I really enjoyed this book by Robert Morgan. I have a binder of songs I love but this book includes some songs I would never have thought to add to my binder. The songs are beautiful and the history behind them make them all the more meaningful. I loved that Morgan gave a background and history because it deepens the appreciation for hymns and the lyrics on the songs. I feel like I am able to worship God with more heart after reading these backgrounds. The other great thing is that the songs come with a piano note key and so my sister who can play piano said that she could play some of the music for me! How exciting! I can't wait to try the songs to the music.
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Soulprint by Mark Batterson
This book is fantastic! There were so many parts I ended up highlighting and wanting to send to my friends and family. I am definitely recommending this book to all my Christian friends. Batterson teaches so many great things that I've never heard of before or considered. Let me summarize some because there are just so many good parts!
A soulprint is not only who you are now but who you are destined to become. Ps 139:16 NIV "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Eph 2:10 NLT "We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." You were conceived by God long before you were conceived by your parents. You are God's masterpiece, his sculpture and God is crafting your character through the circumstances of your life. When life is over, we are left with one question "Did you do what you were supposed to do?" In the end, God won't ask "Why weren't you more like King David?", He'll ask you "Why weren't you more like the you that I created you to be?"
Every past experience is in preparation for a future opportunity. "God redeems our experiences by cultivating character, developing gifts, and teaching lessons that cannot be learned any other way." "One thing that has helped me endure the challenges I've faced is seeing each of them as learning opportunities." The story of David shows a young man who is sent off to an unglorious future of pasturing sheep, while his brothers go off to war. Although he might not have at first seen this shepherding skill in a positive light, David later killed Goliath with a skill he developed from killing the lions that came after the sheep. Likewise, he also used his shepherding skills to shepherd the nation of Israel as king. While David felt he was put on the sidelines, God was preparing David for battle and to be king on the frontlines. If David hadn't spent time in training, he never would have been prepared for the future God had planned for him. "It's the time we spend on the sidelines that prepares us for the frontlines." Although we usually see the time spend on the sidelines in a negative or painful manner, in the future we learn that we are better off because of those times in training. Lke David watching his brothers go off to war, maybe you feel underappreciated or overlooked, but your day will come. In the meantime, be patient and reevaluate your timeline. God knows better than we do, when the best time is and we can trust Him to open and close the doors that make our life flow in the perfect timing to fulfill the destiny God designed before we were even born. "The longer I live, the more I thank God for the disappointments in life. Those disappointments often prove to be divine appointments. They may come disguised as divine delays or perceived disadvantages" but we can trust God that He knows what He's doing!
Batterson tells readers how he came to see all the big and small events that shaped his life as Lifesymbols. These were the footprints that he walked that were turning points in creating who he is now. "Lifesymbols are all about seeing the purposes of God in our past experiences." When Batterson realized that these Lifesymbols/life moments had great significance and were testimonies to God's sovereignty and reminders that we can lean on and truly trust God to carry us, Batterson replaced the photos on his walls with Lifesymbols. These momentos marked the turning points of his life and were reminders to trust God along life's journey. Batterson explains that we need reminders of lessons we have learned and moments of God in our lives.
I cannot recommend this book enough! Fantastic!
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
A soulprint is not only who you are now but who you are destined to become. Ps 139:16 NIV "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Eph 2:10 NLT "We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." You were conceived by God long before you were conceived by your parents. You are God's masterpiece, his sculpture and God is crafting your character through the circumstances of your life. When life is over, we are left with one question "Did you do what you were supposed to do?" In the end, God won't ask "Why weren't you more like King David?", He'll ask you "Why weren't you more like the you that I created you to be?"
Every past experience is in preparation for a future opportunity. "God redeems our experiences by cultivating character, developing gifts, and teaching lessons that cannot be learned any other way." "One thing that has helped me endure the challenges I've faced is seeing each of them as learning opportunities." The story of David shows a young man who is sent off to an unglorious future of pasturing sheep, while his brothers go off to war. Although he might not have at first seen this shepherding skill in a positive light, David later killed Goliath with a skill he developed from killing the lions that came after the sheep. Likewise, he also used his shepherding skills to shepherd the nation of Israel as king. While David felt he was put on the sidelines, God was preparing David for battle and to be king on the frontlines. If David hadn't spent time in training, he never would have been prepared for the future God had planned for him. "It's the time we spend on the sidelines that prepares us for the frontlines." Although we usually see the time spend on the sidelines in a negative or painful manner, in the future we learn that we are better off because of those times in training. Lke David watching his brothers go off to war, maybe you feel underappreciated or overlooked, but your day will come. In the meantime, be patient and reevaluate your timeline. God knows better than we do, when the best time is and we can trust Him to open and close the doors that make our life flow in the perfect timing to fulfill the destiny God designed before we were even born. "The longer I live, the more I thank God for the disappointments in life. Those disappointments often prove to be divine appointments. They may come disguised as divine delays or perceived disadvantages" but we can trust God that He knows what He's doing!
