Bible Promises for Boys

Whenever I begin writing a book review, one of the first questions I ask myself, "Would I buy this book myself?"  The answer usually tells me a lot about what I think of a book.


The answer this time is, "no."


I think it was in college when I bought a book of "Bible Promises".  Essentially, it was a collection of Bible verses on various subjects taken out of context.  When I requested this book, I knew that this book was going to be such a book, but I was hoping that the verses would be really good ones and on target for the various subjects I expect to have to tackle with my son in the years to come.


What I found was a book with 3 or 4 rhyming lines about the topic and then 3-4 verses.  Sometimes the verses made logical sense to me and then other times not.  I don't think it would be a very good devotional because it would be too quick.  If you just want to check the box, I suppose you could use this book, but there are so many books out there that I think would be better.


There were several entries about doing something wrong.  Rather than reminding children that they should strive to do the right thing or that they should apologize and ask forgiveness, this book talked over and over about forgiveness and how children shouldn't feel guilty.  Yes, it is true that we are forgiven.  We attended a church for several years where grace was preached a lot--but living rightly wasn't.  People are so afraid of legalism that as a culture we seem to shy away from even talking about how we should live.  That way of looking at things seems to be very prevalent in this book.  There is much talk of grace, but not of living rightly and repentance.


I know this is just a book for little boys and parents.  Maybe I sound too serious in this review, but I think there are many books that I would recommend instead of this book.


For younger children 2-4, I would recommend the Read Aloud Bible Stories by Ella Lindvall and Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth Taylor for devotionals.  For 4-6 year olds, I would recommend an out of print book called Everyday Adventures by Pat Holt if you ever come across a copy.  I'm still on the lookout for other good devotionals for 5 and 6 year olds.  It seems like there's a lot out there for 7-10 year olds, but not as many good ones for 4-6 year olds.


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.