In-depth look at a thorny subject...

This is a review of Randy Alcorn's book, f God Is Good. It's a look at one of the great philosophical questions: if God is good, why is there evil and suffering in the world? It's a question that doesn't lend itself to easy answers. In fact, many people have turned completely away from belief in God solely because they couldn't reconcile His existence with the existence of evil.

Alcorn, as usual for him, doesn't go for the easy answers that don't really satisfy. He delves into the subject confidently, with a firm conviction that we can find answers, while still trusting in a God who is good, kind and loving.

There is, of course, a difference between evil and suffering. Much of the suffering in the world comes as a result of human evil. Suffering also comes form living in a fallen world that is plagued by genetic defects and natural disasters. the question then becomes: why doesn't God stop the suffering in this world?

Alcorn doesn't try to give easily digestible, pat answers. Instead, he points out the good that often comes out of evil. God uses evil and suffering to bring about wisdom, patience and faith in His people. Thus, evil and suffering can have a redemptive good. Alcorn also points out that evil and suffering can whet our appetite for the next world, in which there is no suffering.

Overall, If God Is Good is an honest, in-depth treatment of a subject that every serious Christian must wrestle with at some point. It's written in Alcorn's distinctive, clear, straightforward style. It's deep, but at the same time easy to understand. I recommend it highly.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. They in no way affected my thoughts on the book itself...

Review of audiobook: "Living by God's Promises"

As a follower of Jesus, I believe the best books are those that are both informational and inspirational—books that feed my mind AND my spirit. I recently came across a book that accomplishes both tasks. “Living By God’s Promises,” written by Joel Beeke and James La Belle, is saturated with Scripture. The authors draw from 3 Puritan writers-- Edward Leigh, William Spurstowe and Andrew Gray—to produce this great book.

The authors feed our minds by teaching us the proper way to understand the promises of God. They look at the purposes, the extent, and the foundation of the promises. I know that I grew in my understanding of God’s promises through these chapters of the book. The rest of the book feeds our spirits by showing how we can apply God’s promises to the various circumstances of our lives, like when we struggle with illness, temptation growing in Christ.

The audiobook (which is what this review is based on) was expertly produced. The narrator, Robertson Dean, has a voice that’s so good that it makes me need to repent of the sin of envy. He lends a sense of dignity to this important, and overlooked, subject. In short, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you want to be blessed as you are reminded of God’s promises, get this book and devour it right away!

I need to let you know that I received a free copy of this book to review from christianaudio.com. The adiobook came from them; the thoughts in this review are completely my own.

New Year's Resolution #17...

...reopen this blog...#18: use more elipses when I write...

The excitement is building!

One of the things I am enjoying the most about pastoring is watching people get excited about being part of our community. In fact, you can almost see people's hope increasing on a weekly basis.

We've decided to start video taping the services, and I want to show you a clip from last Sunday. I think you will see just what I mean. Our folks are really getting into worshiping together:

Word cloud of this Sunday's sermon...

I'm not sure why I like Wordle so much, but I really do enjoy the site. It makes word clouds of any document or web site you plug in. The words are sized according to the number of times they are used in the document. I think the word clouds that get generated are interesting, and sometimes beautiful.

Anyway, I put one up based on my sermon notes for this Sunday. Here it is. Enjoy!

Review of "Daily Message" iPhone app...

I downloaded the christianaudio Daily Message app last week for my iPhone. So far, I like it. It’s a great idea: an audio Bible that is broken up into short daily hearings, which allows you to hear the entire Bible in one year.

There is a lot to like about the app. It’s very simple to use. The narrator has a pleasant enough voice. The daily segments are relatively short, meaning that someone with a short attention span (like me, for instance) can get through it easily. The app also allows for a time of reflection on the reading you just heard. It’s a nice feature, since sometimes I am so busy that I don’t take time to soak in what I’ve just read (or heard).

My only complaint with the app is that it is only available in the Message paraphrase of the Bible. I would love to see an app with the same features as this one, but with a real Bible translation, like ESV or NIV. Once christianaudio puts out an ESV or NIV version, I will recommend this app without reservation. As it is, I think it’s of limited value for daily Bible study, although it might be good for lighter devotional time.

I’m reviewing this app for the christianaudio.com Reviewer’s Program. It’s available for purchase right here...

Audiobook review: Just Do Something

Hey everybody! I took advantage of the opportunity to review audio books for Christianaudio.com (http://christianaudio.com) because I love audio books. The first book I’ve had a chance to review is Kevin DeYoung’s Just Do Something. The book itself is a look at how we determine God’s will for our lives. DeYoung’s premise is that we spend too much time waiting for a supernatural feeling from God, and not enough time following God’s revealed will in the Bible.

The premise is challenging, and DeYoung presents his case convincingly. But this review is more about the audiobook that I got from christianaudio.com. It’s a high-quality work. The book is unabridged, which I like a lot. The sound quality is perfect. If I have one complaint, it would be with the person they chose to read the book.

He reads it well—good diction, all that stuff. But his reading of it is a bit dry, almost like he was reading a textbook or a recipe. The subject is interesting (it could even be life-changing), and it could have used a little more excitement in the presentation. But that should not keep you from hearing this really important book.

