As the use of smart phones grows more and more each day, it seems there is an app for nearly anything imaginable.  While I’ve done a fair amount of Bible reading utilizing apps from LOGOS and Accordance, the new series of devotional apps from Thomas Nelson is my first foray into devotional reading on the iPhone and iPad.  Based on the copyright information page, it looks like Thomas Nelson partnered with AuthorMobile (www.authormobile.com) to create this new devotional app.

This particular app is based on the book Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence (Thomas Nelson, 2004) by Sarah Young.  Here is a brief description of the book taken from the Thomas Nelson web site:

“Jesus Calling is a devotional filled with uniquely inspired treasures from heaven for every day of the year. After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her. It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue. She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but journaling helped her grow closer to God. Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages. They are written from Jesus’ point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling. It is Sarah’s fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.”

In order to better help the reader understand the user experience within the app, I am going to review some of the features and functionality available as you use the app.  Keep in mind the screen shots below are from the iPad.  The app will have a slightly different look and feel on the iPod touch or iPhone.

1.  Home Screen

On the home screen, users can select the particular devotional reading that they would like to read.  The reading for the current day is highlighted in red.  Additional buttons on the home screen are as follows:

Media Button – The media button is in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.  Users can access bonus audio or video content related to Jesus Calling.  At the time of this review, the only media available is a promotional book trailer.
A.  Home - Returns user to the home screen.
B.  Search – User can search all devotional readings by topic, verse, date, or keyword.
C.  Store – Additional titles by the author for purchase.
D.  Gift – Users can purchase the Jesus Calling app for a friend.
E.  How to Use – The how to use feature gives a detailed explanation of all features within the app.
F.  Info – The info feature has all of the relevant copyright information for the app.

2. Reading / Devotional Screen

The reading / devotional screen is where you’ll be spending most of your time as you use the app.  Besides reading the daily reading, users will also be able access a few additional features.
Social Media Buttons – Users can share selections from their devotional reading on either Facebook or Twitter.

Notes Button – By clicking the notes button, users will be able to access the notes interface that will allow them to enter their own thoughts and prayers.  The notes are associated with the particular devotional reading under which they were entered, which could make them rather difficult to find if you wanted to review them at a later date.  Users are also able to customize the background of the notes page.  At the time of this review, the notes interface contained 13 different custom backgrounds to choose from.

Kudos to Thomas Nelson for leading the way in their market space, by making a large number of devotional titles available for this new concept of the devotional app. I think it is still a bit early to declare whether or not this type of app will catch on.  However as e-books continue to gain more and more acceptance, users will most likely be willing to use a devotional app combining the features of a personal devotional book and journal.  Considering that this app is based around an electronic version of a book, I was surprised at the number of features it had.  Overall, it made for a good user experience.  My only suggestion for future editions of the app would be to make the notes pages searchable or offer the ability for users to tag their notes entries.  If you are interested in the Jesus Calling app, you can learn more here:  LINK.

In preparing for this review, I also had the opportunity to test the Live Loved app, which is based on Live Loved:  Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life (Thomas Nelson, 2011) by Max Lucado.  This app uses the same interface as as the Jesus Calling app, so all of the above comments related to the use of the interface would apply there as well.  You can learn more about the Live Loved app here:  LINK.

Disclaimer:
This app was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

I was excited to receive a copy of Jungle Warfare:  A Basic Field Manual for Christians in Sales by Christopher A. Cunningham.  I’ll be reviewing this book for Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze, blogger book review program.  You can join the BookSneeze program at www.booksneeze.com.

Title: Jungle Warfare: A Basic Field Manual for Christians in Sales
Author: Christopher A. Cunningham
Release Date: August 2010
Purchase options: Amazon, Direct from publisher
Synopsis: Are you ready to fight the good fight? Every other sales book promises you great riches, cute techniques, and “amazing” questions to get your customer to buy from you. This is not every other sales book. Commerce and combat join forces in Jungle Warfare. Your enlistment asks for a 22-day tour of duty to explores battle-tested principles that Christopher Cunningham mined from his grandfather’s World War II field manual (stay fit…keep your wits…know your enemy…trust your commander) and culminates with a field-support Q&A addressing thorny questions that all professionals face. Every day, you walk through a jungle. Pick up this book and you’ll never walk through it alone, again.

