Book Review: Ten Women of the Bible by Max Lucado
My journey through Ten Women of The Bible by Max Lucado started out as a simple request by my little sister. She wanted to host an online Bible Study group together but didn’t exactly know where to start. As it turns out, neither did I… lol… But after a bit of research on my end, I stumbled onto this AMAZING devotional by Max Lucado with great reviews and we launched forward! And as I look back on the time that we spent deep in this devotional, I am so glad that we picked it! I loved this relationship-based study pretty much from the start, especially for a group setting, for so many reasons that I’ll share below:
One: This devotional offered so much amazing insight into these ten women of the Bible! Many of these women I had never even studied, some I didn’t even know at all. I truly loved diving into some new stories and even familiar names and learning more and more about these women. The women included are: Sarah, Rahab, Abigail, Esther, Mary (Mother of Jesus), The Samaritan Woman, The Canaanite Woman, Mary (of Bethany), Mary Magdalene, and Sapphira.
Two: But the devotional wasn’t just about them… it was a much deeper dive into lessons that we can apply to everyday life – all of us. I loved the way that Max Lucado created challenging, beautiful, and insightful lessons out of each woman that we journeyed through in order to give us something tangible and applicable to our lives today. Each chapter was a journey into my own relationship with Jesus and I loved it, even when it challenged me. Even as I flip through a quick review of the book, I find nuggets that draw me back in for several paragraphs. It was just that good! I have a ton of highlighted sections and sentences and side bar notes all over the page as evidence of my great enjoyment of this devotional.
Three: The lessons varied so much that it offered something to everyone in our group. One lesson may be deeply impactful for me and the next lesson was deeply impactful for someone else in the group. It was such a great variety of applications that it worked really well in the group setting.
Finally, I LOVE that this devotional was RELATIONSHIP-based! It’s so refreshing to read an author that encourages growth in our relationship with God, not simply religion.
Overall, I give this Bible study a definite two BIG thumbs up.
The only additional recommendation that I would make based on our experience is this – Use two weeks per lesson instead of one. Stretch the devotional out over twenty weeks instead of ten. There is so much information, so much meat, in each chapter that we felt that the only way to truly take a deep dive into the material and heart lessons was to allow ourselves the space to take it on at a much slower pace.
To wrap up this book review, I’ll leave you with my favorite part… My personal picks for BEST excerpts from the book –
“Our imperfect, doubting faith cannot prevent God from keeping His promises. God never forgets His promises, and our confidence in those promises is rooted in our relationship with Him.”
“Before our children were ours, they were his. Even as they are ours, they are still his.”
“But with God, the smallest step of faith can activate the mightiest of miracles.”
“It would be enough if God just cleansed our names, but he does more. He gives us his name. It would be enough if God just set us free, but he does more. He takes us home.”
“Our mess will become music.”
“Wilderness survivors find refuge in God’s presence. They also discover a community among God’s people.”
“So David creates a community of God-seeking misfits, and God forges a mighty group out of them.”
“Does (Jesus) stand high on a hill and bid you climb out of the valley? No. He bungees down and carries you out. Did he build a bridge and command you to cross it No. He crosses the bridge and shoulders you over.”
“The Gospels are filled with stories of people from all classes of society and walks of life who are willing to approach Jesus and tell him their needs. And Jesus never turns them away.”
“We face our fears alone, forgetting that God is with us. The miracle of Christ coming to earth was not a one-time miracle.”
“When the Messiah reveals himself to us, he also reveals who we really are.”
“God has been known to plan a celebration in a cemetary.”
PS: That’s just what He did with my story too!
Blessings, friends!
Shannon
Shannon
Shannon's two most treasured roles in life are wife and mom. She's also a college instructor with an MBA in Marketing. She and her husband live in Colorado with their little "blessing." Life threw them an unexpected curve ball when they spent several years going through the agonizing pain of infertility and underwent multiple rounds of IVF before being blessed with their son. Nowadays, Shannon likes to soak up each adventure that life has to offer with her family of three and blog about her experiences as a homeschooling mom, a self professed "slap and go" thrifty crafter and decorator, and really anything that might help out a friend! Follow "raising a blessing" on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to keep up with all of her latest family antics. See you there!
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