Book review: A Year with G. K. Chesterton 365 Days of Wisdom, Wit, and Wonder By Kevin Belmonte

A Year with G. K. Chesterton is an anthology of some of Chesterton’s best works presented in concise, memorable selections.

But I personally find Chesterton's philosophy quite difficult to comprehend (although some of which I can appreciate to be deeply profound) and his poetic writing style is quite different from our modern-day writing.

But anyhow, below are some of the quotes which I like very much:

• To let no bird fly past unnoticed, to spell patiently the stones and weeds, to have the mind a storehouse of sunsets, requires a discipline in pleasure and an education in gratitude
• As an old-fashioned person, who still believes that Reason is a gift of God and a guide to truth, I must confine myself to saying that I do not want a God whom I have made, but a God who has made met
• The devil can quote Scripture for his purpose; and the text of Scripture which he now most commonly quotes is, “The Kingdom of heaven is within you.” That text has been the stay and support of more Pharisees and prigs and self-righteous spiritual bullies than all the dogmas in creation; it has served to identify self-satisfaction with the peace that passes all understanding.
• As we have taken the circle as the symbol of reason and madness, we may very well take the cross as the symbol at once of mystery and of health. Buddhism is centripetal, but Christianity is centrifugal: it breaks out. For the circle is perfect and infinite in its nature; but it is fixed for ever in its size; it can never be larger or smaller. But the cross, though it has at its heart a collision and a contradiction, can extend its four arms for ever without altering its shape. Because it has a paradox in its centre it can grow without changing. The circle returns upon itself and is bound. The cross opens its arms to the four winds; it is a signpost for free travellers
• Here am only trying to describe the enormous emotions which cannot be described. And the strongest emotion was that life was as precious as it was puzzling. It was an ecstasy because it was an adventure; it was an adventure because it was an opportunity. The goodness of the fairy tale was not affected by the fact that there might be more dragons than princesses; it was good to be in a fairy tale. The test of all happiness is gratitude; and I felt grateful, though I hardly knew to whom. Children are grateful when Santa Claus puts in their stockings gifts of toys or sweets. Could I not be grateful to Santa Claus when he put in my stockings the gift of two miraculous legs? We thank people for birthday presents of cigars and slippers. Can I thank no one for the birthday present of birth?
• ...the paradox of Christianity; that we can only really understand all myths when we know that one of them is true
• It is always simple to fall; there are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands
• But charity means pardoning what is unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all. Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. And faith means believing the incredible, or it is no virtue at all
• Nothing short of the extreme and strong and startling doctrine of the divinity of Christ will give that particular effect that can truly stir the popular sense like a trumpet; the idea, of the king himself serving in the ranks like a common soldier. By making that figure merely human we make that story much less human. We take away the point of the story which actually pierces humanity; the point of the story which is quite literally the point of a spear
• We must hate the world enough to want to change it, and yet love the world enough to think it worth changing
• And the more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild
• It is the highest and holiest of the paradoxes that the man who really knows he cannot pay his debt will be forever paying it. He will be forever giving back what he cannot give back, and cannot be expected to give back
• You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.
• Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite sea; reason seeks to cross the infinite sea, and so make it finite. The result is mental exhaustion.... To accept everything is an exercise, to understand everything a strain. The poet only desires exaltation and expansion. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head -- and it is his head that splits.
• Man has always lost his way. He has been a tramp ever since Eden; but he always knew, or thought he knew, what he was looking for. . . But in the bleak and blinding hail of skepticism to which he has been now so long subjected, he has begun for the first time to be chilled, not merely in his hopes, but in his desires. For the first time in history he begins really to doubt the object of his wanderings on earth. He has always lost his way; but now he has lost his address
• The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people
• A man who has faith must be prepared not only to be a martyr, but to be a fool.
• Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up
• The command of Christ is impossible, but it is not insane; it is rather sanity preached to a planet of lunatics
• Truth, of course, must of necessity be stranger than fiction, for we have made fiction to suit ourselves
• When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its corner-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward - in a word, a man
• Until we realize that things might not be, we cannot realize that things are. Until we see the background of darkness we cannot admire the light as a single and created thing. As soon as we have seen the darkness, all light is lightening, sudden, blinding, and divine.
• Humility was largely meant as a restraint upon the arrogance and infinity of the appetite of man. He was always outstripping his mercies with his own newly invented needs. His very power of enjoyment destroyed half his joys. By asking for pleasure, he lost the chief pleasure; for the chief pleasure is surprise. Hence it became evident that if a man would make his world large, he must be always making himself small. Even the haughty visions, the tall cities, and the toppling pinnacles are the creations of humility. Giants that tread down forests like grass are the creations of humility. Towers that vanish upwards above the loneliest star are the creations of humility. For towers are not tall unless we look up at them; and giants are not giants unless they are larger than we. All this gigantesque imagination, which is, perhaps, the mightiest of the pleasures of man, is at bottom entirely humble. It is impossible without humility to enjoy anything-- even pride
• All men are ordinary men; the extraordinary men are those who know it
• One is the paradox of hope or faith – that the more hopeless is the situation the more hopeful must be the man
• Christianity is always out of fashion because it is always sane; and all fashions are mild insanities
• There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.

(Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

Other quotes by G.K. Chesterton found in the internet:



“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”

“I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else.”

“The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.”

“There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people.”

“There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”

“There is the great lesson of 'Beauty and the Beast,' that a thing must be loved before it is lovable.”

“To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.”

“If there were no God, there would be no atheists.”

“The word "good" has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man.”

“Dear Sir: Regarding your article 'What's Wrong with the World?' I am. Yours truly,”

“Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind.”

“A dead thing goes with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”

“We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. One fear cures another. When man's terror scares you, turn your thoughts to the wrath of God.”

Book review: Grace More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We - by Max Lucado

I have read a large number of Max Lucado's books including his previous book, In The Grip of Grace.

I personally believe that this current book on Grace is not as good as his previous book, In The Grip of Grace. In The Grip of Grace really has a grace-transforming effect on my personal life, and that book was one of the key that lifted the burden of guilt and sins on my spiritual life.

However, for this current book, I kind of find that Max was rather fuzzy and has not really articulated well the various effects of Grace as he has done before in  In The Grip of Grace.

Any how, my favorite chapter in this book is chapter 11: Heaven - Guaranteed. His illustration of the standby passengers for a canceled flight was a similar one that I have read in one of his previous books. Nevertheless, I thought this chapter on the burden of work-based salvation is a well-done chapter. In this chapter, Max says:

"Conventional wisdom draws a line through the middle of these fluctuations. Perform above this line, and enjoy God's acceptance. But dip below it, and expect a pink slip from heaven. In this paradigm a person is lost and saved multiple times a day, in and out of the kingdom on a regular basis. Salvation becomes a matter of timing. You just hope you die on an upswing. No security, stability or confidence. 

This is not God's plan. He draws a line, for sure. But he draws  it beneath our ups and downs..... Bridges and burned, and the transfer is accomplished. Ebbs and flows continue, but they never disqualify. Ups and downs may mark our days, but they will never ban us from his kingdom. Jesus bottom-lines our lives with grace...

On-and-off salvation never appears in the Bible. Salvation is not a repeated phenomenon. Scripture contains no example of a person who was saved, then lost, then resaved, then lost again."

Overall, I do enjoy this book, but I still believe In The Grip of Grace is a more life transforming book, so much so, at times I wonder, why did Max sort of re-write what he has already written so well before?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

GRACE - More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine - Sample

Book Review: Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, NKJV Enjoying Peace in His Presence, edited by Sarah Young

No doubt that Sarah Young has written an inspiring, beautifully penned short pieces of writing based on Sarah's own personal journey notes where she claimed are based on God's impression upon her heart. Her writings were written in first person pronoun, so that, as the readers read them, it is as if, God is speaking directly to them. Whether those words are the direct results of God's speaking to her, no one can verify as they are subjective and personal.


Although these notes are scripturally based, but, I do find her to be rather presumptuous of her to relay those words to the readers as if God is speaking to them in the exact manner and arrangement. Our God is a God of creativity and He can use any part of the Bible at different times and in different manner to speak to different people of different background through the Holy Spirit. The danger of these kinds of writings would be to promote readers to rely on reading them exclusively and not through the Bible. A good devotional writer would be one who would encourage his/her readers to depend and rely more and more on the Holy Bible to understand the guidance and will of God with the help, guidance and illumination of the Holy Spirit, Thus, serving pieces of writing like these would be as if she is serving pieces of chewed food for re-ingestion.

Therefore, although these writings are inspiring, the readers should ultimately rely on the Holy Spirit and the Bible alone and not through secondary means in order to draw close to God.

See a review by Tim Challies on this book here:
http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/jesus-calling


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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: Night Night Blessings By Amy Parker

This is also a good book to introduce kids to count their blessings.
It is also very well illustrated although the illustrations are not as attractive in ebook format.
However, I find this book to be not so readable compared to the previous ones.


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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Thank You, God, For Blessing Me By Max Lucado

This simple children book is a good start to introduce kids to God, and a good one to introduce the concept of praying a prayer of thanksgiving for everything that God has blessed us with.

