When this post is published, the riverabiblecollection.org (now cultivatingfaith.org) blog will have been up and running for about 5 months. We had our first discussion of starting this back in late 2020, our kickoff meeting was in February of ’21, and were publishing our first material in June of ’21. I was unsure of what we were doing or where we were going. One thing which never even crossed my mind was doing a book review, not that I had anything against them; just not on my radar. However, God works in ways which seem strange to us at times.
One of those times was this past summer. Some of the family and I were taking a vacation trip to Kanas City, MO. On the way we stopped in Columbia for lunch. On our way out of the restaurant, a gentleman stopped me, pointed at my RBC t-shirt, and asked what the Rivera Bible Collection was. I told him it was a blog my family had started to share our passion for the Word of God.
The gentleman introduced himself as John Pasquet. In the course of our conversation, I learned he was living in Columbia and was involved in ministry to international students and professors at Mizzou (Super school; my son and his wife graduated from there). We had a wonderful conversation. It was the first time to have someone comment about my shirt and to share with a complete stranger about our blog. But then John was not a stranger but a brother in Christ, and I felt that right away.
John also shared about a book he had written. As a lover of books, this got my attention. Since we needed to get going and John had yet to get his lunch, we said goodbye to our new friend and headed out. But in the back of my mind was his book. When I got home, I went on Amazon and checked it out. It looked interesting and besides, how many times do you get to read a book authored by someone you’ve actually met!
The book was The Essence: A guided Journey of Discovery Through the Bible by John Pasquet. Check it out for yourself on Amazon, .
At first you may think a book covering the whole Bible would be tedious, while having just 284 pages would seem to be too trivial to be of much worth. But with this book, I would challenge you to think again. In his introduction, John states his purpose for the book is: “to help you understand from the Bible the very essence of God’s message to you and me. This message is God’s revelation of His ultimate purpose and plan of restoration for mankind. Essentially, it is His guide for us to come back into relationship with him.” (p. 13).
John does this and more. He covers in-depth the first eleven chapters of Genesis, but it moves along and makes sense of the biblical material which may have caused one to question its purpose in the Bible. In fact, he does this in places throughout the Bible, though in lesser detail. Even the genealogies! Yet, he does it as if we were sitting with him and having a friendly conversation. He doesn’t go over our heads or talk down to us. He shares with us the truths of God’s Word in a way that makes sense of it all.
The reason for so much time in the early part of Genesis is the truths taught there—in his words— “are foundational for everything else.” (p.14). This is made very clear. He doesn’t just leave Genesis in the beginning but brings its truths to later passages bringing out the greater significance of a section’s connection to the whole of the Bible. John clearly shows, while the Bible had some forty writers, there is only one author—God— and He has one message—Jesus. This book clearly tells the story of Jesus from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.
There is a story in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus, after his death and resurrection, meets two of his followers along the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35). At one point on the trip Jesus (the two followers were kept from recognizing Jesus and they did not know Jesus had risen) says to them “. . . ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:25–27 (ESV). This is just what John has done for us in The Essence: he shows us Jesus!
So, who is this book for? I have been a Christian since I was 10 years old. I have read the Bible cover to cover many times and am continually working through different translations of the Bible. I have a BA in Religion, minor in Biblical Languages and Philosophy, and a Master of Divinity. All this to say, I have read and studied the Bible my whole life, but I still found this book engaging. Not on a scholarly level but on a life level, a “where I live” impact level.
So again, who is this book for? All of us: long time Christians, those new to the faith or still investigating Christianity. All of us will find this book a fascinating read. It will build up our faith and love for God’s word. We will get an overview which will help us to make sense of the parts and the whole of the Bible. We will get insight into not just the Bible but the one who is the center of it all: Jesus. When saying the “center of it all”, I do not mean just the Bible but ALL of life.
After reading this book, as God often does, He showed me He had different plans than mine. I had no plans to do book reviews on our blog, but God brought me in contact with John because I had a t-shirt on, and he was at the same place and worked up a conversation with me. God does work in mysterious ways. As I read this book, the thought kept hitting me. While we have no plans to author a book, if we were to write a book on the Bible, I hope this is what it would look like. For the Essence fits right in with the essence of Cultivating Faith.
Until the next time we see you here at CultivatingFaith.org, God Bless! #CultivatingFaithOrg
Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash