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Spiritual Fitness: How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible?

Jesus said the greatest commandment ever given by God—the most important one for us to obey—is: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

The best way to obey that command is to read God’s communication to us (the Bible) and to communicate back to God (prayer). In this way our love for him will grow richer every day and our soul will grow stronger in our spiritual warfare against evil and personal temptation.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of spiritual fitness ]

But you may be thinking you don’t have enough time in a day to complete the reading of the entire Bible. The reality is you do have enough time, since each book of the Bible can be measured in achievable “chunks.”

Almost half the books in the Bible take less than a half-hour to read. Twenty-three of them can each be read in under 20 minutes!

Here’s a chart (by the website desiringGod) of the average time it takes to read each book of Scripture, shown in the order in which each one appears in the Bible:

Spiritual Fitness: How Is Global Christianity Changing?

The 5 life-changing success-generating components of SemperVerus^® work together to cultivate in the members of the SemperVerus Brotherhood™ the strategic and tactical element of self-defense, which includes the intelligent and resolute ability to responsibly protect yourself from menacing spiritual threats, not only physical threats. The former dangers are what we battle when we identify and thwart temptations that diminish the strength of our soul in following Jesus Christ.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of spiritual fitness ]

Every year the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary presents a snapshot of global Christianity that provides a statistical overview of the world’s 2.5 billion Christians and their activities. Here are highlights from the 2022 Status of Global Christianity report:

By semperverus
Posted on 12/27/202212/28/2022

How Safe Is Stored Ammunition When Exposed to Fire?

Illustration by Hunter-Ed, https://www.hunter-ed.com/pennsylvania/studyGuide/Basic-Components-of-Ammunition/20103901_88399/ Ever wonder if the sporting ammunition of cartridges (up to .50 caliber) and shot shells (up to 8 gauge) you store poses an extreme danger to you, your family, or neighbors if a fire should ever occur? Wonder no more: it doesn’t.

Rifle and handgun cartridges consist of a metal case with a primer, gunpowder, and bullet; shotgun shells typically consist of a plastic or paper tube often with a metallic covering at the base which retains a primer, and the shot charge is typically contained by a wadding inside the case.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Learn the Basics of Ammunition with Winchester® Educational Infographics ]

In the following video by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute with input by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, over 400,000 rounds of bulk packaged and unpackaged small arms ammunition were burned and crushed in a variety of scenarios to determine the ammo’s lethality in stored configurations outside of firearms. The tests involved were single cartridge impact, 65-foot drop, bullet impact, blasting cap attacks, forklift and bulldozer friction and compression, bonfire with and without packaging, and retail store and semi-trailer fire simulations.

By semperverus
Posted on 12/27/202211/21/2023

22 Million USA Adults Are Licensed to Concealed Carry Handguns

The number of concealed handgun permits continues to increase, according to the Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across the United States: 2022 report from the Crime Prevention Research Center. The figure now stands at 22.01 million—8.5% of the adult population and a 2.3% increase over last year. Over the last two decades, during the exponential growth in permits, a general linear decline has occurred in murder and violent crime rates.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Concealed Carry Daily Prayer ]

Map by the Crime Prevention Research Center showing the types of concealed carry states as of August 2022

Unlike gun ownership surveys that may be affected by people’s unwillingness to answer personal questions, concealed handgun permit data is the only really “hard data” available. This increase occurred despite 24 Constitutional Carry states (AK, AR, AZ, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, ME, MO, MS, MT, ND, NH, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WV, WY) that no longer provide data on the legal carrying of a concealed handgun because people in those states no longer need a permit to carry. A 25th state, Alabama, has also adopted Constitutional Carry, but its law doesn’t go into effect until January 1, 2023.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, 8.3% of USA Adults Are Licensed to Concealed Carry Handguns ]

These numbers are particularly topical given that the US Supreme Court in June 2022 struck down New York’s “May-Issue” Concealed Handgun Law, affirming a constitutional right to bear arms. The decision will have a major impact on concealed carry laws in the 7 states that had “May-Issue” type rules.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Important Judicial Decisions Regarding Self-Defense Law ]

Among the findings of the report: