So Many Books; So little Time

Fearless

Fearless: Building a Faith That Overcomes Your Fear

by Cheri Fuller

c. 2003

I originally bought this book for the cover. I was intrigued by the thought of being fearless to the point of sitting on top of a cliff. Then I started reading the book and one of my best friends, Snail, wanted to know what I was reading it for since I was one of the most fearless people she knew.

Everyone has fears. We don’t want to admit we have fears because we are human and the society in which we live tells us that we need to have no fear but to be in charge. This book tells us how to have no fear because we have put God in charge and taken ourselves out of the way. Cheri Fuller uses her own life, the lives of friends and family and the lives of those in terrorist situations to show us how to completely let go of every ounce of fear we have.

The book is written in 14 chapters and an epilogue that no one should miss. She starts by asking us to face our fear, showing the high cost of fear, the greatness of God, and how we need to focus on the truth and move from panic to peace–that’s five chapters! She doesn’t give outlines but baby steps of moving along from fear to freedom. Chapter 6 is Acceptance: The Door to Peace. Then she moves into the meat of the matter with how to overcome fears about our children, finances, relationships, flying, fears from our childhood, fear of failure, fears about our health, and the ones we face in the midst of disasters.

Nothing is left out and nothing is white-washed. We live in fear and here is a way to move beyond fear to Freedom in Christ. Includes a scripture referenced study guide and ideas of journaling and making a peace packet to carry along as we travel with the fears we seek to leave behind. This book needs to be read by everyone and by some of us more than once. This was the second time through for me and I’m not ready to part with it yet.

This book is hard to find which is a real shame as it really should be on the bestseller list.

The Mystery of God’s Will

The Mystery of God’s Will: What Does He Want For Me?

by Charles R. Swindoll

c. 1999

Another offering from my library. I’m not sure that I agree with everything Swindoll says in this book but that may be a lack of faith on my part. I do agree totally with his conclusion and that is that we must just accept what happens in our lives no matter whether it is good or bad. He does underscore that we can never know what the purpose of events in our lives are. And that’s true. Some of the most horrible things that happen to us are the things that make us grow in the Lord the most.

The one thing I would disagree with him on is the feeling I got from the book that he thinks anything we do is part of the Will of God almost as if at that point he is teaching predestination which I don’t believe in. At one point he tells of someone who feels led to take a different job and is excited about the job, then finds out that this is not the move he or she should have made. I really think that that could be leaving the will of God for the will of the flesh but Swindoll still points out that spriitual growth happens there. I will agree that spiritual growth happens in those times but I would question whether the move was in or out of the will of God. Another thing is he poo-poos the notion that God speaks to us in any way other than the Bible. Having heard God speak to me and having a pastor’s wife who has heard God speak to her, I believe that God does speak in ways other than by verses of the Bible standing out to us. He never speaks contrary to His word, but He does speak.

Now, as for the book itself–this contains 12 chapters with no study guide but then, mostly the book itself is the study guide and our lives are what we are studying. It’s easy to read and fairly easy to understand. As he usually does, Swindoll uses people and his own life scenarios to bring his points home.

All-in-all, this is a descent work though not the best that I have read by any means. I would recommend it for mature Christians but I feel that weaker and younger Christians could be led astray by some of the ideas presented in the book.

Running on Empty

Running on Empty: Contemplative Spirituality for Overachievers

by Fil Anderson

c. 2004

If you’ve ever heard someone caution that you shouldn’t get so busy doing the Lord’s work that you don’t have time for the Lord, this book may be what you need. If you find that you need to do more for the Lord all the time rather than sitting and listening to the Lord, you need to stop what you’re doing and read this book.

Fil Anderson felt like the only way he could make God happy was by doing more and more and more for the Lord. He had a ministry with teens telling them how much Jesus loved them but when Brennan Manning asked him about his close relationship with Jesus, he came up wanting. He felt from his childhood up that being in church and working for God was what he HAD to do to appease God.

With the help of a retreat and Brennan Manning as a mentor, and a lot of time spent in the Word, Fil came to the realization that spending time on one verse of scripture was wonderful, listening during prayer time was fulfilling, and a weekend of silence was refreshing. In his book, he shares all the things he thought he needed to do and the wreck they made of him. Then in the second part of his book, he shares some tips on how to stop trying to appease a God who loves you and work with God to achieve God’s desired results.

No study guide with this one but each 18-22 page chapter ends with 4-5 questions for reflection. A must read for all those Christians who are killing themselves “doing” for the Lord rather than “being” with the Lord.

The Truth War

The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception

by John MacArthur

c. 2007

Should we even fight for the truth in this day and age? Is it even worth it? Is there even such a thing as truth?

