Years ago I saw a tee shirt with the saying, “When Jesus is all you have, you suddenly realize that Jesus is all you need.” It made me think. A lot.
Did you ever wonder what it might feel like to know that there is absolutely nothing more that you can do except trust in God? That’s a big part of what faith is all about. Christians profess to have faith, we claim that we trust God, we tack on “if it’s your will” to our prayers, and then we rush off blindly trying to make sure that things get done in such a way as to achieve our desired outcome.
Joe Kissack faces that type of dilemma in The Fourth Fisherman (Waterbrook Press, 2012). This book is three stories in one, and even though some parts of the stories seem to be the kind of things that writers make up to sell books or movies, the three stories are actually true. It started out as a story of the faith of three Mexican fishermen whose boat took them farther than they had planned on going. It’s a story of their faith and how they survived being adrift in the Pacific Ocean for 9 months before being rescued. It’s a story of how they learned to trust God, and how their lives were impacted, changed and transformed.
Interwoven between the pages of their story is the story of Joe Kissack, a shining star in his chosen profession. It’s the story of how his way didn’t work, and how he finally had to turn to God if he wanted to reclaim his life and his marriage. It’s a story of how he set out to record the faith journey of those three Mexican fishermen and how on the way his own faith walk changed and he learned to trust God. It’s the story of how on this journey his life was impacted, changed and transformed.
And it’s God's story. It’s a reminder that God can use the most interesting events to call his people closer to him. It’s a reminder that each of us is a part of that grand story that is full of burning bush experiences, and that God wants us to turn to Him, much more frequently than we do. It’s a reminder of the power of prayer, of the need to trust God, and how faith grows as we see God at work.
I rated this book 5 stars. The engaging writing style coupled with a captivating story of survival against the odds make it difficult to put the book down. But on a much deeper level, the implications of a life lived with faith make this a must-read book for anyone who is struggling with life on life’s terms.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher (many thanks!) in exchange for writing this review. I was not required to write a favorable review.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Is God's Favorite word "YES"?
Is God's favorite word ‘YES’? Mike Glenn thinks so, and he explains why in his book The Gospel of Yes (WaterBrook Press, 2012).
It’s easy to get wrapped up in religion and religiosity, both of which seem determined to tell us ‘no’. No you can’t do that; no you’re not good enough; no God won’t tolerate that; no God can’t use you like you are. But that happens to be a big lie that all too many people are willing to believe. God can and does use us, just like we are, warts and all.
Having said that, it was difficult for me to review this book. It’s not a book that ‘I couldn’t put down’; there’s a lot of what I would call ‘fluff’ included; and at times I got bogged down by the writing style rather than focusing on the message. BUT, the message of this book is exciting. I was forced to look at how I respond to God's call on my life, and also to look more deeply at that call. We’re invited to learn that when we say ‘yes’ to one thing that by default we’re saying ‘no’ to something else, but beyond that, when God tells us ‘no’ (as he frequently does in my case) there is usually a yes involved also.
I don’t think there’s enough here upon which to base a whole theology, but I found myself drawn again and again to the exciting realization that God isn’t waiting for a total transformation before I can be of service to Him, but that He uses me as I am, and as I respond to His yeses, the transformation continues and I can be of even more use to God.
God has not spent all His time saying ‘no’. His message is more along the lines of: I have something bigger and better in store for you, come closer and let me tell you about it. And that reinforces the idea that since the beginning, God has been inviting us to draw near to him, and even though we don’t do a very good job of living up to His expectations, He continues to invite us to accept his loving kindness.
This book would be useful in a discipling program, where discussion would lead to a deeper understanding of what Pastor Glenn is saying. A mature Christian could definitely use this book to walk a newcomer to the faith through the process of learning more about God's call on our lives and how He has said ‘yes’ in the past to demonstrate His love for us.
Pastors and small group leaders might like to use this book as a basis for a study on responding to God's call on our lives.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.
