Tag Archives: god

Book Review: Days Like These by Kristian & Rachel Anderson

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This is a chronological walk through Kristian’s cancer, in his own words. Blog posts he wrote during his struggle with cancer have been compiled into chapters with a summary section at the end of each written by his wife Rachel. It’s incredibly personal, very personal, and of course very emotional throughout.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book like this before – written in the middle of the struggle, describing every up and down, no hiding behind cliches or spiritual catchphrases – and it’s pretty powerful. Simply by reading this informal journal we’re taken on a detailed and highly personal journey through cancer – it isn’t pretty, but it’s enlightening. I’ll definitely look at cancer differently having read this.

To be honest, I found the book quite difficult to read; firstly, the obvious subject matter, but also because it’s written as most blogs are, simply a collection of thoughts he’s having on that particular day with very little thought-through holistic storyline. That’s part of the beauty of it but I’m not entirely convinced it lends itself well to book format – it took me a long time to read it, and I read a lot. That said, the personal nature of it did genuinely draw me in to the point that I really felt like I had built a relationship with Kristian – it moved me to tears more than once.

An issue some might have with it is that he uses language every so often that some would consider offensive. I’m not sure whether this is because Australians (like Kristian) approach language differently to Brits (like me), or whether it’s simply a genuine expression of his frustration at that moment, but if that’s the sort of thing that would lose you, you’re probably not going to enjoy it.

Overall I’d certainly recommend this to anyone who is struggling with cancer, knows someone who is, or doesn’t know anything about it. Kristian’s focus invariably returned to Jesus in spite of the bad news that kept coming his way, and that attitude is something pretty much everyone could learn a lesson from.

I got this ebook for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for an honest review.

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Book review: Altar Ego by Craig Groeschel

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Yes, it’s another book about becoming who God says you are in Christ. This one’s split into three parts, basically covering who we are in Christ, what characteristics that means we should have, and how to be bold in obeying God.

Craig Groeschel is biblical, challenging, humble and absolutely hilarious. Each chapter is well-structured, based on clear Bible passages and ideas, and well-communicated through Groeschel’s own experience and powerful challenges throughout. I’d challenge any Christian to read this book and come out the other side thinking they can continue living as they have before. The best thing about this book is Groeschel’s trademark all-or-nothing approach; God demands our all, so give him your all!

I normally try to come up with one or two things I didn’t like about a book but I simply can’t with this; at times it made me laugh out loud at his stories while at others it was as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I haven’t read a book as good as this in a long time, and am looking forward to Groeschel’s next creation.

If you’re a Christian, read this book. And if you’re not, become a Christian, then read this book.

I got this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for an honest review.

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Book review: Gods at War by Kyle Idleman

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This book is based around the simple concept that people are created to worship, and that the question is therefore not, ‘Do we worship?’ but ‘Who/what do we worship?’ All of us are guilty of idol worship, and Kyle Idleman deals with one idol per chapter, looking at things like money, family, job and self to ask whether they are idols in our lives, and how we ought to replace them with Jesus.

I think this book is absolutely outstanding. Kyle Idleman is encouraging, funny, challenging, biblical, Jesus-focused, and a good story teller. Reading each chapter is like savouring a richly-flavoured meal, but instead of tastebuds being hit it’s your soul being exposed for the idol worshipper you are. Each chapter is challenging and intensely practical, asking probing questions which make it easy to apply them.

It’s filled with good stories and links to more detail about them, as well as being packed with references to high quality books so reading this ought to be the start of an adventure rather than a goal in itself. There are also plenty of cheeky footnotes which made me laugh a lot; this is not some academic study in idol worship but a radically challenging and instantly applicable handbook.

If you think you need to read this book, you definitely do; it’s probably the best I’ve seen on replacing our idols with Jesus. And if you think you don’t need to the chances are that you’re in even more need of it because you’re unaware of your own idols!

I got this ebook for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for an honest review.

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How can I get close to God?

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Yes, I'm a happy child.

Yes, I’m a happy child. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A question that comes up a lot for Christians is: How can I get closer to God? At times he can feel distant, silent and difficult to understand. I think the answer might be easier than it seems.

I’ve been a Daddy for almost one full year now and the times that I’ve felt best as a Dad have been when (a) my little boy is upset and I make him happy, and (b) when he’s having a good time and I make him laugh.

As a Christian I’ve been adopted into God’s family; he’s my Daddy, and I don’t think anything makes him happier than when (a) I’m upset and go to him so he can make me happy, or (b) I’m happy and go to him to be grateful and increase my joy.

This might be too simplistic but asking ‘How can I get close to God?’ is a bit of a non-question; we don’t need to get close to him because he is close to us. And he loves us to turn toward him; it isn’t a case of ticking the right boxes, working harder, reading the Bible more, praying more…it’s just about looking to him.

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Book review: Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson

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Leading on from Mark Batterson’s book The Circle Maker, this is a 40-day devotional-style book. In each of the 40 chapters there’s a Bible verse or passage, a true inspiring story of someone who prayed, and an application point for the day. The chapters are short and readable, and are well-suited to the design of the book.

