The Good Book: 40 Chapters That Reveal the Bible's Biggest Ideas

THE GOOD BOOK

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 13 on page 359 is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica, Inc.

The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.

LCCN 2016958397

ISBN 978-0-7814-1441-8

eISBN 978-1-4347-1098-7

© 2017 Deron Spoo

Published in association with the literary agency of Ann Spangler & Company, 1415 Laurel Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506.

The Team: Tim Peterson, Nick Lee, Jennifer Lonas, Andrew Sloan, Helen Macdonald, Abby DeBenedittis, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Amy Konyndyk

Cover Photo: Getty Images

First Edition 2017

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

⁰¹⁰⁸¹⁷

To Paula, my wife, my best friend.

I am grateful daily that God has given us the gift of life together.

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

In the Beginning

1. You’re More Like God Than You Think

Genesis 1

2. When Everything Broke—Including You

Genesis 3

3. Staying Afloat in Troubled Times

Genesis 6

4. Faith Isn’t Safe

Genesis 12

5. When God Asks Too Much

Genesis 22

God Is Good When Life Gets Messy

6. On a First-Name Basis with God

Exodus 3

7. When Life Seems Out to Get You

Exodus 14

8. Ten Keys You Can’t Live Without

Exodus 20

9. God Can Use Even Your Failures

Judges 16

10. Why Hard Times Help

1 Samuel 17

God Is Big

11. Making Sense of Your Suffering

Job 1

12. Forget the Funeral—This Is Life!

Psalm 23

13. Guilty but at Peace

Psalm 51

14. God Is Closer Than You Think

Psalm 139

15. Words of Wisdom

Proverbs 1

Tough Love, Troubled Times

16. The Real Face of Jesus

Isaiah 53

17. Inferiority and Obedience

Jeremiah 1

18. Whose Side Is God On?

Daniel 3

19. Integrity under Fire

Daniel 6

20. Man on the Run

Jonah 1

Why Two Testaments?

Jesus Has Just Entered the Building

21. Jesus—God with Skin On

John 1

22. Welcome to Our World

Luke 2

23. What Does Jesus Want?

Matthew 5

24. Why Worry Never Works

Matthew 6

25. Life over the Long Haul

Matthew 7

Jesus Won’t Leave Us as We Are

26. Is Jesus Strong Enough?

Luke 8

27. The Original Come-to-Jesus Meeting

John 3

28. God Is Looking for What He Loves

Luke 15

29. Every Scar Tells a Story

Mark 15

30. Beating Death

Matthew 28

Following Jesus

31. Where Is Jesus Now?

Acts 1

32. Happy Birthday to Us

Acts 2

33. When Jesus Interrupts Your Life

Acts 9

34. God Loves the People You Can’t Stand

Acts 10

35. What Heaven Holds in Store

Revelation 22

God’s Message for You

36. Is God Ever Mean?

Romans 8

37. More Than a Feeling

1 Corinthians 13

38. Can God Change Your Character?

Galatians 5

39. Straight Talk

James 1

40. Becoming Your True Self

1 John 3

Epilogue

Notes

About the Author

Foreword

I think we need a little help here. Something’s broken. For a lot of people these days, life isn’t making a whole lot of sense. The age of connected living, online profiles, and Internet interactions isn’t all that was promised. And all this pressure to keep up appearances … it’s just weighing us down.

At the heart of all this, we find a messed-up idea that says we’re in control. It says that we get to want it all and to have it all. It isn’t working; it’s leaving people deflated or discouraged. But is this really anything new? Haven’t we been here before? Isn’t the history of humanity a repeating tale of the same mistakes—misplacing our hopes?

And that’s the truth right there. Though we’ve never lived in times quite like these, we’re still walking with the same limp or talking with the same stutter.

In the Bible, you will find God’s truth, which is both timely and timeless—for your today and all your tomorrows. You will find the story of our failures—namely, cowardice and greed, anger and self-interest. There are everyday people living everyday lives and some with epic falls from grace. And I can see a bit of myself in all those stories.

But I can see something else too. I can see that the story doesn’t end there.

That’s why The Good Book is so helpful. It makes the Bible personal. It brings the characters to life. It takes you on a journey through the forty most essential themes in Scripture. It connects the dots between the lessons taught thousands of years ago and the realities of life today.

