Humble Orthodoxy By Josh Harris

from changedbythegospel.com

Humble Orthodoxy, Holding the Truth High without Putting People Down by Josh Harris is more than a timely word. It was a book that needed to be written.

The premise of the book came from his book, Dug Down Deep. The final chapter of that book was titled “Humble Orthodoxy” and it seems the readers were not shy about telling Josh that was their favorite chapter in the book and needed to be expounded on and given a book all its own. He,of course, obliged. Or maybe it was when Jon Piper told him to write a book on the subject.

Josh Harris, with a healthy dose of love and grace, seasoned with compassion, writes about the Christians need to be orthodox without being a jerk. We are to uphold the truth of Scripture without beating others about the head with it.

So many times we are either wishy-washy in regards to the truth of the Word because we don’t want to offend the world. Or we’re so convinced of our right-ness and their wrongness that we act like angry jerks.

Josh uses 2 Timothy as the text, or basis for this book. It works well. Paul was both staunchly enamored with the truth and was willing to die to defend it. He was not one to mince words with truth. But he was also full of love for all people.  We need to be the same way.

The book is just four little chapters, a total of 61 pages. But don’t let it’s small size fool you. It’s power packed full of goodness.  I think it could have well been a lot longer and the ideas expounded on even more. But as it is, it’s a quick enough read you can read every few days. It does come with a study guide in the back with questions to answer, a prayer and an action step to perform. I think this would work well for a short 4-week Bible study.

The book is small, both in volume and height. I am not sure I would have paid $10 for a copy. Unless I had read it first. Then I would know it is worth every penny.

I’ll leave you with my favorite line from the book. This one simply jumped off the page at me.

We are not those who are right; we are those who have been redeemed.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review.

Beginning Prayer by John Killinger

from barnesandnoble.com

Prayer is probably my biggest difficulty in the Christian life. Yes, I struggle with sin. But communing with God is difficult. When I saw the book Beginning Prayer by John Killinger I knew I had to read it.

Published by Upper Room Ministries (which as far as I can tell through research is a division of the United Methodist Church), Beginning Prayer is an easy read book, the flavor almost reminds me of an old book. It is written in an almost conversational tone, or at least like a college lecture with your favorite professor.

It doesn’t matter at all in the grand scheme of things but at times I wasn’t sure if it was written by/to Catholics or by/to Protestants.  It could work very well with either group.  It lends itself to be very liturgical in nature.

The only thing I did not like about the book was he talks about chanting our prayers like one chants a mantra. Just a word or phrase over and over. He tells the story of one man who was given the task of praying “the prayer of Jesus” over and over, at first having to say it 30,000 times in a day. Within it week it was nearly tripled. Now he spends hours a day just chanting that one phrase.  He also talked of prayer in silence and said we need to “rid our mind of everything.” That to me sounds a little too much like transcendental meditation. Which I’m not interested in at all.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review.

 

The Fourth Fisherman by Joe Kissack

from http://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 2005, 5 fishermen set sail from San Blas, Mexico for what they believed would be a regular job of net fishing. When a storm blew in and they lost their net, the captain would not return to port for rest and more fuel. He wanted that net, worth over $1000, and refused to rest until it was found. They crisscrossed the area until they ran short of fuel. Soon they were adrift.

Joe Kissack spent most of his adult life struggling to please his earthly father. He quickly rose in the ranks of television syndication.  He bought fast cars, fancy houses and still felt incredibly empty. He turned to alcohol and drugs and watched as his life unraveled.

The Fourth Fisherman is the story of both, Joe Kissack and the three remaining Mexican fishermen.  It is also the story of faith in God who pursues us.

The three fishermen spent 9 months adrift, floating out of control for 5,500 miles. They were found off the shores of Taiwan.  For almost all that time the only thing they had was each other and their faith in God. When Joe lost all his “gods” and discovered the only God he really needed, he found that God to be enough.

