Limitless

Limitless: Devotions for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic

Those familiar with Nick’s story will be amazed at how he keeps on living the good life in the midst of what most people would deem an utter tragedy.  Having been born with no limbs, Nick has gone through his share of peaks and valleys in life.  This new book, Limitless is a gathering of fifty devotions aimed at inspiring those down on their hopes and dreams and needing a dose of encouragement.  Each devotion provides a Scripture passage, a short inspirational message, and an ending few sentences set apart to anchor the message of each devotion in a memorable fashion. 

High Points of the Devotion

One cannot come away with many of the stories that Nick tells without a sense of awe and wonder.  In lesson 7 Nick tells of his travels to China to speak to an orphanage, one which housed those without families due to the devastating earthquake.  Nick writes, “I didn’t have to inspire these children. Instead, they inspired me with their courageous, soaring spirits.  They had lost their parents, their homes, and all their belongings, yet they were expressing joy” (26).  Hope in the midst of a hopeless situation, these children gave Nick hope when he was coming to share that same message of hope.  In this devotion, the theme of hope radiates out from the pages providing a snapshot of what it means to dream and pursue one’s desires in a very difficult situation.

Nick also brings his readers to the see their lives as filled with purpose.  Even more, he gives a challenge for people who want to sit back and ride on the coat tails of others.  He writes, “…you can’t just sit around and wait for a break.  You have to seize upon every thread and weave a rope you can climb” (87).  Enjoying the show but now putting in the work crushes the hopes of people because the effort or journey is part of the dream as well.  It doesn’t take a genius to know that Michael Jordan didn’t win basketball championships for the Chicago Bulls by coming to practice late every day.  Nick’s good word of challenge is a welcome addition to those who want to slack off and enjoy the hard work of others.

Low Points of the Devotion

Time and time again I found myself scratching my head at Nick’s lack of interaction with the Scripture passage that he cites on the first page of every devotion.  The stories and bits of wisdom were good and read much like a good self-help book, but the lack of healthy engagement with how God’s Word fuels al of life was lacking throughout the devotion.  On devotion number 30, Nick makes it a point to stress the importance networking to advance in one’s job and life but neglects to comment the nature of humility and pride his chosen text,  Proverbs 16:16-22 speaks about.  I don’t disagree with his words about networking but this point has nothing to do with humility or trusting in the Lord.   Lastly, I also found many of the devotions similar in tone and thought to his other books, which laid out his story and philosophy.  Rehashing old material is good, but I felt many of the devotions were repeats of his past work.

If you enjoy hearing about the story of how Nick manages to live life to the fullest, embracing the Lord even in weakness, this book is for you. 

Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah  and the Blogging for Books program for the copy of this book in exchange for review.

I've Got Your Back by James C. Galvin

I’ve Got Your Back: A Leadership Parable by James C. Galvin

James C. Galvin, author, organizational consultant and creator of the Life Application Study Bible has brought his wealth of wisdom to bear upon leadership in his new book entitled I’ve Got Your Back.  By developing a leadership parable that centers on the lives of four young adults and a man of wisdom to guide them, this book is quite unlike any leadership book I’ve read.  Even more, the book offers a concise theology of leadership and followership in this last section that provides a snapshot of how God directs leaders and followers in the Scriptures.  I want to say at the outset that I was expecting a quite dull and boring book devoted towards either harping on moral requirements for leaders or a bunch of nice leadership stories.  Rather, what you get here is a refreshing and invigorating way of looking what it means to follow and lead well.

Aha Moments in the Book

In the meetings with Jack, the four members of the group were seeking to grow in their efforts at leading at work, church, and in volunteer opportunities.  At one point Jack refers to Psalm 78:72 and then says a quite remarkable thing, “There is a being side and doing side to leadership.  You cannot neglect either one.  You need both character and competence to lead well.  Books by business leaders tend to neglect the being side.  Books by church leaders tend to neglect the doing side.  They focus almost exclusively on character and spiritual formation issues” (60).  The skills that follow or flow out of one’s life are a result of the character within a person but without both the necessary competence with a solid character the boat will sink.  The best leaders seek to develop an eye for the details of their craft while being immersed in a sense of continually being the right kind of person for all of life. 