Deron Spoo is a pastor and a friend. And you can trust Deron to guide you well. If you’re new to all this and don’t know where to begin, or if you’re an old hand wondering how to restart a good habit, Deron’s going to help you. He’ll leave you with a deeper understanding of God’s story, stir up a greater thirst for Scripture, and show you how to apply it to your daily life.

The Good Book is more than just a great resource. This book you are holding is an opportunity for you to begin a journey of transformation. Maybe you’ll enjoy it with others from your church, explore it with folks from your small group, or simply savor it in personal study. Know this: it is designed to change your life—you won’t be the same again.

Kyle Idleman, author of

Not a Fan and Grace Is Greater

Acknowledgments

I must give special thanks to several important people without whom this book wouldn’t be. Each person mentioned here has not only encouraged this project but has also enriched my life.

My family—Paula, Kira, Caleb, Seth, Mom, and Dad. You are the most important people in my life. You’re my foundation and my inspiration from which my best efforts spring.

My church family—First Baptist Church of Tulsa. How we’ve grown together! Daily I’m thankful God saw fit to have us partner together in his kingdom work. I’m especially grateful for the small group of friends—you know who you are—who prayed me through this project.

My agents—Ann Spangler and Linda Kenney. You believed in the value of this project when few saw it. Your resolute conviction strengthened me when my own confidence wavered. Ann and Linda, you have my trust and my deepest respect.

My publisher—David C Cook. What a talented team! I’m especially grateful for the expertise Verne Kenney brought to bear on this project. Also, I appreciate my editor, Timothy Peterson, whose keen eye added to the clarity of this volume.

And finally, a special word about Calvin Miller, my mentor, professor, and old friend. Calvin encouraged me to write and to write according to my passions. And so here it is! Heaven is richer for Calvin’s presence there today, and I’m richer for having spent twenty years learning from his intimate relationship with Christ.

Introduction

The Holy Scriptures are the highway signs: Christ is the way.

—Søren Kierkegaard

The young woman standing before me was a spiritual blank slate. She had no reference point to begin her journey toward God, no experience, no context. She approached me after a worship gathering on a Sunday morning. This was her first time in church. Not her first time in this church, but her first time in any church … ever.

In a matter of seconds, she gave me a rough idea of her thoughts about God. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in God; she didn’t know what to believe about God. From her point of view, God had never struck her as urgent, relevant, or worth serious consideration. In short, she had no God history. Certain unwelcome events in her life had recently prompted her to consider the Christian faith. So she found herself in church, talking to me.

More than two decades ago, George Hunter coined a term for people with no God history and no christian memory. Based on the word agnostic, a term for those who view God as unknowable, Hunter came up with the word ignostic to describe someone who is ignorant about the subject of God. ¹ An ignostic may willingly admit that God is knowable, but he or she doesn’t have the first clue about how or where to begin a search for him.

The young woman’s first question for me was simple: Is there a book I can read that can tell me what you believe about God? The answer, of course, was the Bible. It was the right answer, yet I secretly wondered whether it was the best answer to give her.

If the Bible intimidates even the most adept readers, imagine how intimidating it would seem to this young woman, a first-time Bible reader. On top of that, the Bible is notoriously easy to mis­interpret, especially when lone verses are lifted out of context.

Scripture is an infinite resource for knowing God and understanding life, but practically speaking, where should a new Bible reader begin? And how can anyone decipher the bizarre names, faraway places, and cultures of the distant past? Who is qualified to guide us in our quest to grasp the simple truths of God’s love, the necessity of a life-changing experience with him, and the promise of forgiveness and a fresh start?

The Bible is like the ocean, according to an old metaphor. The ocean is so deep in places that no person, however capable a swimmer, could survive its extremities. But at the same time, when the ocean touches the land, the water is so shallow and the waves lapping the beach are so gentle that even a toddler can safely play there. Anyone who has visited the beach has seen firsthand that the ocean is both intimidating and approachable.