Joe tells the story will candor and a little humor. You will be captivated by both stories. I know I was. I liked the whole book, from the front cover to the back cover, with one exception. I did not like the way he treated his wife. He wasn’t abusive per  se but he did  not keep his promises and it didn’t seem to bother him. His wife went through a lot for him and because of him.

If you’re looking for a good story about unwavering faith in God, read this book!

 

I received a free copy of this book for the purpose of review.

 

Life

For the first time in a long, long time I have no book reviews to do. At least I don’t think I do. I am reading a book or two or fifty, but I’m in the process of reading them. I have learned that publishers generally want you to read the book before you have read the book.

But since I have no book reviews you’re stuck with the thoughts in my head.  I don’t know whether to tell you to check your twitter account, facebook, the stock market, or stay here and suffer the consequences.

Well with a thought like that how could you possibly leave?

On Sunday our pastor used Ephesians 5. He reminded us we are to walk in light and also to walk in wisdom.  He brought out that we are to walk in light because we were once darkness but now we are light. We aren’t THE light, that is Jesus. But we are light. We are to shine our light brightly and not hide it under a bushel basket. We aren’t supposed to attempt to put it out. We are supposed to live in such a way that our light shines and when people see us they really see Jesus.  When we do that we’ll have to be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have or the light we spread.

But that isn’t all we supposed to do. We are also supposed to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. We are supposed to have no fellowship with them; we are to expose them and we are not to speak of them.

So, why do we?

We not only fellowship with them, we refuse to expose them and we speak of them loud and long.  Why?

I have noticed a movement in the church that says we are not supposed to ever tell anyone what they are doing is wrong. Why? Is that not exposing the unfruitful deeds (works) of darkness?  Im Florida, failure to tell your neighbor his house is on fire is illegal. Why would you not tell your neighbor that? It’s a pretty important thing to tell your neighbor, especially if he is inside his house.

Why do we not tell people what sin is and what the cure is? Hell is a lot more dangerous than just your house being on fire. But if we don’t tell others we are condemning them to a life apart from God forever. And forever is a very long time.

We also aren’t even to speak of them. We aren’t to name the things people do. Why? Because it’s shameful. For many of us, not only are we speaking of it, we’re practicing the very same things. People, this should not be! Have we no shame? Have we really forgotten how to blush?

I am not at all saying we are to let the world “go to hell in a handbasket“. Not at all! I am saying we are to be light, exposing dark places. Those dark places inside of us and in the world. Now we aren’t to beat the world over the head, “You’re a dirty rotten sinner and you’re going to hell!” We are to walk in love, in light and in wisdom.  We are to be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks us about the hope we have. We are not to keep it to ourselves. Light was meant to be shared!

So go share your light today!

Get Back Up by Sheryl Giesbrecht

Sometimes life knocks us down. We get bloodied, bruised, and dirty. So often when this happens we feel unfit for service, we feel we are a broken pot not fit for anything. We take ourselves out of ministry. That might not be God’s desire, not His plan. His plan is restoration.

Sheryl Giesbrecht knows what it means to let God pick her up, dust her off, heal her wounds and use her for increased ministry. She shares her story in Get Back Up, Trusting God when Life Knocks You Down. 

She gives a list of questions for the reader to answer at the end of each chapter. My only “trouble” with this was some of the questions seemed to me to be too focused on the “bad” thing that happened and not the grace and love of God. I’d rather focus on Him and how He can heal, than whatever issue I might have experienced. If we focus on the things of life that are hard that is all we can see. But when we focus not on troubles but on Jesus that is when we find true healing.

If you are struggling with some of life’s hard knocks, this might be a book for you. It’s an easy read and mostly biblically sound. I did find a few places she took a few liberties with the Bible, and we know I’m not a fan of that at all, but for the most part it’s Scriptural.

