If
you like British mysteries, you'll like this one.
Faith
Morgan is a former policewoman, now the vicar at Little Worthy. It's
the Advent season and Faith is busy managing the last details for the
church's many activities. When she goes out to Oliver's farm to make
final arrangements for “Joseph” in the church play, she is
confronted with police cars. The body of a teen has been found. He's been murdered.
Despite
Faith's duties during this busy time of the church year, she can't
help but covertly investigate the case.
This
is a great British mystery. It was fun to follow Faith around as she
makes inquiries while she sees to the church's activities. I loved
the quirky characters. Faith is not the strongest British heroine
I've seen. She is a little weak in the relationship area – to quick
to latch on to a potential boyfriend, I felt. But she makes a good
vicar. She is supportive and comforting, showing God's love to her
parishioners.
Martha
Ockley lives in the North-East of England. She is a full-time
writer of both fiction and nonfiction. The first book in this series
is The Reluctant Detective.
Lion
Fiction (Kregel Books), 256 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the
purpose of this review.
Is
your life boring? About 90% of our life is just being ordinary and
doing daily life. Boring – but does it have to be?
Maybe
you've read some of those books about “Doing Great Things for God!”
But you're still working at the office or changing those diapers.
Kelley
asks, What if God wants you to find meaning and significance in your
ordinary life? What if you could see the divine fingerprint in every
situation of your daily life?
That
is exactly what Kelley helps us see. He is convinced that it is
actually in the ordinary details of life that we get to see and
experience God and His redemptive plan. This book is full of
practical ideas for getting that vision. He writes about having a
quiet time (again), really interacting with other people, gospel
living in marriage, parenting with intentionality and purpose,
leaving a margin in our money, and restoring a sense of the divine in
our work.
Here
is an example of his insight – this on relationships.
“We
don't need a bunch of new and exciting relationships, not if we
believe in the abiding presence and work of God. We need instead to
lay the grid of faith over the top of these ordinary interactions we
have day to day. We need to buy the coffee in faith. We need to walk
in the grocery store in faith. We need to take the phone call in
faith. And if we do, we'll begin to see the extraordinary invading
the ordinary.” (92)
Kelley's
goal is “not escaping the ordinary, but reshaping our view of the
ordinary in light of the extraordinary God.” (194) So, if you've
set aside those books about “Doing Great Things for God” yet want
to know how to live your ordinary life with meaning, this is the book
for you. You won't have to sell all you possess and go to the mission
field. You'll just find God's presence and plan in every moment of
your ordinary life.
Michael
Kelley is director of Discipleship at LifeWay Christian Resources
and is the author of Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal. He has an
M.Div. from Beeson Divinity School and lives with his wife and three
children in Nashville, Tennessee.
B&H
Publishing Group, 224 pages.
This
is a reprint of The Last Word on the Middle East (1982) and
Promised Land (2005). Prince died in 2003. Material has been
added by the Editorial Team of Derek Prince Ministries to somewhat
update the book.
The
first part of the book gives an historical perspective. Prince had
spent several years in the Holy Land after WW II so he was able to
give some insights into the land and its inhabitants. “Israel was
God's prophetic clock,” he wrote. “By restoring the people to the
land, God had set the clock once again in motion.” (21) He showed
how events fulfilled the prophecy of Israel's restoration, with the
ultimate restoration being spiritual. He noted the importance of the
Six-Day War, writing that it was “a decisive turning point in human
history.” (102) Jewish control of Jerusalem meant the “times of
the Gentiles” is drawing to a close. Jewish control of Israel is
also essential to the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth.
Prince
believed that Christians (and the church) owe a great spiritual debt
to Israel. Christians should be seeking to repay that debt and to
make amends for all the evil done to the Jews in the name of
Christianity. (120) Christians have an “obligation,” he wrote,
“to do everything Scripture requires of us to help the Jewish
people regain the fullness of their God-appointed inheritance, both
natural and spiritual.” (121) He called on nations to align
themselves with Israel, thus cooperating with God's purposes. He also
created various scenarios as to how the future might play out.
