HOW TO ENJOY READING YOUR BIBLE

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

HOW TO ENJOY READING YOUR BIBLE
By Keith Ferrin

OVERVIEW: Do you feel like you SHOULD read the Bible more? This book will help you WANT to read it. Keith Ferrin has been talking to churches for years about enjoying God's Word. Here he shares the most helpful ideas and habits you can start using today. You will find ten proven tips that are equally practical whether you are a longtime Bible student or simply exploring what this life-changing book is all about. Aimed at deepening your relationship with God, these simple suggestions will help you focus more easily as your read, remember Scripture better, and most importantly, enjoy the Bible and its Author more than you ever dreamed possible. (From the back of the book.)

AUTHOR: KEITH FERRIN is an author, speaker, and storyteller who strives to help people realize that the living Word of God is a reality—not a phrase. His one-man dramatic, word-for-word presentations of whole books of the Bible have been seen by thousands. Keith lives with his wife and three children just outside of Seattle, Washington.

MY REVIEW: Before I read Keith's book I would have said, "Yes, I enjoy reading the Bible!" Every Sunday for forty-seven years I went to the pulpit with a Bible in my hand. I preached from it. I taught Sunday morning and Wednesday night Bible classes. I preached from the Bible in evangelistic meetings. I conducted many small group home Bible studies. I love the Scriptures. I have given my life to teaching from them. Enjoy the Bible? Of course I do! However now, after reading this splendid book, I have to think that I haven't always enjoyed reading the Bible in the way Keith writes about it.

This book opened my eyes to many things. I now approach the Bible in a new way and I am enjoying it MORE. I believe every Christian I know can profit from reading this book. I hope many will read it and share what they learn with others. If you think you enjoy reading the Bible now get this book, you will enjoy it even more. And that will be a blessing.

(I received this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

TRULY FREE

Friday, May 15, 2015

TRULY FREE
Breaking the Snares That So Easily Entangle
By Robert Morris

OVERVIEW: Truly Free will show you the warning signs that your life may be opened to evil and how you can overcome the enemy and find freedom. Using clear, biblically based teaching, Robert Morris invites you to join him on  a journey to true freedom. You'll gain insight into your personal struggles as he openly shares how God helped him find freedom from chronic illness, lust, temptation, and insecurity. If you've ever wondered, Why do I keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again? Why can't I change? Take heart—there is a way out! With relevant scriptures, prayers, and questions for contemplation or group discussion, this book explains how you can find lasting freedom and live truly free.

AUTHOR: Robert Morris is the founding senior pastor of Gateway Church, a multicampus, evangelistic, Spirit-empowered church in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He is featured on the weekly television program The Blessed Life, broadcast to approximately one hundred million homes in the United States and more than two hundred countries around the world. Robert is the bestselling author of eleven books.

MY REVIEW: The best thing about this book is that it dwells on the goodness and power and truth of Jesus Christ. It isn't a book that dwells on evil, the bizarre, cruel and unusual. There are other books that cover that. This book is about the freedom that is in Christ that Paul talks about in Galatians 5:1.

I agree with Joyce Meyer, Bible teacher and bestselling author, who said: "Truly Free is a great reminder that there is a spiritual battle raging all around us, but we have the victory in Christ. This book can give you hope no matter what struggles you are facing."

I don't agree with everything Robert Morris says in this book. Of course not! I read and review dozens of books every year and although I generally agree with most of what I read, I sometimes find myself in disagreement. The things I disagree with in Robert Morris's book are things that I am in serious study about. I haven't stopped reading and thinking about these things. I am reading, praying and asking for God's guidance.

This is an important book and one that every serious student of the Bible needs to consider.

(I received this book from Book Sneeze a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

A SERENDIPITOUS TREASURE

Monday, May 04, 2015

Sorting through boxes of books trying to decide which ones to keep and which ones to get rid of I made a wonderful discovery. I discovered I am the owner of a 1937 copy of Dale Carnegie's FIVE MINUTE BIOGRAPHIES. 

I am amazed at my surprise. Why? Because when it comes to books I have a great memory. I do not have a filing system for my many books and yet I can locate any book quickly. And it is a rare thing for me to forget when and where I acquired a book. Especially one I value as much as this one.

One of the first books I read as a teenager was Dale Carnegie's HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE. My brother gave me a copy of the book and asked me to read it. I wasn't interested in reading it but I'm glad I did. I still have the book and have read it many times.

I like to read biographies and I especially like the ones in this book because they are brief. And I like the way Carnegie writes. He is a great story teller and his book is filled with great stories about interesting people. I love the titles he gives to each one.
Titles like: The Missionary Who Got On The Wrong Train--And Became A Famous Magician; Two-cent Newspapers Bought Him Castles In Spain, Cuckoo Clocks, And Egyptian Mummies;He Was Ashamed Of Having Written Two Of The World's Greatest Novels; He Was Shot In The Breast But He Kept Right On With His Speech;The "Tough Guy" Who Went Through High School In Three Months And Wrote Fifty-One Books In Eighteen Years.

