Perfect Ending - Book Review

Before I launch into my review, there are two points of consideration. I was provided this book for review by the publisher for an honest and unbiased review.

 

Second, if you want to focus on the controversy surrounding the book then you can go to this link http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?id=41804  or to this one http://worthypublishing.com/blog/news/robert-jeffress-claims-obamas-policies-are-paving-the-way-for-a-future-world-dictator-in-his-new-book-perfect-ending/

but as for me and my review, we will focus on the good and the bad of the book. The cultural and political jabs taken in the book are a matter of subjective analysis of which the attention paid to them helps to sell books.

 

So what do we really have here? The bottom line is that it’s another book on prophecy – the end times – eschatology – or whatever subject categorization you wish to put on it? Well, that’s precisely what we have here in Robert Jeffress newest volume Perfect Ending.

 

Why another book with a dispensational slant to the end times? Jeffress’s motive in producing another volume on eschatology is that it will be “a powerful incentive for you to clothe yourself in holy conduct and godliness as we look forward to His certain return.” (p.27). Thus we have the underlying emphasis of the book. It is practical. It is motivational.

 

Jeffress achieves this in every chapter. Each of his chapters is interspersed with personal stories and practical illustrations which keep the reading of the book fast-paced. But the dilemma is that it should not be read as a fluffy Christian novella. It should be studied, digested and lived. In fact given the approach and structure of the book it seems like it may have been the result of an extended sermon series.

 

A couple of highlights: First, there is an excellent discussion on “reckon” (Galatians 3:6-8) on pages 35-38 detailing how that one single word proves that salvation is by faith alone in Christ and not faith plus something else or someone else.

 

Second, I found Chapter 9, “Rewards in Heaven,” to be most intriguing. In this chapter Jeffress details the rewards to be “earned” by unbelievers and Believers. Without divulging the content, it should be most frightening for unbelievers and quite motivational for Believers.

 

About a year ago I taught an adult Sunday School class on Revelation. In preparation for the class I collected a number of books both print and digital. They were all informative and helpful, but I wish I had this book as a resource. It separates the material into study-size sections and even provides study questions as an appendix.

 

If you’re a pastor or a teacher about to embark on a journey through “the end times,” you need to include Perfect Ending as a resource.

Evolution: 60% Believe

In my more than six and a half decades on this earth, I have developed a certain quantity and quality of physical skills. For those of you that know me, you are aware that I can play a fairly decent game of golf – still. Another proficient physical skill in my repertoire is that I no longer drag my knuckles when I walk.  That’s right, in a little over sixty-six years I have evolved to the point that I walk somewhat upright.

What stimulated an evaluation of my physical skills is some research conducted by the Pew Research Center on how Americans feel about evolution - http://www.pewforum.org/2013/12/30/publics-views-on-human-evolution/. 

A short summation of the research shows that 60% of Americans believe that we (us as humans) got here by evolution) and 33% believe we were created as we are. (7% do not know – perhaps looking the missing link in all of this.)

The details of the survey are quite interesting, very informative and downright scary from an evangelical point of view. If you take time to review the research by religious groups, the results should cause us to wonder what the heck is being taught from the pulpits of Evangelical and Catholic churches in America. The results should strike fear in the souls of evangelical Christians. A greater acceptance of evolution is a greater acceptance of a more secular, godless lifestyle and culture.

So I believe the question is quite simple and straightforward: Is that where we want to go?

You can find a more detailed analysis of this research here http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?id=41766.

The New Year and Bible Reading

Okay, it’s about to be a brand new year. And with that comes the time for the annual New Year Resolutions. We’ll dispense with all the fluff and statistics about resolutions and get straight to the point.

And the point is if you make a New Year Resolution – focus.

So should an Christian deal with a New Year Resolution? My thought, absolutely. Why not give your Christian walk a little more pinpointed motivation?

Now, of course there are a myriad of resolutions that a Christian could make – better church attendance, more fellowship, healthier lifestyle – but one of the most important should be Bible reading. And that centers on a good Bible Reading Plan. If you resolve to read more of the Bible in 2014, a haphazard approach will not work. Find a plan you like and focus on it everyday.

Here’s a few suggestions. (BTW, if you do an internet search for “Bible Reading Plans,” you likely receive 13 million hits.)

BibleStudyTools.com has a list of 17 plans - http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/ - all categorized and themed. Pick one and get busy.

Ligonier Ministries has a similar list that includes PDF downloads. Go here http://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/.

About.com Christianity has a nice selection of plans, a couple of which are different from the usual - http://christianity.about.com/od/biblereadingplans/tp/topbiblereadpla.htm.

Look these over and if you find one you like, get at it.

Or…

You can create your own. How? Well, if you got by sixth grade math, figure this. There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament for a total of 1189. With 365 days in the year 2014 that’s 3.25753424 chapters per day. How easy is that?

 

Let’s get to it. Our country needs a little more Bible reading and a little less TV viewing.

 

 

 

The Most Arrogant Man in America

… and he's conservative.