This
book is a bit dated, I think. I could tell that the majority of the
text was written some forty years ago. So much has happened since
then. This book is definitely not a latest, up to date look at Israel
and its circumstances (although the Editorial Team has updated the
time line at the end of the book).
Prince
did give a good history of Israel and that is valuable. There is also
an excellent section on prophecy and fulfillment. These two areas
would be good for relatively new Christians or at least ones new to
the ideas of prophecy and Israel's place in it. Seasoned Christians
will probably not find any new insights in this book.
As
with many who write about Israel and the fulfillment of prophecy,
Prince ignored New Testament references that have relevance to the
role of Israel today. For example, Galatians 3:16-17 suggests that
the promises to Abraham have, in some sense, fulfillment in Jesus.
Then there is Galatians 3:29 that says Christians are Abraham's seed.
Any book that concentrates on God fulfilling His promises through the
Jews should at least mention these verses and somehow address them.
Christians
who believe that God's current plan for mankind revolves around the
nation of Israel will like this book. Christians who are looking for
a deeper understanding of what God is doing in the world, including
the ramifications of New Testament truths on the fulfillment of
prophecy, will be disappointed.
Derek
Prince (1915-2003) was born in India of English parents and
studied at Eton college and Cambridge University. While serving in
the British army during WW II, he studied the Bible and became a
Christian. He is the author of more than 50 books and his daily radio
messages are still broadcast around the world through Derek Prince
Ministries. For information about the Ministry, see
www.derekprince.com.
Chosen
Books, 208 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for
the purpose of this review.
As
a Washingtonian, I was really interested in reading this book. As a
child, that the Hanford Nuclear Reactor was just across the Cascade Mountains
was a constant reminder of the reality of the Cold War.
The
first part of the novel is a little slow. We find out that there has
been an accident at the Hanford site. The reactor had long been shut
down but there were still contractors there maintaining and cleaning
up the site. Before long we find out that there appears to be a cover
up regarding the accident. Something strange is going on.
Kieran
is a contracted worker who was in the midst of the explosion. Months
later, he is still suffering serious health issues. He brings a suit
against the contractor but his small town lawyer bows out as the
trial nears. Emily, with the prosecutor's office in Seattle, is
approached. She wants to take the case and convinces her father, a
powerful lawyer, to help her out.
The
action picks up in the middle of the novel as the lawyers work on
discovery and find they are being outmaneuvered by the contract
company. The tension increases when it looks like there is much more
going on at the Hanford site than mere maintenance.
This
was a fun book for me to read, even though it was not a page turner
until well into the second half. The possibility of a company going
rogue at the nuclear site was exciting. There was plenty of action
toward the end as the contractor wanted to keep the rogue project
secret – at any cost. I did feel the ending was abrupt and a little
unrealistic. And there was a loose end that was not tied up – after
all, they were lawyers trespassing yet with no ultimate consequences.
That would probably happen only in a novel.
Todd
M. Johnson is a graduate of Princeton University and the
University of Minnesota Law School. He has practiced law for over 30
years and has served as a U. S. diplomat to Hong Kong. He and his
family live outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. Find out more at
www.authortoddjohnson.com.
Bethany
House, 385 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for
the purpose of this review.
This
is a delightful historical novel to read at the Christmas season.
It's
a few days before Christmas, 1945. Jimmy Reed and his mom are going
to have to celebrate Christmas alone. Jimmy's dad had been killed in
the early days of World War II. Jimmy struggles with the loss, pain
and anger. His work in high school is falling. He's beginning to run
with the wrong crowd.
By
God's grace there are people in Jimmy's life who try to help him get
on the right path. Like the school bus driver who has hardly anything
to his name yet so freely gives what he does have. And then a fellow
soldier stops by to tell Jimmy of his father's heroic actions.
