Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream - A Review

What if the American Dream is antithetical to the Gospel? What if we were to truly live out the commands of Christ in our lives? How would that change our lives? These are the questions asked by David Platt in Radical.

I was very challenged by this book. It forced me to evaluate my priorities, my actions, my spending habits and my loyalties. In many cases, I was convicted of choosing a false Gospel - one built on serving myself rather than Christ, one of pursuing self interest over serving my fellow man. Specifically, I was challenged - and am continuing to evaluate - how I should handle my income and my time.

Did I agree with everything Dr. Platt argues? No, but it has forced me to sincerely pray and critically evaluate my priorities. And that is the point of the book.

Radical would make a great great study for a student group, a workplace Bible study, a church Sunday school class or a home group. If you want to be challenged, this is the book. If you want to continue to live a comfortable, safe Christian faith, I recommend this book (warning: it will challenge you).

Download the first chapter here.

I highly, highly recommend this book.




I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Book Review - The Shelter of God's Promises

"Even in the eye of the storm, we our hearts to remember that no matter how hard life gets, we win!" (p. 147).

I requested this book for my wife. She has been immensely blessed by Sheila Walsh, and I thought she'd enjoy this book.

I choose to read it first, mainly so I could complete my review of the book. I was very impressed and very blessed by it. It wasn't what I expected; I'm not sure what I did expect, but this wasn't it.

Walsh takes broad promises and applies them to our lives as believers. Many of the promises are eternal with temporal implications, but the promises are laid out such that they remind of a greater hope than the temporal of this world.

The book seems to be written to women, which would make sense, given Walsh's ministry is aimed at women. That said, I was very blessed and encouraged by this book.

I strongly recommend The Shelter of God's Promises.

"Christ's promise to us is not that He will give us shelter, but that He will be our Shelter" (p.183).

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.”

Sin

If you are new to this discussion, over the past few months, I've revisited some of my beliefs. Here is some background to the discussion. The first topic was my view of the Bible, and that's chronicled here.

This next topic is probably about as basic, on the surface, as the Bible. As I delved into this topic, however, I discovered even more how vile, how insidious, how utterly corrupting my sin was. And I tasted afresh the power of the Cross.

First, I discovered anew what constitutes as sin. Oh sure, there are the "biggies," the 10 Commandments, or "love your neighbor" or something else from the Gospels. But in a very small passage from the book of Romans, buried in a section regarding interpersonal relationships, is the strictest definition of sin: "for whatever is not from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23 NKJV). As I meditated on this phrase, I began to see my own actions in a whole new light. How many times have I done something for my own glory rather than God's? How many times have I not done something I knew I should, or how many times did I do a good deed from the wrong motives? All constituted as sin.

Ah, but then I saw the cross in a whole new light. I began to realize that, on a day almost 2000 years ago, Christ's death atoned for my sin - past, present and future. I began to see my salvation in a whole new light. Instead of a prayer I prayed that got me "my ticket," I now began to truly be thankful for what Jesus' death meant. And as I continue to contemplate, I understand more and more the sacrifice made that Passover weekend so long ago.

I now have a stronger, more restrictive definition of sin. I want to please my Heavenly Father, and I will strive to meet His standards. Knowing I will fall short most times, however, I also know that I have been redeemed by Christ, and that brings deep thankfulness and joy to my soul.

Purpose Driven Life

If you're anything like me, you have a bookshelf full of volumes you "intend to read some day." Where they came from, why I held on to them through the many Goodwill runs, why they remained on the shelf, remains a mystery. And yet, the books are there.

Such is the case with The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. It is maybe one of the most debated books in modern Evangelical circles, and maybe one of the most loved/hated books...well, next to Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now (and this could be it's own topic - maybe some other time).

So why work through the book now? Why read the book at this time in my life? Why start this book at this time? I honestly don't know. For whatever reason, this book grabbed my attention, and it stayed with me.

I started it mid-December as a devotional, and, while it's broken into 40 chapters, and one chapter per day, I'm choosing to work through it at a pace that feels comfortable. So far, I'm on day 12, and I'm actually getting some good information from it, especially some really good insights and reminders as to why man was created.

If I had one critique, it would be that I'm not sure I agree with Warren's choice to use many Bible translations. He explained his logic in the first section, and, while I disagree with his conclusion, I can work beyond this.

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for by reading the book, but, at a minimum, I'll have one less "maybe someday" book on my shelf.

My View of the Bible

In revisiting my beliefs, I found my journey first starting with the Bible. I'll be honest, I was a bit surprised by this being the first car in the train. As I reflect on this, I see why this makes the most sense.

I would have thought salvation, sin, redemption, the Deity of Christ, etc., would be first on my list of topics to explore. Instead, I pondered the Bible and how I approach the Scriptures. This now makes sense in my mind, as everything we know about God starts and ends with His Word. This is especially important as I explore prophesy and some of the so-called Charismatic gifts.

I've found that, in some ways, I've tried to make the Bible fit me, not allow the Bible conform me to the image of Christ. Much of that came from how I approach the Bible. If I don't read the Bible appropriately - and apply it correctly - it will lead to all sorts of unusual views, such as those that use poisonous snakes in worship services.

What I have learned is how to better read the Bible. I found that I was ignoring the totality of Scripture when I read the Bible. Sometimes I dismissed passages, sometimes subconsciously, because I didn't understand the tapestry woven into the scriptures. Sometimes, I would take a passage I really liked, but I didn't apply it correctly; this was especially true with promises I really liked. Sometimes I chose to ignore cultural or linguistic nuances, and that led to wrong interpretations.

What I now understand is that the Bible was written as a total package - the entire book is God's Word. I cannot discount the parts I don't like, I cannot "cherry pick" the verses I like, and I have to understand the context in which it's written. This has greatly expanded my vision of the Word, has deepened my love for the Bible, and has placed more weight on the Written Word as a trusted authority.

There are lots of good resources, such as "How to Read the Bible for All its Worth", and I would recommend something like this resource for further research, so I won't go into great depth here.

As I close, here is an acronym to help spur Bible study: SPECKA. I heard this a couple of months ago, and, while I've applied it informally for some time, I'm more conscious of it now. After reading a passage carefully, debrief using the following questions:

S - Sin. Is there a sin to avoid?

P - Promise. Is there a promise to claim?

E - Example. Is there an example to follow?

C - Command. Is there a command to follow?

K - Knowledge. Is there knowledge to store up in your heart and mind?

A - Application/Action. Is there an application or action to follow through?