Radio Rhema – “BETWEEN THE COVERS” – 5^th July 2008

“THE FAITH” by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett.   Zondervan  $19.99

I have a feeling that many followers of Jesus fail to witness to their faith in Him because they feel they lack of knowledge, and confidence, to share what it is they actually believe.  Though this may well be a common reason, probably not admitted, except to oneself, there really is no excuse in this age in which we live. The Bible is readily available along with many books that explain, in straight forward terms, what the Christian faith is all about.

 Recently republished for the umpteenth time are Paul Little’s three excellent books “Know Who You Believe”, “Know What You Believe”, and ‘Know Why You believe”. Each at the R.R.P. of $24.99.

New this year is “THE FAITH – given once, for all” by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett. I make so bold as to claim that this is a book no one could fail to benefit from because it covers the ground so well and does it in such an interesting and comprehensive way.

This book clearly explains what Christian believe, and have believed from the very outset. Why they believe it and why it matters.  There is a lot of confusion in the world as to what those who claim to follow Jesus actually believe. It is also true, according to surveys, that many, who claim to be Christian, are really quite ignorant as to exactly what the Bible teaches on certain issues. While others may claim to know what they believe but, when put on the spot, could not tell you why they believe it.

Charles Colson came to faith following the Watergate scandal that involved the Nixon administration some thirty five years ago. As a result of his close involvement with President Nixon Charles Colson, a lawyer by profession, spent a time in prison.  Following this he founded Prison Fellowship, a prison ministry that has had a powerful impact in prisons around the world. Many prisoners have come to a genuine faith in Jesus as a result. As the one who has spearheaded this work Charles Colson obviously needs to know what he believes and why he believes it.

He is joined in co-authorship by Harold Fickett, another author with numerous books to his name. Their book is divided into two parts. Part 1 “God and the Faith”. The faith being that body of doctrine that forms the foundation of Christian belief and practice. Though it may well be claimed that there is a wide divergence of belief within Christianity with so many splinter groups and cults going off at a tangent it is also true that there is a common consensus among those who have remained true to the Scriptures concerning the central truths that have been adhered to since its beginning nearly two thousand years ago.  This is convincingly explained under the heading, “Everywhere, Always, by All’. The chapters that follow introduce the God who is, who has spoken, the truth about Himself, the meaning of life and God’s purpose in it all.  Then follows an explanation as to what went right and what went wrong. There was an enemy invasion by an anti God faction. But even though this rebellion had a damaging impact it was, and is, only temporary because the God who is above, came alongside and may become the God within through faith in Jesus.

Part 2 deals with “The Faith and Life”. Mankind estranged from God the Creator needs a change of identity. Which, in turn, requires reconciliation with the God who has been sinned against. The Church is God’s appointed agent in making this need for, and availability of, known.  Christians are called to be holy, separated from the world, though still in it, and devoted to God. Only as such can they transform the world. The sanctity of life is dealt with in chapter twelve. Chapter thirteen looks ahead to what God has in store for the future. Adhering to the central truths of the Christian faith, what is called orthodoxy, is the source of great joy and confidence. The book closes with two fascinating stories under the heading “The Great Proposal”. The Parable of Thorny Island and In the Land of Rembrandt.

Throughout this book are vivid examples and illustrations. Charles Colson quotes widely from his personal experiences of prison ministry and the power of the gospel to change lives and free them from the power of the enemy.

Published by Zondervan, “The FAITH – given once, for all” by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett is priced at just $19.99. (ISBN 978-0-310-27604-3 Published 2008. Trade Paperback 240 pages)

Reviewed for Radio Rhema by John Ward and recorded by John Lindsay in the Christchurch studios of the Christian Resource Centre INTERNATIONAL.

Radio Rhema – “BETWEEN THE COVERS” – 12^th July 2008 

“MONK HABITS for EVERYDAY PEOPLE” by Dennis Okholm. Brazos Press.

Probably the most important thing about walking on a tightrope is balance and the same is true of the Christian life. Loosing your balance on a tightrope will have disastrous effects unless, of course, there is a safety net. The love and grace of God provide the safety net that we need when we lose our balance spiritually, sadly though we can be off balance without really knowing it. Lose your balance on a tightrope and you will soon know it but in the Christian life it is not always so obvious. 

The Protestant work ethic is often carried over into the Christian life. To be a faithful, conscientious, Christian requires that we keep busy and active in Christian service. Being seen to be doing is the mark of someone who is really on fire for the Lord. This approach to the Christian life has left many Christians burnt out by mid-life. The demands of work, family and being busy for the Lord become just too much. Christian meetings and activities often the first to go. The Lord’s desire, before all else, is that we walk in fellowship with Him. Christian witness and service can only flow effectively when we are in a love relationship with the One who has redeemed us. When the devotional side of our Christian life is neglected, because of our business in Christian service, then we have become unbalanced and are heading for a fall. A good marriage is based on relationship not activity. When life becomes so busy that maintaining that relationship is neglected then the marriage will suffer and the same is true of our walk with the Lord.