Batterson tells readers how he came to see all the big and small events that shaped his life as Lifesymbols. These were the footprints that he walked that were turning points in creating who he is now. "Lifesymbols are all about seeing the purposes of God in our past experiences." When Batterson realized that these Lifesymbols/life moments had great significance and were testimonies to God's sovereignty and reminders that we can lean on and truly trust God to carry us, Batterson replaced the photos on his walls with Lifesymbols. These momentos marked the turning points of his life and were reminders to trust God along life's journey. Batterson explains that we need reminders of lessons we have learned and moments of God in our lives.
I cannot recommend this book enough! Fantastic!
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Highly Recommend: 90 Days of God's Goodness by Randy Alcorn
I liked Randy Alcorn's Heaven book, so I wanted to read another one of his books. However, this one looked devotional-like, so I wasn't sure I was going to like it. Most devotionals are too shallow for me. But this book proved to have some FANTASTIC "days". Some of them didn't do anything for me, but there were SOOOO many not-just-good but FANTASTIC that I just wanted to tear them out and paste them on my wall or email to friends and family!
I really didnt want to highlight the book because I like it all clean and crisp but there was just too much good stuff and I ended up having to highlight. The theology is the best I've seen in any devotional/days to God book. Most devotionals have weak, feel-good or incorrect theology, but this is right one. I learned afterwards taht Alcorn is a 4pt Calvinist, so I guess that explains his solid grasp on theology.
Here is my favorite part of the book:
A woman was singing "Amazing Grace" but when she got to the tenth word, she sang, "Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a soul like me!" Some have replaced the word wretch with soul. The author of the song recognized that he was a wretch - and that is what made God's grace so "amazing." The greater our grasp of our sin and alienation from God, the greater our grasp of God's amazing grace. When we cut wretch out of "Amazing Grace," we reduce it to something more sensible, less surprising. If we weren't so bad without Christ, then why did He have to endure the Cross? Charles Spurgeon said, "Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior." We try to explain away our sin in terms of "a bad day" or "that's not what I meant" or "it was a mistake" or "I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't..." All these statements minimize our evil and thereby minimize the greatness of God's grace in atoning for our evil. Pg 40-41
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
I really didnt want to highlight the book because I like it all clean and crisp but there was just too much good stuff and I ended up having to highlight. The theology is the best I've seen in any devotional/days to God book. Most devotionals have weak, feel-good or incorrect theology, but this is right one. I learned afterwards taht Alcorn is a 4pt Calvinist, so I guess that explains his solid grasp on theology.
Here is my favorite part of the book:
A woman was singing "Amazing Grace" but when she got to the tenth word, she sang, "Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a soul like me!" Some have replaced the word wretch with soul. The author of the song recognized that he was a wretch - and that is what made God's grace so "amazing." The greater our grasp of our sin and alienation from God, the greater our grasp of God's amazing grace. When we cut wretch out of "Amazing Grace," we reduce it to something more sensible, less surprising. If we weren't so bad without Christ, then why did He have to endure the Cross? Charles Spurgeon said, "Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior." We try to explain away our sin in terms of "a bad day" or "that's not what I meant" or "it was a mistake" or "I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't..." All these statements minimize our evil and thereby minimize the greatness of God's grace in atoning for our evil. Pg 40-41
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Recommended: I Am A Follower by Leonard Sweet
When I first started to read this book, I thought "Uh-oh. This is not going to be good." It seemed the book was all about business/corporate leadership being thrust into the Christian church. I thought it was going to be really boring, with lots of corporate CEOs and business practices.