For me the book didn’t really teach anything. (and I shudder to say that.) It almost seemed more a list of “this happened to me and God did…..”. Which is good! I love hearing how God works in other people’s lives. I was expecting a more hands-on approach to trusting God when life knocks me down than I found in the pages.  She does give some very practical suggestions and does encourage the reader to focus on Jesus. Which is a VERY GOOD thing!

I received a free copy of this book for the purpose of review.

Permission Granted by Margot Starbuck

Permission Granted by Margot Starbuck is an interesting read. I believe the premise of the book is to give Christians permission to love others as Jesus loves. I’m not sure we need permission. In fact, I’m  not sure we’re not already doing that. To be sure we could always do more but to say we’re not doing it at all is not true.

I’ve posted before about people in my town reaching out across denominational lines to be Jesus to  people. There is more to be done and there is more being done.

In Permission Granted, Margot led me to believe if I am not going into strip clubs, attending Gay Pride Parades (without being asked) or attending Porn conventions, I am not loving and being Jesus to the world.

I read over and over how sinners loved Jesus, they flocked to Him. And it’s true, they did. However, a look further into it reveals why they did. Did they flock to Him because they loved Him and wanted to be with Him? Some yes. But the majority flocked to Him because He healed them, He fed them. They flocked to Him because of what He could do for them. And when He refused to be a puppet on a string for them, when He required something from them, they simply stopped following Him. They stayed only long enough to get their needs met and when confronted with their own selfish desires and the need to choose, they choose to walk away.

I read in Permission Granted that Jesus attended “raucous parties” given by sinners. I do not read that in Scripture. He did eat with sinners, that I can find. I can find no real mention of raucous parties at all. I also rediscovered He ate with Pharisees as well.

It was re-cemented in my mind that if I am living  and loving and obeying Jesus, my life will stand out in a good way. People will naturally be curious. I will have to as 1 Peter 3:15 says:

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

I don’t need permission for that.

The examples Margot uses (attending a Gay Pride Parade, visiting a strip club, attending a porn convention…and really why do they have those?) and many she doesn’t, is not a good idea. We are called to be separate, to make a difference by being different. We are told in Scripture in dealing with fellow believers who are caught in any sin to be careful and mature about restoring. Why? So we don’t fall into the same temptation. Is it, or should it be any different when we deal with the world? No. Now I’m not saying we should beat them over the head with “you’re a sinner. Change your ways or fry!” Not at all. I’m saying we are not to partake, we are in fact to avoid ALL appearance of evil.

We are also to be careful not to offend our fellow Christians, we are not to cause one of them to stumble. And I can see very much how this behaviour touted in the book as the “way to love like Jesus” would do that very thing.  We can’t violate one command in the Bible to fulfill another. Yes, there are those who will be offended no matter what we do however, I have found that to be more true of the world than fellow Christians.

All in all, the book a fairly easy read. Parts of it are biblically sound, other parts are not.  I can’t say I recommend the book which to me is sad, because I really really wanted to love this book. Please, let’s remember if we are living our lives in obedience to Jesus, living and loving so He is glorified, we will make a difference, we will reach the “sinners” (special or not) of this world with the love of Jesus, lives will  be changed, He will be glorified and the world will wonder what hit them.

 

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review.

Get Off Your Donkey by Reggie McNeal

We all know we need to help others. We know that there are those less fortunate than us that need our help. We also know it doesn’t matter where we are economically speaking, there are those who are in need of our help. We know that.

We know we need to get up and help them. We know that. And for many of us we are doing that. But for others, we just don’t. Maybe we expect someone else to do. We claim we don’t have time. We “gave at the office”. We don’t know what to do. So we do nothing.

Get Off Your Donkey by Reggie McNeal addresses this issue. If you’re thinking this is play on words, substituting “donkey” for the King James version of “donkey”, you’d be right.

This book is a hard-hitting, pull-no-punches book. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing. You might want to read it for yourself to know which you think it is.