The same is true of the Bible. Like the ocean, its depths can never be fathomed. Even after a lifetime of study, the most brilliant theologians admit they’ve only begun to plumb its depths. Centuries of Christian scholarship haven’t been able to chart its vast expanse. The Bible can be intimidating and yet approachable at the same time. Anyone can pick up a Bible and encounter simple truths that are nothing short of life changing.

Since no single book can fully explore the depths of the Bible, in this volume we’ll focus on the best-known passages of Scripture that form the basis of the faith we know as Christianity. Consider this your guidebook to the Bible. Throw a beach towel over your shoulder and take a stroll in the surf.

For those of you who are experienced Bible readers, I offer a word of advice: Reject the tendency to be satisfied with your current understanding of the Bible. Refuse the temptation to think that what you grasp of the Scriptures today is somehow enough. Don’t just settle for wading in the surf. Dive deeper! Untold riches await your discovery.

Many years ago, the evangelist Robert Sumner told the story of a man from Kansas City who was involved in an explosion. The accident left him badly burned. Tragically the man lost the use of his hands and the sight in both eyes. He had recently become a Jesus follower and had discovered the joy of reading the Bible. But now he was unable to see or use his hands to read braille.

One day the man learned of a woman in England who had taught herself to read braille using her lips. He tried this approach as well, but the nerve endings on his lips were too damaged to distinguish the characters. As he made a final attempt to read braille with his lips, the man’s tongue happened to brush the page. Instantly he realized he had found a way to read the Bible after all. Since then, he has read the Bible cover to cover four times, using only his tongue. ²

Given the obvious barriers to reading the Bible, why didn’t this man simply read it once and be done with it? Why read the Scriptures again and again? Simply put, each time we read the Scriptures, our understanding is expanded and our love for God is deepened. So if you’re a more experienced Bible reader, these forty chapters will not only help you explore the Bible’s biggest ideas, but they’ll also enable you to grasp afresh the greatness of God.

Selecting the Bible readings for this book was more art than science. My experience as a pastor, my journey as a follower of Jesus, and many conversations with people informed my choices. Often, people who didn’t grow up in church complain about the challenge of understanding the Bible. I asked a number of them to give me insight as to what they don’t comprehend about Scripture. I also talked with parents who confessed that their children know more about the Bible than they do, and these parents wished they had a safe place to ask questions in a judgment-free environment.

These people even confessed to feeling ignorant when everyone else seems to be in the know about well-known passages in the Bible. Psalm 23 is often quoted at funerals, but what does it really mean? And 1 Corinthians 13 is recited during many wedding ceremonies, but who wrote these words and where are they found in the Bible?

The Scripture passages you’re about to encounter could be considered absolutely essential for understanding big ideas of the Bible. To understand the Beatles, it’s essential to be familiar with the White Album. To know the Eagles well, listening to Hotel California is a must. To recognize Beethoven, you first have to get acquainted with his piano sonatas. In other words, to know these artists well, you must be able to readily recognize their signature pieces of music.

Likewise, the Bible contains signature chapters that every follower of Jesus should recognize instantly. You not only should know these chapters, but you can. After understanding these chapters, you’ll be able to recognize the rhythm of the Scriptures and tap your toes to the cadence. As I’ve taught these chapters in my church, I’ve enjoyed watching faces light up when, for the first time, people experience reading the Bible with understanding instead of insecurity.

As a matter of good practice, I encourage you to read the Bible selections first. Each chapter will take about five minutes to read. Then, after reading the entire Bible passage, read my brief exploration of that passage. Finally, I encourage you to reread the Bible chapter with the benefit of knowing more about the context and content.

Before you dive into the breakers of the Bible, I wish to highlight two important terms that will not only serve beginners well but will also serve as valuable reminders for those with greater exposure to the Bible.

Throughout this volume, I refer to the Older Testament and the New Testament. The Older Testament is the faith history of the Hebrew people. In our culture, old often means obsolete, while older implies a bit of experience. The thirty-nine books of the Older Testament were written in the Hebrew language by the Jewish community that believed in God prior to the coming of Jesus. Without the Older Testament, we would have great difficulty appreciating and understanding the New Testament, a collection of twenty-seven books written in the Greek language by the first followers of Jesus. These books contain God’s renewed plan to bring humanity into a relationship with him.