Amply illustrated although the pictures in the e-book (e-pub) edition are probably not as colorful and attractive as the printed ones.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review - Gabby, God's Little Angel By Sheila Walsh

This children book is about the humorous tale of Gabby, a guardian angel in training who has much to learn about taking care of God’s little ones.

Her new assignment is to protect a young girl named Sophie, but Gabby soon realizes that watching after Sophie is a bigger challenge than she had expected! After a close call while riding her pony, Sophie learns what the Bible says about guardian angels:

“He will put his angels in charge of you. They will watch over you wherever you go” (Psalm 91:11 ICB).

Basically this is a heartening, delightful and entertaining book to create the awareness among little children that God loves us so much, and He sends his angels to guard us.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: Max Lucado's Hermie & Friends: Hermie, a Common Caterpillar

This attractive children book is about the story of Hermie and his friend Wormie. Hermie and Wormie have always felt common. They don’t have stripes or dots, they aren’t very strong, and they can’t find anything special about themselves. But every time they pray, God tells them that He loves them all the time just as they are and that He isn’t finished with them yet. When Hermie becomes a beautiful butterfly, he realizes just how special God’s plan is for him!

Lessons I learned:
1. Sometimes we limit God -- we had the misconception that God cannot make something beautiful out of the "common". That's when the common is placed into the palm of the uncommon God.
2. We are impatient. We wanted God to answer us, and answer us NOW! But God has His purposes for us. And He will do it in His time!
3. We wanted to be someone else other than the person God has made us to be. We are unique in our own identity and our security should rest in the confidence we have in Him. We should be comfortable in our self-image.

In short, this is a great book to be read together with my kids.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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It Couldn't Just Happen Knowing the Truth About God's Awesome Creation By Lawrence Richards

This is an extremely informative, excellent book on apologetics - answering tough questions like

“Did Earth begin with a ‘Big Bang’ cosmic explosion?”
“Does science contradict the Bible?”
“What happened to dinosaurs?”
“Is there life on other planets?”
“Did we evolve from apes?”
“What makes my body work on its own?”

I am really really attracted to the uniqueness of this book to make the enormously complex issues like ones highlighted above into simple, comprehensible materials that can be digested at the level of a teenage kid.

Although originally intended for kids, I find this book to be informative for myself too. As a lecturer and as someone who deals with college students in CF, this book is an excellent book for me to carry along in my iPad wherever I go, because it contains an enormous wealth of scientific information, that adhere to the sovereignty and creativity of our Creator God. To those who are not so inclined to scientific arguments, the materials contained in this book may seem a bit daunting and mind-blowing, but to those who love science, including myself, this book is simply, simply amazing!

Highly recommended!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: Smack-Dab in the Middle of God's Love By Brennan Manning & John Blase

Typical of Manning's style of writing on Abba's love, this first of his children books, is a delightful story outlining the fact that God, as our Heavenly Abba, wants us to enjoy his blessings more than anything we have done for Him. His love is pure, simple and fatherly.

Nonetheless, I find this Manning's book does not really flesh out concrete enough. The core message was not really put forth clearly. Probably a little conclusion section at the end to encapsulate the core message would help.

Other than that, this book is beautifully illustrated, and simple enough for children to understand.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: The Blessing - Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance By John Trent & Gary Smalley

The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley powerfully communicates biblical truths on how to pass on a blessing to others, particularly our own family members; it teaches us on how to instill self-worth and emotional well-being into others.

As mentioned in the book, there are five essential elements that comprise a blessing:

• meaningful touch
• a spoken message
• attaching high value
• picturing a special future, and
• an active commitment.

As a medical doctor, I particularly like the part where the authors mention about the various physiological benefits of a meaningful touch.

For example, the authors mention that there are over one-third of our five million touch receptors centered in our hands!

In another part, the authors mentioned about the various studies done by Dolores Krieger, a professor of nursing at New York University on the effects of laying on of hands. What she found is that both the toucher and the one being touched receive a psychological benefit from this practice. Repeatedly, Dr. Krieger has found that hemoglobin levels in both people’s bloodstreams go up during the act of laying on of hands. As hemoglobin levels are invigorated, body tissues receive more oxygen. This increase of oxygen energizes a person and can even aid in the regenerative process if he or she is ill.

In yet another part, the authors mention about a study done at UCLA which found that men and women need eight to ten meaningful touches a day just to maintain emotional and physical health.

Even in the animal kingdom, meaningful touch in infancy causes rats’ brains to put a brake on the development of glucocorticoids and other stress hormones.

Therefore, as the authors mention, parents, in particular, need to know that neglecting to meaningfully touch their children can starve them of genuine acceptance—so much so that it can drive them into the arms of someone else who is all too willing to touch them.