James goes on to develop how Jack will carry out this notion of leading well by making an unusual but extremely insightful statement.  Jack says, “If you want to learn how to lead, you must first learn to follow well” (61).  You learn what followers need by following well and seeking to answer the questions that a follower would have for his leader.  It is impossible to think that a leader can emerge by merely passing by the needs of his followers and not putting himself in their shoes for a day.  Yet, this is what happens every day in the world of commerce.  The advantage this approach has to offer is that it regularly focuses on the begin and doing side of leadership while maintaining the aim that leadership focuses on carrying out a servant’s mission to God, inherited authority, and overseers at work.  This part was eye-opening for me  because it forced me to look at past leaders, their faults and good leadership skills with a keen sense of how I have emulated and followed them in my leadership.  Furthermore, throughout the parable you get the sense that being a good leader is really about knowing the people you lead and follow well.  We see the command of Jesus to love our neighbors, but we also realize that sometimes we don’t know our neighbors full first and last name.  Therefore, it is only right that to serve well is to act and be intentional about knowing those around us.

The section that James wrote on providing a concise theology of leadership and followership was a good foray into what the Bible speaks about concerning these issues.  One highlight that I found in these passages was the relationship between biblical passages and the three Types of followership.  James writes, “Type II followership applies to all levels of government.  Some people thing they’re doing well by obeying federal laws while ignoring lesser laws such as city or village ordinances.  Or speed limits.  These biblical teachings apply to all levels of government from federal legislation to community ordinances” (162).  Following inherited authorities, including government, should not be a pick and choose kind of game as to what rules we should follow.  Rather, our respect and citizenship as members of God’s kingdom demands that we follow these authorities well.  This kind of clear biblical teaching reminds me that every day I am teaching my child something about driving and obeying authority as I live, in the times of speeding and in times when follow well. 

One Criticism

The only drawback or criticism I had of the book was in the last section on a Concise Theology of Leadership and Followership.  I think the myriad of biblical examples given for each Type of Followership were very good.  Yet, I was a bit overwhelmed at trying to see how each example fit into the concepts of inherited authority, God loving following, and organizational authority.  At times, I think it would’ve been helpful to draw out the meaning and application of a select few passages that illuminate following and leading well.  Yet, I think the goal might be that these passages might become a wealth of resources to turn back to as we walk down the road of leading and following well.

Commendation

Overall, I’ve Got Your Back is a great book on leadership because it provides solid wisdom and biblical advice on both crucial aspects of leading and following.  The telling of the parable was a powerful way of examining leadership through story.  I don’t think I have read a book quite like this on leadership and I am glad to recommend it anyone I meet.

Thanks to Handlebar, James C. Galvin and Tenth Power Publishing for the copy of this book in exchange for review.

Interpreting the Pauline Letters

Interpreting the Pauline Letters: An Exegetical Handbook by John D. Harvey

John D. Harvey, Professor of New Testament at Columbia International University has written an accessible, thorough yet insightful book on introducing students to the great Apostle Paul’s letters.  The book is divided up into 8 chapters that begin from the genre and historical background of Paul’s letters onto theological and interpretive matters.  The beauty of this book is that it provides a snapshot of the key features of Paul’s writings while not overburdening the student with various rabbit trails a book like this could take (New Perspective, meaning of dikaiosune, Galatian hypothesis, etc.).  Rather than try to capture every chapter in review, I think it would be best to outline some of the highlights the book has to offer while also engaging the book where I think it could be stronger.

Key Highlights

Harvey’s concept of apostolic apologia in Ch. 1 was immensely helpful in seeking to understand Paul’s life, his gospel message and his ministry as an apostle.  Harvey writes, “In those sections, he deals with the gospel, defends his ministry, and/or presents his credentials.  These sections are particularly useful sources of information in seeking to develop an understanding of Pauline biography and chronology from his letters” (37).  Passage in Ephesians 2 and 3, material from the book of Galatians (ch. 1-2), and other areas bring to the surface a timeline of Paul’s ministry efforts, his opponents and their teaching, an how the gospel went forth through the church communities.  Rather than taking Paul’s defense of his gospel ministry as another rung on a ladder of information, these sections provide very concrete details on how his gospel ministry went out among the cities and nations, bringing both Jew and Gentile into one body.  This kind of an understanding fills the gaps for students trying to piece together the chronology of Paul’s life and also the events that are mirrored in Luke’s telling of the story in the book of Acts.

