Hidden in Plain View

Fae Nolte gave me this puzzle Sunday.  In the paragraph below there are 30 books of the Bible. Can you find them?  Print this out and try it! 

 This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That’s a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund-raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, “The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight.” Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus; there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

This puzzle reminds me of Jesus speaking to the disciples in parables.  For those who were seeking, searching, and spiritually discerned, they could see and understand the Truth.  For those whose hearts were not open to the Gospel, His words were amazing.  Puzzling. Confusing.

The Bible affirms that the “natural man” would have difficulty in understanding spiritual matters.  In fact, they would seem like foolishness (1 Cor 2:13-14).  And so the apostle says,“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (2 Cor 4:3-5).

I have to admit this puzzle was more difficult for me than understanding the plan of salvation.  God’s moral laws.  His design of a man and woman in the home.  Or His pattern for the ministry of the church.  But I know some who seriously struggle with some of these issues.

I do wonder if some folks are more like Mark Twain who once quipped, “It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand!”

Let me encourage you not to be puzzled by the Bible.  Read it.  Study it.  Meditate on it. Pray for wisdom.  Open your heart to its message.  And seek to follows its counsel.  I promise the results will be even more rewarding than solving this puzzle!

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman

 Question: How many of the 30 books were you able to find?  I’ll give everyone a couple of days to figure it out, then post the answers!