Intrigued by what the authors wrote, I went to the back section of the bibliographic part. I was a bit disappointed to find that for some of these studies that the authors quoted, they did not quote the original sources (although in many others cases, they did). Instead of quoting the primary sources, occasionally they quoted secondary sources, even sources like Reader's Digest. I wish the authors could have quoted more from the original scientific papers as these would enable readers to go and find out more by retrieving these original publications.

Overall, however, this is a challenging book that should be read by all, especially those in positions of authority.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: Don't Check Your Brains at the Door By Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler

Don't Check Your Brains at the Door by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler indeed is a great, attractive book for teens to read. It gives teens the answers that make sense, even for the toughest of questions.

In this book, McDowell and Hostetler offer clarity to these perplexing questions, and laced them with humor to expose common myths about God, the Bible, religion, and life to show how Christianity stands up to the test of fact and reason.

This book will help young people to better equipped to stand up for their faith as they begin to understand why they believe and why it's important to make a lifetime commitment to Christ and the church.

The contents of this book include common myths about God, myths about Jesus, myths about Bible, myths about the Resurrection of Christ, myths about Christianity, and even on more personal issues facing young people such as temptation issues, the sex questions, etc.

In other words, this book present apologetics in a lively, easy-to-relate manner to these young people.

I like the way the chapters are presented - short and crisp! Each chapters contain only 2 - 3 pages, can be easily read in a few minutes. The best part is the 'Brain Food' section found at the end of each chapter - more serious stuffs for those to go further and more detailed on that topic.

In short, this is a highly recommended! Highly recommended apologetic book for young people....

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: God's Love Letters to You. A 40-Day Devotional Experience By Larry Crabb

This book is a 40-day devotional messages taken from the eternal story of God’s Love, the Bible, as revealed in the conversational experience of 66 Love Letters.

Each devotional reading is based on twenty Old Testament and twenty New Testament books of the Bible.

Written to help the reader listen to what God is saying in His Word, God’s Love Letters to You offers a life-changing encounter with God through the story He is telling.

Author Larry Crabb brings the big picture of God’s story into clearer focus, helping readers catch an enticing glimpse of how each of these forty books of the Bible advances the story.

Although I like Larry Crabb's style of writings and his biblical view on psychology, I wish that the main devotional message is scripturally referenced. Except for the introductory scripture verses that appear at the beginning of each day's message, there is very little scripture back-up in this book.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: Billy Graham in Quotes

This book is not meant to be read in one sitting....it is a wealth of quotable quotes of Billy Graham compiled by his son, Franklin Graham. It is meant, instead, as a reference for Billy Graham's quotes that you can use in your sermons, speeches and writings.

Personally I am extremely delighted with this very useful collection and am amazed at the wisdom that God has bestowed upon this evangelist.

Here is a sampling of quotes that I find particularly inspiring and encouraging:

On abortion:

"The widespread acceptance of abortion is a symbol or sign of something
deeper within our society that should also concern us greatly.
This is the tendency today to decide moral
issues or questions only on the basis of
whether or not they are convenient or bring pleasure to a person."

On the Bible:

"We are not free to pick and choose the parts of the
Bible we want to believe or obey. God has given us all of it,
and we should be obedient to all of it."

On Christianity:

"Christianity is not an insurance policy against life’s ills and troubles."

"Becoming a Christian is the work of a moment;
being a Christian is the work of a lifetime."

On God:

"Most of us know about God,
but that is quite different from knowing God."

"If God can be fully proved by the human mind,
then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him."

"You will never understand who you are until
you understand who God is."

"The will of God will never take us
where the grace of God cannot sustain us."

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: Put Your Dream to the Test by John C. Maxwell

No doubt, John C. Maxwell's Put Your Dream to the Test is a greatly inspiring book.

In this book, John helps people answer ten powerful questions to reveal a future where their dream is fulfilled.

1. The Ownership Question:
Is my dream really my dream?
A dream is only worth pursuing further if it is truly our own dream. We don't want to live out somebody else' dream - be it our parents', teachers, etc.

2. The Clarity Question:
Do I clearly see my dream?
If you can't see it, you can't seize it.

3. The Reality Question:
Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream? I, not only need to know what are my strengths, but I also need to know what are my weaknesses.

4. The Passion Question:
Does my dream compel me to follow it? Do I have what it takes to drive me on despite the challenges?

5. The Pathway Question:
Do I have a strategy to reach my dream?

6. The People Question:
Have I included the people I need to realize my dream?

7. The Cost Question:
Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?

8. The Tenacity Question:
Am I moving closer to my dream? Am I willing to be persistent despite all odds?

9. The Fulfillment Question:
Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction? Essentially the flip-side to the Cost and Tenacity Questions, this question ask if it is worth pursuing the dream that may cost us considerably -- does this dream bring me fulfillment that I am willing to pay the price.