Drawing together a theological model for understanding Paul’s letters is no difficult task.  Even harder is seeking to focus on one controlling model for Paul’s theology.  Yet, Harvey points out a largely assumed but ignored point by writing, “In many ways Paul’s language is antithetic.  For example, the opposing pairs of flesh and Spirit, of law and grace, of Adam and Christ, and of old man and new man are readily apparent to anyone who reads Paul’s letters….they provide a starting point for understanding the major contours of his theology” (80).  Particularly illuminating is Paul’s insistence of describing people as “in Christ” 172 times in his letters (81).  Harvey details this use of “in Christ” in Paul’s writings by highlighting the two spheres of existence which come out of a full glance at his writings.  By focusing on concepts like ‘in Adam’ and ‘in Christ, ‘ and the transfer from darkness to light, works of the flesh to fruits of the Spirit, we get a sense of the radical change that takes place when a person moves from one sphere to the other.  Harvey writes, “Practically, it expresses the way in which being “in Christ” affects every sphere of life” (81).  In good Reformed fashion, we see how being in Christ should be proclaimed in every facet and sphere of life, not just in a private spiritual life. 

The process of interpreting sections of Paul’s letters in Greek can be a daunting task but Harvey has helpfully outlined 6 steps to help students with the task (114).  The encouragement that Harvey gives is that the task of translating should be broken down into bite size pieces that are manageable.  In putting it this way, Harvey has given the student an eye for the main clause of the sentence and the clauses that surround the main point of the text.  As someone who has studied Greek but has not kept up with it, this reminder pushes aside the overwhelming feeling of seeing such large chunks of material and feeling overwhelmed. 

Area Which Could be Stronger

I only see one area in which the book could have been strengthened.  We really only get a little over a page of material on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament (142-3).   Interpreting Philippians 2:5-11 is a bear to interpret without an understanding of Isaiah 45 as a backdrop for the hymn.  Furthermore, portions of Galatians really need some good understanding of Genesis to help aid in interpretation.  I know that a book this size can’t include everything (Beale’s work is a great example of OT in NT), but a few more pages will help the student with a grasp on interpretive strategies for understanding OT passages in the NT. 

Overall, I was really impressed with this book and would recommend to anyone wanting to cut their teeth on Paul’s letters, in Greek and English.  For the student, this handbook is a valuable resource in study while also providing select resources for further study.

Thanks to Kregel Academic Publishers for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review

The Life of St. Patrick

Ireland’s Saint: The Essential Biography of St. Patrick by J.B. Bury

Not very often do century old biographies on the saints of old stand the test of time, but J.B. Bury’s insightful look at St. Patrick’s life is certainly one of them.  As Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University, Bury was no stranger to the swirling debates around the life of St. Patrick.  This new edition with Jon Sweeney’s editor eyes throughout the whole book is a great way to get introduced to St. Patrick.  Sweeney provides commentary on each side of the page to fill in the gaps where more info is needed, specifically regarding the other characters in the story that Bury mentions.

In the first chapter Bury seeks to put to rest the age old extreme and opposite views of Patrick: “The older view is that he introduced the Christian religion and converted the whole island.  The more recent view holds that the sphere of his activity was restricted to the one, small province of Leinster on the eastern seaboard” (21).  Bury answers this dilemma with proposing that Patrick did three things; organized the Christianity which already existed, converted kingdoms which were still pagan, and brought the church of the Empire part of universal Christendom (22).  With a careful key to the details of Patrick’s life, one startling fact was that Bury mentions that Patrick diffused a knowledge of Latin in Ireland.  Opening up the clergy the whole corpus of patristic literature would preserve the unified Empire of the church in all its lands (27).  The impact on my reading here was that Patrick did not seek to reinvent the wheel for Ireland, but rather sought to align Ireland with universal character of the existing church.  Rather than see Patrick as a rebel without a cause, he was rather a messenger in a strange and frightful land.

We find out in the chapter entitled How Patrick Came to Ireland that ‘Patrick’s father Calpurnius was a  Christian deacon and his father before him had been a presbyter’ (44).  Even in the middle of threats from both sides of the land from warring tribes, Calpurnius thought it a worthwhile calling to be a Christian deacon.  Further in his life, we find out that as Patrick grew he learned the Scriptures but was also not free from ‘Irish freebooters who roamed the coast’ (49).  In fact, Patrick was captured by these Irish freebooters on his father’s land and taken away.  Living the bitter taste of forced labor and bondage was very difficult for Patrick.  Yet, as Bury indicates, “While he ate the bitter bread of bondage in a foreign land, a profound spiritual change came over Patrick” (53).  Taken by pirates, forced to work laboriously for a taskmaster, the Lord got a hold of Patrick as he began to pray early and late in the day.  This period in Patrick’s life was critical in his spiritual and visionary development for the Christian faith and for Ireland. 

