For All It's Worth

Neil T. Anderson, best known for his books Victory Over Darkness and The Bondage Breaker, has written a personal account of his life from early unto all the ministries he has been involved with. Early on Neil tells a great story about how and a friend skipped the "religious day instruction" at his school so that he could spend some time in the fresh air. After being called into the office by his principal, he was told that he would be off of school both Thursday and Friday. Feeling the guilt of being suspended he went home to tell his mother. After telling her what had happened she told him that she had called the school to get Neil out of school on those two days for the harvest (20-21). After attending church for a while, one church demanded tha Neil and others share their faith in proclaiming the good news of Jesus. Neil, being fearful to the bone, Neil led three people to Christ. After this time, he writes, "I was sobered by teh realiziation that I had played church...

Challenging, cuts to the heart and timely are only a few words to describe Michael Beates' book entitled Disability and the Gospel. With the heart of a pastor and the touch of a seasoned theologian, Beates writes with a passion for seeing the church deal rightly with those with disabilities and this includes dealing with our own hearts. In the opening chapter on What the Old Testament Teaches About Disabilities, Beates makes a significant statement regarding Jacob by saying, "..it was a physical wound that was meant to remind him of his spirutal brokenness" (28). Jacob's hip being out of place was instrumental in his relying on God's strength for help each day. Later on Beates says, "And in fact, those God uses the most he breaks, in some manner, for his sovereign purposes" (28). There might not be any answer for why a certain has a disability, but God uses that disability to reveal his purpose and plan. This kind of thing that Beates speaks of rem...

Nick Vujicic has a new book coming out in two weeks called Unstoppable.  Here is a short video of one of his talks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii4JNtDPSaA&feature=player_embedded Check out the first chapter of the book here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/98561664/Unstoppable-by-Nick-Vujicic-Chapter-1-Excerpt

From all view points, Rudy had little chance to succeed in life, but with buckle down determination and hard work many of his dreams came true. This book written by Rudy himself, Daniel Ruettiger follows the life of Rudy from his upbringing, life in school (dyslexia) and his goal of getting to Notre Dame. What I found very interesting in the book was that all through his life Rudy was put down and ridiculed and yet there were always a few friends that knew Rudy could achieve his dreams. The book takes you indepth in Rudy's struggles with school, his acceptance into Holy Cross and eventual time at Notre Dame. The details of the movie are filled at more clearly in the writings, such that you get a glimpse of every situation. Another point of interest is that Dan Devine is kind of made out like a jerk in the movie, whereas the book explains it that Devine wasn't so much a jerk as someone taking over a glorious program seeking to win again. The other part of the book that was...

The Power of Knowing God by Kay Arthur Precept Ministries International founded by Kay and Jack Arthur has been an engine in recovering intense bible study for both personal and church edification. This 6 week bible study is remarkable in that it requires 40 minutes of the participants and seeks to gather a host of biblical teaching under the rubric of knowing God. The strength here is that each participant engages biblical texts about God and knowing him with an eye toward the theological and practical lens. Kay digs into the text by calling her readers to mark specific words and phrases that highlight important events and subjects. One of my favorite things about the book was Kay’s insistence to ask very good questions after studying specific passages. At one point in week one, Kay writes, “If you truly believe God and Jesus Christ, the Lamb, are to have dominion forever and ever, how will that affect your life?” (18). This question is then followed up by more concrete questions ...