10. The Significance Question:
Does my dream benefit other?

There are numerous uplifting quotes, anecdotes, etc scattered throughout the book. This is definitely another of John Maxwell's books that is worth re-reading and re-reading again.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: Max On Life Answers and Inspiration for Today's Questions

Unlike in previous years where Max Lucado's books are usually topical, this time, Max came up with a compilation of the questions that he had received from years of his ministry and the answers that he gave.

Typical of the Lucado's style, he wrote succinctly, often good at playing with the words. The topics that he covered in this book varies from apologetics to prayers to romance to parenting, etc.

He answered most of the questions very well, often offering much hope and encouragement. Above all, he demonstrated God's love in many of the answers he gave.

Five most important lessons I personally learned from this book:

Understanding God's love
We often say that we understand God's love, but actually we don't really because as Max said, we have never been to heaven. And therefore, we don't really know what it means to give up heaven, even just for one second. Furthermore, we have never been sinless, taking upon our shoulders, the sins of another human being. And finally, as Max said, he might gave himself a bit, for the bad guy, but he will never give up his daughter, even if he knows he will have her back. But God did.

Understanding Forgiveness
If you throw somebody in a prison of unforgiveness, you are no more free-er than the person you locked up in. In fact the prisoner can walk away free, but you, as the prison guard, would have to continuously guarding it as long as you throw in another prisoner into your wall of hatred. Let go of your need to compare and resent. It only stops when we forgive,

Understanding worry
The Greek word for worry (merimnao) which stems from the verb merizo (divide) and nous (mind). Worry saps our energy and blur our focus.

Death isn't always bad
Max dispels the myth that death is always a bad omen. In actuality, death liberates the cocooned soul. Not only death is inevitable, death is necessary for us to enjoy the new life in Christ. As long as see death as a failure, we will perceive God as being deaf to our prayers.

We are not defined by the things we have
When we die, we say bye-bye to what we buy. We are not our credit-card statement. Neither are we defined by the cars we drive. Our purchases may explain us, but they don't define us. Our hearts are who we are. If you define yourself by your stuff, you'll feel happy for a moment when you have a lot and bad when you don't.

There are many more gems I gathered from this book. But these are the five most important issues I learned from this book.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: The The Take Action Bible

Product Details:

• Paperback: 992 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781418546496
• ISBN-13: 978-1418546496
• ASIN: 1418546496
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches

The Take Action Bible is a NKJV bible that offers you tips and ideas to apply the Word of God in five actionable areas - GO, SERVE, GIVE, HEAL and TEACH.

It features real-life stories and full-color photos of people who are putting their faith into action. The actions included in this bible range from raising money with a lemonade stand to relocating on the mission field.

Read their inspiring stories, and follow their examples with 52 ideas for you to put God's Word into action.

The special features of this Bible include:

• 48 full-color pages
• 15 real-life stories show how to take action with God's Word
• 52 Take Action ideas
• Personal Take Action note pages
• New King James VersionR (NKJV) UltraSlim Bible text
• Translation and text notes
• Words of Jesus in red
• Concordance
• Bible reading plan

The Take Action Bible is part of Thomas Nelson Bible’s God’s Word in Action campaign to empower people to change the world. For more information on the campaign, visit http://www.SeeGodsWordinAction.com.


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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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The Final Summit: A Quest to Find the One Principle That Will Save Humanity by Andy Andrews

The Final Summit is about the story of David Ponder who is now 74 years old. Many years have passed since he discovered the Seven Decisions (If you are like me, have not read The Traveller's Gift before; but a good summary of the Seven Decisions can be found by clicking on the link provided. The summary of these seven decisions is also narrated in the first chapter of this book).

Nonetheless, even though David Ponder was very wealthy, he was discouraged about life due to the fact that he had recently lost his wife, the love of his life. The angel Gabriel then appears and whisked him away to heaven for a final summit -- a project that he must solve before the time stipulated in movement of the sand in the hourglass.

Together, with the team of his fellow travelers (comprising of wise and great men and women of the past), from Winston Churchill to George Washington Carver to Joan of Arc, he must work to discover the one solution that will save humanity.

Whenever I read this book, the one imagination that I always picture in my mind, is that the scene of this drama is somewhat similar to the scenes from the live TV series, the Apprentice. A group of apprentice is given an assignment by the mentor (in this case, the angel Gabriel). The mentor walks out. The apprentice team come together and work out the answer. And when they are ready, the mentor is being called back and a spokeperson of the group presents the answer to the mentor. The catch in this story is, David Ponder and his team is only given five chances to come up with the accurate two-word answer to this question: what does humanity need to do to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?