Once I got past these first pages, the book suddenly blossomed into a wonderful view of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I pulled out my highlighter and began marking away. The author takes great lengths to show us that we are to be followers and not seeking our own glory through leadership. The first half of this book is full of great quotes and insights. For this alone, I recommend this book. Here are my favorite parts of the book:
"To follow Jesus means that you are someone in love, someone who is hopelessly, head over heels in love with God. Followers are more than believers. The devil and the demons believe in Jesus. They know he's the Son of the Most High God [with more assurance than we humans do! They know 100% that he exists, while we may have some small percentage of doubt]. But while they believe in Jesus, they don't love him." Pg 45
"Many forms of Christianity are more like Judaism - in being firmly anchored in religious law. Living by a list of rules... The problem is that there are not enough rules for every situation. The Bible is NOT the savior: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." [said Jesus]. Pg 76
"...the game trails of deer... change throughout the turns of the seasons. They become well worn in certain areas and grow faint in others a the animals change their travel patterns. As fewer and fewer followers (animals) travel along the way (trails), the way becomes harder to find. Encroaching vegetation can make the path faint and difficult to follow. Similarly, Christinaity flourishes or diminishes according to how followers follow. In walking with Jesus, they clear the path for others to follow. They keep the way distinguishable by being and doing the Way. They are both following and followable." Pg 80
"If the primary relationships of our church members lie in their relationship to the church en masse rather than in life-on-life connections with one another, then we have missed the sweet spot. We have attracted a congregation, but we have not developed a "Christbody" community. Pg 85
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Once I got past these first pages, the book suddenly blossomed into a wonderful view of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I pulled out my highlighter and began marking away. The author takes great lengths to show us that we are to be followers and not seeking our own glory through leadership. The first half of this book is full of great quotes and insights. For this alone, I recommend this book. Here are my favorite parts of the book:
"To follow Jesus means that you are someone in love, someone who is hopelessly, head over heels in love with God. Followers are more than believers. The devil and the demons believe in Jesus. They know he's the Son of the Most High God [with more assurance than we humans do! They know 100% that he exists, while we may have some small percentage of doubt]. But while they believe in Jesus, they don't love him." Pg 45
"Many forms of Christianity are more like Judaism - in being firmly anchored in religious law. Living by a list of rules... The problem is that there are not enough rules for every situation. The Bible is NOT the savior: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." [said Jesus]. Pg 76
"...the game trails of deer... change throughout the turns of the seasons. They become well worn in certain areas and grow faint in others a the animals change their travel patterns. As fewer and fewer followers (animals) travel along the way (trails), the way becomes harder to find. Encroaching vegetation can make the path faint and difficult to follow. Similarly, Christinaity flourishes or diminishes according to how followers follow. In walking with Jesus, they clear the path for others to follow. They keep the way distinguishable by being and doing the Way. They are both following and followable." Pg 80
"If the primary relationships of our church members lie in their relationship to the church en masse rather than in life-on-life connections with one another, then we have missed the sweet spot. We have attracted a congregation, but we have not developed a "Christbody" community. Pg 85
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Recommended: Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
Joshua Harris' new book Dug Down Deep is written as a layman's book on theology, doctrine and orthodoxy. Harris explains why knowledge about God and Jesus Christ are important. Essentially, to accurately appreciate and worship them in truth, we must know some facts about them. Otherwise, we will be worshipping a God we don't know much about or that we believe some inaccurate facts about.
With a love for theology, I thought I could easily handle reading a light theology book. However, despite all the promise of this book, I had a very hard time getting through the book due to the long drawn out nature of the material. It started off great and with so much potential. I thought I was going to end up buying extra copies for all my friends and family. It started off that good! And theologically, it is very accurate, so it is a good safe read. But it definitely is "light" and covers the basics in a light fashion. It's not very heavy or all that deep, compared to other theology books. Sadly, I think this "lightness" takes away some of the fire and the interest from the book. It's like being given a Shareware version of a computer program, instead of the real full thing! So, although I understand the purpose of light-theology, I wish this book had instead retained depth but made the depth easy-to-read or easy-to-understand. I just thought with all the promise of making theology interesting, Harris failed and again he made theology too drawn out and not quick-to-the point.
