For All It's Worth

In Max Lucado's recent book, Out Live Your Life, he uses the template of the the book of Acts to open up the idea that your life should have meaning beyond the grave. He starts off on the first few pages giving us a snapshot of the kind of people that were called to be disciples in the book of Acts: fisherman, streetwalkers, no friends of Caesar (4), or no friends of the Temple leaders. They were for all apparent reasons, nobodies. And yet, God used them mightily to change the world. Max asks the same question of us, namely, God is still using men and women to change the world one voice at a time. There are great atrocities (sex trade, hungry children, slavery, illnesses) and yet we can make a difference. Max has a unique way of combining self-help ideas with a connection to the Bible and theology that makes sense of the whole of Scripture. He says later in the book regarding hypocrisy, "Expect no credit for good deeds, give financial gifts in secret, don't fake spirituali...

Ankarlo's book dives into the murky waters of the immigration issues surrounding the border between Mexico and the U.S. The first half of the book is about his team going down to the borders interviewing those involved with the getting people across the border and also looking about both the Mexican and U.S. side of border patrol. The grim and treacherous road from the borders of Mexico into the U.S. are filled with pain and difficulty Ankarlo does a good job at describing the great costs of those trying to cross the border, many lives ending in death from such a great journey. However, this is not a very balanced book. Ankarlo's continual message is that to not stop illegals coming into our country would be a great harm to the citizens of the U.S. Not only will there be a movement to gather the Southwestern states under the rule of Mexican authority, but this is already taking place. Therefore, stopping those from traveling from Mexico into the U.S. is of paramount importance ...