As expected, David Ponder used up all five chances before he was able to come up with the answer. In their discussion on each of these five decisions, I learned much wisdom. Indeed, as Chairman of Thomas Nelson, Michael Hyatt, said in his interview with Andy Andrews, this book is really choke full of wisdom, despite being a fictional book. There are so much truths, so much wisdom that we can learn from. There are certain books that I will never re-read; not for this one. This book will certainly goes to my reference shelf.

These are the lessons I learned from this book:

1. Success

Success is a journey. And that journey is founded on the principle of the path (adapted from Andy Stanley's book). The Principle of the Path says that direction, not intention, determines destination. And that destination for which we should strive is one of successful life, although not necessarily a life of success.

A Life of Success versus A Successful Life:

To me, a successful life means that I am heading in a right direction. Yes, there may be setbacks along that direction, but these setbacks do not hinder me or causing me to re-navigate my direction to another direction. A successful life means to be able to utilize every experience that I have gone through - successes, failures, warts and all, as stepping stone for the next step. A life of success on the other hand, means having 'success' in everything that we do. We may not achieve a life of success, but it does not mean we cannot live a successful life.

2. Hope

Hope is basic -- it is like the bread or water for our souls. One cannot live without hope, at least not for long. To quote Andy Andrew:

Hope sees what is invisible, feels what is intangible, and achieves what most consider impossible.

People can take away everything that I have, but one thing I must not lose is hope. Hope is the very bedrock for perseverance.

In another part of Chapter 5, the character Winston Churchill said,

....there are no hopeless situations, there are only people who have grown helpless about them.

As long as I have breath, I must not lose hope, because the very fact that I am still breathing means that I have not fully accomplish the very purpose God has intended me to have on this earth.

3. Wisdom

In chapter 6, wisdom is defined as "the ability to see, into the future, the consequences of one's choices in the present" and in another part, it is mentioned that wisdom is also the "ability to discern and....[understand] our perspective of life." As the character angel Gabriel said towards the end of chapter 6,

"...one of the reasons mankind has lost its way is our reliance on societal norm as life's blueprint. People have stopped questioning what the end result might be of certain actions and habits. We now rely on cultural trends - even celebrity behavior - to act as the compass guiding the decisions and behavior in our own lives."

The very fact that we are seeking wisdom means that we are wise. "In seeking wisdom, thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it, thou art a fool."

As the character Lincoln said:

The wisest folks I've been around weren't at all impressed with their own wisdom. The wise seem always to be on a search for wisdom.

Therefore, one of greatest pearl of wisdom one can attain is to be aware of how much one do not know. It requires wisdom to recognize wisdom. This is where people may confuse wisdom vs knowledge. We can be knowledgeable, but not wise. As Geoffrey Chaucer said:

The greatest scholars are not usually the wisest people.

Experience is not always the best teacher for wisdom. We cannot possibly experience every experience in life in order to attain the wisdom of life. Rather, other people's experience is often the best teacher! The wise often have uncommon degree of common sense. Unfortunately, people often look for wisdom only when they have exhausted all other means.

4. Courage

Courage is not merely a form of power. As the character Joan of Arc said:

I believe everyone possesses the power to achieve whatever they wish. Many however, lack the courage to do so.

But courage only genuinely appears when we are deeply passionate about the things or persons we care about. Because it is at that moment, we are willing to take risks that are beyond imagination in any context.

5. The cause of humanity's fallenness

The character angel Gabriel also appears to give a mini-lecture in chapter 8 on how very achievement of mankind is the source of humanity's egotistical nature and subsequent fallenness. "Pride goeth before a fall".

As the character angel Gabriel said:

"As humans, you think you are stronger than ever before. You worship your own intelligence. You've been to the moon and consider that a grand accomplishment, yet you are not clever enough to find the clues He left you about who made the moon in the first place!"

Along with pride is the humanity's perverse attribution to its achievement to chance and randomness. I like the paragraph of the description on the cosmological facts and figures (although I have yet to verify its factuality myself).

6. Bad Questions begets Bad Answers

Chapter 9 is where Winston Churchill refers to his own depression as the "black dog".

As the character Winston Churchill said:

"The quality of one's answers can only be determined by the quality of one's questions. If you want good answers in your life, you must ask good questions."

He goes on to say how on a daily basis our subconscious mind constantly processes the questions we ask ourselves. If we ask bad questions, our mind will descend to a state to produce bad answers. Winston Churchill said, "bad questions feed the black dog."