There were things that I liked about this book – its incredibly well-written, and each chapter is clearly thought through. The application points from each chapter are challenging and Bible-based.

But, unfortunately, I wanted to love this book a bit more than I did. I haven’t read The Circle Maker so don’t know if it’s explained in there, but even after having read this I still have no idea what Batterson means by ‘circling’. In the book it seems like at times it means taking a pen and drawing a ring around a particular Bible verse (e.g. ‘circling 2 Corinthians 7:14′), at others it means praying over a particular location while walking around it (e.g. ‘circling the living room’), and at others just praying about something (e.g. ‘circling a job interview’). Apart from being confusing this means that it lost its meaning, like when the author took Jesus’ command to ‘keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking,’ and added ‘keep circling’ – what does that even mean?!

Something else that frustrated me was that the overall tone of the book made it seem like this guy just had everything in his life sorted now that he’d got ‘circling’ sorted out. There was quite a lot of things like ‘when I hit trouble I just circle it in prayer, trust in God, and continue in life with a smile on my face’ – not something I find useful.

The referencing also got on my nerves – some stories weren’t referenced at all (I’d never heard of Honi until this book talked about him in passing and I had to research him to understand it!), and the others had footnotes in really odd places, which for me broke up some excellent quotes unnecessarily.

Finally, although the book starts by saying that the purpose of circling stuff in prayer is more to learn God’s will rather than to get what we want, there was a bit too much talk about ‘you can get your dream through prayer’ which, again, I didn’t find useful.

Now, although this book did end up annoying me I still want to recommend it – the action points for each day are genuinely good, and if reading it is going to increase the amount of regular prayer (I can’t see why it wouldn’t), that can’t be a bad thing.

I got this book for free from booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review.

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What we mean when we say ‘Christ’

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Each Wednesday I’m looking at what I posted exactly one year ago. On 6 March 2012 I had a look at Jesus’ title ‘Christ’.

—

English: Resurrection of Christ

English: Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When we say ‘Jesus Christ’, we know exactly who we mean: Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter’s son. But do we actually realise how significant that title is?

Obviously ‘Jesus Christ’ wasn’t Jesus’ actual name; most Christians know that ‘Christ’ is the Greek version of the Hebrew title ‘Messiah’, and that it means ‘Anointed One’, and that Jesus fulfilled all the messianic prophecies, blah blah blah, but – just think about it…

21st Century Jews are still waiting for Messiah to come, in a similar way to the Jews in the 1st Century. Back then they’d been waiting for a couple of thousand years too. Then this ugly, homeless guy born to a single teenage girl showed up, and literally within one generation thousands and thousands of people claimed that that guy from Nazareth was the Messiah.

If you’re not too sure, just imagine something with me. In Acts 2, 3,000 Jews are recorded as having believed in Jesus as Messiah, all in one day – and all at a time thousands of years before trains, telephones, or Twitter.

Do we actually realise how significant this is? Imagine if tomorrow’s newspapers reported 3,000 Jews in one town all at once saying that they were remaining orthodox Jews but that God had been born a man and had fulfilled all the messianic prophecies.

Jesus was far more extraordinary than we give him credit for.

You can read the original post here.

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I read The Life of Pi. It was good.

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Crooked Little Vein and Life of Pi

Crooked Little Vein and Life of Pi (Photo credit: Rich_Lem)

I haven’t seen the film yet, but having read the book I’d quite like to. Before reading it someone said to me that it isn’t so much about him in a boat with a tiger as the adverts make it seem…but it really is, isn’t it.

Anyway, it was a good book. Gripping, interesting, perhaps a tad gory in places, with a disturbing twist at the end – incredible writing, although I’d probably have rather it finished in Disney style, because that’s the sort of guy I am.

But some of the most enjoyable moments for me came towards the start of it, where Pi is discovering Christianity for the first time. For a start, check out his first reaction when he walks into a church:

Something about a human sacrifice. An angry god who had to be appeased with blood. Dazed women staring up into the air and fat babies with tiny wings flying about. A charismatic bird. Which one was the god?

Well captured; how confusing must it be for non-Christians to encounter Christianity for the first time? A good reminder for us.

Then, Pi encounters a priest, who starts to explain things to him, and Pi begins to understand.

…the stories that came before it – and there were many – were simply prologue to the Christians. Their religion had one Story, and to it they came back again and again, over and over. It was story enough for them.

Preach it, Pi!

I can’t imagine Lord Krishna consenting to be stripped naked, whipped, mocked, dragged through the streets and, to top it off, crucified – and at the hands of mere humans, to boot.

Indeed; surely only a God with infinite power and self assurance would allow something like that to happen.

But once a dead God, always a dead God, even resurrected. The Son must have the taste of death forever in his mouth…there must be a certain stench at the right hand of God the Father. The horror must be real. Why would God wish that upon Himself? Why not leave death to the mortals? Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect?

A good question – what was the answer that Pi discovered?

Love.

