Book Review: Galatians by Joyce Meyer

I was given a review copy of this book from the publisher. It actually ended up being the third book in this series that I have read this year. While I was reading her book on Colossians, I felt led to preach through Ephesians at my church so I purchased that one as well. These are quality books with the plain spoken insights I have come to expect from Joyce Meyer. Galatians has always been an interesting book to me. It shows us the Apostle Paul taking a stand in defense of his church. Mrs. Meyer takes us into these somewhat challenging chapters not just explaining what was happening but helping the reader to see how the book of Galatians applies to our everyday life. She wisely forgoes dense theological language and gives us the simple truth, which I really appreciated. I would highly recommend these books as a resource for someone leading a Bible study or Sunday School class. Mrs. Meyer has done a great job here once again.

Book Review: Ephesians: Biblical Commentary by Joyce Meyer

A short time ago I received Joyce Meyer’s Biblical Commentary on Colossians as well as her book on Galatians from the publisher for review. In the process of reviewing the book on Colossians, I felt led to preach through the book of Ephesians at my church, and since I was so pleased with her book on Colossians (I am also working through the book on Galatians as we speak) so I decided to order her book on Ephesians. I am fully aware that Mrs. Meyer gets grief from some people in the church, but I like her and have always found her refreshing. She has a plain spoken, and forgive me for saying it this way, but “No-bull” approach to presenting God’s Word. I have seen her speak “live” several times and have been duly impressed. This is the case in these books as well. She goes through these verses in order by theme and breaks them down concisely and very effectively. I found many great insights in these pages and the book will be very helpful as I go to present this series. What I love about these books, is her style. Often commentaries feel like the author wants to impress me with their huge words and dense theological terminology. Mrs. Meyer takes a different approach. She speaks the truth plainly in ways that can be clearly understood by layman and scholar alike. I would really endorse these books for anyone wanting to lead a Bible study. Each chapter contains a thought provoking reflection question that would help with application and she offers a downloadable study guide besides.

Book Review: Colossians: A Biblical Study by Joyce Meyer

The publisher offered me a free copy of this book for review purposes and I decided to give it a shot. I’ve always found Ms. Meyer’s no-nonsense approach to the Word of God refreshing and that certainly comes through here. She breaks the book down passage by passage and gives great insights to their meaning.

As an example, when commenting on Colossians 2:2 and 3 “2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Ms. Meyer keys in on the wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ at one point and says, “Whenever you need wisdom in a situation or any time you need to know something, the answer is ‘hidden’ in Christ. It is not hidden because God does not want you to find it; it is hidden because God wants you to seek it.” Her comments are full of the plain-spoken wisdom I have come to both expect and appreciate.

I would not go so far as to call it a commentary, but there is clearly a fair amount of research happening here, as she references other texts, the Greek, etc. As a text for a church Bible study, this book would be a great guide. The book is a quick read at 180 pages but I really do feel I came away with a better understanding of Colossians. This could be a very useful resource. Check it out.