About a week ago on Bill O'Reilly's Factor, found on Fox News, Fox contributor Bernie Goldberg made a statement that can fairly be classified as the most arrogant I have ever heard – at least out loud on television. It's these type of statements that one might conjure up within the comfort and privacy of his pea-sized brain, but would never be so dumb as to actually say it with enough volume that others could actually here.

Here's the scenario. During a debate with Howard Kurtz concerning the A&E/Phil Robertson debacle, Goldberg made the statement, “The earth is 4.2 billion years old. I don't care what the Bible says; I don't what Jesus says; I don't care what God says.” He went on to make a couple more statements about how the Bible is ignorant which only further demonstrates the point here.

A torrid stream of comments about Mr. Goldberg and his thought process is not worth the effort at this time. Suffice it to say that in ten short seconds he demonstrated exactly what is wrong with America today.

Thank you for your substantiation, albeit unintentional, Mr. Goldberg.

Worthy Publishing was kind enough to send us this book for review. But, since my wife is a certified nutritionist, she took over the task of reviewing Food Triggers. She blogs regularly at New Creations Ministries on faith, food and its relationship to the Christian life. The link is here http://newcreationsministries.wordpress.com/.

In a world that seems to be obsessed with weight loss and dietary plans, self-help and personal assistance books are in great supply. Food Triggers adds to the mix. But, at the same time, Food Triggers, * End Your Cravings* Eat Well and Live Better, is a breath of fresh air. It provides both knowledge and inspiration in the “dietary wars.”

What is especially inspirational about Food Triggers is that it has integrity. Author Rhona Epstein, Psy.D, is an extremely accomplished woman. She is a licensed psychologist, certified addictions counselor and marriage and family therapist with a doctorate in clinical psychology. Yet, despite the impressive credentials, she still faced a private demon. Her extremely open and realistic perspective in confronting and conquering an eating addiction, is all part of the credibility of her book. In Food Triggers, she lays out practical pathways in well thought out form, to overcome them.

Interspersed with Christian values and Biblical verses, it is sensibly written using intelligent applications to which anyone can adhere. For example, using case composites of her many patients, we learn that  it is not simply a matter of willpower as many believe. Additional emotional and physiological challenges factor into the equation. She lays out how the mind-body connection affects our actions.

Dr. Epstein addresses how one’s relationships, internal beliefs, lack of pre-planning and brain chemistry among others, affects food triggers and how one retrains beliefs in order to take care of our bodily temple.

Food Triggers touches on what addicts relate to most and is a must for anyone who struggles with food addiction. It’s a refreshing perspective on instituting eating self-control in one’s life.

If you go to church on Sunday, most likely, hopefully, you will hear a sermon. The sermon is usually delivered by a trained preacher. In part, what you think of the sermon and how you can apply that sermon to your life is dependent on the content. The content of a preacher’s sermon should be developed through hours of blood, sweat, tears and prayer.

Just how a preacher should engage his blood, sweat, tears and prayer into a sermon is what Alec Motyer’s compact volume is all about. Motyer is a British Biblical scholar. He is the Old Testament editor of IVP's commentary series, The Bible Speaks Today, and has written several volumes in that series. Additionally, he has had a lifetime ministry in the pastoral field. So, on the subject of preaching, he is well experienced.

This book gives advice and counsel on how to develop the content of a sermon and in large part provides examples of the method of preparation of a sermon. Unfortunately it weighs heavily to the second part and at times becomes more of a Biblical commentary than a self-help volume on preaching. It provides excellent examples on how to do Bible exegesis with a few preaching thoughts mixed in.

If you’re looking for a new approach to preaching, give Preaching? a try. If you’re a young preacher still developing your style, give Preaching? a try. But most of all, if you want to learn how to study the Scriptures better, whether you’re a preacher or not, give Preaching? a try.

In a Christian literary world that is beleaguered with “how-to-live-a-better-Christian-life” books, Deward Publishing author Jason Hardin has offered us another, Boot Camp - this one focusing on how a Christian man can live opposite to what the world expects. Hardin’s approach is a bit unique. As can surely be surmised from the title, his volume centers around a military theme. Hardin uses this military launching point to focus in on his central topic – integrity.

The book is divided into three sections: Frist is “The Beginning of Our Journey” which introduces the subject at hand and is a challenge to Biblical integrity in the framework of military terminology. Second is “As Integrity is Born, What Must Be Put to Death?” which addresses seven challenges to integrity such as Selfishness, Idolatry and Sins of the Tongue. Part Three is “The Lord’s Armory” in which Hardin issues the ultimatum for men to rely on the Lord.

Boot Camp highlights Hardin’s marvelous creative imagination. For example in Chapter One he introduces us to a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12.1) that are the spectators in an ancient coliseum. We are the participants in the arena of life. Imagine Moses, Gideon and David observing as you live your life. With this imagery Hardin gets our attention right from the start.

The text is frequently intertwined with Scripture which supports the challenges that Hardin wishes to issue. It should direct you to your Bible to check out his exegesis.

While Boot Camp really doesn’t break any new ground, it is certainly worth the read. Hardin’s style is light which makes the book an easy read. It is encouraging and challenging and will serve as an excellent primer for a new Believer and a challenging reminder to more mature and experienced Christians.