Book Sneeze Review: The Jesus You Cannot Ignore by John MacArthur

5 of 5 Stars Awarded

The Jesus You Can't Ignore by John MacArthur

This annointed, Holy Spirit-led work by John MacArthur was about informing and challenging the reader to not only understand the bold confrontations of Christ but to ponder His example and do the same as mandated in their own dealings with others. Scripture was laced throughout the book to support the argument that Jesus Christ did indeed have righteous anger and did call out sin in many places other than the Temple. I enjoyed the Prologue as well as the Epilogue. I did not merely scan those two documents but I devoured each sentence and argument.

As every Christian non-fiction book review I enter the process with the sole question, "What does the Bible have to say about this or that?" This book nailed each point made with solid doctrine and Scripture references. The author obviously respects the Word of God - - all of it. This fact is evidenced by the inclusion of not just one or two Bible references in a point made but often four or five. I do enjoy going back into the Old Testament and learning about the Judaic Law and how it relates to the New Testament. This book was quiet generous with laying the Biblical foundation in order to dismiss "old" ways of thinking or "myths" that our culture has come to preach as Gospel.

I learned much about why many Jewish persons today still do not believe the New Testament applies to them even though Jesus fulfilled many OT prophesies during the time He walked among the people.  I now understand the Jewish culture better as the historical and biblical landscape for the reasons they did what they did. I learned alot about the spiritual blindness that existed though they saw the miracles and witnessed Jesus fulfilling prophecy firsthand! I enjoyed learning more about Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. What hope we have for others to come to Christ though we do not see so many outward signs of them doing so!!

This book is a meal and the reader needs to shut out all other distractions so as not to lose even one concept as presented by Mr. MacArthur. There were times I was reading this book and I would not be in the frame of mind to fully gleam the truths presented. If you do want the rich teaching and fact-finding that this book contains you may want to read it slowly, highlighter in hand in a quiet place. I do not believe this book is necessarily the book you want to take to the beach for a relaxing, feel good, get-away-from-it-all read. But it is so much more! It is a book I will keep in my library. I don't plan on lending it out for fear of not getting it back as I have made notations and highlights and scribbles all over the place. But I will buy this book for loved ones and those seeking to confront others with the love of Christ.

I have a few Pharisaic friends that would benefit from this amazingly convicting book. And if they do not read the entire book I will pray they do read the Epilogue. Especially starting on page 202 the section entitled Walking As He Walked. I thoroughly enjoyed those five pages leading up to A Final Word From Christ.

The paragraph on page 206 that made me shout "Hooray!" was and I quote: "As we have seen throughout this book, the popular notion that conflict is always to be avoided is simply wrong. There are times when we must be confrontative rather than collegial. "For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped" (Titus 1:10-11). If you wince at that or think there's no way such an aggressive attitude could possibly be a sanctified response to doctrinal error in a postmodern culture, you need to review and rethink what the entire New Testament says about false teachers and how Christians should respond to them - especially from Jesus' point of view."

Amen and I say Amen! Buy the book. You will be glad you did.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Are you a manufacturer of a product or currently market a service and would like Christina to review it? If so, please email christina@wordsofgrace.infowith product name, description and msrp and any other information relative to said product. Christina will contact you within two weeks from receipt of contact if product will be reviewed. Please note not all products will be considered reviewable. Please do not send products without prior consent from Christina. Note: Products sent for review will not be returned. Product aubmission authorizes consent for said product to remain in sole possession of recipient. No monies shall be exchanged for product submission nor permissions granted for review of reviews prior to submission. Reviews shall remain effective and in force at discretion of blog administrator and/or all authors related to christinawillreviewit.blogspot.com.

Book Sneeze Review: The Prophecy Answer Book by Dr. David Jeremiah

5 of 5 Stars Awarded

This book targeted the current events leading up to The Rapture, The Tribulation, The Antichrist, Second Coming, Millenium and The New Heaven and Earth. Clearly this book was written as a reference mainly for the believer in Christ (Romans 10:9-11). I say this because it was direct in it's focus. The tone was less about teaching and more about stating Truth. There was a section or two appealing to those who have not yet made a decision for Christ which was refreshing and hopefully many will make that decision prior to The Rapture of the Church!

The Pre-Tribulation Theory was discussed solely. Since I personally fall into the Pre-Trib crowd I was quite pleased with this discussion. Post-Tribulation Theory was not mentioned as far as I can recall. I also appreciated the explanation of the difference between Postmillennialism vs. Amillennialism and Premellennialism as explained on pages 170 &171.

After the initial surprise of ripping open the mailer and finding this petite hardback book (I wrongly assumed the book to be a "standard" size chock full of pages), I was quite impressed with this invaluable resource. I refer to it as a resource because of the order and inclusion of Scripture cross-referenced throughout its covers. I fully understand now thanks to this book what the Second Coming of Christ is going to be as well as the Rapture of the Church. Sometimes the order of these last day events can be confusing but Mr. Jeremiah gives a concise yet easy-to-understand explanation of the events. He also provides the order the events will occur as well as the historical and biblical accounts of the Jewish people as fore-told and prophesied in the Bible in the Old Testament. Fascinating to learn more about the Old Testament and what was not included directly about these events.