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
With a love for theology, I thought I could easily handle reading a light theology book. However, despite all the promise of this book, I had a very hard time getting through the book due to the long drawn out nature of the material. It started off great and with so much potential. I thought I was going to end up buying extra copies for all my friends and family. It started off that good! And theologically, it is very accurate, so it is a good safe read. But it definitely is "light" and covers the basics in a light fashion. It's not very heavy or all that deep, compared to other theology books. Sadly, I think this "lightness" takes away some of the fire and the interest from the book. It's like being given a Shareware version of a computer program, instead of the real full thing! So, although I understand the purpose of light-theology, I wish this book had instead retained depth but made the depth easy-to-read or easy-to-understand. I just thought with all the promise of making theology interesting, Harris failed and again he made theology too drawn out and not quick-to-the point.
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Recommended: A Year With Jesus By R.P. Nettelhorst
This is a daily devotional book that is bigger, better, longer, and superior to ALL other devotionals I've ever read before. Most devotionals are 365 devotions/pages long, but this one covers nearly 400 days/topics. Most devotionals give you one verse or a half a verse at the top of the page, but this book has gives you the first half of the page filled with verses! It is not just one bible verse like most devotionals - it is a large chunk of scripture - like an entire story or parable etc. It is 5-15 verses long! Most devotionals are a bit shallow and feel-good. This devotional has the interpretation but includes historical facts that even the smartest most knowledgable Christian will not know! I am so proud of this author for including more than just fluff in this book. There is something new for everyone! There is no way that you won't learn many new and interesting facts from "behind the scenes" or from the Jewish culture that you were not aware of before reading this book.
So I highly recommend this devotional - it beats all others, in my opinion!
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
So I highly recommend this devotional - it beats all others, in my opinion!
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Recommend: Job 38-42 (Word Biblical Commentary 18B) by Clines
Job 38-42 (Word Biblical Commentary 18B) by Clines is a hardcover SUPER in-depth commentary and analysis of Job 38-42. Job 38-42 is the kind of book that philosophy students, bible students, pastors and very serious Christians eat up. Most readers will probably be very bord by this book or the book will be WAY over their heads. If you do want to give it a shot, focus on the commentary on pages 1088-1140. I recommend this book for the very studious intellectual types.
On four pages, Clines gives readers his own personal English translation of the Hebrew scriptures for Job 38-42. His interpretation of these verses is similar to present day bibles, but more refinded/clearer in some areas than KJV, NASB and NIV translations.
The next section of the book is titled "Notes" and it is the SUPER detailed translation process of each section of each verse - Cline breaks each verse apart in high detail. Cline even tells us why he chose different words in his translation and why the word chosen by other Bible translations really is as accurate. I really enjoyed this analysis. Example: In Job 38:1, Cline explains that "whirlwind" in the KJV or RSV is more properly considered a tornado. So Cline chooses "tempest" or "storm" (NASB, NIV, GNB) and explains that this translation is more accurate based on context and the Hebrew words used.
The Comment part of the book was my favorite. It is the in-depth detailed bible commentary on Job 38-42. My favorite parts were when Cline goes into God's tone of voice - severe or courteous. And also when Cline explains his thoughts about God declaring the world is exactly as God wants it. Everything is in the proper order and nothing is outside of God's control. I think this part of the book is the most interesting, as the author does explore how God doesn't really answer Job's accusations but instead forces Job on the defensive. This definitely makes for an interesting read!
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
On four pages, Clines gives readers his own personal English translation of the Hebrew scriptures for Job 38-42. His interpretation of these verses is similar to present day bibles, but more refinded/clearer in some areas than KJV, NASB and NIV translations.
The next section of the book is titled "Notes" and it is the SUPER detailed translation process of each section of each verse - Cline breaks each verse apart in high detail. Cline even tells us why he chose different words in his translation and why the word chosen by other Bible translations really is as accurate. I really enjoyed this analysis. Example: In Job 38:1, Cline explains that "whirlwind" in the KJV or RSV is more properly considered a tornado. So Cline chooses "tempest" or "storm" (NASB, NIV, GNB) and explains that this translation is more accurate based on context and the Hebrew words used.
The Comment part of the book was my favorite. It is the in-depth detailed bible commentary on Job 38-42. My favorite parts were when Cline goes into God's tone of voice - severe or courteous. And also when Cline explains his thoughts about God declaring the world is exactly as God wants it. Everything is in the proper order and nothing is outside of God's control. I think this part of the book is the most interesting, as the author does explore how God doesn't really answer Job's accusations but instead forces Job on the defensive. This definitely makes for an interesting read!
I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for this review but I did really give my honest opinion
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)