In A Year with God: Daily Readings and Reflections of God’s Own Words, R.P. Nettelhorst attempts to help readers “make His thoughts your thoughts” through daily portions of Old Testament scripture accompanied by commentary. Each bit of scripture includes words spoken by God to His people, and the following thoughts from the author are intended to help us “discover what really matters to God.” The 365 readings are divided into themed sections such as hope and fear, love and hate, and joy and sadness and present scripture readings from throughout the Old Testament.
I’ve read through portions of My Utmost for His Highest on several occasions, and I’ve enjoyed Joni Eareckson Tada’s Diamonds in the Dust in its entirety, but it’s been a while since I’ve used a daily devotional. I was looking forward to exploring A Year with God, and was especially intrigued with the premise of studying the words spoken directly by God in the Old Testament. After all, as Nettelhorst points out, “the best way to get to know him is to pay attention to what he said throughout the Bible.” Nettelhorst also notes that “God’s words are sometimes shocking, sometimes, heartening, and sometimes puzzling.” Unfortunately, this devotional doesn’t do much to help us piece together the puzzle.
My first issue with the book is the way in which scripture is pulled out of context and worked around a theme without much in the way of background information to guide the reader. This is a flaw I would be willing to overlook if the author’s insights were well-written and theologically sound. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
The daily commentaries are mediocre at best, and often it seems that Nettelhorst has tried just a bit too hard to make his words readable and relevant. “Religion can be fun…God called his people to come together, to go on a big campout, to sit around campfires, cook food, and spend time with one another…worshipping God is a good time for all.” (p.342) Really? That’s the best that we can glean from God’s instructions about the feast of booths in Leviticus?
Also, I’m no theologian, but even I can spot flaws in Nettelhorst’s beliefs about God. For example, on day 307 we read God’s instructions for observing the Sabbath. Nettelhorst explains that the Sabbath is meant to be a day to “do nothing – goof off, be lazy, sleep and eat and play.” I’m pretty sure there is more to it than that. He also points out that “even God took a day off after he created the world. Do we need rest less than God?” I don’t believe God took a day off because he was tuckered out from creating the universe, but rather to set an example for us and to establish a pattern that he would later require his people to follow.
Overall, I simply can’t recommend this book or give it a positive review. There are so many other devotionals available, that I can’t see wasting a whole year on this one.
Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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