I had a few problems with this book. First, it seemed to be written with the mindset that no one is doing anything. Which is completely false and I’m sure is not at all what Reggie McNeal intended.  Second, it came across to me as very harsh. He mentioned in the book that he has learned a few things about himself. One being the very way he talks often drives people away. He said he has learned to add “sensitivity (on occasion)”. This book was not one of those occasions. Third, he states at the end of the book the “reason” we are to help those less fortunate, so they will have a better life. Not so they will have eternal life, or the abundant life Jesus promises, but a good life. So America will be turned around. So there will be no more “gloom and doom” forecasted for this country. In my opinion if we are only helping others so they will have a better life, we’re missing the boat entirely.  If we’re helping those less fortunate by saying in essence, “I’m okay, you’re okay”. We’re helping Jesus right out of the equation. And fourthly (or lastly), I did not like the title. I know it seems petty. But honestly, I don’t think it’s funny. I find it rather offensive. Why do we think it’s okay to talk like this world’s culture by changing a few words, and giggling like school girls because “we’re saying something bad? If the author intended to say “Get off your ass” then he should have said that and not used a “more acceptable” word. But that is my opinion and yours might be different.

 

(I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review.)

The Poor

I’ve been reading a lot of books about helping the poor. It’s a good thing. We are commanded in Scripture to help the poor, the widows and orphans. In my reading one question keeps coming to mind repeatedly.

Who are the poor?

Now it might sound like I’m asking the same question the rich young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” But trust me, I’m not. I’m not looking for loopholes. I’m not looking for ways around the command. I think we first need to define the poor so we can know how to help them.

Some think the poor are only those like this:

from http://www.lancegold.blogspot.com

Black skinned and in dire need of food. Yes, they are poor, the live every day in abject poverty. They go to bed hungry, they wake up hungry. They aren’t able to go to school because they don’t have food, school supplies and might be needed to carry a heavy workload at home. To many people, this is the poor people.

But what about people like this?

from http://www.forbes.com

Could this man be poor? He obviously isn’t lacking in financial resources. He looks like he has every thing he needs. If we look only on the surface of things though.

The poor are not only those lacking in financial resources. I contend every single person alive on planet earth are in some way, shape or form poor.  With that in mind, I believe our focus on helping the poor, meaning those living in poverty, is too narrow.

If we broaden our focus to see that all men are poor and work to help them in whatever their needs are we are fulfilling the command.

It is very easy to see the poor as only those lacking financial resources because it’s easy to throw a few dollars into a collection plate or give to an organization that works to eradicate the poor. It’s a little harder to actually get our hands dirty investing in someone else’s life. It’s not easy to get involved with those who are needy.

We are all needy. We all have the cure for someone else’s need. Those of us who love and serve Jesus have exactly what someone else needs. Are we sharing it? Are we helping the poor if we leave Jesus out of the equation?

I contend that we aren’t. If we merely help the poor and ignore the needs of those who don’t look poor around us, we aren’t really doing what Jesus commanded.  If we help but don’t share the great love of Jesus, we aren’t doing enough.

I’m not at all saying we have to be “doing” all the time. I am saying when we realize the great gift we have, that Jesus alones meets all our needs, and we don’t share Him with others we aren’t helping. We’re keeping our lamp under a bushel basket.

I know there are some who are steeped in a legalistic gospel based on what we do. I’m not doing that. I’m saying our love for Jesus should extend to His people and the people of this world. Out of our love for Him should naturally outpour good works for Him. Not because it’s legislated from a pulpit, or the pages of a book or even this blog.

So how about if we start praying for eyes to see the needs in others? Even if they look “rich” in our eyes. Even if they don’t look like they need anything. Maybe what they just need is someone to notice them. To befriend them. To talk to them. To pray with them.

And yes, let’s not forget those who are starving for food. But so many are starving for something.

Understanding Trust

from http://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/trust.jpg

Lately I’ve been confronted with all the times God uses the word “all” in His Word.  I’ve read the word a million times in His Word, but only recently have they started to stick out in my mind.

