the tween who wants to explore more can get online and visit the iShine web site.

While my son already has a Bible, this one looks and feels like his own. It’s not mom’s or dad’s Bible – it was made for him. We’ll use this Bible in our homeschool studies as he learns that he was made by God as a special VIP for His kingdom.

*** I was given a copy of this Bible free by Tyndale for my honest review.

Homeschool Apologetics for Teens

What is homeschool apologetics? No, it’s not apologizing for homeschooling our kids… :-) Apologetics is a theology aimed at defending the Christian faith. Therefore, homeschool apologetics is teaching our children how to defend their faith.

If you haven’t heard about apologetics before, don’t feel bad. I had to look it up the first time I heard about it. However, when I delved into it, I realized it was an important facet of educating my children.

Sure, our kids are Christian, but WHY are they Christian? As they grow into teens and finally young adults, it’s important not only for them to own the faith for themselves (not just because mom and dad said so), but also be able to defend their faith.

In college and in “real life”, they will encounter questions like – How can you believe in God when you see all the suffering in the world? If God is real, how come we can’t see Him or talk to Him? How can you believe all those miracles in the Bible? They will be challenged to defend a man being born of a virgin, walking on water, changing water to wine and resurrecting from the dead.

How would you answer those questions?

Clearly, we can’t know all the answers. God will reveal all in His own time. However, we can provide the answers we do have. That’s what homeschool apologetics is all about – giving our children the tools they need to respond to those questions.

For example, why is there starvation in the world if there is a good God? Easy. Humans. There is enough food on this planet to feed everyone; however, humans don’t always want to share. If we acted as a global community instead of hoarding our resources, no one would have to go hungry. Can we really blame that on God?

The tools, nevertheless, are just one facet of helping our youth become apologists. They must be able to use the tools in alignment with God’s teachings. In 1 Peter 3:15-16 we are instructed, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Not only must the tools be taught, but how to deliver the message – as 1 Peter tells us, it should be done with gentleness and respect. Two hard qualities to have when your ire is up. Teaching our children now that their actions truly do speak louder than words is invaluable.

If I’ve peaked your interest, I suggest you start the journey on your own first. Find texts that help you to arm yourself with the tools of apologetics, then share those with your children. Authors like Lee Strobel, Lynn Vogel, Ravi Zacharias, Norman Geisler, etc. all have created great texts to being your research.

I’ve found in my journey that my faith has more foundation than even I realized. Understanding the wonders of the universe, science, philosophy, archaeology, literature from a Biblical perspective all gave more depth to my already deep faith. This is the gift I want for my children. To stand upon the rock with confidence, gentleness, humility and respect. To win others to Christ with their conviction and demeanor. It’s a worthwhile journey I’m so glad we have decided to undertake.