Resolutions are easy to make. But the Christian life challenges our resolve to stay committed to God by testing our commitments against fear, rejectioResolutions are easy to make. But the Christian life challenges our resolve to stay committed to God by testing our commitments against fear, rejection, and expectations.
Dr. Lina Abujamra has given us the blessing of another book, Resolved, written in her inimitable style and with her characteristic passion. Lina has seen life in all its raw reality—where it's from the perspective of an ER doc, a missionary, or a single who wrestles with the church's expectations of singles.
Lina tackles ten issues that demand our absolute resolve and offers "resolutions," much as Jonathan Edwards did centuries ago. These chapters urge us to adopt personal resolutions about our lives and believe, love, obey, yield, speak up, have joy, be in community, give, hope, and rest—all with Jesus Christ as a center.
My favorite quotes from Resolved:
"As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe a whole lot of crazy stuff. We believe in a Triune God. We believe in the virgin birth. We believe in the resurrection. We believe in the Holy Spirit. We believe in eternal life. If we’re honest about it, the story of Jesus is either the craziest story ever told or it’s worth giving everything up for, including our fears." (pp. 39-40)
"One of the crucial mistakes I’ve made is to judge God by the present condition of my dreams. When my dreams seem to thrive, I figure God is for me and that He must indeed be strong and able. But the test of faith comes when the path to our dreams look like it’s swerving off course. . . . It’s not hard to confuse God’s favor with our personalized version of the American dream. But God’s favor it far bigger than that. It was God’s favor that led Jesus to the cross of Calvary." (p. 166)
"Are you willing to let God use your pain to someday help someone else who is hurting? Are you willing to endure knowing that your experience might just save someone else? If you’re looking to impact your world, resolve to let God use your pain and embrace the power of suffering." (p. 194)
Resolved is a book you'll enjoy, because Lina is a great writer. But more than that, you'll gain an authentic and refreshing perspective that urges you and explains how you can add genuine resolve in your Christian life to bring about genuine change....more
Good questions deserve good answers. They’re even better answers if they’re short ones. Clinton E. Arnold and Jeff Arnold have given us the best of boGood questions deserve good answers. They’re even better answers if they’re short ones. Clinton E. Arnold and Jeff Arnold have given us the best of both—short and good.
Their volume, Short Answers to Big Questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity, begins where it must if we are to answer questions related to God, Christianity, and the Christian life. Questions about the Bible must first find good answers. Otherwise, we have no basis of authority for answering other questions.
Each of the 50 chapters in this excellent volume uses a question as its title—and a subject as it subtitle by way of a topical overview. After answering the question, each chapter concludes by turning the tables and asking questions of the reader—all designed to drive home the chapter’s reasonable solutions. Related Bible passages are also listed for further study.
Even at 360 pages, the book feels brief. The authors explain the dilemma: "Each of these questions deserves a book of its own. It would be, in some ways, much easier to do that, because then we wouldn’t find ourselves having to leave out really good information for the sake of brevity. . . . Thus, Short Answers is not meant to be the end of your study; rather, it’s the beginning."
The book offers a solution to its own problem by providing the reader a list of excellent resources for further study.
Short Answers to Big Questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity reveals that we needn’t check our brain at the door in order to be a Christian. We can be intellectually honest—as well as compassionate and articulate—in offering good answers to good questions....more
David Henderson’s book offers a new take on the classic principles described in Hummel’s Tyranny of the Urgent! and Swenson’s Margin. Tranquility takeDavid Henderson’s book offers a new take on the classic principles described in Hummel’s Tyranny of the Urgent! and Swenson’s Margin. Tranquility takes its title from Ecclesiastes 4:6:
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. (NIV)
In other words, we have to make choices. A limited amount of time forces us to admit we can’t do it all and to choose what we will do with life.
Henderson reminds us—through practical chapters more about the topic of time than tranquility—that finding contentment in where God has us offers a more satisfying and obedient life than chasing after a thousand different opportunities. Tranquility: Cultivating a Quiet Soul in a Busy World is about choosing priorities in the use of our time.
My favorite quote in the book (p. 53) applies this principle in the realm of relationships:
"Relationships are inherently inefficient. All involve spending lots of time just being together—not accomplishing something. God’s refining work in us–such as the forming of patience, endurance, and perseverance—also offers no immediate payback. Yet these things keep coming up in Scripture as valuable, even if they are born of 'wasted' time."
If you’d like a new look on some tried-and-true principles, you’ll find Tranquility worth your time....more
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