John MacArthur answers those questions with two verses of the Bible: Jude 4 and 5. Yes, there is such a thing as truth and yes, we should fight for it, not just because it’s the right thing to do but because this war on the truth of God’s word isn’t new. Jude (the biological half-brother of Jesus) had to deal with the same thing in his day and age. There is nothing new under the sun and nothing new in fighting for the truth in our chuches and in our country and lives.

MacArthur attacks the emerging church movement head on with verses and exposes (where is an accent mark when you need one?) and going right to the core of the deception that the false teachers are choosing to spread in our churches. He shows how they get into the churches and even points out different types of false teachers–those who are accidental, those who are deceived themselves and those who are committed to deception.

This is a well-written, easy-to-read and timely book for our times. MacArthur isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said and we shouldn’t either. It’s time for more preachers and laypeople of MacArthur’s like in this world and especially in our churches. It’s time to start stepping on toes and MacArthur has given the spark to start the fire.

No study guide but well worth sharing with every pastor, deacon and pew sitter you know who believes the truth but isn’t stepping on toes and even those who are.

Hand Me Another Brick

Hand Me Another Brick: How Effective Leaders Motivate Themselves And Others

by Charles R. Swindoll

c. 1990, 1998

Take a look at Nehemiah through the eyes of leadership–Godly leadership. Most of us just read the book of Nehemiah and think of what God did there and He did but without the leadership skills Nehemiah had, it would have been a lot harder going and a lot longer in the process.

This doesn’t go verse by verse or even chapter by chapter but topic by topic and looks at the leadership skills Nehemiah posessed to get the job of building a wall around Jerusalem built. Right from the four months of working for King Artaxerxes after he knew what God wanted him to do and ending in the revisit of the city several years after building the wall and the kicking of certain people out (righteous indignation–he was pulling beards and yelling at people) of the temple and out of Jewish society. This is the down and dirty of being a leader for God.

Complete with a study guide to help you hone your leadership skills and root out the trouble spots. This would be a great book for a course on leadership in the church but also useful just for men to learn how to lead a household or for stay-at-home-moms to learn how to lead toddlers and teens.

Thriving on the Jagged Edge

Thriving on the Jagged Edge: Live Above Your Circumstances

by Max Davis

c. 2006

Max Davis has a story to tell. He lives above his circumstances and so does his son. Max’s son was born deaf and so the road through life at the Davis household hasn’t always been smoothe sailing. But Max has learned to lean on God and thrive on the jagged edge of deafness. Max isn’t an author who writes from suppositions and “the Bible says this so it must mean….” No, Max lives where he writes. He has heartache and troubles in his life and the scriptures he cites are the ones that help him through his daily waking moments.

He also cites others who have gone through huge jagged edges in their lives and come out singing praises to the Lord. He gives us good reasons to believe that we can sing along. He starts by explaining what the jagged edge of life is and then disputes the myth of the “normal life” whatever that is. He talks of how to embrace the struggle of the life we have been given and then to trust God with that struggle we have embraced. He talks about how to deal with fear, disappointment, and waiting. He also explains how evil comes out on top–or does it? He talks about guarding our minds and nourishing our souls on the way to having the courage to thrive.

Contains simple readers guide in the back for use as a Bible study work though since there are only 5 questions per chapter, the leader might need to put in some more depth in the discussion.

This is a well-written, well-organized work and fits in neatly with our modern lifestyles. In a day and age where everyone is questioning why God does what he does, Max Davis has found the answers–not to the questions so much as just to how we should rely on God for the good things and for eternity.

Lessons I Learned in the Dark

Lessons I Learned in the Dark: Steps to Walking by Faith, Not By Sight

by Jennifer Rothschild

c. 2002

Jennifer Rothschild is a blind singer, speaker and writer who shows us how her blindness has made her faithwalk deeper in this, her first book. She begins by telling us of the day she learned she was going to be completely blind. She takes us through her remaining high school days and into her college years. She takes us to parenting and teaches us how to put on make-up with sightless eyes. But more important she tells us how being blind has worked in her favor and brought her closer to Christ.

How? Because she is so dependent on others in her blindness that she understands all too well how she must be just as dependent on God all the time. Yes, she had problems adapting to a white cane just as she and we have problems adapting to letting go and letting God. But every step of the way she has learned to wait on that dependance. On campus she learned to depend on her cane and prayer to cross a busy street to go to and from the chapel. And she learned it by not depending or praying on the way across off campus and so realizing that she had to wait and pray for someone to help her back across.

What Jennifer finds in the dark of her life, she relates to the spiritual life we all live. If only we could all walk by faith the way she does, we would all be much happier in our lives. Which is not to say that she is always blissful and patient but she is getting there with a little help from friends, husband, children and God.

Short chapters that are filled with every day humor and are easy to read. Each chapter is seperated from the next by the words to a song, most of which were written by Jennifer herself. This is a highly uplifting book that will challenge you to a deeper faith.

Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism

Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism: Biblical Responses to the Key Questions

by Wayne Grudem

c. 2006

What role does the Bible really set up for women? Are they to sit and be silent or do they have a specific calling to ministry? Has society changed so much that the teachings of Paul no longer apply? Were there women pastors in the New Testament church? What does the Bible teach about authority, head coverings, prophecy, slavery, and jewelry in regard to women’s roles? Did the New Testament leaders view women as uneducated, lesser beings?

Wayne Grudem answers these and many other questions relating to Women in Ministry in this book. He uses scripture and contemporary Greek secular works to look at what the original words meant to the audience for which the scriptures were written. He actually counts the number of times certain Greek words were used in certain types of context.

This work is an abreviated version of his earlier work Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth: An Analysis of More Than 100 Disputed Questions which runs 900+ pages. This work, which refers to the larger work an outrageous number of times, is a mere 300 pages. It is full of questions and answers and is fully backed by both scripture and secular references.

In answer to the question “can women have a ministry?” the answer is “yes” but Grudem draws the line at a woman being in any kind of authority over a man such as pastoring or being a deacon in a church. Teaching in private side by side with her husband is a different matter entirely. Teaching a group of high school boys in Sunday School or youth group, for Grudem, is also allowable due to the age of the boys, i.e. they would still be under the authority of their mothers in the home.

Grudem gives each question its own chapter and most run only 3-5 pages. He gives the feminist claim backed up with footnotes and quotes from writers in the Evangelical Feminism movement. (He also has a bibliography of Evangelical Feminist works at the end of the book.) He then answers each question, not once, but backed by at least two other scenarios and scriptures.

Even if you don’t agree with him totally, this work makes for an interesting discussion and study. It is well written in an engaging style. He doesn’t use a lot of theological or Greek words but uses common English for common folks. He states his thoughts without talking down to the reader. Except for the first couple of chapters which are long, this would be a great book to use in a Bible Study for women seeking to find their place in the Ministry of Jesus Christ.

Lessons I Learned in the Light

Lessons I Learned in the Light: All You Need to Thrive in a Dark World

by Jennifer Rothschild

c. 2006

We live in a dark and fallen world. There’s no doubt about that. So, what we need more than anything is to learn to thrive in it until the Lord calls us home.

Jennifer Rothschild tells us just how to do that in 12 chapters. And she should know how because she not only thrives in the dark world we live in as a wife, mother of two active boys and Christian speaker, but she also thrives in a truly dark world. Jennifer Rothschild is blind but you would never know it because she has embraced her challenge and let the Lord show her His power and lessons through it.

She has learned to let go of what ifs and talks about that in “Say Farewell to Ducks.” She considers herself an alien in this world and tells us all how to live like the aliens we are in “Live Like an Alien.” She also talks about her family and friends and tells the story of her oldest son’s first word, which, of course, was NOT Mama and how she coped waiting for that blessed word–and how she coped with being called “God” in the meantime. (That story, short though it is, is almost worth reading the whole book for.)

She tackles her age, her wardrobe, her watchband, and being on stage following a nationally known speaker. But she also tackles patience, love, courage, risk taking, hope, prayer, excess baggage and many other things.

Jennifer is funny, to the point and scriptural all at the same time. At the end she considers you a friend and you will consider her one too.

No study guide so if a group wanted to use it they would have to write their own but it’s great for personal growth in the dark.

Big Girls Don’t Whine

Big Girls Don’t Whine: Getting On With The Great Life God Intends

by Jan Silvious

c. 2003

Do you find youself whining or complaining to God (and all those around you) when things don’t go your way? Do you think life and other people are being unfair? Or do you just know or live with someone like that? Perhaps you used to do those things but don’t any more?

Well, this book is for those women and all the rest of us. Jan Silivious is a wife, mother, and grandmother and also a counselor who uses scripture and personal experience to get us to laugh at the many ways in our lives that we aren’t “grown up” yet.

She tackles the basic areas of our lives where we live most–being single, being married, being a mother, being a friend, and being in the midst of a crisis. She is about heart-felt, God-led lives and not about rote, type-cast answers. She won’t tell you how to organize your day (big girls don’t need anyone to do that) or what sort of discipline or punishment to use with your kids (though she does explain the difference between a big girl spanking and a little girl hitting) and she won’t tell you to pray for every crisis to go away (big girls embrace a crisis and learn from it).

What she will do is to show us what a true Christian big girl looks like and how she acts and behaves on a daily basis.

She also includes a reader’s guide in the back that has sections for personal as well as group studies.

If the ladies in your group are ready for a new dimension to their walk both in and out of the church, this is a great book to do a study on. Warning, it will step on all our toes for all of us need to grow up or we wouldn’t be here any more. We would be complete and with God in heaven.