Book Reviews

Book Review: “Revealing Jesus; A 365-Day Devotional” by Darlene Zschech

9780764211546 RevealingJesusAs a pastor I often mention that as Christians our lives should point to Jesus. Whatever we say, whatever we do, are our lives pointing to Him? At times life can seem so mundane and unspiritual. Yet we are called to shine the Light in the darkness, and that Light is Jesus.

So how do we do that? What parts of life point to Jesus? What does it look like from season to season, from good days to bad days, from solitude to spiritual community? Pastor and worship leader Darlene Zschech teaches us about these issues and more in her new devotional book, Revealing Jesus (Bethany House).

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Bible, Christian Living

The Fluffy Snow Christian

Today I woke up to my least favorite sound on a winter morning. The snow plow. And it was loud. It sounded like it was ripping off bumpers as it drove down the street. Then it came a second time. Something in my head said that I was in big trouble this morning. So I rolled over, picked up my phone and dialed the school storm line. If the kids do not have to school, I can wait a little bit to shovel. But school was on. It was time to get up.

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I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and started downstairs. As I reached for my boots I noticed that the dog had made it outside this morning, but no one let him back in. Opening the door I stumbled on the best part of my snowy morning. It was just fluff. You see, I have glasses and I need to update my prescription. I looked out the bedroom window after the plow may his second trip this morning and saw what looked like six inches of snow. But if you know anything about shoveling snow, you know that six inches of fluff is a lot easier to move around than six inches of a regular snowfall, or worse, a “wet” one.

In Bible College we had a way of describing the writing of those students who knew how to spin a line. They were often the ones who waited until the last minute to write their papers, and still managed to get a high grade. We used to say that those papers written with excellent vocabulary and logic but no substance from research were “all fluff and no stuff.” The six inches of snow that welcomed me to the driveway was all fluff and no stuff. And sometimes there are Christians who are “all fluff and no stuff.”

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Christian Living

Have You Really Met God?

If you have spent any amount of time in the church you know something about God. You have heard and sang songs, sermons have come to you from the Holy Bible, you partake in the bread and cup of Communion, and you have heard innumerable prayers. While all of these have a valuable place in our spiritual lives, you may enjoy them regularly and never experience the most important part of Christianity.

As the worship portion of our service ended on Sunday, in that transition time before the message that I have to make on those days when I lead worship before speaking, I felt the need to ask whether or not we have really met God.

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Book Reviews

Book Review: “I Am Second” (Thomas Nelson)

ias-bookThe Bible is more than a bunch of stories gathered over time. It is a historical record of people from the beginning of time to the end of the first century or so. It talks about how people related with God and how He intervened in their lives. There are success stories and there are failures.

At times we pick up the Scriptures and wonder if the stories of lives that are thousands of years removed from our own will be able to speak to us. If only we could see how God relates to us in our time, with our problems. Maybe we can finally believe that He is real and that He wants to be part of our lives.

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Bible

“A Holy Adoption” (Hebrews 11:21)

Like his father, Isaac, Jacob understood the power of God’s blessings and covenant. As he neared his own death he made plans to pass along God’s covenant to his own sons.

Jacob, though, was already seeing the blessing take shape. Where his grandfather, Abraham, had passed the promise to his one son of promise, Jacob had twelve sons. Though Isaac had blessed one son over the other and foreseen two separate nations, Jacob looked at his sons and saw the fathers of one nation.

But the book of Hebrews does not address the blessings and prophecies spoken by Jacob over his sons in Genesis 49. Instead we are pointed towards a special blessing given to two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph.

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Ministry

Shaping Culture: Digging the Right “Well”

We often hear about what we are supposed to be doing well. If we were to line up all of the things we are trying to do well and consider which of those are the most important and the most valuable, we would find ourselves facing a difficult reality. Our efforts are not all the same in value and consequence.

What if we were to think of all of our tasks and goals as various wells that we are drilling? If you were going to make a fortune in oil or provide for needs with water, where you would be sure to dig? On which wells would you focus your effort and energy? Would you choose those few with the most significant return, or do you dig a large number of wells that show how busy you’ve been but reward you with less for your work? Five weeks into my seven week course from Willow Creek Association’s LIFT Project, and I may have been reminded of the greatest well worth digging in ministry and church leadership.

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