Monday, December 31, 2018

Becoming a Warrior

I was excited to receive the book, The Way of the Warrior: An Ancient Path to Inner Peace by Erwin McManus.  I was intrigued by the title, as I appreciate the warrior mentality.  Yet, this was not what I expected.  McManus’ thesis is that one must become a warrior to attain inner peace.  Without this peace, we are devoid of real spiritual power.

Peace does not come naturally, but is something one must fight for.  As Paul states, he fought the good fight . . . which is life.  It is a fight for peace.  McManus believes without inner peace, we will never have world peace.  And so many are struggling with the attainment of peace within themselves.

A warrior, then is one who becomes a servant, as Jesus was a servant.  A servant, a warrior, a person at peace within themselves does not seek attention, but works / fights for the ability to draw closer and have a tight connection to God.

The book was an encouraging book.  At times a how to book, and at times it was a book encouraging to be the person God has uniquely called me to become.

He encourages the reader ~
“Never forget who you are.
You are a warrior of light.  Do not fear the darkness.
You are a warrior of hope.  Do not fear despair.
You are a warrior of faith.  Do not fear uncertainty.
You are a warrior of love.  Do not fear hate.
You are a warrior of peace.  Do not fear the war within.
This is the fight of your life.  This is the fight for your life.  This is the way of the warrior.”

I would recommend this book.  It is easy to read, yet filled with great nuggets of encouragement.

I received this book from Waterbrook Press in exchange for a honest review.

Simple Discipleship

In his book, Simple Discipleship: Grow Your Faith, Transform Your Community, by Dana Allin obviously focuses on discipleship.  Discipleship is not necessarily easy, since its road is one that takes us on a journey with many ups and downs.  Without discipleship we are lost.  And in many respects that’s where the state of the church is at the present time.

I appreciated that in each book there is an assessment tool, a test you take on line which helps you to better understand yourself.  There is a hidden code on the back cover of the book.  I believe this helps each person better understand themselves and how they relate to Christ and which areas they need to focus on so they can be a better disciple of Christ. 

We make this process way too complicated.  It should not be, but because of the unknown, we tend to shy away from growing in discipleship, which is simply growing in Christ as a follower.  Allin attempts to lay out goals for each person, with 3 separate appendicies at the end of the book.

The book was easy to read and follow, which is helpful.  The book is designed for followers of all shapes, sizes and varieties.  Overall, this would be a good book for a group to work through together.

I received this book from Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for an honest review.

Fun Kids Devotional

God Gave Us the Bible: 45 Favorite Stories for Little Ones is a very well done, hardcover introductory Bible for parents to read with thei...