I was three years old when this splendid books was first published.
The price $1.00. To me it's a treasure. 

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT

Friday, May 01, 2015

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT
How To Find Peace While Chasing
Your Dreams
By Pete Wilson

OVERVIEW: Pete Wilson provides a plan for living that will lead you to a place of peace that you've only dreamed about and a life filled with meaning, significance, and satisfaction. This is a book to be used as a field guide to ruthlessly trusting God's plan—even in the face of difficulty and uncertainty. Each chapter discusses some aspect of embracing God's call for your life, based on Scripture and the authors observations and experiences.

AUTHOR: Pete Wilson is the founding and senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee, a committed church community that he and his wife, Brandi, planted in 2002. Cross Point has grown to reach more than six thousand people each week-end through its seven campuses located around the Nashville area, and online. As one of the fastest-growing churches in America, Pete's ministry—an outreach focused on helping people become devoted to Christ, irrevocably committed to each other, and relentlessly dedicated to reaching those outside of God's family with the gospel—has made him a frequent speaker at national and international church conferences. Pete gained national attention in 2010 when Thomas Nelson published his best-selling book, Plan B, a title that has been printed in five languages and launched Putting Plan B into Action, a 6-week DVD curriculum that serves as a study companion to the book, Empty Promises, Pete's second book, focuses on the human desire to find purpose and hope in things that are not God. Pete earned his bachelor's degree in communications from Kentucky Western University and attended seminary at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

MY REVIEW: Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author wrote, "If you've ever been scared and confused about what to do next, this is the book for you." I agree! I also agree with Christine Caine, founder of The A21 Campaign who said, "What Keeps You Up at Night? will help you not only discover the adventure you were born to live, but to actually live it."

Pete Wilson is an excellent communicator. In this splendid book he uses many illustrations to put his point across and tells wonderful stories that inspire. This is a book filled with wisdom. But it is mostly just good, common sense. You won't have to read and re-read to get the meaning and you won't have look up words in a dictionary. You will find yourself underling and marking passages that you want to remember and refer to again quickly. This is a book you will want to pass on to someone else you care about and you may buy extra copies to give away.

(I received this book from Book Sneeze a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

THE CONSERVATARIAN MANIFESTO

THE CONSERVATARIAN MANIFESTO

Libertarians, Conservatives, And The Fight

For The Right's Future

By Charles C. W. Cooke

OVERVIEW: There is an underserved group of conservatives for whom fiscal responsibility, constitutional obedience, and controlled government spending remain crucial tenets, but issues such as gay marriage and drug control are approached with a libertarian bent. In this book Charles C. W. Cooke engages with the data and the philosophy behind this trend, applauding conservatarianism as a force that can help. Republicans mend the many ills that have plagued their party in recent years and sustain the momentum gained in the 2014 midterms. Conservatarians are vexed by Republicans' failure to cut the size and scope of Washington, D.C. but they are critical of some libertarians for their unacceptable positions on abortion, national defense, and immigration. They praise conservatives' efforts to protect Second Amendment rights—efforts that have recently been wildly successful—but they see the War on Drugs as unmitigated disaster that goes against everything conservatives ought to value. All movements run the risk of stagnation and of losing touch with the principles and values that made them successful in the first place. In The Conservatarian Manifesto, Charles Cooke shows the way back to a better and more honest conservatism that champions limited government, reality-based policy, and favor for the smallest minority of all, the individual.

AUTHOR: Charles C.W. Cooke is a writer at National Review and a graduate of the University of Oxford, at which he studied modern history and politics. His work has focused especially on Anglo-american history, British liberty, free speech, the Second Amendment and American exceptionalism. Cooke is the cohost of the Mad Dogs & Englishmen podcast and has broadcast for HBO (Real Time with Bill Maher), BBC, MSNBC, Fox News, The Blaze, CNBC, CTV, ABC, Sun News and CBS. In addition to National Review his writing has also been published by the New York Times, National Interest the Washington Times, and the New York Post.

MY REVIEW: The Conservatarian Manifesto needs to be read by all those interested in the current political era. Charles C. W. Cooke is a brilliant writer and he makes a strong case for the right to hold unpopular views and make unpopular choices. These views and choices may be wrong but he writes about the right of the individual to be wrong. In this splendid book, Charles C. W. Cooke makes it clear that conservatarianism is now a part of what is happening politically and that it needs to be examined and reasoned about. He does that brilliantly!

I recommend The Conservatarian Manifesto to all but especially to those with a right-leaning worldview. This is one of the most interesting and educational books I have read in a long time.

Cook is an excellent writer and a brilliant scholar. He makes his points as clearly as possible but still because of the topic, I found myself reading and re-reading. However, I don't see that as a bad thing. I think it helped me center in and to better understand what he was saying. If you are a person that is interested in what is going on in politics today and if you are willing to accept truth wherever you find it, you will love this book.

(I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.)