Review for "The Jesus You Can't Ignore" by John MacArthur

I review books for BookSneeze by Thomas Nelson Publishers, and this is the first book I honestly had to force myself to finish. In The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, author John MacArthur asserts that the image of a mild, meek, gentle, docile teacher is a faulty portrayal of Jesus. He wants us to see that Jesus was courageous, confrontational, powerful, and proclaimed the truth in forceful as well as gentle ways. I actually agree with MacArthur’s point and believe it is a picture of Jesus that we need to remember in our modern times, but I so disliked the way this book was written that I cannot recommend it.
The book begins with an overly long introduction which sets forth the author’s main purpose (in my opinion) – a diatribe against everything heretical, tolerant, and watered-down about the modern evangelical movement. The remaining chapters of the book walk through many of Jesus’ teachings and do contain some nuggets worth hanging onto. However, the book is littered with the author’s agenda and personal ire against a segment of Christianity today. The main point of the book is beleaguered and could have been made in a much more succinct way. This book may be a good reference if you are teaching on a particular sermon of Jesus, but otherwise is a chore to work through.

Review of "Outlive Your Life" by Max Lucado

Max Lucado is a master storyteller and inspirational writer! He has certainly lived up to both again in his latest book, Outlive Your Life. (I received a complimentary book as part of BookSneeze by Thomas Nelson Publishers, and am not required to give a favorable review.) The book is a call to compassion for the many broken, needy, poor, disadvantaged, lost, hopeless people in our world. The launchpad for this call to compassion are the stories of the early church from the book of Acts. As we’ve come to expect from Max, the stories of these men and women are brought to life in imaginative color. Some books on the topic of poverty and compassion leave the reader feeling depressed and overwhelmed. Not so with this book. The great need is not glossed over, in fact it is revealed, but in a fashion that leaves the reader inspired and challenged. Ordinary people once took unimaginable hope to their world! Their examples spur us on and stir our passion! What could God do if Christians today followed the example of Jesus and the early church and took on the evils of our world with compassion and hope? The book is not just a great read and a great story – it is a call to action that could result in readers who choose invest their lives and have an impact on the world now and into eternity!

Sacred Pathways Class Week 7: Caregivers

Sorry I missed posting last time! Well, we learned about the importance of showing God's love to others last Sunday. As always, Jesus is our supreme example, and we looked into the scriptures and saw that caring for others is not an option for a Christ-follower. Thank you to Dave Becker for sharing his passion for caring for people. What a great illustration in real life!

So have you taken the challenge this week? It was this: to pray every day "Lord, send me today someone whom I can serve." I would love to hear how God has answered that prayer! Post big and small ways you have been able to show care this week - it will encourage everyone!

Sacred Pathways Class Week 5: Enthusiasts!

I want to thank Bruce Bayles for sharing from his life in our class last Sunday. I hope you saw some of the enthusiast passion in him as he shared. We need enthusiasts in the body of Christ. They are our encouragers, our cheerleaders, the ones whose faith and positive attitude persist even in dry times, and they remind us that God is full of mystery and supernatural power.

Well, we are almost at the half-way point of class... already, can you believe it?!? The question I'd like us all to ponder this week is: how has your personal worship life changed since the beginning of class? It's great to sit under some good teaching and learn about new paths of worship... but the important thing is to let what has been revealed penetrate your living and loving God. So, share what practices or ideas you've tried in the last few weeks, and how it has affected your connection with God. Looking forward to hearing!

Review for "Mystically Wired" by Ken Wilson

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A refreshing change from the usual fare on prayer for the evangelical Christian! Ken Wilson, in his book "Mystically Wired: Exploring New Realms in Prayer" has introduced his readers to some old practices of prayer explained in a contemporary way. Wilson makes his case for practices of prayer that are refreshing, renewing, even relaxing instead of requiring more effort and a sense of duty. The book uses an enjoyable mix of personal stories, a scientific understanding of how our brains work, Church history, and biblical theology to explain these practices and why they work. Wilson writes with a candor that is sometimes humorous, sometimes blunt, and most often right on target. No need to be afraid of the title - this is not a book on mysticism in the New Age sense - this book is Christian and has a solid biblical and theological foundation. As Wilson wrote, he "likes [his] religious books straight up and not served on the rocks of some other religion."

I have learned to appreciate practices of prayer that were foreign to my evangelical upbringing, things such as breath prayers, contemplative prayers, praying the Office, the Jesus prayer, and Christian meditation. I enjoyed reading this book which described these types of "old" prayers in a refreshing new way. I was intrigued by the scientific explanations of how our brains really are "wired" to pray in certain ways by our Creator! I believe this book will be helpful to many Christians who may struggle with a prayer life that seems dutiful, stuck on lists, and is generally not very "connecting" to God. While I sometimes wished there were more practical "how-tos", the book successfully introduces several methods of prayer with enough detail for the reader to begin, and then certainly delve deeper with other resources if desired. Thank you, Ken, for the courage to write this book and share your experience with connecting to God in prayer!

Sacred Pathways Week 3: Traditionalists

I hope you found the traditionalist pathway to be surprisingly fascinating as I did! We had a lot more material we could have covered (sorry I had to rush at the end of class). But, I hope your appetite has been whetted. If this is a pathway you think might enrich your own worship life, then explore further! Try out an idea or two. You might start with establishing a couple fixed prayer times. Or getting a prayer book. Here is a link for the Book of Common Prayer: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/formatted_1979.htm
Or here is a link to a site that gives you some liturgical calendars, prayers for the offices, and other information: http://www.commonprayer.org/ There are many other books of prayer so if one doesn't suit you don't give up, search more! The internet can be used to explore and get some great ideas. (For us evangelicals, we will want to omit any prayers to Mary, but many of the prayers will be appropriate. Choose the ones that are meaningful to you.)

Here is a link to a site I have enjoyed, which lists the daily scripture readings from the liturgy. It has proven to be a rich sourcefor me of digging into God's word along with the church calendar.
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.htm


What ideas or resources do you have to share? What was your reaction to the traditionalist pathway? I love to read your comments!

Sacred Pathways Class Week 3: Sensates

We discovered this week that we can use sensory stimulation (of the 5 senses) to help us worship God! This may be unfamiliar territory for some, so let's share ideas and resources. What ideas do you have for bringing the senses into worship? Maybe you have tried something that was meaningful to you. How did you sense God's presence? Maybe you have been thinking of it this week and have some ideas you would like to try. Looking forward to hearing your comments!