Month: July 2012

A Theology Of Luke And Acts

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Respected scholar Darrell Bock delivers in this volume on his topic of the theology of Luke and Acts in the BTNT series. Mr. Bock, already hailed as having given us the best modern exegetical commentary on Luke, writes on a subject here he has given many years of his life to study.

You will find all the usual suspects on the study of Luke and Acts–the connection of Luke and Acts, salvation, Christ, the Holy Spirit, women, and the poor. But there’s more. Things I hadn’t thought much of in regards to Luke and Acts, all laid out in a cogent, clear, persuasive form. As you would expect, he interacts much with other scholars and their opinions as he travels along his subject. As a pastor I can’t help but see some of that as the straitjacket the scholarly world has wrapped around itself. Still, he is concise enough that his text holds interest. If you are like me, you so think of Luke as one of the Gospels that you at times forget its special connection to Acts.

Zondervan asked we reviewers to pick one chapter and particularly review it. I chose the one that I felt I had the least knowledge of–“The Law in Luke-Acts” (Chapter 18). It really didn’t seem to me Luke or Acts had a lot to say on that subject.

Mr. Bock shows us that the scholarly world has had occasion to analyze the subject recently. He laid out the basics clearly in 3 paragraphs. I appreciate Mr. Bock fairly representing other viewpoints while telling his conclusion.  In doing so he dodges the problem of becoming so immersed in details, as many do, that they forget a conclusion was why we went digging in the first place. I don’t have to agree to enjoy the evidence being weighed and a conclusion being drawn.

He concludes that “… in the end law-abiding for Luke is only a consideration for Jewish believers, while Gentiles must be sensitive to certain practices tied to the law.” His idea seems to be “law-sensitive” is the orientation of Luke and Acts, and that it carries “realized promise” but no “salvation benefit.” Of course it has no salvation benefit, and I doubt Luke is really “conservative” in regards to the Law. More likely, to my mind, it’s Jewish person-sensitive since Christ has uprooted what has been deeply ingrained  into the very fiber of their people. I’d say it’s more a sensitivity to the complications of a progressive revelation.

He also masterfully discusses the issues of whether or not the Law failed, or at least how should what Jesus did be accounted for with the Law. He lays out all the possibilities available to form an opinion. I left it thinking that the Law failed in doing what people imagined it would while it fully succeeded in all the Lord planned for it to do.

He traced things like Sabbath incidents and gave us the data that is needed to form our opinions. Mr. Bock succeeds because he gave me what I needed to decide for myself. And he did it well. The whole book delivers in this way. I suspect this book will be popular among scholars, students, and pastors. As for me, it will hold a prominent place on my shelves and will be the first volume I reach for on questions of Luke-Acts theology. What better recommendation could a pastor possibly give?

I received this book free from the publisher. 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 . 

Life, In Spite Of Me–An Inspiring Read

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life in spite of me

Do you need encouraged? Inspired? This book delivers. Kristen Jane Anderson gives us her tragic story that becomes transformed by the Lord into triumph. A suicide attempt on a train track left her a double amputee. She should never have lived (that’s no exaggeration as the book proves), but she did. Listen to her story and finally see the hand of God become clear.

I had never heard her story until my wife, a paraplegic herself, had been reading about Ms. Anderson and was fascinated by it. That intrigued me, but I began reading thinking I would decide for myself. I did and it was a page turner!

When you read the advertisements that this book is a tool for suicide prevention, don’t assume that is all the book is about. Yes, every person contemplating suicide needs this book. Beyond that, though, every person fighting depression, or even a round of discouragement, will find this volume a rallying cry to not give up. Actually, if all you are looking for is a story of the mighty power of God on a life, grab this book. It reads easy and holds your attention throughout.

What makes this book work? Ms. Anderson doesn’t hold back. No matter how unpleasant the detail, if it is needed to tell her story, she tells it. Depression, partying, all the things that added to the darkness she went through are given in all the gory details. At the same time, dark things are never glamorized. She tells us what she thought and felt each step of the way.

Adjusting to her new found disability was shown in a clear way that as one who watched his wife adjust, I could relate. I thought that part was especially well done. Then, there was guilt. It haunted her through everything and we find where she found victory. Even with counseling and dealing with prescription drug issues we are let into her life. Failures, setbacks, and finally success are laid bare.