Evangelical Protestants have tended to be critical of the monastic life. Of entering into the sheltered cloisters of some monastery and seeming to shut oneself off from the world. But, as history illustrates, many of those who gave quality time to the devotional life of prayer and meditation were also effective in their service to others when the balance between the two was properly maintained. In recent months their has been a growing interest in Christian publishing circles in what can be learnt from those who give their life a more disciplined religious devotional regime.

 Kathleen Norris is the author of “The Cloistered Walk” and she has written the foreword of Dennis Okholm’s book “MONK HABITS for EVERYDAY PEOPLE”. This book provides an in depth look at Benedictine Spirituality and provides some valuable insights into how Protestants can benefit from what St. Benedict established as the rule of his monastic order. 

Dennis Okholm, a professor of theology at Azusa University, was raised as a Pentecostal and a Baptist, but when he began to explore the roots of contemporary Benedictine monasticism he quickly came to realize that St. Benedict had much to offer Protestants that would enrich their lives and prayer practices. He opens by explaining how he came to be involved in the life of a Monastery. He then goes on to detail why he came to realize that there was so much to be learnt from Benedictine spirituality. It started with the need to learn to listen, to God and to others from whose experience we could learn. Poverty, and the sharing of goods, was an eye opening challenge that provided some rewarding results. Disciplined obedience and letting go of the mask in humility are important too. As he writes…”Humility breaks down our egoistic fantasies and our need to be in control—our need to be the exception. When we are humble we understand that we are not the exception. We are, like it or not, simply part of the human race.” (Quote from page 69) 

Hospitality, seen as being the guest of Christ, is the subject of chapter seven and the need for stability, which is also essential for balance, provides the need to stay put so as to get somewhere in the Christian life. Balance, God in everything, is lived out in the round of “prayer, work, rest, study, and eating—all to be done in ‘proper measure because of the faint hearted’”. (Quote from page 99)

 I found this a helpful and thought provoking book that makes the reader stop and think through priorities in life and how a God honouring balance can be maintained in our walk with the Lord.

“MONK HABIT for EVERYDAY PEOPLE” by Dennis Okholm is published by Brazos Press, R.R.P. $24.99. (ISBN 978-1-58743-185-2. 2007)

 Reviewed for Radio Rhema by John Ward and recorded by John Lyndsay in the Christchurch studios of the Christian Resource Centre INTERNATIONAL.

Radio Rhema – “BETWEEN THE COVERS” – 19^th July 2008 

“WHY I STILL BELIEVE” by Joe Boot (Sovereign World) and “CULTURE SHIFT” by R. Albert Mohler JR. ( Multnomah)

Serious discussions that reach beyond the bounds of our every day experience are very rare these days. The content of most conversations usually dwells on our health, the weather, family matters, work situation, recent purchases, some entertainment recently enjoyed or sport watched or played.  We may deplore the rise in the cost of living and the price of petrol, express some concern at a recent report of a crime, or major catastrophe somewhere in the world, but rarely do we spend time in in depth discussion about issues that really matter.  Two books that prompted these claims really stimulated my little gray cells as I read them recently because they dug below the surface and made me think about things that really mattered in life.

 “WHY I STILL BELIEVE” by Joe Boot, an evangelist and author from Canada, who works with the Ravi Zacharias Ministries, is a reasoned explanation as to why, in the face of all the adverse comment and criticism he receives when speaking to university students and staff about the claims of the Christian faith, he still believes the Bible and follows Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.  He acknowledges that very little of what he has written is original and admits to having been greatly influenced in his thinking by such Christian thinkers as Blaise Pascal and Cornelius Van Til.   He writes that…”What most impressed me about both Pascal and Van Til was not simply their brilliant minds but their devotion to the authority, centrality and indispensable nature of the Christians Scriptures in apologetics. The Bible is not relegated to the background, a source of embarrassment, seen as ‘hampering’  the work (as appears to be the case with some modern apologists), but rather as the authoritative revelation supplying the principles and content that form the basis of our defense.”

If you want to read a solid, factual, well thought through defense of the Christian faith, written by a man who has been forced to face up to the most stringent opposition from atheists and anti Christian philosophers then this is the book to read. 

At a more practical level Albert Mohler’s “CULTURE SHIFT” tackles current issues that face us all in the light of the timeless truths contained in the Scriptures.  If the previous book deals with doctrine and belief then this book deals with how those doctrines and truths impact the very issues we face in modern, Western society.  Our culture has changed radically over recent decades and this has seriously affected attitudes in general and the way people think about life and how they choose to live it.  In twenty short, to the point chapters, the author presents some reasoned arguments that relate to the Christian Faith and Politics, Morality and Public Law and the way it operates. The culture of political correctness and offendedness that limits freedom of speech and the cloud of confusion that exists where the law and religion are concerned.

