Book Review: "If God is Good - Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil"

I was very excited about getting my copy of "If God is Good" by Randy Alcorn. I even the loved the cover (rose and thorns). I find Randy Alcorn to be an excellent author who is very scripturally sound. He does a pretty thorough job covering a very hard subject, evil and suffering, in this 500+ page book. This subject is a hard one for anyone to totally understand, but I feel Randy Alcorn, the author, did a great job covering the many angles of hand questions that surround this very question,  "if God is good, why all this suffering and evil?"  

Randy Alcorn (Author) takes 2 1/2 minutes to share on his book.

This book is divided into 11 sections and covers practically every aspect of evil and suffering from its origins to various views on the subject. I believe Randy did as good a job on covering the subject as anybody could ever attempt to do. To understand it more thoroughly than this, I believe we'll have to wait until the day we stand before the presence of God, and then that which is now dim and cloudy on suffering and evil, will become totally clear. But until then, I believe this book will help you better understand and deal with the suffering and evil that surrounds all of us. Not one of us is exempt from suffering and the consequences of evil in our world.  

I do believe this book will help you to see that you don't need to be getting mad at God over this subject.  It is so wonderful to know that through it all our God is in control and that God is good!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.  I was in no way required to write anything positive, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are complete my own.

Book Review: "Exploring Christian Theology - Revelation, Scripture and The Triune God" (Volume 1)

When I first received this book I was a little concerned that it was going to be some really dry, purely intellectual reading, but I was wrong. This book is really good on sharing the importance of theology. This volume isn't too long with 272 pages, and covers two subjects (nice length); the way in which it's designed is really like having two books in one. The first subject is Scripture and all that entails including the inspiration of the Scriptures. This subject really has to be covered first as it is foundational.  If you don't come to the conclusion that the Bible is 100% inspired by God (Holy Spirit), then you will have no basis upon which to build any of your beliefs. Along those lines let me quote from page 109 of this book, "The proper conception of inspiration holds that the Holy Spirit acted on the writers of the Bible in an organic way, in harmony with the laws of their own inner being, using them just as they were, with their character and temperament, their gifts and talents, their education and culture, their vocabulary and style. The Holy Spirit illumined their minds, aided their memory, prompted them to write, repressed the influence of sin on their writings, and guided them in the expression of their thoughts even to the choice of their words." (Quote by Louis Berkhof).  

The first section also includes 10 memory Scriptures as they relate directly to the subject of the inspiration of the Scriptures. There are also little blocks of information through out the pages for quick reference on the subject at hand, and are also very well-written.

The second subject or book in this volume is on the Triune God, the Trinity. The Trinity is one of those doctrines that is foundational to Christians worldwide, and it will be hard to understand unless you accept as fact that God's Word (BIBLE), as stated in section one, is truly 100% the inspired Word of God.  This section will cover and explain how God exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, yet there is one God (not three as erroneously taught by some). While this may be one of the hardest doctrines to wrap our finite minds around, it is taught throughout the Bible (Old and New Testaments) as you will see in this section. I feel this book did a good job of explaining the Trinity and showing many passages that teach this foundational truth of Christianity.  

This second section includes 14 memory Scriptures, again, related to the subject. There are also other handy tools such as a glossary of terms. This is helpful as many of the terms in this book are words you've never heard from a modern day pulpit. There is also a section at the end of each part of the book called "shelf space," which refers you to other books on the same subject for further study (and in most cases more in-depth), which I found helpful. The book suggestions are broken down into three categories: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  By their own rating system, I would say they would likely consider this book intermediate. So, if you did find this book a little too detailed, look at their book suggestions and look for a book rated beginner; if this book was too simplistic for you, then look at their book suggestions and pick a book that is rated advanced.

