Bible memorization contest draws unenthusiastic response

Enjoy this guest post from author Greg Miller and contact him to let him know you saw him on the Christian Daily Blog!

Pastor Wanna Noe Bible felt his church needed a deeper knowledge of God's Word, so he decided to implement a month-long contest to test the congregation's desire to memorize Bible verses.

Pastor Bible promoted the contest for about one month. He announced the project on the church‘s Web site, purchased newspaper advertising, and ran announcements in the church's weekly bulletin.

Although response from the pre-contest publicity was dismal, Pastor Bible was not upset. “I realize people deal with many things on a day-to-day basic,” he told his wife, Mrs. Bible. “And I'm sure the folks realize the importance of knowing God's Word.”

Members of the congregation were asked to approach the pastor and volunteer for the project. Two weeks into the project, however, no one had contacted him, so the pastor decided to again appeal for participation.

“This will give you an opportunity to memorize the Word of God, and you'll be a much more effective witness for the Lord,” he said.

The following Sunday, the pastor called for a special meeting to be held in the church's fellowship hall after the morning worship service. He asked why no one in the congregation had responded to the call for Scripture memorization.

“I've been so busy at work,” said Bonnie. “I've had to work overtime every single day for the past month.”

“My time has been spent planning our family vacation,” said Buster. “I'm trying to make sure we get the best prices on motel rooms and restaurant discounts. Plus, I've checked the price of gasoline every day on the Internet. And I've also been working very hard on my job.”

“I'm in the process of starting a new business, and I'm trying to make sure I have all the proper licenses, select a good location and stock my new store with a great variety of merchandise,” said Bowman.

Pastor Wanna Noe Bible was discouraged by the reasons given by the members for not memorizing Bible verses. “I wish they would realize the importance of hiding God's Word away in their hearts,” he thought.

To the members of the church, the pastor said, “We still have one more week in the contest. I urge you to learn as many Bible verses as you can in the next seven days.”

The last Sunday in the contest arrived, and the pastor planned to announce that no Bible verses had been memorized. As he stood to make the announcement, Barbara raised her hand to get the pastor's attention.

“I memorized one verse,” Barbara said.

“What verse did you memorize?,” asked the pastor.

“John 11:35,” replied Barbara. “The reason it took me so long to memorize the verse was because it was so short that I almost didn't find it!”

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To contact Greg Miller about preaching and other speaking engagements, as well as puppet ministry, please e-mail kidcool4jesus@yahoo.com.

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Book Review: The Spoils of Eden

When my friend Jill Hart of CWAHM.com sent out an email asking for people to renew Linda Lee Chaikin's book, The Spoils of Eden, from Moody Publishers, I jumped at the chance. I love fiction and am an avid reader, so it seemed like a good fit.

Let me state up front that this is a historical romance and that is not my favorite genre. I personally prefer mystery and suspense, and the only historical era that interests me in fiction is the 1940's. So this book will probably receive a much better review from someone who absolutely loves this genre and this era.

The Spoils of Eden is set in 1891 Hawaii, an independent nation struggling with the possibility of becoming a state and ending its long history of monarchy. The heroine, Eden Derrington, is a young nurse who is determined to abandon the man she loves to help her father, a well-known doctor, fulfill his dream of starting a clinic on a leper colony. His goal is to assuage his guilt over Eden's mother acquiring leprosy while assisting him years before. Eden's goal is to finally get her father's attention. And she's willing to sacrifice everything to do so.

A sub-plot of the story, though touted as the plot itself on the publisher's review, is that Rafe Easton, Eden's estranged fiance, has acquired a young child, born of a leper, and plans to adopt him. Eden, on the other hand, is on a mission from the Hawaii Board of Health to send the baby to the leper colony where he legally belongs. The story is filled with battles of the will between Rafe and Eden, the Derrington patriach and other characters, and even Eden's own battles within.

Even when I receive a book free as I did this one, I am determined to give an honest review. And while I would like to say I fell in love with this book, I can't honestly say that. For the most part, it is well-written, but there are several instances where the author's presence becomes felt as she reverts to "telling" to give information rather than "showing," which is what fiction is about.

Having read dozens of books on writing well, and being that avid reader I mentioned, I'm the first to admit that I'm a critical reader. No book that interrupts my suspension of disbelief will ever receive five stars from me.

With that said, this is a decent book. For those who especially enjoy historical novels, this would be a good pick. The characters are well rounded and true to nature (though part of my problem, too, is that I'm not crazy about Eden—I think she needs to grow up and be a woman instead of trying to be "daddy's little girl," but that's another issue). And I do like the hero, Rafe. He's strong, dependable, and is a very likeable character.

All in all, I'd give the book three stars and add that if you do like historical fiction, and you can get past the historical facts interrupting the story, you might really enjoy this book.

Purchase The Spoils of Eden.

Second-grader listens closely to story of David and Goliath

Enjoy this guest post from author Greg Miller and contact him to let him know you saw him on the Christian Daily Blog!

Duncan, a second-grader, asked Mrs. Daniels, his Sunday school teacher, to once again share the story of David and Goliath.

Duncan never grew tired of the stories of Moses, Joshua, King Saul and David, and all his other Old Testament heroes. “They’re not just stories,” he said. “These characters are among the most important people who actually lived, and we need to learn the lessons that their lives teach us.”

Mrs. Daniels began the story… “David’s brothers were in the army, and he went to check on them and take some food to them.

“When David left home, he had no idea he would be engaged in the battle of his life. He was a shepherd and had killed a lion and a bear that had attacked the sheep, but he had never faced a foe like Goliath. When the time came to battle this enemy of the people of God, David took his sling and selected five smooth stones from the brook and put them in a shepherd’s bag.”

Mrs. Daniels told Duncan and the other children, “The Bible tells us that Goliath taunted David because he was ‘but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.’

“According to the Word of God,” Mrs. Daniels continued, “Goliath cursed David by his gods and told him, ‘Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.’

“Then David told Goliath, ‘Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.’”

Mrs. Daniels continued with the story. “David told Goliath, ‘This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.’”

Mrs. Daniels wanted to see how closely Duncan and the other children were listening to the story. She said, “Later, David told his brothers, ‘I threw the rock with my sling, but the Lord directed my aim. And when the Sovereign Lord takes aim at a target, he never misses. He never even has to take target practice!’”

“Did David really say that?” inquired Duncan. “I’ve heard the story before, and I don’t remember that part of it.”

“No, I don’t think he actually made that statement,” said Mrs. Daniels. “But he could have… and he would have been telling the truth!”

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To contact the writer of this column about preaching and other speaking engagements, or puppet ministry, please e-mail kidcool4jesus@yahoo.com.

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