For example, just the other day I was reading Proverbs 3:5, because I grew up Baptist (heehee) I can’t think of or say Proverbs 3:5 without adding verse 6. In those two short verses God uses the word “all” twice. Once in each verse.

Yeah, I’m a rocket scientist in my spare time.

Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (emphasis mine)

I think so often we forget we have to trust Him with all of our heart. We think as long as we’re trusting Him and acknowledging Him, He is obligated to make our paths straight. He is required to make sure we don’t go astray, that we don’t get lost along the way. Our paths can’t be too twisty, bumpy or have too many curves and absolutely no switchbacks.

It just doesn’t work that way because of the little word “all” in there. It doesn’t matter what version you use, what language it was translated from, all means all.  Absolutely every last one. No one is excluded. Nothing is left out. All is all.

If we are not fully trusting, if we’re leaning on our own understanding even a little, if we’re refusing to acknowledge Him in some area of our life, He does not have to make our paths straight. Does that mean if we trust Him with all our heart, if we don’t lean at all on our own understanding, if we acknowledge Him in everything, our lives will be perfect and problem free?

Not on your ever-livin’ life. Paul penned in 2 Timothy 3:12, “all who would live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” and Jesus says “the world hated me so it will hate you too.” (John 15:18) So it won’t be a perfect life. But we are assured that He will guide us, He will direct us. We will know we are on the right path. It means when we experience the ups and downs of life on this spinning planet we know God is leading. We don’t have to sit back and worry that we’re on the wrong path, that we’re going the wrong way.

I know I don’t always fully trust Him with all my heart, it is my desire. Oh how I want that. And I know that He takes the trust I have, sees the desire to trust fully, He hears my, “LORD, help my unbelief!” cries and He does! He increases my trust. Every time I have to completely rely on Him and I get to watch Him take my little and make it big, my trust grows. That is grace. Because He doesn’t have to do any of that. He does because He loves. He does because He desires my trust. And He knows I’m just human, not that I’m using it as an excuse at all. But He knows I’m not infallible, I’m feeble. I’m weak. I’m prone to wander. But when I, through my studying and communing with Him, come to a fork in the road and I ask Him which way to take. He answers. And He is pleased when I listen to His voice in my ear saying “this is the way, walk in it.” He is honored when I obey. He grows my faith through my obedience.

And that, folks, is good news!

Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic

Photo courtesy of http://africanspotlight.com

Nick Vujicic was born without arms or legs and he does not let that stop him from ministering to others. He travels the world offering hope and encouragement to everyone he comes in contact with. He has not let his limitations stop him from being all that God created him to be. He puts his faith into action and is Unstoppable. Which is the title of one of his books released in 2012. In its pages he shares his story.

It is a story of overcoming odds. Of using the talents, abilities and gifts God has given him to minister to others.  He has subtitled this book, “The Incredible Power of Faith in Action” and he is a man who puts his faith into action every day.  He says “Being born without arms and legs was not God’s way of punishing me. I know that now. I have come to realize that this “disability” would actually  heighten my ability to serve His purpose as a speaker and evangelist.”

This book is the story of using the talents, abilities and even handicaps (and honestly who doesn’t have one?) for God’s glory. It’s realizing that God makes no mistakes and that He can and does use anyone. Even those we think are unlikely candidates for service, even when we ourselves feel we are disqualified or non-qualify-able. Yes I just made that up.

Throughout the pages of this book I kept asking myself “what is your excuse?” Sadly I could come up with none that were good enough. I have all of my limbs, yet I still struggle to fully embrace the life God has planned for me. I struggle, as I’m sure most people do, with serving God despite our seemingly insurmountable odds.

If you need to be inspired to live a life fully devoted to the God who died so you might live read this book. You will be inspired and encouraged to embrace the life God has for you. Then go out and serve Him well.

 

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review.