I would give this book four and a half stars. it's a good book on theology, not too terribly long and pretty easy to read. That being said, if you pay retail price 1 volume is just $16.99, but it only covers two subjects, inspiration of the scripture and the Trinity, so to get a more fuller study of theology you need to buy the other 2 volumes (soon to be released), which means putting out about $50 ($40 if you look around) to cover basic theology.  Volume 2 covers creation, fall, and salvation; and volume 3 covers the church, spiritual growth, and end times. While that doesn't cover absolutely everything in theology, with those three volumes, you should have a pretty good handle on biblical theology when you're done.

I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

From the heart: Election changes things...No, Jesus changes things!

I am happy if you voted yesterday, as I thank God we are in a country that gives us that freedom. While I am happy that the Republicans have seized the Senate and gained control of the Congress, I'm not happy because they are Republicans, but because they are the more conservative of the two parties and Obama needs to be stopped (if possible), and Democrats sure weren't going to do that!  That being said, I think both parties fall way short compared to what God expects of our nation.  ALSO, it is yet to be seen what the Republicans will do in the next 2 years, but regardless, it won't be a Christian country in two years.  We're still going in the wrong direction, AND even more so, the sleeping Church needs to repent.  We're in this mess because the church went worldly, the church stopped preaching the whole counsel of God.

Again, we're not in this mess because of the politicians, but again, it's because of a lukewarm, if not dead church (http://ref.ly/Re3.14-22).  So as to not sound totally hopeless, God always has a remnant of people that will serve him 100%.  The question is, is that you? Is that me?  I hope so.
All this election can do is possibly, just maybe (but doubtful), slow impending judgment until America repents of her sins.

So what are we going to do as the church? Are we going to leave spiritual matters to the politicians? We better not!  Are we going to claim victory because of an election, while the church has not changed one bit? I believe our only hope is a repentant church that returns to Jesus acknowledging we have left our first love  - JESUS!  (See http://ref.ly/Re2.4)

So as I close this brief article out, I challenge you who are born again, blood bought Christians who believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus our Savior, will you give your all for Jesus and pray that our nation be spared, or at least that we can make a difference for God's kingdom no matter what the final outcome of our nation will be.  (See (see http://ref.ly/Je18.8 & http://ref.ly/Jon3.10)

I still love America in spite of her falling from God, especially in recent years, but I love the church more. There is nothing on earth as awesome as the church functioning the way God intended it.

So my final words are that the "battle" wasn't won at the election.  

It is won on our knees as a repentant and praying people in love

with Jesus who are willing to obey the Lord without compromise.

I'm excited in Jesus, as ultimately He is in control.  Jesus is our victory!  Now and forever! AMEN!

My Review: Strange Glory - A life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have only known bits and pieces about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so I really enjoyed the book from the very beginning. I also liked the way that the author, Marsh, shared about the life of Bonhoeffer making me feel like I was there with him on a personal level.

I have known about Bonhoeffer for years, but this is the first biography I have read on him. The author filled in a lot of unknowns for me about him from childhood to his death. Some of the minute details, while not necessary, did give a more complete picture of Bonhoeffer. I did find the beginning of the book a little slow because of these details, but I am still pleased that the author shared them to give a complete picture of who Bonhoeffer was.

The book also gave some historical insight into the German church in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as some insight into Hitler and the Nazis. The only thing I did not like about the book was the author's possible insinuation of Bonhoeffer's sexuality. I am not going to get into that in this review; see other reviews if you are curious or read the book for yourself. I did not think it necessary to mention in the book, especially since it is speculation.  I feel you will enjoy this read, especially to become familiar with Bonhoeffer's very unique character.

This book has peaked my interest in reading another biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The other biography is: "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy."

