Almost

Again I pray that God will bless the coming year. That we may feel Him move in all our lives. That this country might experience a revival. I ask that He will guide our government to do what is right and just. I also pray that if you have a God shaped hole in your heart, you may come to know my savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen

May your Christmas be filled with joy and love. God bless you all.

Title: Reasons We Believe (50 lines of evidence that confirm the Christian faith)
Author: Nathan Busenitz
Publisher: Crossway Books
Pages: 24
Ah yes, now this is more like it. I admit I was a tad afraid after my last attempt at an apologetics book review but after reading the description I just had to read this one!

One of the first things some may notice is that this book will get you nowhere with most “new” atheists; as they generally will not accept the Bible as a legitimate historical document. Then again, most atheists won’t accept anything that doesn’t fit into their narrow world view. The book has 50 lines of evidence that confirm the Christian faith; which, oddly enough, is the subtitle of the book. Most of these lines are references to the Bible; some delve into other texts and may be useful to you when dealing with someone who insists that you are using circular reasoning when you quote from the Bible. (which by the way kills me since they want to quote all their favorite authors but do not want me to use mine)

There are 5 reasons we believe sections; broken down as follows: Reasons we believe in God, Reasons we believe in the Bible (part 1), Reasons we believe in the Bible (part 2), Reasons we believe in Jesus (part 1), and Reasons we believe in Jesus (part 2). They are logically laid out and you can skip around as you please to read the ones that catch your fancy first. As I have mentioned previously, I really like it when authors use Bible references, even more so when they make me work for it, as the author does here. I am inclined towards research so I tend to enjoy it when I am required to look things up for myself. That and I imagine it cuts down on printing costs as well so it is a good thing for both sides!

The book is well written and eloquent, and no big words to stumble on thankfully. There are lot’s of footnotes with reference to more books to add to your reading list. This text was written with the layman in mind and is successful in not going over your head or confusing the reader with philosophical references that make your brain hurt (thank you Nathan).

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has questions about the Christian faith and Christians who want to better defend their beliefs. Yes it’s definitely a 5 star book.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The book, Reasons We Believe, was provided to me at no cost by Active Christian Media and Crossway Books for review purposes. To become a reviewer for ACM you may click here.

But wait, there’s a whole other side to this barn. It gets the traffic coming and going!

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The following is a quote from Pastor Wright who Hal said is wrong. I am in agreement with Hal on this.

Pastor Wright also finds himself in agreement with President Bush that the god of Islam is the God of the Bible. When asked how he could reconcile Muslim teaching with Jesus’ claim to be the Way, the Truth and the Life in John 14:6, Wright referenced John 10:16 and the words, “Other sheep have I who are not of this fold.”

Dear Pastor wright,
Jesus was addressing the Jews when He said this. The “other sheep” He was referring to were the Gentiles. He was not referring to those who worship other gods(small g). Read your bible, keep it in context, don’t drag your congregation down with you!

Title:Five Sacred Crossings
Author(s):Craig J. Hazen
Publisher:Harvest House Publishers
Pages:169

Have I mentioned how much I love reading? I got lucky with two really good books in a row this time. Five Sacred Crossings: A Novel Approach to a Reasonable Faith was a bit of a surprise to me. The book covers several different worldviews plus its a novel, a darn good novel. I found it hard to put it down once I started reading it. From the books site:

Professor Michael Jernigan, a Christian, is teaching a religions course at community college. A local, barely halted act of religious terrorism throws a teeth–on–edge relevancy into the class discussions.

Jernigan teaches from a rare text he obtained while in Cambodia—the Five Crossings. Each “Crossing” unveils a universal spiritual question, which only Christianity can satisfactorily address because it…

1. is testable
2. presents salvation as a free gift
3. paints a picture of the world that matches reality
4. makes a non–compartmentalized life possible
5. has Jesus at the center

The book has a little bit of everything and really does it all well, in my opinion. The main character is well developed and the plot is all to easy to believe in this day and age. I was a little unsure as to how this format was going to hold up but it held it’s own. It gives brief breakdowns of different religions and how compare to Christianity. I also learned something in this book. I had no idea that Christ was highly esteemed in a lot of the other worldviews such as Muslim and Buddhists.

I hold this book in high regard, as a matter of fact I may buy a few more copies for some of my unbelieving friends, or at least for the ones who are on the fence. This may help them get over those last few hurdles in their minds. It gets five stars and a big thumbs up for helping me find a way to get the word out. I hate giving such a short review for such a wonderful book but I fear my words may start repeating and not doing the author justice. Suffice it to say I like it and highly recommend it to you all.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The book, Five Sacred Crossings, was provided to me at no cost by Active Christian Media and Harvest House Publishers for review purposes. To become a reviewer for ACM you may click here.

A co-workers daughter went to the post office the other day to buy some stamps. The clerk asked her if she wanted the stamps with the Baby and mother on them. The postal clerk informed her that she was not allowed to say the names of those on the stamp.

Yes it was the baby Jesus and Mary. This insanity is getting out of hand!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I say we all call our congressmen and see if we can’t get rid of this affliction that they call Monday. When I was younger I could never quite understand what all the fuss was about. Now that I am older, and hopefully wiser, I understand.

Mondays are evil. God made Tuesday through Sunday, but satan had his hand on Monday! (For some reason my spell checker wanted to capitalize satan, not gonna happen, I reserve that one for God and Jesus!) Anyway, I just hate Mondays. While I can’t get into all the reasons right now, suffice it to say that I have some darn good ones!

I am tossing around a couple “> canada of different ideas for Fry day, I am having a hard time deciding though. I am getting down to the nicer places on my list. Granted there are still some crap places on the list too, but some of them I am really looking forward to because I love ‘em!

K, going to bed now, nighty night!

Another weekend shot in the butt!

What is this phenomenon with weekends anyway. I swear they used to be longer than that. I used to be able to pack a lot more activity into a weekend and now I can barely make it out of bed. I think someone is messing with me here!

In Indiana this year we were given the option of a new plate. It is completely voluntary you can stay with the old one if you want or you can get one that says In God We Trust. I thought it was a pretty cool idea, what a great way to show the area that I am a Christian. Unfortunately anyone can get the plate which is evidenced by this photo:

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I just don’t know what to say. It is things like this that make it hard for Christians. It is difficult to tell the world that Jesus was about love and forgiveness when this person runs around like this. I wanted to go get a can of spray paint and fix it for him but then I was reminded of that whole vandalism thing.

Alrighty then, I’m outy, I needs me some breakfast!