The Return

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense Dr. Larry Crabb Baker Books 2018 I chose this book because the title intrigued me.   When God’s Ways Make No Sense.    There have been plenty of times when that seemed truer than I’d like to admit.   Are we even allowed to say something like that?   Even if we think it.   So, an author willing to take on that topic had my attention. And mostly because I wanted his take on what to do about it? As it turns out Crabb pretty much gave away his case very early on in his book with a single scripture quote.   The basic idea is God is GOD and we are not.   His motives and actions are incomprehensible to mankind and He owes no explanation for them either.   Crabb admits near the end of his book that he is not a theologian which I knew going into this book, but his arguments are theology.   Or at least I think so.   I found his repeated circling the topic a bit frustrating. ...

Review: The Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can’t Get Their Act Together Jared Wilson Baker Books 2017 I had to read this one just because of the audacity of its title.   A disciple that couldn’t get their act together?   The other disciple type books I’d picked up didn’t put it quite that way at all.   In fact, I really can’t remember this addressed directly.   Wilson pretty much filled that empty space in my reading with this book.    This is not a discipleship book in the usual sense of the word.   In fact, he says, “The essential message of Christianity isn’t ‘ do’ but ‘ done’.   The gospel is news , not instruction, and it announces to us not ‘get to work’ but ‘it is finished.’”.   (67)    He arrived at that conclusion after a time of beholding, i.e. looking intensely, really seeing, Jesus Christ, not just taking a quick look on the way to supporting a point.   Now he’s ready to talk about the r...

Review: Grace is Greater: God’s Plan to Overcome Your Past, Redeem Your Pain and Rewrite Your Story Kyle Idleman Baker Books 2017 What’s not to like about this book?   Not much in my opinion.   Idleman has a way of talking about grace that hits home in very practical ways.   Ways that we all live every day.   He tackles the hard stuff and tempers it with the grace of God.   A peak at the table of contents says as much.   Grace is Greater…Than Your Mistakes,   …Than   Your Hurts…Than Your Circumstance.   Within those   I found his discussions that touched on forgiveness some of the best I’ve read anywhere.   But, I thought this book was about grace. It is.   Grace and forgiveness are closely linked.   We know that, most of us anyway.   Just like we know that grace is greater.   Grace is something that just reading about it isn’t going to be enough. Idleman covers that ground, too, with some very...