Book Review – Passing Through: Pilgrim Life in The Wilderness by Jeremy Walker

As if Jeremy Walker could anticipate the recent monumental Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Ruling and my reading his book, he begins the book with the poem “Passing Through” by Horatius Bonar, which aptly describes the way I increasingly feel about living in this world, but yearning for the Kingdom.  In true Puritan like fashion, Jeremy Walker gives extended precise theological grounding and extended sound practical suggestions for living in this world but not being of the world.

The book begins with the key observation that your sense of identity determines your modes of activity and that both need to be examined in the light of scripture. The rest of the book then proceeds to draw this out primarily from scripture but also with numerous references to Reformed Christian thought.

I loved the format of the book. Each chapter takes a look at one aspect of being a Pilgrim. Within each chapter there are four sections: introductory remarks, the scriptural framework, summary thoughts, and specific counsels. Within these sections main points are italicized. So while for the modern reader the book may seem a little precise and nuanced, the form makes it easier to read.

This book is a very encouraging read. I found the chapters on understanding the environment, knowing the enemy, fighting the battles and respecting the authorities most relevant to living in today’s culture and world. I was reminded that I too easily dismiss our enemy the devil as if he did not exist or had little power. I was instructed on the importance of respecting the authorities while being able to stand firm, without being offensive, on those things which are non-negotiable.

A timely and helpful book.

I received this book for free from Reformation Heritage Books via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review -- Bitesize Biographies Ulrich Zwingli by William Boekestein

This is not an easy book to read for one unfamiliar with European geography and church and civil government during the sixteenth century. Words such as Diet, canton, burgomaster and “biblical humanist” were used without explanation, making it hard for me to follow much of the detail in the earlier part of the book. This is not a criticism of the author as much as a warning for those expecting to find this book a simple read.

The author, William Boekestein, has done a tremendous job in documenting the life and times of Ulrich Zwingli during the Swiss Reformation.  The author deals straightforwardly with the struggles Zwingli had with his own sin, with the Anabaptists, with the Roman Catholic Church and chronologically explains the reforms Zwingli instituted in Zurich and the differences he had with Martin Luther.  This book is a worthwhile read and a good introduction to a most influential, but lesser read reformer.  The quality of the writing and research is what you would expect from William Boekestein, who also co-authored Why Christ Came: 31 meditations on the incarnation.

I received this book for free from Evangelical Press via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review

Book Review -- Living Without Worry by Timothy Lane

Here is a book that provides insights to overcome or lessen worry.  The first part of the book states the case for overcoming worry and carefully describes it; what it is and what it is not.  Worry’s connection to fear and to things we love more than God is carefully described. 

Chapters three through six takes a look at worry past, present and future with comparisons and contrasts on how biblical characters dealt with worry and how Jesus meets the need. Timothy Lane provides suggestions for the way out of worry for anxiety that has its origins in each of these time periods.

Chapters seven through nine are filled will much practical advice on how to start to change, a presentation of truths to help counter your worry and advice on how to cast your cares onto Christ.  In these chapters Timothy Lane draws parallels between the call to wisdom in Proverbs and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. In both places there is the call to trust God to really experience life free from fear and harm.  On page 92 he says, “Until you are able to draw a line from your behavior and what is driving it, you can’t call out to God for grace to enable you to turn away from what you are living for and find the grace of Christ you need to start changing.”

Chapter ten is a look at the advice to Paul about his worry.

The conclusion wraps up the book with a reminder about God’s command to not worry, the tenderness with which God makes this command and the promise He makes about giving us the Kingdom which reassures us that we have everything we need for this life and the life to come.

The author does a good job of giving clarity about what worry is and how to begin to grow away from worry, replacing it with peace.  Although I consider Edward T. Welch’s book Running Scared: Fear, Worry and The God of Rest most helpful, Timothy Lane’s book comes a close second, providing different biblical illustrations and entry points for beginning to get a grip on worry.

Book Review – Honest Evangelism: How to Talk About Jesus Even When it’s Tough by Rico Tice

Honest Evangelism is a book that recognizes that changes in the culture call for changes in the way we communicate the Gospel to the nations. Gone are the days when people come to church to learn about God and gone are the days when most people know Bible basics. Rico Tice acknowledges we are in a culture of growing hostility toward Christianity and his advice to us in being faithful witnesses to Christ are grounded in this reality.

Setting the stage: In the first two chapters Rico Tice explains his own experience of becoming a new Christian, the excitement around sharing the gospel, and the reality of the opposition he experienced in sharing it.