Buy		Read

Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 758
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: October 21, 2008
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1418516449
ISBN-13: 978-1418516444
List Price: $29.99
Rating: 4 Stars!
Purchase Options: Direct from publisher, Amazon

Review:

The Kingdom of the Occult is a much welcome update to the late Walter Martin’s long-time bestseller The Kingdom of the Cults.  Here is a brief selection of some of the topics covered in this updated edition:

• The Doctrine of Demons
• Kabbalah
• Eastern Mysticism and the New Age
• UFOs
• Satanism
• Godess Worship, Witchcraft, and Wicca
• Demon Possession and Exorcisms
• Christian counseling and the Occult

There is a consistent layout throughout the book, with each chapter expanding on each topic under the following headings:

• Quick Facts
• History
• Case Studies
• Theology
• Resources

I especially liked this layout as it was conducive to finding the information you needed very quickly.  Readers will gain a lot of insight and new knowledge from this book.  It truly is a must have for every church and home library.  My overall rating for this book is 4 stars.

Author information:

The late Dr. Walter Martin authored twelve books and was a recognized as the “father” of the modern Christian Counter-cult Movement. A pioneer in the field of teaching by tape, Dr. Martin recorded more than 5,000 audio tapes on general biblical subjects. Dr. Martin pioneered the development of seminars dealing with cults and the problems of secularism in education. Dr. Martin was the founder and president of the Christian Research Institute and the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show The Bible Answer Man.

Jill Martin Rische is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Humanities/History of Religion at California State University. She is Dr. Walter Martin’s eldest daughter and the author of several books. Jill and her husband, Kevin, are the Managing Editors on the 2003 edition of The Kingdom of the Cults (Bethany House) working with Dr. Ravi Zacharias as the General Editor. The Risches are also the founders of Walter Martin Ministries and the producers of the nationwide radio show Essential Christianity, featuring Dr. Walter Martin as “The Original Bible Answer Man”.

Kurt Van Gorden has contributed chapters on cults, the occult, and world religions to several books, including Dr. Walter Martin’s Kingdom of the Cults (1985 edition) and Josh McDowell and Don Stewart’s The Deceivers and The Occult. He wrote Mormonism for the Zondervan series on Cults and World Religions. Kurt Van Gorden is an ordained minister and directs two missions to the cults, Jude 3 Missions and the Utah Gospel Mission. The Utah Gospel Mission began in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1898 and is the oldest existing mission to the cults.

Disclaimer:
This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson.

The folks at ChristianAudio.com are offering The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns as their free download for May 2010.  Use the coupon code MAY2010 at checkout. Click the picture below for details.

Congratulations to the day 5 winners!

• Gregg Lindahl – Fearless by Max Lucado
• Joe Esler – Fearless by Max Lucado
• Gaines Redd – (teamredd.blogspot.com) – Fearless by Max Lucado

Many thanks to the kind folks at Thomas Nelson for sponsoring day 5 of Bible Geek Gone Wilds’s 2nd Annual 12 Days Before Christmas!

(sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas)

On the 8th day before Christmas, Bible Geek Gone Wild gave to me a chance to win a Max Lucado book that may bring less fear to you and me…

Welcome to day 5 of Bible Geek Gone Wild’s 2nd Annual 12 Days Before Christmas. Today’s contest is sponsored by Thomas Nelson.  There will be six winners in today’s contest. Each winner will receive a copy of Fearless by Max Lucado.

Fearless by Max Lucado

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They’re talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?

Contest Details

The object of today’s contest will be to answer two questions.  The answers to the questions can be found at the Thomas Nelson web site.  Winners will be chosen from the entries with correct answers using the random number generator at random.org.  Following the close of the contest, winners will be contacted via e-mail.  Good luck!

Terms and Conditions

* This contest is limited to residents of the 48 state continental United States.
* Contestants may submit one entry per contest per day.
* The winner or winners will be announced following the close of each contest.
* Prizes will be shipped within several days of the close of each contest.

This contest is now closed. Winners will be announced soon.

