HOW TO OBTAIN THE MOST UNDERSTANDING WHEN READING THIS BOOK

It pleases me that you are a new owner of one of my two books, Christ’s 40 Commandments or Christ’s 40 Commandments for Use by Those in Ministry. I would like to extend to you the same information that I would give if handing one of these books to you in person. The core of the books is the same; hence, most of the content on like page numbers is the same in both books. While you most likely have heard of God’s 10 Commandments which are included in Appendix A, the bulk of these books (pages 25-191) identifies and supports additional commandments given by Jesus Christ.

In these two books, I have focused on the verses found in the Bible in the Books of the Gospels titled Matthew (Mt), Mark (Mk), Luke (Lk), and John (Jn).   This content records Christ’s words and actions during His three years of teaching. I located over 950 verses of instruction in the gospels, identified similarities among them, and organized them into 40 commandments.

The best way to begin understanding either book is to read the “Preface” (page vii) and “Use of This Book” (page ix or xi).  The list of the 40 commands given by Christ is on page 8 and is also repeated on the last page of each text for quick reference. Each of the commandments in the list contains an underlined keyword. The books are arranged alphabetically by these keywords. Navigate the books by viewing the underlined keyword in the header of each page.

For a brief summary of either book, read pages 11-18 which will take less than ten minutes. This section is titled, “40 Commands (each) with One Verse.”  You may find a command that sparks your interest and decide to read that chapter. Some chapters are short; others are long and may be completed on separate occasions.  With large print and only a few verses per page, the entire book can be read in only a few hours. The advantage of this text is the format which is similar to a PowerPoint© presentation with verses as bullets.

These Bible resource books are intended to be complete regarding Christ’s instruction. In this paragraph I will discuss how the books include Christ’s keywords, associated keywords, examples and acknowledgements by others. Foremost, each book contains more verses than you could find by performing a simple computer word search of the Bible using only the 40 keywords. In support of this is the section titled, “Additional Associated Keywords” (pages 19-23).  For example, on page 19 the second entry refers to the command, “Don’t Be Afraid” with the underlined keyword “Afraid.” Here “alarmed” and “frightened” are among the associated keywords.  Hence verses containing not only the keyword but also additional associated keywords are included in this chapter titled, “Don’t Be Afraid.” Furthermore, if you know of a verse that contains the word “alarmed,” you can scan the list in “Additional Associated Keywords,” find that it is in Chapter 2 (“Don’t Be Afraid”), go to that chapter and locate the verse which is Mt 24:6 (Matthew – Chapter 24, verse 6). In this book, Christ’s exemplary actions are also noted.  For instance, it is not reported that Christ actually said, “Express thanks before a meal.” Yet it is often reported that he performed this action as noted in Chapter 37, “Do Give Thanks / Ask Blessing.” These examples are important to include because Christ is quoted in Jn 13:15, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” On occasion there are verses quoted from someone other than Christ. For example, the first verse of the first chapter (page 27) is God, the Father, acknowledging Jesus Christ. Refer to Mt 3:17.

On the same page, (27), there is an entry which is cited in more than one chapter (Mt 17:5). It states, “…This is my Son… Listen to him!” This verse is in Chapter 1, “Do Acknowledge Jesus” as well as in Chapter 23, “Do Listen / Act on God’s Word.”  In the Index, this entry displays both Chapter 1 and Chapter 23. Chapter 23 is marked “MULTI” since it is duplicated. Christ was extraordinary about placing a number of commandments in one verse. The multiple use brings the total count to almost 1500 entries in each of these books.

On a number of occasions, Christ stated, “Keep my commands.” These books offer a record of those commandments. The “Table of Contents” (page xv) identifies the 8 appendices in the back of the book. These list of appendices are noted in the “The Books” section of this website. For those unfamiliar with Bible reading, “Appendix H” provides a reference to “Names Used in This Book.”

Verses are taken verbatim from the New International Version (NIV) Bible.  Sometimes a quotation begins or ends in an adjacent verse which is not relevant to the command so is not included.  The quotation marks are only at the beginning or ending of the entire quote and may not appear with the particular portion of the verse in these books. To enhance understanding, additional information about some passages is explained in parenthesis following the verse. When two or more verses need to be linked for clarity, it is noted by “[…]” at the beginning or end of the verses.  Each verse in the body of this text stands alone and has meaning without requiring further reading in the Bible.   Only the “Parables” and “Miracles” listed in Appendix F (page 229) and Appendix G (page 235) need a Bible to record a complete story.

These books can be enlightening for someone who has never read the Bible as well as for a church member who is familiar with it. Ministers can use one of the books when preparing a sermon or counselling someone. Even if the reader not religious, the words of instruction provide good common sense by which to live. These books are meant for everyone in this busy world who seeks easy-to-locate instruction provided in the scriptures.