Understanding why we often don’t evangelize: In chapter 3 he gives two reasons we often don’t evangelize. The first is that we plain get discouraged by the opposition and lack of enthusiastic response to our sharing the Gospel. The second is a misplaced love, where what we treasure prevents us from sharing the Gospel. For Rico Tice, it was the approval he wanted from his family more than the pain of rejection he might have to endure by sharing the gospel with his dying grandmother.

Motivations to evangelize: In chapter 4 Rico Tice says remembering three things transformed his willingness and practice of sharing the Gospel: God’s sovereignty, God’s grace and God’s power.

How we do it: In chapters 5-8 we have some real encouragement and very practical help in getting started sharing the Gospel or restarting this practice. Chapter 5 talks about necessary life skills, such as knowing what to say and “chatting your faith”. Engaging someone in conversation about the Gospel Tice says, is being yourself with the gifts God has given you and bringing naturally into the conversation what it was like becoming a Christian: What was I like before? What did Christ do for me? and What difference does he make?  The conversation can be taken further by reflecting on how you are growing in this relationship and what the cross and resurrection mean to you now.

The book ends with a listing by category of some very useful resources to use in more study, resources for sharing and one-on-one bible reading.

I did not find a whole lot new in this book, but I was very much encouraged by it. It is short, concise, quite readable but not trivial and with specific helps. I think the way Tice framed the issue, shared his own struggles and laid out some very practical advice reminded me in a powerful way of the great privilege and responsibility that is ours to testify to what God did and is doing, and to have courage to speak of the danger of not believing. My tendency is to share hard cold facts of who Christ is and what He has done. This book reminded me to be personal and share with others how God is redeeming my brokenness and that he can rescue them from the reality of hell to a life of eternal bliss, just as He is doing for me.

Book Review - Heaven How I got Here: The Story of the Thief on The Cross by Colin S Smith

I would classify this book as creative nonfiction. As such, anyone thinking they are sitting down to a good novel, will be disappointed.  A good novel communicates truth by showing it to us.  Creative nonfiction is telling something, rather than showing something, using a fictional story. Lee Gutkind, a pioneer in creative nonfiction says “Ultimately, the primary goal of the creative nonfiction writer is to communicate information, just like a reporter, but to shape it in a way that reads like fiction.”   I think this fairly sums up what Colin Smith accomplished in this book.

The Gospel is what Colin Smith lays out very clearly and nicely by imagining what the thief on the cross might have been thinking as he, along with Jesus was crucified. It is told from the vantage point of the thief, now happily in heaven, describing his life and thoughts while being crucified.

This book functions well to help one find words to explain the Gospel. It would help one who is struggling with how to share one’s faith; one’s experience of being ‘born again’.  It is also a good read for someone who does not understand the active and passive obedience of Christ. The thief on the cross explains both aspects of this in a very personal way.

I struggled through the first part of the book mostly because I was expecting a different genre, but I sang through the last half of this very quick read. It is 95 pages, large print, and worth taking the time to read it.

I received this book for free from Christian Focus Publications via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review.

Book Review – Spurgeon’s Sorrows: Realistic Hope for Those Who Suffer from Depression by Zack Erswine.

Pastor and author Zack Eswine never fails to make me feel human again.  He writes in such a gentle and empathetic way, he manages to pour oil on my brokenness and supplies a companion through the dark days felt by those familiar with suffering.

In this book, Eswine artfully describes Spurgeon’s experience with depression and how he ministered both to himself and to those under his care. Surprisingly, the approach Spurgeon took toward understanding and treating depression is quite in line with today’s understanding and treatment recommended by both pastoral and secular experts today. In Spurgeon’s time and our time, there is a recognition that both physical and certain patterns of thinking contribute to depression. Treatment may involve both the wise use of medicine and pastoral care

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The book is divided into three parts with four chapters for each part. In each of these three parts Eswine describes Spurgeon’s experience and counsel. Part one helps us to understand depression. He describes the condition and it’s causes. In part two we learn what helps and what doesn’t help those with depression. In part three are the helps that Spurgeon himself used and he discusses the difficult issue of suicide. Eswines sensitivity to those who suffer from depression is reflected in leaving the benefits of sorrow to the last chapter.

I’ve read several books on depression, but this one is the most helpful. It is the first book I will recommend to anyone who suffers from depression or is close to one who does.

