Thursday, June 28, 2012

No Ordinary Marriage, by Tim Savage

First of all I want to thank Crossway Books for sending me an advance readers copy of this book to preview and review for them. I appreciate Angie Chetham and the crew at Crossway for their tireless efforts.

Tim Savage gives us another good book in a long line of books written about Marriage. If you have read several other books on the subject, such as Charles Swindoll, Tim Keller, John Piper or Paul David Tripp you will not find much new in this book by Savage. But it is well written, good documentation and a good layout and presentation of the subject. 

The book is divided into three parts;

Part One: A Biblical Theology of Marriage. titled "Glory without Limits"
Part Two: The Roles of each partner and the One Flesh concept, titled "Love within marriage"
Part Three: General principles regarding marriage, titled "Climbing Always Upward"

Each section can stand on it's own. So, if you want to use this book as a reference and have couples read different sections / chapters at a time that is possible, it won't detract. But reading it through from the beginning to the end is always advisable as Part One will set the groundwork for the next two Parts. So, reading Part One first is advisable and then if you want you can skip around.

The principles written about are rock solid. Tim writes from a good Theological background and also it is obvious from a rich background of counseling.

Who will benefit from this book: Pastors Lay Counselors Couples facing difficulties in their marriage Couples who are anticipating marriage and want a good book to read and give them discussion starters with their mate I believe the work is well done and will be a valued addition to every Christians Library.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Man on the Run, by Zeke Pipher

I had the privilege of serving on the Board of Director's for our denominations Midwest District during the time that Zeke Pipher was the chairman of that board. I remember at the time thinking that he was a very articulate and insightful young man, yes young, because frankly I was starting to feel old :)

This book reminds me of how much I believed Zeke understood God, understood men and understood how difficult it is to be a Pastor, Husband, Father, Friend and Confidant. Zeke is a passionate driven individual. He would be what I would call a "Man's" man. What do I mean by that. Well, he is a leader, he is loyal, he is caring, he is compassionate and he is the outdoorsman that every man would like to be. He has never met a hunting trip, fishing trip or outdoor adventure that couldn't be conquered. I mean, what do you think about a guy that gets excited about taking his boat out on the lake, getting the Carp to jump up in the air so that he can shoot at them with his bow and arrow? Wouldn't it just be enough to throw in a fishing line and catch them? No, it has to be extreme! Go Zeke Go! That is what his church parishioner's must chant every chance they get.

But is that what life is all about?

In this book Zeke will point out to men that it is OK to be passionate about something. It is OK to have a hobby. It is OK to enjoy the great out of doors. BUT, and this is a big BUT. You need to be careful that you don't go overboard.

Zeke's writing is from personal experience. I mean, who wouldn't call it passionate when you realize he is headed out the door for the fourth time in a week to go deer hunting?

But Zeke goes on to say that while this adventure side is ingrained in men it is also the side that can cause them to sin the most. It is the side that trips them up. It is the side that goes, "a bridge to far!" Zeke counsels with countless men whose lives are falling apart because their wives have left them or are on the verge of leaving them, and usually it is because the man is passionate. Yes women, these men are passionate. The problem is they are passionate about the wrong thing.

Early on in the book Zeke asks this question, "Hey guys, is it passion, obsession or addiction?" (my paraphrase). You see it can be good when it is passion that drives you to pursue something. But when your pursuit goes beyond passion and becomes obsession then you have stepped over the line. And if you don't catch it in time it goes beyond obsession to become addiction. Addiction is not just to drugs or alcohol or cigarettes. Yes, addiction can be to your job, your hobby, your fraternity of brothers, your favorite sports team, etc. When passion goes to obsession to addiction then the thing that looses out is relationships. And typically the relationships that loose out the quickest are Spouse and Children. Is it no wonder that divorce is so rampant in our society.