The character Abraham Lincoln then gave an example: rather than asking "why can't I solve this problem....?", ask "What is the best way to solve this problem....."

Ask questions like "What is the happiest, the fastest, the best way, etc, etc...."

7. Self-Discipline

This is the section where the character King David speaks the loudest. He exemplifies this quality - both when self-discipline is exercised (his practice with his slings before the showdown with Goliath) as well as when self-discipline is lacking (as with his temptation with Bathsheba).

As the character King David said:

"It takes self-discipline to practice because practice is rarely exciting....Exerting self-discipline is merely a process by which you remember what you really want."

The question each of us should ask is:

What do I really want?

Because this question will fuel our passion. This question will creates a strong desire within us to do something we don't particularly want to do in order to get a result that we would like to have.

8. Character

Character is what we really are in the dark. Nothing shows a person's character more than his habits. But character isn't something we are born with. Character is something we alone are responsible to build on the foundation of hope, wisdom, courage and self-discipline. While wisdom develops in quiet places, character is formed in the swirling storms that are the norms of the human life. As mentioned earlier in the book, adversity is often the preparation for greatness.

Character vs Reputation

Reputation is merely what others think we might be. Character is what we really are in the dark.

9. Do Something!

After four unsuccessful attempts* to give the answer to the question: "what does humanity need to do to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?", David Ponder and team finally got it right. The answer is surprisingly simple, Do Something!

This answer actually came out of nowhere, out of the desperation that they faced because of the extreme shortage of time. It was out of a sudden, somebody, somewhere, shouted the answer "Do something." It was the voice of Joshua Chamberlain. Joshua Chamberlain is also the subject of another Andy Andrew's book which I have read, "The Butterfly Effect."

As the character Joshua Chamberlain said:

"...when one doesn't know what to do, he should do something. At that moment of panic or discouragement, one cannot do everything, but he can do something."

And as Thomas Jefferson said:

"The question for each person to settle is not what he might do if he had the money, the influence, or the education, but 'What will a person do with the things he has?' To be discouraged about what you don't have is to waste what you do have."

In my personal opinion, actually I do find it a little bit weird that the real answer to humanity is do something. It is not that I disagree with the argument that in the moment of desperation when we do not know what to do that we should do something, but the question is do what? Do something requires a definite action, it can swing to the positive, do good, or to the negative, do bad. In other words, I do find it a bit kind of anti-climax to the story.

*The four unsuccessful attempts are:

• Restore Hope
• Seek Wisdom
• Show Courage
• Exhibit self-discipline

Conclusion

Overall, this book is a really good book to read and re-read. I have actually read it twice before writing this review.

I conclude that Andy Andrews is certainly the C.S. Lewis of the 21st century. He is able to weave in so much wisdom in a narrative account. I will attempt to read his previous books, particularly on The Traveler's Gift.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this e-book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible, NKJV

I remember I bought my first copy of the Inspirational Study Bible, NKJV with devotional life lessons edited by Max Lucado in the year 1998 (see picture below).

It has been 10 years since and the new Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible, NKJV is a completely revised edition (with a different name as well) and for the first time, all the devotional materials in this new edition are excerpted from Max Lucado's entire career of writings -from his first book to his latest release, Outlive Your Life.

Comparing the older edition that I had with this latest edition, this new edition follows the same format as the previous one - with each devotional lesson starts with a "Situation", follow by "Observation", then "Inspiration" (which is the excerpted piece of writings from one of Lucado's books), and closes with "Application" and "Exploration".

The older edition has a special 48-inserts printed on good quality paper, offering encouraging words from Max on a variety of inspirational topics. This has been expanded and replaced with a series of 48-full page topical studies also scattered throughout the entire text.

The dictionary/concordance section from the older version has been replaced with a section of devotional index on selected life application topics (each topic is supplied with selected relevant verses with suggestions to read the related passages in the text).

The 100 of the most inspiring passages of the Bible in the older version has been replaced with two new sections "He Did This Just For You" verses and "Spiritual Growth" verses (new selections of bible verses).

I still prefer the older version in terms of the quality of printing paper (better paper quality in the older version) and I like the 100 bible passages personally selected by Max Lucado in the older version.

Nonetheless, the new version has a cool section of 30 Studies for New Believers. I find this section to be an excellent section even for not-so-new believers.