I received this book for free from the publisher’s Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

The following are some famous Bonhoeffer quotes:

My recent review of a great book, "The Greatest Words Ever Spoken"

I review quite a few books, but this one was a special treat for me. I love this book’s design and concept. I even like the thin tissue-like paper used in this book. This would be a nice book in bonded leather or leather. “The Greatest Words Ever Spoken” contains ALL the words of Jesus in Red with some surrounding verses in black to help with context. You may need/want to read more of the verses around it for a more accurate interpretation. This is a valuable book to complement your Bible reading time and is actually Bible readings of Jesus’ words. Over 200 topics (spoken by Jesus) are broken down into 9 categories in 9 chapters. The only part of this book that is not from the Bible are the introductions to each chapter, which are written by Steven K. Scott, who compiled this book. I find the introductions are very good. The table of contents is well-organized and helpful in finding the topic you are looking for. The back of the book contains a scripture index and subject index, which are also quite helpful in using this book. It’s an easy book to use and can be used as a Bible devotion or topical Bible study of Jesus’ words. It is not likely that you will read this book from cover to cover, but more likely you will jump around in it. With that being said, if you want to read all that Jesus spoke, you might enjoy reading it from cover to cover. The book is 519 pages long, it’s not a short book, and the font is pretty small (but very clear), so it’s a lot of reading. Being God’s Word, it is not a book you will want to read quickly. The NIV version is not my favorite version, but it does make it readable for all ages.

I recommend this book as a great reference book and one you will want to keep in your personal library permanently.

I received a free copy of The Greatest Words Ever Spoken from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review.

Short Devotional: God's Pruning Process

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:1, 2

As we look into the pruning process I must share my wife's pruning ability. When I first saw the pruning work of my wife, Joyce, I thought she killed the plant or at least stunted its growth forever.  Boy, was I wrong! It grew back and looked great!  Now, if my wife does a heavy duty pruning I trust her, as I have seen that her pruning is helping the plant.  Also, after my wife first prunes a plant it is rather ugly, but given time it turns beautiful. 

Most of you know that trees need pruning in order to grow properly and bear fruit. Pruning involves cutting off the dead branches and cutting back the living branches, both to shape the tree or vine and to stimulate growth.  So much more with our heavenly Father, as He is the perfect pruner, when He prunes us we know that He knows what He's doing and the end result is you will be more beautiful in God's vineyard. According to this verse, pruning sounds to me like a painful process! However, as painful as it can be to go through this “process,” it is necessary and worthwhile. Think about it, the branch that bears NO FRUIT is history, but it is the fruit bearing branch that he PRUNES so that it will bear MORE FRUIT.  As Christians you are pruned NOT because you have no fruit, but so you'll have even more.

Here’s why:
1. God's pruning is to get rid of stuff in our life that is not healthy.
Often we allow sin (always wrong and bad) or even weights (not necessarily bad/sin, but not beneficial, something that holds us back) into our lives, and it hinders us from bearing fruit or much fruit. 
Heb. 12:11 states: " For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Heb. 12:1 states: "...let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."

2. God’s pruning redirects our spiritual growth.
Each branch that is cut stops the plant's growth in one direction and redirects it in another. Sometimes God shuts a door in one area because He wants to refocus our efforts, energy and gifting in another – often one where He knows we’ll be more effective. If we exist to bring God glory and build His kingdom, it’s not so much about where I want to go and what I want to do, but where He can use me the most.

3. God’s pruning improves the quantity and quality of fruit in our lives.
Pruning at the right time and in the right place can actually increase the number of shoots produced by a plant, thus, increasing its yield. A temporary decrease in an area of your life will actually bring the increase! Don’t give up on the vision God has given you, but press on. Your breakthrough could be right around the next corner.

Jesus desires for us to bear fruit for him, we start with fruit, then MORE fruit and then MUCH fruit.  
I like what I have heard stated that we find ourselves in one of three states right now.

Either we are:
1. Being pruned
2. Healing/recovering after being pruned or
3. We are in full bloom. (But don’t get too excited if you are in full bloom, because you are about to be pruned again.)

If you are a Christian, you are going to be pruned. Count on it. None of us are immune to it. You may not be in the pruning process right now…you may be in full bloom, enjoying a relatively easy life. Praise God! Enjoy it! But don’t get too comfortable…the scissors are going to come your way again!

*Note: Some of the content of this devotion came from:  http://www.heatherboersma.com/the-process-of-pruning/