Wow. And that’s the Good News. But the book explains yet more about Christianity, and how it differs from other world religions.

In a moment you are lost or saved. Christianity stretches back through the ages, but in essence it only exists at one time: right now.

Spot on. That’s called grace. Yes, God existed before time, and we’ll live with him for eternity, yet all that really matters is right here, right now.

I’ve grown accustomed to your faith

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Blind Faith (book)

Blind Faith (book) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What sort of faith do you have? I’ve maintained for a long time that a Christian’s faith can’t possible be faith ‘contrary to the evidence’, as many atheists would have it, because that would require us to have less faith in the event of an answered prayer or whatever.

Thankfully, someone way cleverer than me has pulled together a little summary, together with lovely little pictures, to explain what different people mean when they say ‘faith’. I’ll retell it here, but if you want the original click to see the original Four Types of Faith. In each case, Christianity is a chair and sitting on it is our act of faith.

  • Blind faith is as if we’re approaching the chair wearing a blindfold; we can definitely sit in it, but we can’t tell if there aren’t better chairs everywhere else, or if the chair’s on a conveyor belt about to tip us into a cauldron of boiling oil. This is not good faith.
  • Irrational faith is the faith the daft atheists (as opposed to the not daft ones, I’m not caricaturing here) say Christians have; chucking reason over our shoulder we intentionally sit on what we know is a broken chair which isn’t just foolish, it’s dangerous.
  • Warranted faith is faith based on evidence; it’s the sort of faith you and I use every moment of every day. I have faith that the pavement won’t randomly turn into jelly today, yet I have no evidence to disprove that theory. We look at the foundations of the chair, observe it to be stronger, more reliable, with a better creator, and safer than all the other chairs, and sit confidently in it.
  • Biblical faith is faith which is based on evidence, yet with the catalyst of the Holy Spirit. I put something up on the blog a bit ago showcasing some straightforward evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ; I’m reasonably sure it was seen by at least one non-Christian, yet I didn’t get any responses saying ‘I believe!’ Why not? Because the Holy Spirit didn’t awaken that faith. It’s as if we can see the chair but we know it’s been made by someone we hate more than anything else, so out of spite we refuse to sit in it until he comes over and gives us a hug, reassuring us that he’s actually a pretty nice guy. And his chair’s really comfortable actually.
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What’s so important about the springs?

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Negev Desert Acacia Trees

Negev Desert Acacia Trees (Photo credit: Stellas mom)

I’m currently reading the Bible through from cover to cover. One fun thing about that is discovering random bits which are easy to miss out otherwise. Take Joshua 15 for example.

We’re in the middle of a long description of what geographic area each tribe of Israel was allocated, when this happens:

…Caleb said, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.” And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. (Joshua 15:16-19)

…then it goes straight back into the land allocation. As it’s so easy and convenient to do so, I asked my good friend Matthew Henry what he thought about it:

From this story we learn, 1. That it is no breach of the tenth commandment moderately to desire those comforts and conveniences of this life which we see attainable in a fair and regular way. 2. That husbands and wives should mutually advise, and jointly agree, about that which is for the common good of their family and much more should they concur in asking of their heavenly Father the best blessings, those of the upper springs. 3. That parents must never think that lost which is bestowed upon their children for their real advantage, but must be free in giving them portions as well as maintenance, especially when they are dutiful. Caleb had sons (1 Chronicles 4:15), and yet gave thus liberally to his daughter. Those parents forget themselves and their relation who grudge their children what is convenient for them when they can conveniently part with it.

I’d probably add something else to his wisdom. God gives grace upon grace to us. I’ll first break down the story into chunks, then show how I’d apply it:

  1. Caleb offers a reward for completing a task.
  2. Othniel completes the task, gets the reward, yet ultimately asks for more (apparently Kiriath-sepher was in a really dry place).
  3. Caleb goes further than requested, and gives more than requested.

I think you know where this is going. It’s all about Jesus:

  1. God offers the free gift of eternal life to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ.
  2. Even after having received the ‘reward’ of salvation by grace, we still go back to God in prayer, asking him to give us more gifts (apparently some people find the Christian life a bit hard – I suppose that makes sense, seeing as Jesus promised we would).
  3. God blesses us in more ways than we can ever realise.
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What colour are demons?

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Demon

Demon (Photo credit: ark)

Everyone knows what colour demons are: red. They’re red. With little horns, a skinny forked tail and a trident that they carry around everywhere. They probably have bat-like wings as well.

Of course, almost everyone knows that this image of demons isn’t the image portrayed in the Bible, but it was concocted in the Middle Ages…but why?

Simples! The church wanted an easy way of demonstrating visually that compared to Jesus’ power, demons were jokes – an annoying but insignificant insect that perches on your shoulder, telling you to do bad things but which you can swat away in the name of Jesus.

So as atheists look at these pictures of demons and laugh at the foolish Christians for believing such medieval nonsense, I will look at those same pictures and laugh at Satan for having rebelled against the holy God when he must have known exactly what was going to happen.

Christus victor!