After developing his thesis in the first 70 or 80 pages of the book Zeke goes on to then start prying into our lives and how we live them. His goal though is to draw us back into a Biblical view of manhood and a Biblical view of Marriage / Family / Self-worth, etc. Well, I've kinda of gone on to long about my feelings regarding the book without saying much about the truth revealed within the book.

So let me summarize;

God created man in his image and it was good
God designed marriage so that a man and woman could cleave unto each other, and it is good
Sin enters the world and man starts to loose focus and identity and relationship . . . and it is bad

With sin comes loss of significance, with loss of significance comes shame and discontent, with shame and discontent comes passion after the next "thing" that enters your life.

Every activity has a "too far" boundary

When you go beyond that boundary you enter the world of
Passion turns into Obsession. . . Obsession turns into Addiction . . . Addiction leads to the death of relationships

Zeke will challenge you in this book, he will direct you back to your Lord and Savior, to the God who created you and he will help you find the Spiritual Compass that you need to correct the way you live your life and to help you save your marriage, your family, your relationships before sin gets them to far out of control.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK? Every man. Every woman. Every hunter, fisherman, hobbyist, workaholic, sportsaholic, etc. This book is a must read, it will change your life, I guarantee it :)

Monday, June 18, 2012

Miracles, the credibility of the New Testament Accounts, by Craig Keener

Craig Keener's book was a bit more than what I expected when I ordered it. "Miracles, the Credibility of The New Testament Accounts" comes in two volumes. Volume 2 is almost all bibliography. That should say something right there about the exhaustive work that Keener put into researching material for this work. He does not just take someone's word for it, he actually goes back and searches out what is stated by historians as well as Theologians and eyewitnesses.

The book does not just discuss New Testament Miracles (which is what I thought it was going to do). Instead it starts with discussing the New Testament account of miracles, mainly the four Gospels and the Book of Acts and leads to a scholarly discussion of historical accounts that would add credibility to the miracles expressed in the writing of the New Testament. He then goes on to further discuss the history of Miracles and the credit given to eyewitness accounts to add validity to the headings that take place.

In Part One there is a major discussion of the New Testament accounts. But then there is lots of information regarding the "healing pools" of the Greeks, the Persians, the Egyptians and other cultures and how those were significant in the way the culture of Jesus time viewed healers / healing waters and the issue of Miracles. It is a fascinating discussion with lots of background information going into his thesis.

Part two of the book deals with the question, "Are Miracles Possible?" This section looks at the criterion used by the ancients to determine whether a miracle had taken place as well as to look at the modern culture and how we critique and review miracles that have taken place. Further Keener delves deeply into the questions of the "Skeptics" who don't hold fondly to the idea of Miracles. Further what about the Philosophical questions that were raised by scholars as to whether Miracles were real or not.

Then Part Three of the text goes into Miracle Accounts beyond Antiquity. This is where Keener takes off from New Testament times and starts to look at the Majority world perspective on miracles and what is going on in each of the cultures from the Middle East to Africa, China, the Pacific and so on. This is where I thought the text went so much further than what I first thought it was going to do. Keener doesn't just research the New Testament times but he goes beyond that and brings us to even current day events. Part Three is a modern day account of the miracles still taking place in our world. For those who are skeptical they need to give a reasonable look at Keener's work and then also at the work of the Catholic Church. The Vatican has a whole department that researches miracles so that they can give "sainthood" to the Priests and Nuns of their faith who over the years have performed "miracles."

The idea of miracles is not just relegated to the Christian Church. There are miracles happening all over the world. Some from what we might consider demonic sources, but many from what are claimed to be Christian sources.

After reading through this work (yes it takes a while it is fairly long) you will be left with a fascination of New Testament and modern day miracles.

As the mission pastor at my church I hear of modern day miracles all the time from credible sources. I don't always like hearing about them, because it is not in my comfort zone, but I know miracles can still happen. So, I was excited to see Keener's work on Miracles and even more fascinated once I started to read.

This book is a great book for serious Bible students, Scholars, Pastors and Theologians that get their kicks delving into such interesting topics.

