The Study Corner    

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson

Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn’t chase. You will regret the risks not taken, the opportunities not seized, and the dreams not pursued. Stopping running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture: Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it ([bible]II Samuel 23:20-21[/bible]). Unleash the lion chaser within!

This book is an excellent read so far. I have had the honor of being allowed to read the first chapter before the book came out for public purchase today. It was an excellent appetizer for the main course of the book which I am sure is going to be a must read for anyone at any point in their walk. Chapter 1 is entitled Locking Eyes with Your Lion. Mark uses excellent imagery and well thought out word craft to draw you into the story of Benaiah with wonderful success. I highly encourage anyone looking for a challenging read to go pickup this book as soon as you can. It will be worth every moment of your time. Author Bio Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church (www.theaterchurch.com) in Washington, DC, and is a daily blogger @ www.evotional.com. Mark lives on Capitol Hill with his wife Lora and their three children.

The English Standard Version of the Bible (one of my Bibles of choice) turns 5 years old in a few days. Congrats!

Today, the ESV is available in more than one hundred formats, has seen nearly 3 million copies distributed worldwide, and is reaching the world in creative and strategic ways. ESV General Editor J. I. Packer recently stated, “I find myself suspecting very strongly that my work on the translation of the ESV Bible was the most important thing that I have done for the Kingdom, and that the product of our labors is perhaps the biggest milestone in Bible translation in the past fifty years or more.”

The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and readability. Believing that every word of the Bible is inspired by God, the translators of the ESV sought to be transparent to the original text so that the reader could see the structure and meaning of the original as clearly as possible. For more information on the ESV Bible, visit www.esv.org.