Author: Nicholas Perrin
Hardcover: 224 Pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 2008
Language: English
ISBN-10: 084990367X
ISBN-13: 9780849903670
List Price:  $21.99

I wanted to extend a word of thanks to the kind folks at Thomas Nelson for sending me a review copy of Nicholas Perrin’s Lost in Transmission?.

Nicholas Perrin is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. His areas of research include the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus’ identity as the temple, Paul and Jewish self-definition, and the Gospels. Two of his more recent publications are Thomas: The Other Gospel (London, SPCK; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2007) and The Judas Gospel (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).

One can hardly watch or read the news without hearing about the latest research on the Gnostic gospels of Thomas or Judas and how Christianity as we know it will be shaken to its very core. It is a very unique time we live in, where the Gnostic gospels and New Testament textual criticism have gained such prominence in the popular media. The work of Bart Ehrman and others has ignited a heightened interest on these topics within the public square. This book engages and examines certain claims made by Ehrman in his widely popular book, Misquoting Jesus (New York: HarperOne, 2007).

Based on the subject matter alone, you might expect this book to be highly technical, stuffy, and boring. It is not any of these things. The audience the author has in mind for this work is the uninformed non-Christian and the church. As such, it is written in a manner that makes it very accessible to the reader who has a limited background on this subject matter. The themes of the chapters are as follows:

1. Lost in Transmission?
2. Did Jesus Live?
3. History, Faith, and Certitude
4. Lord of the Ring
5. Jesus the Jew
6. Can You Hear Me Now?
7. The Evangelist’s Hand
8. Gospel Truth or Gospel Truths?
9. Mistaking Matters
10. Misleading Pens
11. Translation Wars

With the intended audience in mind, the catchy, yet somewhat cliché chapter titles seem to be an attempt to keep a light-hearted feel within subject matter that is often anything but. Each chapter of the book has a specific three-part structure. First, there is a short excerpt from Ehrman’s book Misquoting Jesus. Second, there is a related, personal story from the author. Third, the topic of the chapter is engaged and examined. Throughout the first eight chapters, Perrin engages Ehrman’s points in an indirect manner. This trend changes in the final three chapters as Perrin’s refutations become more passionate and direct. My conjecture is that this change can be attributed to the subject matter in chapters nine through eleven more closely aligning to Perrin’s areas of expertise and personal interest.

All things considered, I found this to be an enjoyable book. It is a quick read at a mere 224 pages. Perrin does a good job of keeping the subject matter at the level of his intended audience. This work is by no means exhaustive nor is it overly technical. In light of this, it would make a great introduction for the layperson with little to no exposure to modern Jesus scholarship and New Testament textual criticism. The other real value in this book is found in the author’s personal stories. I appreciated the honesty with which Perrin shared the many challenges and struggles he experienced on his journey to faith in Jesus Christ. Each reader will be able to find certain points of commonality between Perrin’s faith journey and their own. As the reader sees him or herself in the author’s story, their experience of reading this book will hopefully be more personal, meaningful, and ultimately beneficial both intellectually and spiritually.

This book is available from Westminster Bookstore, Amazon, and many other retailers.

Bible Geek Gone Wild’s 2nd Annual 12 Days Before Christmas Promotion will be running from December 13th through the 24th.  Be sure to stop back later in December and try your hand at some of the contests for a chance to win fabulous prizes.  Here are a few of the vendors who will be sponsoring prizes for this year’s contests.

If you’re a publisher or vendor who’d like to participate in this promotion, please drop me a note through my contact page.

Author: Sheila Walsh
Illustrator:  Meredith Johnson
Format: Hardcover
Page Count:  32
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date:  March 2008
Language: English
Reading Level:  Ages 4-8
ISBN-10: 140031125X
ISBN-13: 978-1400311255
List Price:  $14.99

I wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to Jackie Johnston at Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to review Sheila Walsh’s Will God’s Might Warrior:  The Creepy Caves Mystery.

If you have young daughters, chances are you’re familiar with Sheila Walsh’s books about Gigi, God’s Little Princess.  While your young boys may willingly listen to these stories and probably even enjoy them, they may find them a bit too girly.  If you’re on the lookout for stories that are just as much fun, but geared towards boys, you may want to consider Will God’s Mighty Warrior.  The Creepy Caves Mystery is the third book in the Will God’s Mighty Warrior series.

