“Classic Christianity” by Bob George

April 19, 2013 By 12 Comments
Classic Christianity

If knowing the truth sets you free and part of your life is not free, what does that tell you? It means that part of your life is in error. It means you are living under a lie. This is the revelation that opened the door to grace for Bob George. He loved the Lord and was busy with ministry, but he was frustrated and miserable. Something was wrong. That’s what bondage looks like to a Christian; it’s joyless, misery no matter how hard you are working for the Lord. Happily, Bob George was set free by grace and he then wrote a book called Classic Christianity. This book has since become … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob George, book reviews

6 books for Christmas 2012

November 26, 2012 By 4 Comments
Chocolate Wars

It's that time of the year when I recommend some great books for vacation reading. Here are six of the best that I have recently read... The Chocolate Wars is Deborah Cadbury’s history of her family’s involvement in the chocolate business. It's a fascinating story. As the subtitle says, it’s a tale of “200 years of sweet success and bitter rivalry.” You will no doubt recognize some of the players in this contest, namely, the English-Quaker firms of Cadbury, Fry, and Rowntree; the talented European wizards of Peter-Kohler, Lindt, and Nestle; and the powerful American firms of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Cliff Graham, Dr. Seuss Tagged With: ,

“The Cure” by Lynch, McNicol, and Thrall

October 18, 2012 By 10 Comments
The Cure Lynch McNicol Thrall

You come to a fork in the road and find a signpost. The sign pointing left says, “Pleasing God;” the sign pointing right says, “Trusting God.” Which do you choose? This is the choice each of us faces every day. Perhaps you think it’s a mad choice – like choosing between your heart and your lungs – but it’s not. It is the choice between life and death, between sacrifice and mercy, between the manmade religion of good intentions and the divine realm of God’s grace. If you think of life primarily in terms of “pleasing God,” then you may have bought into a carnal … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bill Thrall, book reviews, Bruce McNicol, John Lynch

“Grace” by Max Lucado

October 14, 2012 By 6 Comments
grace-lucado

Can you name any author who is equally appreciated by old folks and young folks, men and women, short, fat, tall, or thin people? I can only think of one person and that is Max Lucado. Lucado is probably the most successful Christian writer on the planet. With a hundred million books and related products in the market you know that what Max says gets heard by a wide audience. Which is why I am delighted to recommend his latest book, Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine. What’s it about? In this book Max argues that “grace is God’s best idea.” Yet it is an idea … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Max Lucado

“God’s Grammar” by Mick Mooney

September 4, 2012 By 2 Comments
Gods_Grammar

What would you do if God walked into your living room? Would you dive for cover? Would you try and hide the ash-tray and the empty beer bottles? What would you say? This is the question that faces Sam Walker in Mick Mooney’s new book God’s Grammar. One moment Sam is minding his own business; the next there’s God telling him to breathe and not panic. What follows is a conversation such as Sam could never have imagined. God’s Grammar is Mick Mooney’s first novel. I always knew that Mick could draw but it wasn’t until I read through to the last page of this riveting book that I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Mick Mooney

“The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennan Manning

July 21, 2012 By 13 Comments
ragamuffin.gospel

Several years ago I attended an Easter Service where communion was to be served. Prior to distributing the cup and the bread a lady got up and read from Brennan Manning’s book The Ragamuffin Gospel. She read the part where Manning describes how Jesus overturned the customs of the day by dining with anyone who would eat with Him – sinners, Pharisees, all were welcome. The rules of table fellowship, as practiced by Jesus, said that it did not matter who you were or what you had done. The only condition for Christ’s acceptance is that you had to want it. If you would dine with Him you have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Brennan Manning

Six Books for the Holidays

July 1, 2012 By 13 Comments
Space_Michener

I have spent the past ten weeks writing a book. (More on that in a later post.) Now we are about to take a family holiday which means I am on the hunt for some good holiday reads. Do you have any? Six books I won’t be taking with me – since I have just finished reading them – are the books you see below. None of them have anything to do with grace but if you’re at a beach or up a mountain or on a rocket to Mars and are looking for something stimulating to read, I recommend these: Space, by James Michener Yes, I’m a fan. I read Michener’s books by the pound. This year I read … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews

“The Misunderstood God” by Darin Hufford

April 26, 2012 By 12 Comments
Misunderstood_God

If you have ever looked at a couple of hormonal teenagers and thought to yourself, “Those kids don’t know the first thing about love,” then you may have a fair idea of how God thinks about some of us: We hardly know the first thing about love. You only have to listen to the way we talk to know that this is so. We tell others that we want to be “used by God” as if love ever uses people. We boast of our “commitment to Christ” as if the substance of love consisted of making promises. We testify that God has sent us into the wilderness or made us sick to teach us things as if God … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Darin Hufford, love of God, new covenant

Revelation to Transformation, by Paul White

April 15, 2012 By 7 Comments
Paul_White_revelation-to-transformation

One of the perks of writing a blog is that people send me free books. This one was sent to me by Daniel Craciun from Canada. Apparently, Daniel thought I needed to read this book. I’m glad he did! Revelation to Transformation: How Seeing Jesus Will Change Your Life is about Christ and His cross. In this book Paul White aims to counter the man-centered preaching we’ve all heard with a simple message based on Jesus. Our problem, according to White, is not a lack of knowledge. We all know that we’re falling short and missing the mark. Our problem is our inability to do anything about it. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Paul White

“Understanding the Book of Job” by Tom Tompkins

March 19, 2012 By 33 Comments
read_this_book_400

“If you’re suffering, you must have done something bad. God must be punishing you.” That must be one of the oldest lies in history. Here’s another. “God is using these hard times to teach you humility.” These lies can be traced back to one of the oldest and most misunderstood stories in the Bible – the story of Job. As I'm sure you know, Job was a man who lost everything. The Book of Job is not mainly about his loss, but how he tried to process his loss with the help of three religious friends. When I wrote my Job post a year and a half ago I had no idea that so many … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Job, karma, suffering, Tom Tompkins Tagged With: , , ,

“Day of War” by Cliff Graham

March 5, 2012 By 8 Comments
Day_of_War

Have you ever walked out of an action movie wishing that someone with a bit of talent would make a movie based on a Bible story? The typical Hollywood blockbuster suffers from weak stories; the Bible is a source of rich stories. You would think it’s a perfect match. So why aren’t there any good movies about the likes of Joshua, Gideon, and David? Well soon there just might be thanks to Cliff Graham whose new-ish book, Day of War, is presently being made into a movie. I have no idea how the movie will turn out, but if it’s even half as good as the book it should a ripper. I was sent a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, Cliff Graham, David, men

“Mystical Union” by John Crowder

February 24, 2012 By 26 Comments
John_Crowder

Try and picture two streams of Christianity flowing side by side through history. In one stream you have those strange mystics who regularly experience the supernatural life of healing and abundant joy. In the other stream you have all the logos-loving reformers who have no time for such shenanigans – all they need is simple faith in the grace of God. From time to time these two streams converge in rare individuals whose feet are planted on the ground and whose heads are way up in the clowds. John Crowder seems to be such a person. In his book Mystical Union (also available on Kindle), … [Read more...]

Filed Under: book reviews, John Crowder, joy, mysticism Tagged With: , ,
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