Empowered Living

Empowered by His Presence by Kevin G. Harney:  A Book Review The question that drives Empowered by His Presence is this:  "Where can I receive strength as I seek to live another day?"  In this four-week study, Kevin Harney unpacks the stories of biblical characters and their responses to God's presence and power within the challenges… Continue reading Empowered Living

Truth for the Heart

Found in Him by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick:  A Book Review Caution:  This book contains theology.  However, as you are reading, you will be so caught up with the practical impact of the incarnation and the believer's union with Christ that you may not be aware of the weight of the truth you are absorbing.  Throughout all ten chapters… Continue reading Truth for the Heart

Mind the Gap

The Puritans, apparently, were not preoccupied with self-esteem issues.  John Owen's opening thoughts in Chapter 12 of The Mortification of Sin demonstrate the great gulf between his mind set and present-day sensibilities.  Even though it may be understood that, when compared with the God of the universe, yes, any mortal creature could be filled "at all… Continue reading Mind the Gap

Invitation into Relationship

The Answer to Our Cry by Rick McKinley:  A Book Review Everyone is looking for freedom.  Most of us are looking in all the wrong places with the idea that freedom involves getting what we want.  The Answer to Our Cry is not a series of steps, but a spotlight on the truth that true freedom is the ability to:… Continue reading Invitation into Relationship

Directions

If John Owen's book, The Mortification of Sin, seems theoretical and heavily theological, Chapters 9, 10 and 11 turn the tide by putting in the believer's tool-belt practical and efficient tools for carrying out Romans 8:13 ( . . . by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body).  He refers to his advice for killing sin as "directions."  First,… Continue reading Directions

The Edges of His Ways

Not a Chance -- God, Science, and the Revolt against Reason by R.C. Sproul and Keith Mathison:  A Book Review R.C. Sproul has not written a small-minded, fear-mongering diatribe against science.  His purpose in Not a Chance is to point out the precipitous slide into fiction that occurs when the brilliant minds that discover and… Continue reading The Edges of His Ways

“Going Saint”

The memoir meets spiritual formation literature in Nathan Foster's The Making of an Ordinary Saint; and in case the name "Foster" has a familiar ring to it, think "Richard Foster" of the seventies-era classic Celebration of Discipline.  Nathan is Richard Foster's son, and a handful he was, apparently.  Now with addiction and bitterness in the rear-view… Continue reading “Going Saint”

Getting a Clear Sense — A Letter to a Much-loved Child

In Chapter X of John Owen's The Mortification of Sin, he urges his readers toward a "clear sense" of: 1.   The guilt of sin -- "It is one of the deceits of a prevailing lust to extenuate its own guilt." 2.   The danger of sin -- "Of being hardened by deceitfulness; . . . of some great temporal… Continue reading Getting a Clear Sense — A Letter to a Much-loved Child

Essential for Teachers and for Learners

Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin:  A Book Review I can't recall the last time I devoured a book in one evening, but that's what happened with Women of the Word.  I'm sure the reason is Jen Wilkin's laser focus on the topics that (after my family) are most important to me -- knowing the Bible… Continue reading Essential for Teachers and for Learners