Finally, as with the previous editions, I personally think that this NKJV bible should be more aptly called the Lucado Life Lessons Devotional Bible rather than Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible, as there is really not much of exegetical materials or hermeneutics of the scripture that warrant it to be a study bible. Neither is this bible contains any maps or related materials. Even the dictionary/concordance section has been taken out. The only consolation would probably be the additional capsule outlining the main messages of each books of the Bible in the Introduction page.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Book Review: Jesus the Messiah

Title: Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ
Author: Robert H. Stein
Hardcover: 290 pages
Publisher: IVP Academic (October 30, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0830818847
ISBN-13: 978-0830818846

Each of us has our own sets of presupposition. A presupposition is a thing that is tacitly assumed to be true beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or a course of examination. And according to Stein, “..where one starts one’s investigation determines the results one will obtain… [and] before anyone ever investigates the miraculous accounts associated with Jesus’ life, he or she has predetermined certain outcomes.” (Ref: Stein, Robert H. Chapter 1. Jesus the Messiah: a Survey of the Life of Christ. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996)

Our presupposition influences our worldview, which in turn, influences the outcomes of any of our investigations. For example, David Hume, the English philosopher, used the following syllogism to eliminate the possibility of miracles:

A miracle is a violation of the “laws of nature.”
The “laws of nature” are inviolable.
Therefore, miracles could not be possible.

In the book, Jesus The Messiah, Stein adopted the orientation of looking at the life of Jesus through the lens of a Christian worldview. He assumes the presence of the supernatural and the possibility of the miraculous. It assumes that the Gospel accounts are reliable and are presumably truthful unless proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be otherwise.

This noetic orientation that the author adopts differs from the historical-critical method of looking at the life of Jesus.

Historical-Critical Method In contrast, the historical-critical method is about reconstructing the historical context of a text and then to determine the author's intended meaning from within those parameters. This method is not only historical but also critical.

The biblical texts are not to be considered as divinely inspired. As a result, according to this method, as with all other texts, the truth claims made by a biblical text are open to refutation. In other words, the biblical texts are to have no a priori standing. Unfortunately, such an approach to studying the life of Jesus is not possible, because the historian will still be influenced by his or her view on the historical possibility of the events surrounding the life of Jesus.

General Organization of the Book This book is divided into two parts. The first part, “Key Issues In Studying the Life of Christ” contains three chapters and it deals with the general approach that the author adopts in writing this book. He exposes the presuppositions that all of us have when we approach this subject of the life of Christ. He touches on the various sources (Christian, non-Christian, Jewish, pagan sources, etc) that are available to us to aid us in this endeavor.

The second part of this book deals with the various aspects of Jesus’ life – almost chronologically: chapter 4 deals with His virginal conception, chapter 5 regarding His boyhood, chapter 6 is about His baptism, chapter 7 on the temptation that He faced, chapter 8 is about the call of His disciples, chapter 9 on His messages, chapter 10 is about the Person of Jesus and His understanding of Himself and His mission, chapter 11 is about the confession of Jesus, chapter 12 is about the transfiguration, chapter 13 the events of Palm Sunday, chapter 14 the cleansing of the temple, chapter 15 is about the Last Supper, chapter 16 is about the events at the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal and arrest, chapter 17 the trial, chapter 18 the crucifixion, chapter 19 is about the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

In summary, although an academic book, I find that this book is written in an easy-to-understand format with much clarity and comprehensive.

Book Review: Then Sings My Soul Special Edition [Deckle Edge] By Robert Morgan

Then Sings My Soul (Special Edition) by Robert Morgan indeed is a delightful collection to own, and I am so grateful to Booksneeze.com to make this book available for review.

It is a collection of 150 hymns for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, general all-time favorites, etc.

Each hymn is presented in a two-page format, the left page is the music score of the hymn, and the right page is a devotional styled story behind the hymn.

The music score is written in an easy to play format, and being someone who enjoys playing piano, this book is really a great compilation to have.

Then Sing My Soul includes some of the hymns that I love the most, for example:

He leadeth me

Be Thou My Vision

And Can It Be That I Should Gain

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

This is My Father's World

'Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus

It Is Well With My Soul

Take My Life and Let it Be

Amazing Grace

The Old Rugged Cross

I Surrender All

.....................and the all-time classic children hymn, Jesus Loves Me This I Know.

It also includes the newer 'Because He Lives' by Bill and Gloria Gaither. It is so encouraging to read the story on how the Gaithers wrote 'Because He Lives'. It was during the sixties when racial tensions were on the rise in America that the Gaithers were blessed with another newborn that they were not expecting. They were pretty worried for the future of the new baby that Gloria was carrying. As they prayed, God gave them comforting words. In the words of the Gaithers, they said:

While pondering and praying about these things, we came to realize anew that our courage doesn't come from a stable world, for the world has never been stable. Jesus Himself was born in the cruelest of times. No, we have babies, raise families and risk living because the Resurrection is true!

Furthermore, this special edition comes with the deckle or jagged edge with French flap cover that gives the book a classical feel.

I give a 5-star for this book.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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