A rather theological daily devotional
This is the first of a two volume set that provides a daily Bible reading over the period of a year. The concept that Carson used was a system developed by a Scottish pastor that if followed would enable you to read the entire Bible over the year and the readings (from what I can remember) were two New Testament readings, and Old Testament Reading, and a Psalm. Since I do not have the book in front of me (it is back in Adelaide) I cannot say for sure, but I believe that if you follow the readings you end up reading the New Testament and the Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament once.
Carson only writes on one the the passages that is read, though if the passages turn out to be complementary then he will write on both of them. As is standard for some of these reading guides he writes a one page devotional that is generally (but not always) application. The problem is that Carson is a theologian, so he tends to be more esoteric rather that writing something that we could apply to our lives, but then again many Christians actually don't like application because it ends up being too hard. Studying theology is great because it helps us understand who God is and how he died on the cross so that we may be saved, but we hate application because that is all about how we should live (and surprise, surprise, the not having sex before marriage is the easy part, it is the actually loving one another that is hard).
I ended up using this book simply because I needed some guide for a daily reading of the Bible. Now, I have found that having a Bible reading guide is quite helpful because not only does it keep you in the habit of reading the Bible daily, it can also help you navigate your way through the book. I have tried the approach of reading without a guide and I end up discovering that I am really not sure what I actually want to read and then end up not reading it at all.
You may find it funny that a guy like me actually reads the Bible on a daily basis, but hey, I am a Christian, and that is one of those things that enables me to be able to develop my relationship with God. What it does not mean is that I blindly accept everything that the guide says. I ask questions, and I believe that we should always be ready to ask questions and hold our teachers accountable. We also need to be prepared to confront our teachers as well, especially when we believe that they are straying from the truth, or even abusing their position. It is all well and good for people to devote their lives to serving God, but simply getting paid to walk around the city talking to people is not what I consider to be an appropriate use of one's time (I can do than during my lunch break, or even after work).
Some people have suggested that Christian bookshops fly in the face of what Christianity is all about. However as it turns out, I have recently walked into a Christian bookshop and have been applauded at what I have seen. I once scoffed at a friend for suggesting that Christian bookshops are making money off Christ, and I suggested that a worker does deserve his wages, however seeing the amount of rubbish that is being churned out, and the fact that many of these books only trumpeted a rather fundamentalist view of Christianity, my opinion has changed somewhat.
I guess we need to remember to put Christian books back where they really belong, and that is subservient to the Bible. These books are not meant to replace the Bible, but rather assist you in understanding the Bible and being able to work it out for yourself. God is interested in you personally, not as a replication of all the people around you. Further, being able to impress your Christian friends, and being accepted by them is not really what faith in God is all about. It is about a relationship with God, and when you begin to feel that his followers are suggesting that you are not good enough because of something that you do, then maybe you need to turn back to God and understand that he has accepted you the way you are.