On page 153 the author included a table titled Rapture/Second Coming Contrasts. This table is quite helpful for the believer especially! In the chapter The New Heaven and The New Earth I especially enjoyed reading about what we will do in Heaven (page 177). Of course this book contained meaty Truths from the Bible which were often hard to swallow but I did take away hope at the end of the book and direction for living victoriously in these evil days. Mr. Jeremiah explained with supporting Scripture references why true Christians do not have to fear death. And hope again in the fact that he gives us 10 things to do as we see the signs of the End Times.

The very last item on his list is Reach The Lost (Jude 21-23 - love it!!!). Oh how I enjoy the last word in a book about Jesus coming back. The last word in this book is Revelation 22:20 which is indeed the last book in the Bible. For that and each and every word in this mini-marvel of a book I give Mr. Jeremiah five stars and a hearty thank you for informing the Body of Christ and speaking on a very hard topic. The Prophecy Answer Book should be in every Christian's personal library for two reasons. One, so they can devour it and refer to it often. Second, because their loved ones may very well find it in their bookcase one day - - after their loved ones have been Raptured. What a gift this book is that no doubt will keep giving for many generations to come...

See commercial review on http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AWSJM7O1BYZDQ/ref=pd_ys_homenav_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Sneeze Review: Plan B by Pete Wilson

See Amazon.com review

This book was about what we do when life does not turn out exactly as we had thought it would. The author refers to this situation as "Plan B" throughout the book. The overall topic was the author Pete Wilson coming alongside his reader in a casual manner, asking many questions and sharing his own struggles with being a Pastor and experiencing Plan B situations in his own life as well as the lives of those he has encountered.

Initially, the whole concept (explained in the trailer) interested me. However, after easing into the book I was disappointed by the author's use of "we" as a broad brush stroke assuming all of his readers relate to each question or situation. I did appreciate some of his personal experiences. For example the story in Chapter 1 of the story of Todd and Angie and their stillborn baby Audrey (Chapter 12) moved me as I related to their struggle with asking God, "Why?" but not getting an answer. The story on page 70 was excellently explained. Page 134 "Bring Your Problems" was a concept I understood. I appreciated the author's honesty about the lack of transparency in the church.

However, there were doctrinal inconsistencies. I appreciated the use of Scripture references but it would have been more beneficial to also include version translation. Because I review each book  from the perspective of "What does the Word of God have to say about this?" I have to question the theology introduced which does not meet up with 1 John 2:20-21. I am reviewing from the pure teachings which come directly from the Bible. Any other perspective ends up focusing solely on "self, which we we know to be the very reason for the Fall in the Garden. 1 Corinthians 15:3.

A sampling of Biblical inconsistencies/questionable content:
* Page 52 just one example of flawed theology. The second paragraph talks about fear and us not being in control and refers to "experts" debating whether we are born with fear or not. This is a mute point. Psalm 139 explains our need to not have to be in control as God is always in control and surrendering to Him will set our fear to rest.Using this example to explain a lot of talk that need not be uttered as we have the Word of God. We can skip all this chatter. Just go to the Word of God not psychology.

* Page 92 Peter Scazzaro's Christian/Catholic Contemplative Meditation theology and quote on page 92 about feelings. Our feelings change but God's Word never does. His method introduces Christian principles delivered by spiritualists. If you want to dine at a "Christian type" buffet - take a bit of this and a bit of that then you may be interested. If so, Google Mr. Scazzaro's books. No thanks.

* Page 102 I quote, "One particular phrase I seemed to hear over and over was this: "God will never give you more than you can handle." It sounds so sweet and biblical., like something my grandmother would have done in needlepoint and hung on the wall in her house. The problem is, nothing could be further from the truth. Where in the world did we get such a whacked theology? Where's that verse in the Bible? Hallucinations 4:32 maybe?" end quote.

I respectfully submit 1 Corinthians 10:13. Man ("self") has re-verbiaged Scripture. When man repackages that which God presented in it's pure form confusion enters. 2 Corinthians 12:7 is then listed along with the Apostle Paul. The problem is that there is a disputing of Philippians 4:13 indirectly but a supporting reference of 2 Corinthians 12:7.

* The author's son's penis was mentioned twice in this book. Possibly this topic was supposed to inject humor, however I did not understand the lesson or the humor in either reference (page 221 with modeling clay and peeing in a public pool in another chapter).

I am not a Theologian by any means, but I have the Holy Spirit, concordance, dictionary and the Word of God to help me see the red flags waving throughout Plan B. If you decide to pursue this book to enjoy some of the content in this book please do so with the wide-eyed perspective of a Berean.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”