The point where she found Christ was an emotional high in the book where you felt like cheering. Later, when her loving mother did the same, you find yourself excited again. Finally, there’s the lesson she learned–a loving God saved her on a train track so He could save her soul later. A lady with so much sadness became a lady filled with love and gratitude. Ms. Anderson, thank you for sharing your story that clearly can help so many.

I received this book free from the publisher. 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 . 

Some Fruits Of Solitude

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some fruits of solitude

Here’s a treasure trove of wisdom from yesteryear. Written be William Penn and given as “Proverbs, Wisdom, and Principles For Better Living.” Yes, that is the William Penn of Pennsylvania fame. It’s not a book about solitude, but the wisdom he came up within periods of solitude. Perhaps we need more solitude if we could have as much insight as he did.

The book is set up in categories like pride, luxury, frugality or bounty, right marriage, and many more. Yes, as you would expect, a category on friendship is included. This book can be taken in large or small chunks. I read several of these statements to my family and they spurred some good discussions. I would find my wife picking it up and reading it as well. Guess which one she found and loved the most?  “Between a man and his wife nothing ought to rule but love. Authority is for children and servants: yet not without sweetness.” Strangely, that’s the very same one the publishers found best to put on the back cover. She and I both felt this book had good things to say to families. Our children need these forgotten truths.

Older words are used at times and that may turn off some, but you can pretty easily understand the statements. Plus it has that classic look and feel to it.

As I read it I so wished the people with influence in our country still viewed the world as Mr. Penn did. I say let’s bring back this type of common sense.

I received this book free from the publisher. 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 . 

Father Hunger–An Urgent Read

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Just how important is fatherhood anyway? Our culture has no answer as it can’t think of one good reason for fatherhood beyond the biological one. For that matter, many fathers can’t add any more items to the list. Shall we listen to our culture? I’m not sure what our listless age has to commend to itself to be our guide. God, as the Master Designer, is left out of our thinking and the consequences are horrific. That’s where one of the most incredible books on fathers I have ever read comes into play. “Father Hunger” by Douglas Wilson is profound and greatly impacted me. Every page was like the hard steel blades of the plow tilling through the soil of my heart.

What Mr. Wilson was able to accomplish in this volume is rarely done. When the subtitle proclaims “Why God calls men to love and lead their families”, the book actually delivers on the “why.” Few books can give us the big picture and get especially practical as well. As an avid reader, it’s my opinion that most authors can give us only one or the other. Mr. Wilson, with verve, skill, and a pastoral heart actually pulls it off.

With deftness he upholds the essential equality of men and women while showing that the Lord, again the Master Designer, has assigned men and women different roles. That will probably keep this book off the New York Times Bestseller List, but it will have the smile of Heaven for its Biblical faithfulness. God is Father, so do you imagine in His design fathers would have a non-essential role? Ladies, don’t panic—Mr. Wilson never gives men power to be selfish brats, just power to love and be unselfish and sacrifice himself for his family. Listen to this incredible statement on men taking responsibility: “… to take on a lifetime of sacrifice and hard work. A man who takes a woman to the altar is going there to die to himself. But that is all right because it is not good for man to be alone.”

He looks at our country and where it is today and sees the absent father as the biggest culprit for the mess we are in. From fathers who provide the seed for a child and vanish to the fathers who live at the same address and mostly do their own thing in life, we have a generation of absentee fathers. The Lord designed everyone to need a father. A father’s loving hand is needed in the life of every child. He says, “Your actual pursuits are a running scoreboard. They reveal what you actually prize.” Are you challenged here? I am.

He shows how feminism, or the dire warnings of overpopulation, or the design of the welfare system, or the plea for gay marriage are all direct attacks on fatherhood. It also a direct attack on what every one of us needs to thrive as God intended. Statistics on everything from crime to education are given. The jury is in and the verdict says that homes without fathers are destroying children today. Without a Dad they will much more likely be a school dropout or be in prison. Also, the worst we see out of men comes from not encouraging them to settle down, accept responsibility, and protect their family.   He shows how God is masculine (not male) and how masculinity (defined with care) is needed all around.

There’s so much more, but this review is getting ridiculously long. For the practical side, the chapter “Some Father Mechanics” is worth the price of the book alone. I saw my lack all over its pages. Thank you Mr. Wilson. If no one else needed your book, I did.

I received this book free from the publisher. 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 .