New Books

I got a few books for Christmas and one I picked up this week. I thought I would share something about each one.

The first is by my favorite author, Erwin McManus. It's called Stand Against the Wind. It's a small book of 119 pages and I read it last night in one sitting. It's 12 chapters of wisdom. Written in journal form, but packed full of great explanations of many of our Christian Terms. It covers things like freedom in Christ vs. freedom from Christ, Integrity, Wisdom, Potential vs. Potency, Love, Faithfulness, Gratefulness, Humility, Fear, Courage, and many others. Here are a few of my favorite passages:

On Integrity:
Integrity, or the lack of it, has everything to do with how we use power. When our character is defined by integrity, we can be trusted with power. Power does not become a corrosive agent but a creative energy. When we lack integrity, we use power to control. When we lead with integrity, we use power to bless.

Instead of hoarding His power, Jesus unleashes His power. For Him, neither love nor power is a limited commodity. Just like love, the nature of power expands when it is given away. Power is a tool. It allows us the freedom to be who we truly are. This is why it is critical to pursue integrity rather than power. When you are promoted on your abilities, without regard to the content of your character, it is a disservice both to your subordinates and to you. We do no one a favor when we put abilities over integrity.

Integrity cannot be gained by power and authority. Integrity must be gained long before these have been placed in or hands. Jesus lived an obscure life for thirty years preparing for a public ministry that lasted for only three. Integrity requires that you decide what kind of person you want to become. Integrity not only harnesses our passions but focuses our intentions.

The real measure of our power is the freedom and opportunity we create for others. Men and women who are marked by integrity point the way to freedom.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about integrity is when you still choose to do what's right when you're all alone, no one sees you, and no one will know what you do. It's wonderful when you look inside your own heart and like what you see.

On Courage and Obedience:
You cannot walk by faith and live in fear.

The history of God's people is not a record of God searching for courageous men and women who could handle the tasks but of God transforming the hearts of cowards and calling them to live courageous lives. Adam and Eve hid; Abraham lied; Moses ran; David deceived; Esther wavered; Elijah contemplated suicide; John the Baptist doubted; Pete denied; Judas betrayed. And those are just some of the leading characters.

What is the point of having God's power if you lack the courage to actually use it? Only when you embrace God's calling on your life will you need God-inspired courage. We often ask for God's power to accomplish our small dreams; instead we should cry out for God's courage to step out on His bold adventure.

Without courage we cannot live the life we choose - instead we choose to relinquish life. We conform to the path of least resistance and abdicate our freedom. So in the end a life without courage is a life without virtue!

There's something God wants you to do - not to it back and watch Him do it or passively wait for Him to do, but a calling that God waits for you to embrace, pursue, and fulfill. God chooses to entrust His most sacred work to people just like you and me.

The key to the future s not revelation, but obedience. When we submit our lives to what God has made known, the future becomes clearer to us.

When God speaks, it requires immediate attention. If you respond to God's call, you will be tested to the very core of your being. God will not save you from the fire but will in fact throw you into it. The promise that He will be with you and never forsake you is both a promise and a warning. A divine journey cannot be completed without divine intervention. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the absence of self. Courage is the highest expression of humility. Courage moves us to risk ourselves for others or for a higher cause.

On Generosity:
Generosity isn't about how much we give but about how much it costs us. Generosity creates an environment for emotional health.

On Wisdom:
Proverbs 1:20-23
While many of us long for God to give us a map so that we can simply follow it, He instead gives us a compass that points the way. What we continually ask for is to know God's will for our lives; what God continually offers us is His wisdom for our lives. So critical is wisdom to the journey that God offers it as a gift to all who would desire it (James 1:5).

From the vantage point of the fool, the world appears to exist in isolated units. The connection between the absentee father and the promiscuous daughter remains undetected. The relationship between bitterness toward your parents and coldness toward your children is unperceived. The repercussions of extramarital infidelity are never linked to premarital promiscuity. Debt remains unconnected to greed; violence remains unconnected to hate; the loss of hope remains disconnected from the loss of faith.

Wisdom frees us from superstitions that constrain us and broken relationships that cripple us.

On the Fear of the Lord:
The Scriptures remind us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. Then what exactly does this mean? When we fear God, we fear nothing else. It is only in the fear of God that we find ourselves free from the fear of death, of failure, and all the other fears that bind us.

When the fear of God is absent from our lives, we become slaves to lesser fears, and your fears define the boundaries of your life. When you fear God, you are subject only to Him. You align yourself to love and truth. You are never afraid to love or forgive when you fear God. You are never afraid to do good when you fear God. You are never afraid to face the truth or speak the truth when you fear God. You live with a calm assurance that in all these things God finds great pleasure.

The ultimate end of character transformation is not freedom from sin, but freedom to once again be all that God designed for us to be. When we fear God, we find the freedom and the courage to pursue dreams far too big for ourselves, yet courage is the only hope for great dreams.

Well, that was more than I expected to write! Don't you just love the wisdom of this man? The other books:

The Bravehearted Gospel by Eric Ludy. I haven't read but 19 pages of this one, but I can tell I like it. This might be good for our leadership team after we finish An Unstoppable Force. To give you a gist of what this book is about, here's what the back cover says:
Once upon a time, Christianity was the stuff of legends and Christ's loyalists were spiritual and moral revolutionaries, the kind of men and women who turned the world upside down. But over time, something has happened to that once fervent and bravehearted band who dared to be called Christians.

Many today have inherited a faith that has no real life or power. Instead of zeal there is apathy. Instead of courage there is timidity. And instead of confidence there is paralyzing doubt.

Something has to change.

For all those hungering for a spiritual revolution, there is an ancient blood-stained trail, trod by the greatest men and women in history, beckoning us to once again explore it's epic and grand terrain. For all those hungry for a Christianity that actually works, a faith that reforms the human life an possesses the power to rescue this dying world, this trail mustn't be ignored. For it is the path of heroes and of real-world change - it's the path of The Bravehearted Gospel.

The other book is called Following God with All Your Heart by Elizabeth George. Believe it or not, I don't just read books on taking the world for Christ. A 'chick flick' book once in a while is a good diversion! This may be a good book for our women's Bible study after we complete the one we're starting this week. It covers 5 areas:

1. Grow in Joy and Contentment
2. Grow in Devotion and Obedience
3. Grow in Confidence
4. Grow in Courage
5. Grow in Humility

Can't wait to absorb these books!

Thanks for sticking through this very long blog today. Many blessings to you on this cold, windy, gray Friday.