Because the Bible was originally written in ancient languages, we must rely on modern-language translations to make it accessible. For this guide, we’ll use the Christian Standard Bible.

The forty Bible chapters we’ll be discovering and discussing are broken down into eight sections. In each section, we’ll cover five chapters of Scripture under one theme that is both biblical and applicable to real life. My hope is that you’ll quickly realize that the terms biblical and real life aren’t opposites but synonyms. The Bible is important not only because it’s an ancient document but also because it enables us to meet the eternal God in the present moment.

If I had selected forty chapters of the Bible at random, you might arrive at the end of this book more confused than ever about what the Bible is all about. So what ties all forty chapters in The Good Book together? Allow me to answer that question with a story.

Early one morning I was waiting in line at my favorite coffee shop. Soon a blind woman entered the shop. As she walked across the room, tapping her walking stick on the floor, I decided to be helpful. When she was a dozen feet away, I told her that I was at her ten o’clock and was at the end of the ordering line. As we stood together in line, we struck up a conversation. She was on her way to the state capital with some colleagues to lobby for the visually impaired community.

In fact, I’m meeting some friends here, she said.

With that, she tapped her walking stick on the tile floor. I then noticed three or four of her friends across the room. Instantly their heads swung around to look for her—even though they couldn’t see. One of them took his cane and rapped it in response on the tiles under his table. They had found one another. Had I not been at the center of the action, I would never have observed their taps. I also learned what their taps meant. In three or four taps each, they had sent the message, I’m here. I’m here.

The forty chapters that follow cover the most essential themes of the Bible. More than that, as you read them, I hope you sense a tap. In the pages of this book, I hope you sense the presence of God saying to you, I’m here. I’m here.

As you begin, remember that the ultimate benefit of reading the Scriptures isn’t greater familiarity with the Bible but deeper intimacy with God. The Bible, from the first word to the last, points to the person of Jesus. My prayer is that you’ll encounter the eternal love of God by meeting Jesus in the pages of Scripture.

For Reflection

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

Don’t miss the promise and the importance of reading the Bible: if you know the Scriptures, you’ll never be at a loss for how to handle life.

What do you believe will be your greatest challenge in reading the Bible?

In the Beginning

Genesis 1

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. ³ Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.

⁶ Then God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water. ⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse sky. Evening came and then morning: the second day.

⁹ Then God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the water he called seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And it was so. ¹² The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ Evening came and then morning: the third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. ¹⁵ They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth. And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night — as well as the stars. ¹⁷ God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky. ²¹ So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them: Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth. ²³ Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. ²⁵ So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.

²⁷ So God created man in his own image;

he created him in the image of God;

he created them male and female.

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth. ²⁹ God also said, Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, ³⁰ for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it — I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

1

You’re More Like God Than You Think

Genesis 1

You’re more like God than anything else he created. At times you might feel worthless. Perhaps this is why the first chapter of the Bible sends the unmistakable message that you are priceless. Even on days when you feel barely human, you are, in fact, more like your Creator than anything else in existence.

Speaking of feeling barely human, I assure you that I face my own set of challenges. No matter how much Scripture I read or how hard I pray, progress seems slow and halting when it comes to a problem that plagues me. What’s my difficulty? My personality gravitates toward worst-case scenarios, leading me into worry and fear. My mind is adept at conjuring negative outcomes for any situation. I struggle even though the Bible is peppered with fear nots—the most common command in Scripture, and two words Jesus uttered often. My anxiety seems to have grown over the years. I’m constantly concerned for my family, about making ends meet, and about the group of people I help lead. I tend to obsess over all the things I can’t control.

My lack of progress could be interpreted as a spiritual failure on my part. And perhaps in some ways it is. But in another way, this struggle offers me an ongoing opportunity to learn to depend on God each day. Without this tension, I might fall into the trap of thinking I can handle life without the Lord’s help.

Even on days when I face my worst bouts of worry, I’m still the closest representative of God in all creation. And the same is true of you. Even in your worst moments, you’re more like God than the best of the rest of creation.

When we read Genesis 1, it’s easy to become sidetracked from this truth by focusing on lesser ideas. For instance, people have long debated the age of the universe. If it were essential to our faith to know the exact date of creation, I suspect God would have shared it with us.