This book was a real delight in that it took the various historical details that we find about Patrick and puts them in a larger context of the work of the church.  Furthermore, Jon Sweeney’s work in editing and commenting on the Patrick’s life provides  a great update to what is swirling around in modern Patrician scholarship.  The chapter on Early Conversions and Communities was particularly illuminating regarding the pagan communities who were won over to the Christian faith in the midst of tribes and peoples who would rather go to war than sit at the hands of Jesus Christ.  I heartily recommend this book to those wanting to know more about Patrick’s life.

Thanks to Paraclete Press for the review copy of this book in exchange for review.

Journey to Joy

Journey to Joy: The Psalms of Ascent by Josh Moody

In this challenging new book called Journey to Joy, author Josh Moody takes the reader on a journey through the Psalms of Ascent (120-134) to the heart of God.  At the beginning, Moody sees a great need for reflection on these Psalms because ‘I believe there is a crying need for people who believe the Bible to feel it’ (13).  As he goes onto write, the Psalms ‘pull no punches,’ they have a way of pointing to all facets of our experience, both the pain, suffering, and jubilations of life.  Josh wants to guide his readers through these Psalms as a pilgrim is starting his long journey to seek the heart of God.  Centering around the three great festivals of Israel and designed to get the truth of God and its powerful effect on our hearts, Josh provides a healthy context in which we might travel with him on the journey.

In chapter 3 called Help, Josh dives right into Psalm 121.  Focusing on vv.3-5, he writes, “Just trust God,” “someone can say, like a plaster applied to a hemorrhage.  So the psalm does far more than offer simplistic piety.  First, it says that this God is the maker of everything….No, he’s the rock-solid creator of heaven and earth, all of reality.  That is who he is” (33). Not only this but God will preserve and protect his people, he will look after them.  Josh helpfully reminds us that when we look up from the hills and trust God with all of life, we are confronted with the reality the one who redeems the lost is also the one who sustains the whole world, even our own little world that we live in.  This truth is a bit overwhelming because we walk around with anxiety and fear about future possible situations without fully resting in the truth of God’s Word.  

  Lastly, Josh mentions the fact that God will keep us from all evil, not that God keeps us from all kinds of suffering.  Will God work through the contingencies of life even if they are painful?  Yes, but “He is a shade protecting you from the heat of the work of the noonday sun and the anxiety and fears of the moonlit night” (37).

The chapter entitled Beating the Daily Grind was one of my favorite.  Writing about children, Josh writes, “But here is distinctly male motivation for the man who wants the wife but is not sure about the children: great inheritance, great pay, and really good at winning battles” (94).  Children as heritage, reward, and weapons is evident in Psalm 127.  This thinking however is not the normal train of thought  for parents, even fathers.  Rather, we want to children as a blessing but also a strain on our lives.  The Psalmist and Josh helps us see that they reward we have is our children, that no monetary amount would be match the reward we have in having children.  Part of the outcome of this idea of children being an inheritance, reward, and weapon is that when our children are older they will be a hedge of protection for us.  Shipping mom off to the nursing home without seeing her during the year is not a sufficient answer to serving our parents, but finding creative ways to love them and protect them from all kinds of harm will help.  I can only think of the way our fast paced world might feel to someone who grew up 60-70 years ago.  This psalm is a reminder that God’s perspective on children is much more of a blessing and reward than we might think.

I really enjoyed this book!!  It helped me dive back into the Psalms and see myself on a journey to the heart of God.  The applications were direct and focused on a sound biblical theology.  May you be encouraged as I was by reading this book.

Thanks to Crossway for the copy of this book in exchange for review.

The Sin of Forgiveness

The Sin of Forgiveness by Edward F. Mrkvicka with Kelly Helen Mrkvicka

This new book uniquely titled The Sin of Forgiveness by Edward Mrkvicka is a look into the concept of forgiveness from a quite different angle.  At the beginning, the author writes, “Godly forgiveness is, for the sinner and the wronged, a healing process whereby both can become spiritually whole again.  The person granting absolution regains that was lost to the sin, while the sinner regains a rebirth ultimately seeking righteousness” (vi).  This definition of forgiveness involves a healing on both sides but is much more akin to the concept of restoration.  Forgiveness is not counting the wrong someone did to you against them and moving forward in relationship.  For Mrkvicka, forgiveness is not to be offered unless there is a response rooted in repentance (viii).  I get the sense that Mrkvicka is pointing out that unless a sinner repents, believes in Christ, then, only then will you be able to forgive him.  This kind of thinking is not only unhelpful but dangerous in the end. 

