The book titled, “The truth about grace” is one of the three books in a series called “The truth about..” penned by John Macarthur. It is an attempt to discuss the concept of grace, a concept that is so simple yet so complex at the same time. It defines the Christian faith and makes it different from other belief systems. It is a simple equation summed up in the following words, A free gift given in abundance to those who do not deserve it.
John Macarthur uses the scripture as a way to discuss grace and he divides the discuss in five parts, namely, Grace defined, Grace received, Grace misunderstood and twisted, Grace realized and Grace lived out. It somehow reflects the walk of a Christian, in how grace does transforms us from merely receivers to testimonies of grace. It is a book that uses plethora of biblical truth that is carefully explained in context. It is also explained in a way that is easy to comprehend and follow.
All in all, it is a fabulous book to read and a great resource to have in order to understand grace. It can be read by ‘seasoned’ Christians and those who are new to the faith.
I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for a
review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a
copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and
helpful to other consumers.
The book entitled, “The Resignation of Eve: What if Adam’s rib is no
longer willing to be the Church’s backbone” is a book written by Jim
Henderson that aims to talk about why Christian women in church are
either resigned to or resigned from what church leaders have currently
decided as the role of women in church. He tries to engage the readers
by providing interviews that he has done with women and then
interpreting said qualitative data at the end of the snapshot with a
segment labeled, “My Take”. It also uses some quantitative data (who
doesn’t like to see numbers?) that are provided by research done by
Barna. The author is very frank about where he is coming from which
includes his family and belief history as well as biases that he may
possess in writing this book.
This book is a very opinionated stand on a controversial Christian
issue that people have disagreed on for decades. As a Christian woman,
it is sad to read about some of the stories of how other Christian
women are being treated, even in church; however, I think that an
unbiblical treatment of women is not a good argument in saying that
women should be leaders in church. Appealing to emotions and also
providing comments for church members and other men is never a good
argument; it borders on logical fallacy.
My concerns about this book will be listed as follows. First of, I am
concerned about the “My take” portion because while all of us writers
possess an observer bias, it is definitely a helpful reorientation to
always go back to God’s Word, the Bible, as our foundation and
compass. That is why I said that the book is an opinionated stand; it
relies too much on what the author feels or thinks about women in
leadership. I would have liked to see more scripture and more
application based on scripture on the issue. Paul writes to Timothy
that all Scripture is God-breathed and is helpful in teaching us,
rebuking us, correcting us and training us for God’s work. Secondly,
numbers are numbers and they do provide us a snapshot in research;
however, as someone who worked in data analysis before, I have been
warned by a professor and mentor of the danger in reading into the
numbers too much or overanalyzing them in order to support our
research biases. Also, the qualitative data definitely outweighed
quantitative data. Thirdly, the bible is clear that women and men are
created equally in the image of God, and given different roles in the
earth, in family and in church. This book and the author is
well-intended, but the book could be written better in order to tackle
a current concern faced by Christians and what the culture is saying
about it in contrast to what the Bible is saying, because the Bible is
God’s word and we must obey it.
I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for a
review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a
copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and
helpful to other consumers.
Before I start my review, I would like to preface it by saying that my first experience of Leonard Sweet’s writing was with his book, I am a follower, and it was a book that I loved to read. I like his eloquent way of writing and I love the questions after each chapter and I love his challenges to get his readers to think. The Bible says of loving God with all your heart, soul and mind and thinking of ways to live out and share the gospel in obedience to the Bible is a really, really good thing.
Now that I have gotten the raves out of the way, I read the book Viral primarily because we live in an age where a lot of people spend time online. Most of the countries is connected by the internet and this provides a platform for Christians to share the gospel in more ways that do not require purchasing a ticket and a packing a suitcase. Sweet begins the book by talking about a relationship with Christ being both personal and communal, meaning it thrives and grows by a personal daily walk and in fellowship with other believers. Most of his book discusses the difference between the Googlers and Gutenbergers. However, a concern I had was that I was in a weird blurry line between both. Sweet challenges Christ followers to go out of the confines of their comfort zones and churches to preach the gospel using all the media that we have available. He challenges Christians to remain solid in their biblical foundations and to think out of the box in terms of ways to preach out the gospel.
In a lot of ways, I agree with him. Seeing a lot of younger kids in this generation, I see their visible talents and their ways of weaving into culture. A challenge they face is feeling that they have to choose between culture and/or Christ when Christ calls us to be in culture and be relevant, not of it. He calls us to share the gospel to a lost world, and our hearts must be open to the fact that we are getting many ways of going about evangelism. A challenge is to remember the Lord in the days of our youth and to not let anyone look down on us because of our age (when talking about our faith walk). This book is a great read for younger individuals as well as the people who are called to mentor them. Great book!
I received a free copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for a review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and helpful to other consumers.
Christians started being called Christians in Acts as they mirrored Christ or were Christ-like. This is an important part of church history as persecutions happened in huge numbers against them. Christ spoke about this truth in the Bible saying that the world hated Him and that if we follow Him, we shall be prepared to carry a cross also and bring the gospel to a world that despises Christ.
R.T. Kendall writes about this experience that a lot of Christians go through. It is becoming increasingly harder to claim to be a disciple of Christ whether it is through public humiliation or little acts of persecution by strangers or people we know and care for. However, Kendall uses this book as a source of encouragement that discusses ways of looking at this stigma in a way of embracing this call that Christ has given to us. He examines biblical truth and teaches us of how to remain steadfast in carrying the cross. The book is divided into 15 sections that discuss biblical passages quite simply and readable.