My recommendation: if you want to dig deeper into how you can really know God’s will for your life, this is a good place to start. And this audiobook is a handy way to take the book with you. The audiobook is well-produced, easy to download, and it’s a good deal also. Go get it here: Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung.

Now I know what the Mighty Mrs. J is getting for Mother's Day...

Canadian Health Care: Best in the World?

I just saw this article, and I had to post it. It seems that the Premier of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador needs heart surgery. So, of course, he's checking into one of Canada's fine hospitals for his procedure--paid for by Canada's universal health care system. A system that is, so I've been told, lights years beyond the U.S. health care system.

Oh, wait. I guess he's going somewhere else to get treatment.

I hope the good premier has a full and speedy recovery. And I hope he's thankful that there's a country he can go to where he'll get the medical care he needs...

He's coming home!

We just got word--our new baby is coming to live with us! As many of you know, we have been working on adopting a beautiful baby boy, who is currently in Arizona. Well, all the initial paperwork is done, and we are leaving early tomorrow morning to pick him up!

Pray for us. This is just the first step in the adoption process. We've got a ways to go before he's "officially" ours.

Also, one of the coolest things about this whole situation has been how our church has rallied around us. For example, we have a community outreach planned for Saturday. I was planning on calling everybody and rescheduling it for a Saturday when I can be there. But one of our members told the Mighty Mrs. J, "We can do it anyway. After all, pastor says it's not a one-man show. We're all part of God's mission." So the outreach goes on!

I'm blessed and happy that the message is resonating with our church folks.

Oh, and if you're wondering whether there will be a massive onslaught of pictures of the new baby...I think you already know the answer to that question...

I'm a sucker for book giveaways...

I'm not ashamed to admit it: I love books. And I love free books best of all. And the fine folks at SBC Voices are giving away some books. Not just any books, mind you. These are high quality books, printed on sturdy paper with solid binding.

The books in question are:

Calvin's Institutes
Sailhamer's The Meaning of the Pentateuch
Marshall & Payne's The Trellis and the Vine

If you went to Brethren High School like I did, you'll want to check out some literacy courses, then go enter this contest. Otherwise, just go enter: http://sbcvoices.com/kicking-off-2010-right-100-book-giveaway/#comment-7469

Finally caught up on sermon uploads...

Finally got the sermon from last Sunday uploaded. It's about putting God first in 2010. It's available for your dining and dancing pleasure at the church blog.

Sermon notes are there also. I know, I am almost too generous...

Nothing better than self-promotion...

I know that for many of you, there's been one thing missing from 2010 so far: a sermon from me.

Well, now that has all changed. The audio of my December 20 sermon, "3 Things Christmas Reveals about God, " is up at the church website. Click here to get to it.

And yes, I know that Christmas was almost 2 weeks ago. I've been busy...

What are you reading?

Getting ready for the new year by getting a reading list together. Any suggestions about what should be on mine?

Mobile post test...

Just testing to see if I can blog by phone...

Hello???

Is this thing still on? It's been awfully quiet in here lately. Might have to put up some new mediocre material in here, just to keep things going. More soon...

Urgent prayer from Iran...

For two Christians who are in prison for converting to Christianity from Islam. They may receive the court's decision on their fate Sunday morning.

Click here to read the full story.

Updates, we got updates...

I'm sure you'll be getting sick of these updates before long, but I'm going to give you another one anyway. We're in Glendale, AZ. Tomorrow morning at 9, we are going to meet the social worker for the baby. We'll talk, she'll get to know us a bit, then we may be able to have a visit with the baby.

I guess what I'm saying is, keep praying....

Update time...

We just spent a great week in Colorado, hanging out with my aunt and cousins. We left this morning, and we are spending the night in Albuquerque. Nice hotel, questionable pool cleanliness...but that's another issue altogether.

As for the baby update, we are supposed to meet him in Phoenix on Wednesday. The social worker is working out the details, but it looks like we'll be able to spend some time with him. He won't be coming home with us on this trip because there is still court work to be done. But that part could be wrapped up in a few weeks, and we'll have a new member of the family!

Interesting side note: while we were relaxing at the hotel pool tonight with the kids, we met a guy who is also staying here. We started talking, and it turns out that he was in town on business, but he lives and is on staff at a church in the same Phoenix suburb where we will be meeting the baby. He was very encouraging. He prayed for us, right in the hot tub! It was a great church service, amongst the bubbles.

Please keep praying! I'll keep you posted...

Prayer request from the road...

Hello everybody! It's been a while, and I have a lot to update you on. But that will have to wait. Right now, we are in Parker, CO, visiting my terrific family. We're having a lot of fun, and we plan to be here until next Monday.

I want to ask you to pray for us. We got a call this afternoon. I can't go into details, but we were asked if we would be interested in adopting a baby boy. We have been talking about adopting again for months, so we are definitely interested, But we need pray, and lots of it. We need God to open doors. We need wisdom. We just have needs, period.

So, the Mighty Mrs. J and I would really be thankful if you would remember to pray for us.

Thanks!