Download the first chapter here: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/01/13/sneak-peek-the-gospel-of-yes-by-mike-glenn/
Watch a promotional video here: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/04/27/video-mike-glenn-the-gospel-of-yes-promotional-video/
It’s easy to get wrapped up in religion and religiosity, both of which seem determined to tell us ‘no’. No you can’t do that; no you’re not good enough; no God won’t tolerate that; no God can’t use you like you are. But that happens to be a big lie that all too many people are willing to believe. God can and does use us, just like we are, warts and all.
Having said that, it was difficult for me to review this book. It’s not a book that ‘I couldn’t put down’; there’s a lot of what I would call ‘fluff’ included; and at times I got bogged down by the writing style rather than focusing on the message. BUT, the message of this book is exciting. I was forced to look at how I respond to God's call on my life, and also to look more deeply at that call. We’re invited to learn that when we say ‘yes’ to one thing that by default we’re saying ‘no’ to something else, but beyond that, when God tells us ‘no’ (as he frequently does in my case) there is usually a yes involved also.
I don’t think there’s enough here upon which to base a whole theology, but I found myself drawn again and again to the exciting realization that God isn’t waiting for a total transformation before I can be of service to Him, but that He uses me as I am, and as I respond to His yeses, the transformation continues and I can be of even more use to God.
God has not spent all His time saying ‘no’. His message is more along the lines of: I have something bigger and better in store for you, come closer and let me tell you about it. And that reinforces the idea that since the beginning, God has been inviting us to draw near to him, and even though we don’t do a very good job of living up to His expectations, He continues to invite us to accept his loving kindness.
This book would be useful in a discipling program, where discussion would lead to a deeper understanding of what Pastor Glenn is saying. A mature Christian could definitely use this book to walk a newcomer to the faith through the process of learning more about God's call on our lives and how He has said ‘yes’ in the past to demonstrate His love for us.
Pastors and small group leaders might like to use this book as a basis for a study on responding to God's call on our lives.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.
Download the first chapter here: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/01/13/sneak-peek-the-gospel-of-yes-by-mike-glenn/
Watch a promotional video here: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/04/27/video-mike-glenn-the-gospel-of-yes-promotional-video/
Thursday, May 17, 2012
FEARLESS : God at work in the life of Navy Seal Adam Brown
If you’ve spent much time reading the Old Testament, you’ll remember that it’s a story of a people who are chosen by God, who promise to be faithful to God, who forget their promises, and eventually return to the God who never gave up on them. You might also remember that there are a lot of things in the Old Testament that just couldn’t have happened. That is, they couldn’t have happened without help – a lot of help. Maybe a better way of putting it would be that God orchestrated some of these situations so that it would be obvious that He was in charge, that this wasn't something that human beings could do on their own.
Reading “FEARLESS” ( Eric Blehm, WaterBrook Press, 2012) reminded me a lot of the flow of the Old Testament, along with some similarities to the parable of the Prodigal Son. Promises made, promises broken, things that couldn’t have happened without God's help, but God was there, helping, and waiting patiently for the prodigal to come home. And Adam Brown did return.
This is the story of Adam Brown’s journey to become a member of an elite team: SEAL Team SIX. Along the way there were lots of obstacles; as his faith and family, along with a lot of prayer, helped him to overcome those obstacles, God was at work doing the humanly impossible.
A history of drugs and arrests didn’t keep him from his goal, even though the military has a very low tolerance for that sort of thing -God at work. (The publisher assured me that the accounts of drug abuse and arrests had been verified.)A couple of physical injuries should have kept him from meeting his goal; they didn’t – God at work, again.
Although most of us will never be called upon to be the type of hero that Adam Brown was, if more people could learn to face challenges like he did, the world would be a far better place.
This is not just a story about the rigors of becoming and serving as a SEAL, it’s a story of how one man was strengthened by his faith and the love of and for his family. It’s a story of overcoming obstacles, pursuing a vision and becoming the person that God wants you become.