I liked the book, however, I find that the sections were each too short and that the many sections diverged or diluted the main topic too much. I agree with Kendall in embracing our discipleship and faith, no matter the cost. I also agree in the biblical teaching of unity in the body of Christ, in that as we love Christ, we love our fellow Christian brothers and sisters and minister to the whole world as well. However, I felt that in the end, it became a book that tries to argue manifestations of the Holy Spirit and addresses too much of those issues that divide us Christians. It should be our hope and prayer to reconcile with our fellow christian brothers and sisters who embrace Jesus Christ as the only way to eternal life, the bible as the inspired word of God and our other core truths of the faith.
So pick up a copy of this book and read it, I recommend it. Of course, have your Bible in handy as well. =)
I received a free copy of this book from Chosen Books in exchange for a review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and helpful to other consumers.
I could not put this book down!! I read it in a day and I think it is a very brief yet wonderfully written book on the meaning of the lordship of Christ in our lives. It has Christ in the center and is very clear on discussing how the Scripture must remain our foundation for truth. He discusses the topic in several steps starting with the character of God, our response, sanctification and assurance of salvation, and the work of Spirit in us continually. He also discusses how being a christian requires nothing coming in, but requires us to die to ourselves once we are ‘in’. He also encourages Christians to persevere in the fight of faith until the end.
This book is a great read. I recommend it to Christians who are seeking books on certain topics they find hard to explain to other friends and I also recommend it to every Christian (in addition to reading the bible) as a resource to growing in the faith. MacArthur writes simply and explains key truths using the Bible as the foundation and building up from it. Also, handy is a summary of what has been discussed in the book in the back of the book.
I received a free copy of this book from Booksneeze in exchange for a review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and helpful to other consumers.
I had the opportunity to read and review the book entitled, Spirit Wars: Winning the Invisible Battle against Sin and the Enemy written by Kris Vallotton. Vallotton uses biblical characters such as Joshua and Nehemiah to speak of spiritual warfare. He starts the book by introducing a key component that a lot of individuals fail to recognize, we are in a world where there are spiritual forces in battle. He also offers good advice: Every christian must be equipped for battle and the Bible discusses how we can put up our spiritual armor. However, there are some components of his book wherein he introduces some ideas that I cannot agree with, biblically speaking. The first is where he claims to be not sin for some time. Paul does speak of regeneration in Christ in the bible, but we are all still earthen vessels that are not perfect yet while we are in this earth. We are given a new heart and new desires, but as humans, we still do sin. I also believe in spiritual gifts; however, i do believe that it has to be within the guidelines of the Bible and 1st corinthians has a lot to say about the guidelines of tongues, prophecy and worship. Ephesians 6 is a great passage to read on Spiritual Warfare and equipping ourselves.
I would have loved to read more scripture on spiritual warfare in a book and more contextual discussion of it. i would to end this review with a verse, 1 john 4:4, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
I received a free copy of this book from Chosen Books in exchange for a review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and helpful to other consumers.
Then Sings My Soul, Book 3 by Robert Morgan
This beautifully book, written by Robert Morgan, prefaces by saying that all creation were created by God to sing praises and to glorify Him. The writer then brings us to a travel through history to look back on some well known hymns, some forgotten and some short stories from the hymn writers that are meant to remind us of God’s continued presence in our lives. He writes that historically, Christians knew their hymns and possessed hymnals that they bring to church just like they bring their bibles. This great book chronicles hymns that some of us grew up singing, and some that we have never even heard of because it has been forgotten. Robert Morgan divides the book in 7 segments: biblical hymns, ancient hymns, medieval hymns, German hymns, English hymns, gospel hymns and contemporary praise and in so doing, provides us with an opportunity to better understand church history, the life of some writers and the development of praise and worship music. Personally, I grew up singing some of the hymns and my love for it was kept through my short forage into piano lessons. Hymns were very powerful instruments in reminding us of God’s revelation through His inspired word and through Jesus Christ’s coming to earth and dying for our sins. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is seeking to learn more about our Christian heritage, history and worship.
I received a free copy of this book from Booksneeze in exchange for a review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and helpful to other consumers.
Book Review:
Why Jesus? by Ravi Zacharias
Ravi Zacharias tackles popular culture and how it tries to reinvent the gospel message and reminds the readers that a true understanding of Jesus is only possible through the understanding and embracing of the Bible. He is very honest in his analysis of recent efforts to try to add or subtract to the gospel message by popular authors, celebrities and authors. He discusses it in a remarkably slow yet steady pace, looking at historical developments of spiritual movements and then bringing us back to the only true source of all reason, the Bible. Ravi Zacharias defends Jesus through the Bible and this book is a great example of how Jesus is unchanging and still remains the name above all names.
Ravi Zacharias discusses the current world views and contrasts it with a biblical worldview. He talks about our common errors in reducing Jesus to something that we find compatible with our lifestyle because of our sinful natures and he leads us back to the Bible. I think this is one of the reasons why I love this book, it discusses the issues yet always brings us back to the Bible as the only source of truth. He discusses true worship and how it shouldn’t be just motions and externals but rather our true heart conditions. He discusses pain as an argument for God’s existence and explains it beautiful, in my opinion. He discusses the following: 1) Pain isn’t a moral issue 2) Pain is a part of life and is not life in its entirety 3) Pain points us to something other than ourselves; it gets our attention. 4) Pain points us to God who did not create pain, but does allow it for a purpose.
I encourage you to pick up this book. It is a great read!!
I received a free copy of this book from Hachette Book Group in exchange for a review. I was not asked to write a positive review in exchange for a copy, but choose to write a review that is constructive, honest and helpful to other consumers.
