Three Book Reviews: THE WAYS OF GOD, FORSAKEN, and ALLEREDNIC

THE WAYS OF GOD: FINDING PURPOSE THROUGH YOUR PAIN by Cherie Hill is a short book based on understanding the miracle of Jesus’ calming the sea. It teaches us how to apply this miracle to the storms of our lives.

            Overall, I thought Ms. Hill did a good job of communicating. Sometimes, though, there was a lot of repetition, and the writing is very simplistic as well. I found several serious grammatical errors. (Hopefully, they’re only in the Kindle edition.)

            As a devotional book, it is nice. Ms. Hill definitely helped me to think more about the application of this incident in Jesus’ ministry.

            For me, three-stars.

FORSAKEN by James David Jordan is an exciting book, definitely a page-turner.

            Taylor is the daughter of a Special Forces officer, and she takes after her dad. The story opens with a memorable 17^th birthday camping trip.

            Eleven years later, Taylor has worked for the Secret Service in Washington, D.C. and she has more experience (of all kinds) under her belt than most people have in a lifetime. She has started her own security firm back home in Texas.

            Evangelist Simon Mason calls and asks her to head up his security team. Taylor goes for the interview, and she starts the most scary adventure of her whole career. It includes crazies and Islamic terrorists as well as personal secrets and blackmail. The evangelist has to face the hardest choice of all.

            This book is well-written. It moves fast.

            I personally would like to have seen a stronger biblical testimony from Simon, although there is some. There are several references to salvation and faith in Jesus Christ. I would also like to have seen Taylor turn to the Lord. (Had I written it, I would have changed the plot in the most crucial part of the book.)

            Without being a spoiler, I can say that the ending was exactly as it should have been, and I loved it.

            A good book, entertaining, and well-written. If you are looking for a page-turner, this is it. Four stars.

ALLEREDNIC: A REGENCY CINDERELLA TALE—IN REVERSE by Chautona Havig is a book I read purely out of curiosity. (What is a Cinderella tale in reverse?) I admit; I loved it! This is a story, not a fairy tale. It contains an adaptation of the tale we all know and love. It is happy, and I think especially teen girls will enjoy this. It’s different and refreshing. ALLEREDNIC (Cinderella backwards, of course) is short, strongly Christian without preaching, and I thought, great! Five stars.

  

Positives vs. Negatives

Some people have the wrong impression of Christianity. They think it’s a system of behavior, a lot of dos and don’ts—especially don’ts. I can understand why they might think that way. They read the Ten Commandments and find dos and don’ts. They might know a self-righteous “Pharisee” who has a whole list of must dos and must not dos in order to “earn” a place in heaven.

Christianity is, in fact, a relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ. It isn’t determined by lists.

I was reading 1 Thessalonians 5:11-22 the other day. I started listing the positives and negatives in the passage, the dos and the don’ts. Here’s what I found:

POSITIVES:

            Comfort yourselves together. (verse 11)

            Edify one another. (11)

            Esteem Christian leaders highly. (13)

            Be in peace among yourselves. (13)

            Comfort the mentally challenged. (14)

            Support the weak. (14)

            Be patient with all people. (14)

            Follow what is good. (15)

            Rejoice evermore. (16)

            Pray without ceasing. (17)

            In everything give thanks. (18)

            Prove all things. (21)

            Hold fast to the good. (21)

NEGATIVES, actually instructions for their good:

            Warn the unruly. (14)

            Don’t pay back evil for evil. (15)

            Don’t quench the Holy Spirit. (19)

            Don’t despise prophecy. (20)

            Abstain from all appearance of evil. (22)

In this passage, we’re given a total of 13 positive statements and 5 negative commands. They are all for our good. All are so that church people can live happy, fulfilled, and joyful lives.

God isn’t an ogre! He doesn’t have a list of impossible goals for us that make us a good Christian or a bad Christian. We can’t earn a place in heaven anyway. It is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast (from Ephesians 2:8-9). After salvation, sanctification is the process of God’s working in us to conform us to the image of His Son. Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10b).

           

The positives definitely outweigh the negatives!