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I was recently accepted into the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program and my first book to review is on its way: The Orthodox Study Bible.  I am looking forward to reading the latest translation taken from the Septuagint, the version of Scriptures.

Features Include:

• Old Testament newly translated from the Greek text of the Septuagint, including the Deuterocanon
• New Testament from the New King James Version
• Commentary drawn from the early Church Christians
• Easy-to-Locate liturgical readings
• Book Introductions and Outlines
• Subject Index
• Full-color Icons
• Full-color Maps

Ben Witherington recently posted an interesting piece on work and the curse. To quote a small bit of his article:

Work is something most of us share in common, and unfortunately too often even Christians succumb to the notion that work itself is a curse, even God’s curse on fallen persons. This is a most unfortunate reading of Genesis. Work is something God assigned Adam to do before there ever was a Fall. He was to fill the earth and subdue it. He was to be fruitful and multiply. He was called upon to name the animals and to recognize none of them would be a suitable companion or life partner. Apparently there was much work to do before the Fall.

It is in fact the toilsome nature of work that is a result of the Fall….

Read the rest of the post here. I know that I have personally been guilty of viewing work itself as the curse, not the toilsome nature of it. Ben’s post is a good read and I would recommend it.

Michael Spencer gives good insight on the belief that all religions are the same in his latest Coffee Cup Apologetics podcast:

There is in fact a great equality of religion. If we’re talking about religion as a system, as a set of teachings, if we’re talking about religion in the sense of the externals, the rituals, the history and so forth, then I think we can confidently say that all religions are equal. Because none of them can connect us to God. None of them provide a relationship to God. None of them can account for – and I’ll speak as a Christian – those things that are essential for relationship with God.

(Click here to listen to the entire podcast.)

How many times do we as believers find ourselves “performing” for God? We try to do better and not sin in an effort to make ourselves more pleasing to God. The fact is that while we do need to live a life of continually becoming more like Christ, we cannot do anything to make ourselves right before God, because “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6) It is only the justification we receive through the blood of Christ that makes us right before God.