Book Review – God’s Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation by David Saxton

In our day, Christians are much more apt to be familiar with Yoga and eastern meditative practices than with biblical meditation.  While some discerning Christians can utilize the positive benefits of Yoga without becoming involved in unbiblical forms of meditation, few really know how to engage in biblical meditation.

When I researched the subject of biblical meditation several years ago, the best I came up with is some good material by Edmund Clowney (Christian Meditation, Reagent College Publishing) , but I did not find anything that helped me overcome some of the hurdles in beginning a regular practice of biblical meditation.  Well, now I have it.  The Puritans give me exactly what I need and what you need to know and to engage profitably in the practice of biblical meditation.

The author’s goal in writing this book is “to convince God’s people of the absolute necessity of personal meditation.” His aim is to motivate and to teach people how to do this in a biblical way.  He draws heavily on the scriptures and on the “rich spiritual experience of Puritans who were committed to practicing spiritual meditation.”

Chapter 1 covers the importance of recovering the habit of biblical meditation. Drawing on the Puritans he says “Divine meditation has a multifaceted value. It provides us spiritual discernment; improves our Bible reading and prayer lives; applies the general truths of the Bible personally and specifically; strengthens our hearts by focusing on spiritual truths; and provides lasting benefit from dwelling on the truths we know.” In this and later chapters he adds much detail to these values.

Chapter 2 covers unbiblical forms of meditation. “Modern Christians have neglected the biblical practice of meditation to such an extent that many believe the entire practice is based in a pagan or Far Eastern religious concept. Certainly, when people speak about meditation today, they usually are not referencing the biblical practice. Thus, this chapter will identify and explain the common false notions of meditation.”

Chapter 3 defines and examines biblical meditation in the Old Testament, the New Testament and in the Puritans. I counted 42 Puritans in the Bibliography, so this chapter is well documented with a generous number of quotes to clarify the Puritan view.

Chapters 4 and 5 give definition to Occasional and Deliberate Meditation and spell out the benefits, dangers and proper use of each.

Chapter 6 is one of the most useful chapters in the book. As the Puritans were always quite detailed in their examination of things, so too are they in spelling out how to practice meditation. What follows is an outline of chapter 6.

The Best Time of Day for Meditation

The Best Place for Meditation

The Amount of Time Necessary for Meditation

The Importance of Consistency in Meditation

Steps in Beginning Effective Meditation

      Praying for the Spirit’s Help for Fervency

Choosing a Scriptural Thought by Bible Reading

Questioning, Considering, and Examining Oneself

Concluding with Personal Application, Resolution, and Prayer

Chapter 7 has extended discussions on important occasions for meditation.

Chapter 8 provides needed help in choosing subjects for meditation.

Chapter 9 is a very convincing chapter exploring the reasons why each believer should be regularly meditating upon God, His Word, and His works.

Chapter 10 considers eight benefits and blessings of cultivating a life of meditation.

Chapter 11 identifies the impediments and hindrances to meditation and gives suggestions for overcoming them.

Chapter 12 gets you started in developing the habit of meditation.

In the Conclusion author David Saxton takes a look at how the practice of meditation in the Christian life becomes a joy rather than a burden

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The Bibliography is a wonderful resource of primary and secondary Puritan Sources.

One of the strengths of this book is its fair and detailed handling of unbiblical forms of meditation, particularly Roman Catholic Spirituality, mysticism and contemplative prayer. While the following quote is rather long, it is worth reading.

“One further caution should be made regarding a more recent, popular movement within broad evangelical circles called contemplative worship or prayer. Similar to traditional Roman Catholic mysticism, contemplative prayer is an unbiblical form of meditation that seeks a spiritual experience through some kind of existential encounter with God apart from His written revelation. Though not a new danger, many evangelicals have begun to fall prey to the false idea of maintaining spiritual communion with the Lord apart from His ordained means of the Bible and prayer. The contemplative prayer movement seeks to experience God’s voice apart from His written Word. This movement is a product of a larger evangelical departure from an absolute conviction in the sufficiency of Scripture. It does not use Scripture alone to address the spiritual needs of the inner person. These various fads of spirituality that minimize Scripture have come and gone over the centuries, but truth remains the same: “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97) and “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105). We should heed the counsel of Thomas Manton: “Do not try to pry further than God hath revealed; your thoughts must be still bounded by the word. There is no duty that a fanatic brain is more apt to abuse than meditation…. Do not leave bread and wine and gnaw upon a stone.””

As the publisher says: “With the rich experiential theology of the Puritans, this book lays out a course for enjoying true meditation on God’s Word.”