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Introduction to the Devout Life

At his trial, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates famously proclaimed: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates had observed the daily activity of the people of Athens and how they thoughtlessly moved from one activity to the next to fulfill a commitment, need, or desire. He pleaded with them to examine their hearts, find their God-given purpose in life, and pursue virtue. Athens wasn’t interested. Instead, they killed him. A purposeful life of virtue, or holiness in God’s sight, was not what the Athenian pagan world wanted to hear, so they cancelled him.

A few decades ago, we called it, “The Rat Race.” We were driven along by society’s relentless marketing to buy, do, and claw our way up the economic and social ladders; no one questioned it. Today, we are driven by other forces expecting us to do similar things, worse things, and most people thoughtlessly listen and act. Sadly, so are some Christians.

God has always called us to a higher, purposeful, and abundant life. A life centered upon God’s words, God’s love, God’s righteousness, God’s forgiveness, God’s peace in Christ, and God’s presence in our lives through the indwelling Holy Spirit. And many Christians over the millennia, similar to Socrates’ dedication to virtue, dedicated themselves to understanding how to live the holy life Christ calls us to when He said, and still says, “Come follow Me.”

How to live that holy life, or more specifically how to intentionally dedicate oneself to following Christ, has historically been called Devotion. It is a life of loving devotion to Christ, one that is centered around Christ, and one that is in union with Christ. The Devotion practiced in the early Church had fallen out of general popularity within a century following the Reformation. But it has gained increasing interest and adoption over the past fifty years across a wide spectrum of Christian churches. Why? Many Christians want a closer and deeper relationship with Christ, but they have not been taught how to find it. They know the Gospel. They read their Bibles. They pray. They are active in their churches. But like countless believers before them, they have a nagging sense deep in their soul that there is more to the Christian life than they have learned so far; that there is a path that goes “higher up and further in.” The path the Apostles followed.

Fortunately, the practice of Devotion had been summarized by St. Francis de Sales, the Catholic Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church, in his book Introduction to the Devout Life, originally published in 1609. It is a collection of letters he wrote to the hundreds of people who actively sought him out for spiritual direction. Consequently, it is primarily a Catholic resource, but much of what he writes about is for all who love and want to “Live Jesus,” as he emphatically states:

“I wish to inscribe on your heart this holy and sacred maxim: Live Jesus!

St. Francis de sales

His book is unique for he writes from his heart to the reader’s heart. He summarizes the ancient spiritual growth practices of the Church, leads his readers, whom he calls Philothea which means ” lover of God,” through a thorough examination of their heart regarding many practical and biblical aspects of faith, prayer, confession of sin, life, personal motivations, and virtues. He provides a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual strategy for staying centered on Christ.

Simply put, the Introduction will transform the reader’s heart. Every person whom I’ve had the pleasure of leading through a study of the Introduction, at some point spontaneously admits: “I wish I read this book many years ago.” Why? Because they would have made better decisions, experienced less grief, had more peace, and lived a life for Christ that was more worth living.

Non-Catholics should note that the Introduction’s purpose isn’t to teach Catholic doctrine. As expected, it does mention Catholic practices, particularly in the first section. Nevertheless, this is a timeless resource for all Christians and a refreshing break from much of the watered-down teaching we hear today.

This version of the book is a fresh new translation by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales from the original French 5th edition of 1619. I am the General Editor of the U.S. Standard English Edition.

Rob Oberto, D.Min, is the award-winning author of Intimacy with God and General Editor of the Introduction to the Devout Life, both are available from Amazon.

©2022 Rob Oberto, All Rights Reserved.

NASB 2020 Update News and Review

After more than two years of anticipation, The Lockman Foundation has published the New American Standard Bible 2020 version. Numerous print editions were released on August 28, 2020, a Kindle edition on October 14 and a free download edition from bible.com also became available. Currently, the best site to discover the available editions and purchase sources is The Lockman Foundation’s site for NASB 2020.

At the present time, Zondervan anticipates their first wave of Zondervan NASB 2020 editions to appear in the spring of 2021. However, The Lockman Foundation will continue to allow the publication of the NASB 95 update alongside the NASB 2020 version, which will please the NASB 95’s many fans.

Also, in parallel with the above efforts, John MacArthur and The Master’s Seminary, with The Lockman Foundation’s permission and under its 2021 copyright, are creating the Legacy Standard Bible, a classic edition of the NASB. Abner Chou is heading the project. The LSB New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs is now available for preorder from 316 Publishing, delivery should be in March of 2021. If you want a sample of it right now, you can download a free pdf of the LSB’s Gospel of Mark and one of Philippians and hear John MacArthur and Abner Chou discuss the goals of the project at lsbible.org. One of their decisions is to translate all instances of LORD to Yahweh in the Old Testament. Another is to bring the modern reader back to the culture of the biblical writer. In general, they want to refine the work of the NASB95, not create a new version of it. The “LSB” and “Legacy Standard Bible” are trademarks of The Lockman Foundation.

My Review

This post has been a work-in-process since September 12th, 2018 when Lockman started posting NASB 2020 passages on its Facebook page. The following sample of passages is generally the order in which they were released by Lockman. The NASB 2020 has updated many passages, included below are examples of the types of changes they are making, so the reader can get an idea of what to expect:

Bible on table with Candle

Continue reading “NASB 2020 Update News and Review”

The #1 Read Bible vs The Bestselling Bible

When it comes to Bible translations, I’m apparently out-of-sync with the majority according to The Barna Group and the ECPA (below). My #1 preferred Bible translation is the Holman Christian Standard Bible. I expected to change to the updated version of it, see my review of the Christian Standard Bible, when it came out in 2017, but I didn’t. The gender neutrality language was a big factor, but, more importantly, my two daughters gave me the Holman Christian Standard Study Bible as a Christmas present in 2012. So, it tugs at my heartstrings and it has my name nicely engraved in gold on the front leather cover. The HCSB has some shortcomings, but, by-and-large, I find it to be the most accurate and readable.

