Holy Bible: Mosaic (NLT)

A couple of years ago, I was approached about contributing to a project that wanted to create something the editors were calling a "meditative Bible."  The idea, if I understood it correctly, was to produce (or find) a series of content that on it's own would be interesting, but when collected with other related material would point to a theme and offer something the reader could ponder, pray on, and contemplate throughout the week.  Each piece would be like the single stone or pottery shard of a mosaic, but when collected together, would create a picture of the Divine.  The result of this project is Holy Bible: Mosaic, published by Tyndale House and bound together with the New Living Translation (NLT) of the Holy Bible.

Holy Bible: Mosaic is really two books with one binding.  The front section is the meditative material, which I'll get to in a moment.  The remainder of the book, over 1,300 pages is the Bible.  It's the New Living Translation and free of intrusive notes (other than an occasional footnote), study material, or factoids as are found in other devotional Bibles.  There are however, markers and a page number in the side margins to indicate additional material in the front section of the book that is related to or inspired the mosaic work.  The last portion of this section of Holy Bible: Mosaic includes a basic Hebrew/Greek dictionary and an index, along with a concordance.  It's also worth noting that the pages are a different type of paper so there is no confusion as to what is the duel-authored Word of God and what is the material we assembled for the meditations.

The other section, which is bound in the front portion of the book, has a page numbering system distinct from the biblical material and is printed on a different color page-- more of a cream color, heaver paper.  It is this material that makes Mosaic different from other study or devotional Bibles.  This section is organized by weeks, with themes following the Church calendar (it is not strictly Church calendar material; the calendar simply servers as a way of selecting themes).  Each week includes a colorful selection of art, a suggested Bible reading, quotes, poems, hymns, and a contemporary essay written by a living Christian.  Within the front section, every century of Christianity from every naturally inhabited continent is represented.

The incredible thing about Mosaic is the diversity of Christ followers that can be found with its pages. Some names are more recognizable early classics like Clement I, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Ambrose, and Augustine.  And of course there are quotes from guys like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, William Tyndale, John Owen, and John Wesley.  Some of the more recent writers include E. M. Bounds, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Charles Ryle, Karl Barth, C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., A. W. Tozer, and even Mark Driscoll, Dan Kimball, and Donald Miller.  And then some of the contemporary contributors, with names you might not recognize, include Jay Blevens, Jordan Green, Beyth Hogue, Tom Fuller, Sarah Cunningham, Ruth Tuttle Conrad, Mark Miller, and Derek Williams.

This book is full of poetry, art, and thoughtful prose, and all of it is inspired by Scripture and the magnitude of God.   If you'd like to learn more about Holy Bible: Mosaic, please visit www.HolyBibleMosaic.com.

*Amazon purchases from this site help support the ministry of SaltyBeliever.com.  Purchase Holy Bible: Mosaic here.