This book probably isn't for the average lay person who just is curious about Miracles. Maybe we can get Keener to write a "Cliff's Notes" version the curious.

Enjoy!.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Short-straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer

I am quickly becoming a Karen Witemeyer fan. Her writing is fantastic, just look at all the five star ratings that she has received for this book. My questions are this, 1) Is this a Western? 2) Is this a Romance Novel? 3) Is this a case study for pyschology students? 4) Is this a Christian Novel intended to teach life lessons to all of us? The answer to all these questions is YES!

Witemeyer gives us a wonderful novel that has several themes that are included. Here are a few of the themes that your book study group could dig out and discuss;

1) How do you help your kids learn to handle a bully?
2) Is it good to become isolated to protect your family? Today's culture isolates with home schooling or private schooling or legalism or very controlling parents? Is that good?
3) What about what the Bible teaches about being a good neighbor?
4) What about the need for social adjustment for a family even though they have faced serious stresses?
5) What part does God play in our lives?
6) Oh, don't forget to pick up on the social justice / let's get over racial prejudice that the book touches on

Well, you want to know what the story line is so here it is in a nutshell?

A young Meredith is being bullied by some kids at school because she is a bit socially different. She is not weird, just an easy target. Because of the bullying she is pushed to enter the land of The Archer's a notorious group of young men who live separated from the world who train attack dogs and shoot anyone who comes on their property. REALLY? They are only kids at the time of this reputation.

Well Meredith goes on the property and steps in a coyote trap and gets her leg caught. Now here comes the ferocious attack dog and the gun totting young Travis Archer. She is sure that she is about to die. But the dog turns out to be a mild mannered puppy whom Travis is trying to train to be a bird dog (but not becing successful). The gun totting Travis, is actually disarmed by the little girl caught in a steel trap that he set and is possibly hurt, not to mention cute.

But Meredith is more than a little gtirl. Meredith has strength of character that impresses Travis. He frees her from the trap, splints her leg and carries her from the forest to her parents home, not bad for a vicious gun totting seclusinist who doesn't want to be involved with society.

Fast forward now twelve years. Meredith is a disfigured young woman (her lef was damaged and never grew right after the trap) whose one let is shorter than the other. She is also alone, her parents (who use to teach 'freedmen" have died from consumption). She leaves with her uncle who wants to marry her off to a lumber baron who only wants her for her parents homestead and land.

Meredith over hears a plot by Roy to burn out the Archers and force them to sell their land. Meredith can't let that happen.

So, she goes to the Archer's land, again, and trespasses to warn them. Upon seeing Travis she is left tongue tied, he is left with a heart that is thumping in an erratic way. Long story short, they are in love and have been for twelve years even though they haven't seen each other in that twelve years (is that possible?).

The rest of the story is how the Archer's must fend off Roy Mitchell and his thugs, how Travis is forced to marry Meredith because her uncle demands that he do so after she has spent alone with the Archer boys, and whether or not Travis and Meredith truly are in love and whether the Archer's will retain their homestead.

There are many other twists and turns in the story. But the truths are deeply embedded within the writing, the Bible lessons are deeply embedded in writing and the social / moral lessons are deeply embedded in the writing.

You will be drawn to think through how you would respond, how you would act, how you would put your trust in God to the test through the trials that Travis and Meredith face.

Oh, and there is lots of Western Romance action, lots of gun's, lots of horseback riding, lots of going after the cattle, even a stubborn mule who maybe brings about the most honest heart searching to be done by Travis in the whole story. Or is maybe when Meredith almost freezes to death?

Oh and did I mention that there happens to be a General Store Owner who thinks women are nothing but trouble and hopes to prove that Meredith is more trouble than her worth, but she wins him over with her womanly wiles (not to mention home back cookies) to the point that he becomes one of the hero's in the end?

This book is great. Don't skip over any characters or any of the story line, it all ties together and is all important.

Greed, Romance, Mystery, Danger, more Greed, more Romance and plenty of Western Cowboy themes to boot.

Enjoy!