It’s summertime and Will and his trusty sidekick Ralph are spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.  They are on the lookout for adventure and are fully prepared to solve any mysteries that might need solving.  The day ahead promises sand crabs and swimming at the beach.  Grandpa heightens the excitement surrounding their planned visit to the beach by promising to take Will exploring in the creepy caves after lunch.  That morning, Will’s curiosity gets the best of him and he can’t help but investigate some mysterious sounds coming from the creepy caves.  After going only a short distance into the cave, Will has fallen, is all scraped up, and thinks it may have been a better choice to wait to explore the creepy caves with Grandpa after lunch.  Fortunately, Grandpa comes along and saves him.  As it turns out those strange noises coming from the cave weren’t from robbers after all.  Will and Grandpa make a new friend who promises to tell them all about the bats who live in the creepy caves.  The story ends with Will saying his bedtime prayers, thanking God for Grandpa saving him and apologizing for his disobedience.  He also asks God to help him see some bats on their return trip to the creepy caves and he hopes that they won’t relieve themselves on his head.  The scripture focus for this story is Ephesians 6:1.

Boys ages four to eight are sure to get a kick out of the adventures of Will God’s Mighty Warrior.  Readers who enjoy this story will also want to consider:

•    Will, God’s Mighty Warrior (Thomas Nelson, 2006)
•    God’s Mighty Warrior Devotional Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2007)
•    The Mystery of Magillicuddy’s Gold (Thomas Nelson, 2007)
•    Goodnight Warrior: God’s Mighty Warrior Bedtime Bible Stories, Devotions, & Prayers (Thomas Nelson, 2008)

Sheila Walsh is a powerful inspirational communicator who lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Barry, and her own mighty warrior, Christian.  Christian keeps the family safe from the wild beasts of the house:  Belle and Tink, two fluffy white dogs.  You can learn more about Sheila Walsh’s writing and ministry at www.sheilawalsh.com.

Meredith Johnson likes her job, ‘cause all she does is kids’ stuff.  For 23 years, she got to create and shoot toy commercials, not to mention the more than 130 children’s books she illustrated!  Meredith and her husband, Larre, have two kids, Casey and Matt, and live in California.

You may download this review as a PDF: 

Author: Sheila Walsh
Format: Hardcover
Page Count:  336
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date:  October 2008
Language: English
ISBN: 1400312973
ISBN-13: 9781400312979

I wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to Jackie Johnston at Thomas Nelson for giving me the opportunity to review Sheila Walsh’s Sweet Dreams Princess:  God’s Little Princess Bedtime Bible Stories, Devotions, & Prayers.

If you have small children, chances are you’ve had your share of opportunities to read bedtime stories.  In my experience, far too much of the children’s literature available today is full of nothing but silliness.  While there is a time and place for silliness, there are times when it’s important for the stories we share with our children to take on a more serious and thought-provoking tone.  As I leafed through the pages in this book, I knew it would present many opportunities for heart-felt spiritual discussions with my daughters.

At first glance, you’ll notice that this book is geared towards young girls between ages 4 & 8.  Your girls will like the jeweled crown and puffy pink pillow on the cover and the many colorful illustrations throughout.  This book has 81 different stories from both the Old and New Testaments based on the International Children’s Bible.  After each Bible story there is a sweet dreams devotion and either a prayer, promise, or praise.  It’s the sweet dreams devotions that give this book an A+ in my book.  That’s where you’ll find further explanation to each Bible story and some simple questions that can lead to a great discussion.

I highly recommend Sweet Dreams Princess:  God’s Little Princess Bedtime Bible Stories, Devotions, & Prayers.  This would make a great Christmas gift and will be perfect for that New Year’s resolution to share a nightly devotion and prayer time with your children.

Sheila Walsh is a Scottish princess who now lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Prince Barry, and son, Prince Christian.  Her loyal subjects are Belle, a fluffy white dog, and Hamtaro, a teddy bear hamster.  You can learn more about Sheila Walsh’s writing and ministry at www.sheilawalsh.com.

You may download a PDF of this book review: 

Buy this book on Amazon.com: Sweet Dreams Princess: God’s Little Princess Bedtime Bible Stories, Devotions, & Prayers