What does it mean to be a Christian?--Our Identity in Christ

Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ]]

In this book, author John Macarthur tackles the question: "What does it mean to be a Christian?" One could come up with dozens of different answers.  But Macarthur lands on the concept of Christians as slaves for Christ.  Through his research, he has come to the conclusion that this concept has been lost among those who claim to be Christians.  MacArthur does not shy away from the difficult topics, specifically the heinous act of slavery that America perpetuated as well as the current slaveholding that still exists in the world today.  Instead, he lays down a foundation by teaching what the word "slave" means and refers to both historically, presently and in the future.

His last few chapters address the act of adoption, focusing on the adoption of believers into God's "family", thus granting adoption that makes Christians the sons and daughters of God.

I appreciated the level and depth of study that Macarthur obviously did in order to be able to write this book.  It's very readable, but does not water-down truth.  No, instead the author, through his writing, seems to urge his reader to join with him in exploring the deeper things Christianity.  My only critique would be that it seemed repetitive at times.  But overall, I would highly recommend this book for a clearer understanding scripturally of the identity of a Christ follower.

What Good is God? by Philip Yancey

I am a fan of Philip precisely because he is willing to ask the hard questions; he asks the questions that I so often find running through my own mind. In his latest work, Yancey poses the question "What Good is God?" He then seeks the answer through reviewing a wide sample of trips he has taken in the past few years. His eclectic gathering of stories from such a wide variety of places lends credo to the answer to the question. From prostitutes to college students, to South Africans, addicts and other populations, his interview style and his openness about his own doubts and assurances about God give the reader much to think about. Thank you, Mr. Yancey, for once again being transparent with your own soul, so that your readers are more apt to be transparent with their souls before God.

Book Review: Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin

I started reading Kauflin's book, with the expectation that what I was about to read, would be geared mostly toward Worship Pastor's--those minister's whose calling and responsibilities encompass the music/drama/worship service details of a church body.  I was wrong.  While obviously that audience is the primary target, I found the material to be hugely engaging, theologically sound, and hugely educational for a person such as myself, a lay member involved in the music/worship ministry of our church.  Kauflin seems to cover all details, big and small, that make up a sound worship ministry.  He truly gives credence to his title "Worship Matters."  It matters because it is commanded.  It matters because it is Biblical.  It matters because God delights in it.  We must be professional in our attention to details, while open to flexibility and sensitive to what is happening in the moment.  We must examine our hearts, our motives, our plans to make sure they are Christ centered, to make sure they are scriptural centered.

Kauflin has written an easy to read, thought provoking treatise on worship, out of his own personal experiences and wealth of knowledge.  I am grateful for his willingness to share his thoughts and by doing so, bolster a continuing dialogue in our churches to emphasize that worship is not just the music on a Sunday morning, nor is it a battle between contemporary verses traditional styles of worship.  Rather, it is the all encompassing meeting of the church, to worship God through music, prayer, tithes, scripture, Biblical preaching and responsiveness to God.  It is all worship, we would do well to remember that more often, as Kauflin urges his readers to do just that.

A Brief Review of Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividijian

Tchividjian examines the story of Jonah with a microscope, with words that in turn causes the reader to examine their own heart, their own soul with an equally strong microscope. Grace, which the author proclaims is the bottom line for the story of Jonah, is a difficult concept to understand. Yet in this relatively short book, grace is not only defined in words that provide a framework for a deeper awareness of that grace, it also encourages an acceptance of the truth that there really is not human explanation for grace. Without grace, our existence would merely be mechanical and worthless. With grace, genuine worship of our God and our Jesus, becomes not just an act that we perform out of duty, but it becomes our lifeline and the central purpose for our lives.


I would consider this book to be a "must-read" for those who habitually run from God.

My Uncle Lewis

If one has never read C.S. Lewis' non-fiction works, then they, in my opinion, are missing out on the opportunity to not just read a brilliant thinker and writer, but they are also missing the privilege and honor to be allowed to see inside another human's soul, as they reason out the complexities of approaching God, and of being approached by God---being pursued by God.  Lewis' transparency and use of language can't help but cause the reader to examine their own mind and soul, and their very thinking about a relentless God's pursuit of a person like me, unworthy and a failure.

I will admit, I am one of the very few who do not like his fiction writing.  At all.  But as far as his non-fiction works, his brutal honesty about his own mind and soul, and his willingness to share (and admit!) that the human mind can be an entanglement of so many different textures of thoughts about God, funneling down eventually for him, to a surrender as quoted below---his words so echo my own heart and process.  That is why I have adopted him as my uncle, and how I wish he was still alive today, writing just the right words to express the very similar thoughts that I have in my own mind, that I just seem to be able to express as eloquently and succinctly.  Just don't ever make me read Chronicles of Narnia again.  Ever. :)

"You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.  That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me.  In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.  I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms.  The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet.  But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?  The hardness of God is softer than the softness of men."  (C S Lewis)

Recommendation: Commentary on Acts by John Stott

While I am far, far from qualified to recommend commentaries compared to really smart nerds and geeks, I find John Stott's writing and scripture analysis to be logical, well-reasoned and applicable to real life.  He is not afraid to state his opinion on scripture interpretation, but he backs up his conclusions thoroughly, plus he gives space to respectfully acknowledging those who disagree with him or who have come to a different conclusion than he has.

To purchase, Click the link below which will direct you to Amazon.com.  :)  LOL!!

1984 by George Orwell

How did I miss reading 1984?  I have thought for years that I've read this book; that I read it in high school during the renewed interest at that point because the world had reached the actual year of 1984.  But I am now thinking, that I had never read it before now because so much of it was unfamiliar to me.

The book, published in 1949, is a startling dystopia of a world destined to collapse individuality and purpose through mental as well as physical torture.  Orwell's vision of Big Brother exerting control through the use of "telescreens" must have been unnerving and unsettling to his readers in that generation.  History is continually written, creating new realities that "fit" the vision set by "Big Brother"  The power exerted by the unseen forces, leads Winston, the main character, to come to the conclusion that god is power.

I was particularly struck by the use and manipulation of language, through the practice of DoubleSpeak. The definition of Doublespeak is:

Doublespeak (sometimes called doubletalk) is any language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words, resulting in a communication bypass. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs), intentional ambiguity, or the reversal of meaning (for example, calling war "peace", or maintaining the status quo "change")


Language and words are powerful tools.  To actively reverse the meaning of words in Doublespeak, nearly seems criminal to me, in itself.  But that may be because of my love of words and language.


Is it a worthwhile read?  Yes, most definitely.  However I think the edge or shock value that it would produce in the 21st century is significantly lower, then the impact it had at the time of its publication.  Still yet, it is a power statement of man's quest for power and control. 


Orwell writes "People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word."


In such a world, identity is lost.  Life becomes a lengthy agony of fear and the sense of being hunted.  To have your very existence denied and then the history of you, of your very soul and personhood obliterated is a hell that yields nothing except meaningless imitation of living.


That said, this book, in a way reminds me of a passage in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11.  Solomon is lamenting the absence of contentment and purpose, though he has searched hard for fulfillment.  In verse 11, in concludes his soliloquy by stating these words that come very close to summing up the reality in 1984:


"There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after"