Why Pure Praise Doesn’t Quite “Cut It”…

Last night, I sat up until midnight reading page after page from Google about Pure Praise. I was overwhelmed at how many churches and people are going through this Bible study. (I remember as I was writing it how I wondered if anyone other than my mom would read it!) However, it has already sold more in 6 months than many books ever sell. Only God could do that!

Buried several pages deep on Google, I came across yet another blog of a person who was reading Pure Praise. However, what this lady wrote took me off guard — and certainly quieted my euphoria a bit from all the great comments I had read from other sites thus far! She wrote, “I was reading Pure Praise, but it just wasn’t cutting it. I found myself going, ‘You know what? I just want to read the Bible.'”

My initial reaction was, “Oh no, she didn’t like my study!” But when I reread it, I realized that she wasn’t criticizing my book. Rather, she was expressing the sincere cry of her heart: to read and hear from the Bible. I literally spoke out loud at that moment and said, “I agree! That’s my heart-cry too!” I mean, compared to God’s Word, my little offering of a book is, well, of no comparison at all! Fact is, there is no book on earth that is as important as the Holy Scriptures. And no book, no magazine, and no Bible study should ever be a substitute for actually picking up the Bible itself and pouring over it first hand.

My vision for Pure Praise from the first time I sat down to outline and write it was to help people develop a daily habit of time alone with God in His Word. That is why I wrote in the Introduction: “This book is not meant to be read by itself. It is vitally important that you read from your Bible during each day’s lesson.” My prayer and goal is that people will become dependant, not on my book, but rather on the Word of God. I dropped a less-than-subtle hint about that in Week 4, Day 5 of Pure Praise, when I teach the reader how to journal their quiet times before God. On page 71, I wrote, “No devotional book, no Bible study, nothing has had a greater impact on my personal growth than this approach: God and me alone with just a Bible and a notepad.”

I believe the review by Worship Leader Magazine captures the essence of what Pure Praise is designed to do. Worship Leader wrote, “Moore encourages you, and almost forces you…into the Bible — No lesson is taught without it.” When Darlene Zschech said that “This study has the potential to transform…” she was talking of how the study brings people back to God’s Word and helps us understand the timeless truths contained within its pages — for only as we gaze on God through His Word can we truly be transformed.

So, hats off to anyone who agrees with me that Pure Praise certainly doesn’t quite “cut it.” The Word of God alone will stand forever!

~Dwayne (author of Pure Praise: A Heart-focused Bible Study on Worship)