And it’s a reminder that sometimes things happen in ways that make it clear that this could have only happened with God's help.
Adam Brown made the ultimate sacrifice for his country when he lost his life on a mission in Afghanistan. This book could have been told from the perspective of honoring a hero, but Adam himself wanted the story to include his life before Christ, so that in perspective the reader would have to see that this is a story about honoring God.
Wondering about how to live a Christian lifestyle and move along in your Christian walk? Is drug abuse a part of your history? Are you in the military and scared about this deployment or the next one? (Yeah, scared, deep down even though you don’t want to admit it to your friends) FEARLESS may be the book that helps you face those issues head on!
Here are some links provided by the publisher that you can check out
NBC coverage: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/05/11/videonews-adam-brown-fearless-navy-seal-nbc/
Book trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_L8ca7AKEA
WaterBrook News: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/03/26/video-fearless-the-undaunted-courage-and-ultimate-sacrifice-of-navy-seal-team-six-operator-adam-brown/
Read the first chapter: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/04/03/sneak-peek-fearless-by-eric-blehm/
And My Favorite (big smile): http://vimeo.com/41939208
Thanks to the publisher for providing me an advance review copy of this book.(I was not required to write a positive review). Thanks also to the publisher, author and family, for several copies of the book which were donated to the Chapel at the Air Force base in my community.
Reading “FEARLESS” ( Eric Blehm, WaterBrook Press, 2012) reminded me a lot of the flow of the Old Testament, along with some similarities to the parable of the Prodigal Son. Promises made, promises broken, things that couldn’t have happened without God's help, but God was there, helping, and waiting patiently for the prodigal to come home. And Adam Brown did return.
This is the story of Adam Brown’s journey to become a member of an elite team: SEAL Team SIX. Along the way there were lots of obstacles; as his faith and family, along with a lot of prayer, helped him to overcome those obstacles, God was at work doing the humanly impossible.
A history of drugs and arrests didn’t keep him from his goal, even though the military has a very low tolerance for that sort of thing -God at work. (The publisher assured me that the accounts of drug abuse and arrests had been verified.)A couple of physical injuries should have kept him from meeting his goal; they didn’t – God at work, again.
Although most of us will never be called upon to be the type of hero that Adam Brown was, if more people could learn to face challenges like he did, the world would be a far better place.
This is not just a story about the rigors of becoming and serving as a SEAL, it’s a story of how one man was strengthened by his faith and the love of and for his family. It’s a story of overcoming obstacles, pursuing a vision and becoming the person that God wants you become.
And it’s a reminder that sometimes things happen in ways that make it clear that this could have only happened with God's help.
Adam Brown made the ultimate sacrifice for his country when he lost his life on a mission in Afghanistan. This book could have been told from the perspective of honoring a hero, but Adam himself wanted the story to include his life before Christ, so that in perspective the reader would have to see that this is a story about honoring God.
Wondering about how to live a Christian lifestyle and move along in your Christian walk? Is drug abuse a part of your history? Are you in the military and scared about this deployment or the next one? (Yeah, scared, deep down even though you don’t want to admit it to your friends) FEARLESS may be the book that helps you face those issues head on!
Here are some links provided by the publisher that you can check out
NBC coverage: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/05/11/videonews-adam-brown-fearless-navy-seal-nbc/
Book trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_L8ca7AKEA
WaterBrook News: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/03/26/video-fearless-the-undaunted-courage-and-ultimate-sacrifice-of-navy-seal-team-six-operator-adam-brown/
Read the first chapter: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/04/03/sneak-peek-fearless-by-eric-blehm/
And My Favorite (big smile): http://vimeo.com/41939208
Thanks to the publisher for providing me an advance review copy of this book.(I was not required to write a positive review). Thanks also to the publisher, author and family, for several copies of the book which were donated to the Chapel at the Air Force base in my community.
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