Areas of Disagreement

In the chapter on The Importance of Context, Mrkvicka writes, “This treatise on the subject of forgiveness is not my opinion, but rather the result of a lifetime of Bible study and Bible-based counseling” (1).  Again, he writes, “However, I want to go on record again as stating that I have no religious opinions.  Nor do I interpret God’s Word” (131).  Every person who writes a book interpreting the Bible has to interpret the Bible using a method alongside certain resources.  To say that this book is not the author’s opinion on forgiveness or that he doesn’t interpret the Bible displays a utter lack of his own writing. Mrkvicka interprets passages his own way time and time again. 

On page 80 he writes, “When we forgive those who should not be forgiven, we make their sins our sins…I can’t speak for others, but on Judgment Day I’ll have enough trouble on my own without taking on the sins of others” (80).  Mrkvicka cites no passage here but just doles out his own view that on Judgment Day God will judge us because we forgave someone whom we shouldn’t have.  This is rather poor interpretation and even more important a dangerous dose of medicine for believers.   Not only is this not true, but is also unwarranted from the Scriptures.

Many of the forgiveness passages in the New Testament concern the relationship of believers in the church and their sin against one another.  Furthermore, throughout the epistles the common theme is that God does not count our sins against us because of what Christ has done, his work being applied to our account.  Salvation is nothing less than the removal of a debt against God and a rescuing from the ravaging effects to new life in union with Jesus Christ.  This kind of way of talking about forgiveness was not communicated very well.

Lastly, the Mrkvicka misunderstands the notion of once saved, always saved.  If this is to mean that a prayer in a church said many years ago is a saving grace and the accompanying fruit is not there, I can go with him.  Yet, the idea of once saved always saved, at least in Reformed circles, is that God preserves his people to the end because God is the one whom saves them completely apart from any effort they could do.  Salvation and faith are both gifts and are fully dependent upon the God who gives them.  Therefore, believing and then falling away and believing again rest more heavily on a view of salvation that comports with human effort.

I can’t recommend this book to those wanting to understand forgiveness.  The idea that repentance and forgiveness go together is one that I thought was a good point.  However, I think the book misses the point in too many areas to be of encouragement to believers.

Thanks to Cross Focused Reviews and CrossLink Publishing for the review copy of this book in exchange for review.

Tracing God's Footprints

I Am That I Am: Tracing the Footprints of God by Judy Azar LeBlanc

This new book by Judy LeBlanc is written to outline and trace the eight covenants of the Bible, Jesus’ parables and the way in which the divine names of God reflect unique aspects of God’s character.  The chapters in this book are short enough to follow while giving you a small dose of the biblical material and commentary by theologians and scholars.

The Takeaway

One, this book was an overambitious project to begin with.  The goal of outlining God’s covenantal dealings with his people and presenting Jesus’ parables with any detail in just over 450 pages is hard to do by any stretch of imagination.  For instance, at the beginning of the book LeBlanc gives one page to describing what a covenant is and how it functions.  She goes onto focus here efforts by quoting from Lewis Sperry Chafer, a Dispensational theologian, who outlines eight covenants found in the Bible.  Rather than giving a rationale for why she decided to take the Dispensational route for understanding these covenants, she plows on ahead by quoting Dispensational authors throughout the rest of the book.  A better way might have been to explain why a Dispensational view is better than a Covenantal or Reformed view.

Secondly, the format was not at all appealing to reading.  By quoting large sections of the works of others without any footnotes, I got the feeling that the book was more about what experts had to say than the author.  Footnotes or endnotes would have been much better for understanding the flow of argument in the book and the rationale for understanding her view of biblical passages.

The Positive

LeBlanc points to a very important fact in the Gospel accounts on p. 342 when she writes, “All of those who were ill and did touch Jesus’ outer garment were also immediately healed.”  People were literally dying to meet Jesus because they knew he had the power to cure their illness.  LeBlanc is right to point out that Jesus’ healing power was evident for all of those who touched him, regardless of their stations, status, or economic state in life.    At another point, LeBlanc makes mention of the feeding of the 4,000 by bearing witness to Jesus’ holistic ministry by writing, “Characteristic of Jesus’ nature of compassion, mercy, and love in caring not only about people’s spiritual well-being, but of their physical well-being as well,…” (413).  The kind of ministry Jesus exhibits to the people here is an example of his wonderful compassion to provide life for the whole body, not just a spiritual truth but a physical nourishment as well.  It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to listen to even a masterful teacher and prophet as Jesus while being awaken by an empty stomach.

Although I can see how this book might be a decent reference book for some, I can’t recommend it for those wishing to understand God’s covenants and Jesus’ parables. 

Thanks to Book Crash and Cross Link Publishing for the review copy of this book.