 Further chapters pose the question as to whether we have learnt anything from the various acts of terror unleashed in recent years. Along with this is a discussion as to the appropriateness of using torture to secure information relating to of acts of terrorism. Another chapter deals with the moral dilemma that many Christian parents face when sending their children to state schools.

 Also considered are the claims by some scientists to have discovered genes that predispose us to religion. There is a challenge to the possibility that exists today that we are raising a coddled generation of wimps who needs to be toughened up if they are to meet the demands of world in later life.  Most fascinating of all are the several chapters devoted to the abortion debate and the number of women who, when shown the fetus on a scan realize that what they have within them is a real person and, as a result, decide not to abort.  The final chapters present a Christian response to such events as Tsunamis, floods and earthquakes.    All in all a very stimulating read. 

“WHY I STILL BELIEVE: by Joe Boot (9781852 404130) is published by Sovereign World, R.R.P. $19.99. “CULTURE SHIFT” by R. Albert Mohler JR (ISBN 9781590 5297 44) is published by Multnomah, R.R.P. $24.99

Reviewed for Radio Rhema by John Ward and recorded by John Lindsay in the Christchurch studios of the Christian Resource Centre INTERNATIONAL.

Radio Rhema – “BETWEEN THE COVERS” – 26^th July 2008 

“Several books on the subject of death and bereavement”

It has been said that there are only two certainties in life – death and taxation. As to the latter there may be some slight relief later in the year. Also in this regard all gifts made to registered charitable organizations now qualify for a tax rebate - so make sure you keep all your receipts.  With regard to the former, the matter of death, this subject has been forced onto my radar by several deaths recently. A Gideon friend who passed away after a motoring incident in the North Island. The son of a couple in our home group who died in a house fire, along with several other deaths that have come to my notice in the last few days.

 In my capacity as a sales representative for an importer of Christian publications my most recent selection of books included four that had to do with this subject.

 The world at large has some very weird and wonderful ideas about death. For many death is the end of existence. Nothing beyond the grave. But for most there is some sort of idea that there is a heaven that all good people go to.  At such a time no one likes to give offence and, to suggest that maybe that is not the case, tends to result in a blurring of the edges when it comes to the likely destination of those who have not benefited from God’s offer of salvation and eternal life detailed in the Scriptures.

 “FEAR NOT!” by Ligon Duncan is a little book that covers all aspects of death and the afterlife from a biblical perspective. It seeks to answer the quations: What is death? What happens after death? And What happens when Christ returns? The final two chapters deal with the final judgment and answers yet another question…What is Heaven?  At a basic level, and without going into too much detail this book covers just about all there is to know about what the Bible has to say on the subject of death.  Published this year by Christian Focus the R.R.P. is just $9.99.

 For a more in depth, theological approach, Alec Motyer’s book “LIFE 2 – the sequel” comes at the subject in a different way. It opens by stressing the love that drew salvation’s plan. God is love but His love requires that He be just too and that involves the judgment of those who reject His love.  The author writes…Death is serious from every point of view. It marks the end of earthly contact with loved ones and, whatever lies beyond, it severs their contact with a world and a life which was not wholly undesirable but was, maybe in most cases, even extremely pleasant. If, however, we believe the Bible, none of these considerations comes anywhere near describing just why death is so serious. Three things are held together in the Bible, and there is no separating them: sin, death and judgment.”

 Also dealt with are such subjects as what is meant by immortality and the communion of saints. The Christian expectation of what lies beyond the grave. Some snapshots of heaven and what it means to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord.

First published in 1964 this 123 page book has been reprinted by Christian Focus R.R.P. $14.99.  (ISBN 978 1 84550 343 7)

 Knowing how to comfort and relate to those who are grieving over the loss of a loved one is never easy. People deal with death in different ways and what might be a comfort and help for one may well have the opposite effect on someone else.

“My friend is struggling with the death of a loved one” is helpful little book by Josh McDowell and Ed Stewart that offers some help in this regard. Fifteen year old Chad Rogers is suddenly faced with the death of his younger brother in a motor accident that has left his mother struggling for her life. Chad’s story and the help he was offered provides some useful insights into how support and comfort can be given. R.R.P.$5.99.

Finally, when spoken words may not be appropriate, Sue Mayfield’s “LIVING WITH BEREAVEMENT” might be just the book to give to someone who is coming to terms with the death of a close relative or friend.  This is a beautifully presented, hard cover, gift book from Lion Hudson in the UK. There are lots of full colour pictures along with lashings of homespun wisdom that maps the mixed emotions grieving people often experience.  It also provides practical, emotional and spiritual help from the authors own experience, along with insights gained from the stories of others, that she has woven into what she has written.  This book is not too “in your face” Christian but none the less its undercurrent flows throughout. Published this year R.R.P. $24.99.    (ISBN 978 0 7459 5295 6)

 Four books on the subject of death reviewed for Radio Rhema by John Ward and recorded by John Lindsay in the Christchurch studios of the Christian Resource Centre INTERNATIONAL.