The Return

Review: The Real God: How He Longs for You to See Him Chip Ingram Baker Books 2016 Ingram says up front that his desire for those that read this book is “to engage the reader in a lifelong pursuit of knowing, seeing, and experiencing the Real God.” (15)   The Real God?   He means the one found in Scripture who has not been conformed to my ideas or desires.   So, is saying that I might have some distorted idea of God?   The nerve!   Yeah, that’s where I started with this book.   Doesn’t give an author much room to work.   I put the book down, went on vacation, and then came back to it, more just to get it off my to-do list than anything else.    Not only did I discover that I needed a vacation, but that over time I had acquired a distorted view of the God of the Bible.   Time for some adjustment, and this book provided the means for that adjustment.   Ingram uses an older book by Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, ...

Review: Short Answers to Big Questions about God, the Bible & Christianity Clinton E. Arnold and Jeff Arnold Baker Books 2015 The title describes this book well.   It gives short answers, but as the authors say in the preface, “… Short Answers is not meant to be the end of your study; rather, it’s the beginning.   Let this be the springboard for you to dive into the deep ocean that is understanding God.” (17)   To help the reader move toward that goal each chapter ends with several Scripture passages related to the chapter topics and then a few questions for thought.   Some of those questions are tough, too.   There is a list of titles for further reading provided at the end.   The authors have achieved their goal, in my opinion. This is no light, fluffy read.   There are illustrations that are relevant though, so it isn’t like trying to read a catechism book.   That is good.   It is not written for the totally unchurc...