My morning devotions at Cape Cod, MA

The New American Standard 2020 update is in the works. The previous link will take you to my ongoing review of it. I had great expectations for this update. So far, however, I’m not thrilled by the 2020’s passages that the Lockman Foundation has been releasing. It’s a plus/minus kind of the thing. They’ve improved the translation of some passages, but they’ve also downgraded the translation of others by making them annoyingly wordy. To date, the negatives slightly outnumber the positives.

But this post is about the #1 Read Bible translation by all Bible readers, not just me. I was totally surprised to find — drum roll please — that the most often READ translation, according to The Barna Group in 2018, is the King James Version with the New International Version a distant second. Statista reports the following:

However, the King James Version is not the Bestselling Bible. I find this very interesting. According to the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s Bible Bestseller List, the New International Version is actually the BESTSELLING Bible, with the KJV in second place, and the English Standard Version ranking third in both lists.

Yes, I see that my favored HCSV is not on either list, and I see that the Christian Standard Bible is in fifth place. That’s okay. The question, though, is how can the King James Version be the most read while the New International Version is the Bestselling? For me, and everyone I know, the KJV is the least readable. From a readability standpoint, I would expect the New King James version to be preferred over the King James Version, but, oddly, it’s not.

So, how can it be the most read??? I believe there are two reasons. First, the KJV has been around for the longest time. It’s tradition. Also, a good many churches believe it is the only English version authorized by God. Trevin Wax, via The Gospel Coalition, wrote an excellent article summarizing the King James Only Controversy.

The second, is that the KJV is in public domain. Which means anyone can publish it for free, plus publishing costs of course. It also means, that anyone can quote it, at length, free of copyright infringement considerations. This makes it more available in print and online, and less expensive than all other options.

I don’t know which translation you favor, but, in addition to the Greek and Hebrew originals, I regularly consult several when studying, researching, or teaching. However, for my personal devotions, I’m sticking with the Bible my daughters lovingly gave me for Christmas in 2012. I gave my wife an NIV Study Bible a few years ago, and our daughters read the ESV, I believe. That makes them more in line with the majority of readers. Most importantly, they are fully devoted to Christ in every area of their lives. This is the goal of every translation. So, go for it King James readers! What’s most important is that we are reading it! 

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Dr. Rob Oberto is the award-winning author of “Intimacy With God” available from Amazon. ©2019. All Rights Reserved.

The Courageous Faith of Joseph and Mary

I‘m reposting this from last year because, once again I find myself impressed by the courage and faith of Joseph and Mary. A lot of things could have happened to them in their time and culture. Per the Law of Moses, for example, intimate relations between a legally betrothed [engaged] couple could carry the death sentence. Any case lodged against them would have been very difficult to defend against because she would bring into court the irrefutable evidence of her bulging tummy.

Continue reading “The Courageous Faith of Joseph and Mary”

Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?

During the Christmas season you will hear some Grinch say: “Christmas is just a pagan holiday.” That statement casts doubt on the validity of Christmas in the hearts of all who hear it. But is it true? In a post last year, I researched this question and discovered the reason for the statement and why we can confidently know that Christmas is not a pagan holiday.  Go to post.

Husbands Love Our Wives as Jesus Commands — Pastor Unlikely

I’m sharing this recent post of my blogger friend Pastor Unlikely. His message is a good reminder of the example of love that Jesus modeled for us. Enjoy!

Jesus Gave Everything for His Bride We are often derailed from the marriage that Jesus wants for us by our innate desire to protect ourselves. Too often we apply the world’s wisdom to our relationships and not God’s. 1,356 more words

via Husbands Love Our Wives as Jesus Commands — Pastor Unlikely

The New American Standard Bible is getting updated in 2020

IN CASE YOU ARE UNAWARE, the Lockman Foundation is in the process of updating the New American Standard Bible translation. I’ve been following their progress for awhile now. I’m regularly checking the status of their progress and posting them at:  “New American Standard Bible (NASB) – 2020 release news.” It was last updated on October 1, 2019. Check it out.

May the peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Like, follow, share. #nasbupdate2020

Rob Oberto, D.Min, is the award-winning author of Intimacy with God, available from Amazon. ©2018-2019 Rob Oberto, All Rights Reserved.

Fiji – Where Jesus Gives Vinaka Bula! (Eternal Life!)

TWO WEEKS AGO, WE RETURNED HOME from a family get-together in Fiji. It was fabulous! For over a year I’ve wanted to gather our family from the four-corners of the earth at one geo-location. We hadn’t seen our older daughter in two years, and it would have been another two if we didn’t go on this trip. We all needed this vacation, and we needed to be disconnected and away from our worlds. Fiji is located half-way between us. It was the nicest and least expensive option. In addition to all the practicalities, the Lord blessed us in a multitude of unanticipated ways. Continue reading “Fiji – Where Jesus Gives Vinaka Bula! (Eternal Life!)”

Does Pastoral Abuse Invalidate Christianity?

A just released, 887-page grand jury report states that 301 Catholic priests have abused 1,000 children over a 70-year period in Pennsylvania. The report also documents the church leadership’s massive cover up of these unconscionable acts. The problem was systemic. The church hierarchy not only failed to protect the most vulnerable under their care; they hid it. The report’s findings are tragic and contemptible. Real lives were, and still are, devastated. God takes such heinous sin seriously: Continue reading “Does Pastoral Abuse Invalidate Christianity?”