Jimmy
begins to realize the true meaning of Christmas and the real
sacrifice his father made. But Jimmy has made some bad decisions. Is
there any way he can get his life back before it is too late?
This
is a great Christmas story, complete with a miracle at the end.
Collins is at the top of his form with this novel. The characters are
so real you feel like you know them. The small town of Ash Flat,
Arkansas is brought to life through the wonderful people living
there. Reading this novel was like taking a journey back in time to a
simpler place, a place where people cared for each other and helped
each other out. A truly heartwarming story.
Discussion
questions at the back make this a great choice for a teen reading
group.
Ace
Collins has written more than fifty books including fiction and
nonfiction. His books have become movies and network television
specials. You can find out more at www.acecollins.com.
Abingdon
Press, 217 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the
purpose of this review.
Do
you feel you're a little off in your Christian life? Maybe you love
the Lord yet you feel a mixture of fear, uncertainty and boredom.
Maybe you just want to get through today and not ruffle any feathers.
Strachan
says he understands. He's been there too. But he wants you to
know that there is a Christian life where you thrive in the Lord,
where you can experience better, bigger, and bolder things. But it
means you have to jump – take a risk. To help you do that, he
explores the strength and boldness of God, the ground for trusting
and confident faith. He also encourages you to learn who you are in
Christ and what you have in Him.
Strachan
covers the need for gospel-driven discipline, ways to build a happy
family, working for God's glory, committing to your church, and
building an evangelistic witness. In all of this he makes his case
for a “risky,” bold life.
This
book is aimed, I think at college or young career age Christians who
want to invest in God honoring pursuits - who want to reach their
spiritual potential. If you are ready for gospel risk, ready for a
life shaped by the gospel, this book is for you.
Watch
a book trailer here.
Owen
Strachan is executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood
& Womanhood and assistant professor of Christian Theology and
Church History at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky. He also teaches at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Thomas
Nelson, 230 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the
purpose of this review.
Bonnie
heard the phone ring at six o'clock on a cold, foggy February,1994
morning in Fresno, California. In a phone call that would change her
life, Bonnie was told her father and stepmother had been brutally
murdered on a yacht off the Antigua shore.
In
a very personal account Bonnie writes of her journey. She shares her
early life, with her parents' divorce, her father's remarriage and
Bonnie finding the love of her life, Donnie. Christians, Bonnie and
Donnie seized every opportunity to share the gospel with her dad and
his wife, the woman Bonnie soon had called “mom.” At one point
her dad said, “I promise you, if I ever get into a position where I
fear for my life, I will call on the name of Jesus...” Within six
months, Bonnie's parents were dead.
Bonnie's
father and stepmother had been living a dream. They served as
caretakers of a private tropical island and traveled the world in a
sailboat. But that life was cut short as three young men boarded the
yacht while it was anchored off the coast of Antigua.
In
the months and years after that fateful day, God began to reveal what
really happened that night on the yacht. The three young men were
arrested and tried. Bonnie was faced with the opportunity to forgive
the murderers. In an inspirational twist, Bonnie arranged a meeting
with one of the convicted attackers, a man who would eventually claim
her as family.
This
is a stirring story of Bonnie's journey through grief, forgiveness,
and salvation. She has added the account of her early life, stories
from her parents' sailing adventures, and highlights from the
investigation and trial. The book is a combination true crime drama
and travel book. Within it is the power of the gospel and the
assurance that every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be
saved.
A
bonus feature of the book is several smart codes leading the reader to
additional information about topics in the book.
Bonnie
Floyd is a conference and retreat speaker. She has served with
Women of Faith and is currently an administrator for Barry and Sheila
Walsh. She and Donnie live in Celina, Texas. Find out more at
www.BonnieFloyd.com. Find
her on Facebook at Facebook.com/pages/Bonnie-Floyd-Ministries and on
Twitter @BonnieLeeFloyd.
Creative
Enterprises Studio, 301 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book through B&B Media for
the purpose of this review.
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