Book Review for Mission Possible by D.L. McCarragher

Have you ever considered the origins of marriage?

Genesis 2:23
Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man."  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
• Genesis 2:18 
  The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.

Most women, Christian or otherwise want a help mate. We get married and hope to enjoy the company of the person we've chosen to spend our lives with. But what if things go wrong?

While there are many ways a marriage can go wrong this post is going to focus on one particular tragedy that afflicts many marriages:

What does a Christian woman do when she finds herself married to an unbeliever?

D.L. McCarragher's book Mission Possible addresses this situation. Mission Impossible is a short book, only about eighty pages long but it's a book that packs a powerful punch. Divided into seven chapters and an epilogue, McCarragher breaks down for the Christian woman what model she should base her prospective husband (Jesus) on and what to do when when her spouse does not conform to that model.

McCarragher shares her own personal journey with her unbelieving husband and gives much insight into the road mines (the Abigail Syndrome) and barriers that can discourage a woman who has prayed and begged God for years to change her husband into a man of God.

She gives a new and thoughtful approach to using scripture as the powerful weapon it is meant to be. In Chapter 3 “Faith as a Mustard Seed” on pg. 30 she states:

I recommend speaking varied scriptures for salvation over your husband daily. One of my favorite scriptures is Romans 10:20, where Paul quotes a passage from Isaiah 65:1, “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest by those who did not ask for Me.

Whoa! Praying over your husband is an aggressive act and an optimistic one at that. How many of us have considered doing that? How many of us want to instead enjoy Abigail's fate and prayed for God to get rid of our husband so we can have our “David”? (Come on, be honest.)

In Chapter 4, “Painful Reality” she admonishes wives not to be a Jonah and run away but to be sincerely devoted to the salvation of their husband's soul. She gives an example of her own prayer, a prayer that envisions the sort of Godly man her husband is intended to be.

I thank you, Lord, that my husband will be a mighty man of God; a man so in love with you that he will not be able to satisfy the hunger he has for you... he will reach for his Bible instead of the TV remote, he will desire to be with your people and enjoy their fellowship. He will be the priest of his home and take on his priestly duties with godly reverence. He will pray with his family and long to serve you...(pg. 42)

Chapter 5, “Timing is Everything” discusses God's perfect timing using the book of Esther (for such a time as this). She reminds the reader that even though things seem to be going bad that God is indeed working

...behind the scenes with your husband. The time spent waiting is both for his benefit and for yours. Just as Esther spent much time in preparation for an audience with the King, so too are you being readied. (pg. 51)

Chapter 6 admonishes Christian women in this same situation to form prayer groups and pray for the salvation of each other's husbands and Chapter 7 is a brief discourse on Victory which she freely admits has not happened with her own husband. Nevertheless she has seen many miraculous transformations in him.

The thing I appreciate the most about McCarragher's book is how she backs everything she asserts with scripture. In fact each chapter is followed by a question and answer section which makes Mission Possible not only an invaluable read but a great Bible study.

To conclude, “Mission Possible” would make a wonderful Bible study for an individual but it would be especially effective for group study. I recommend this book to church groups that have members married to unbelievers. (In other words, every church should get this book!) It would be a great way to serve an, unfortunately, large people group that have to come to church to worship and serve God without their helpmates.

Thanks to the author for giving me a copy of Mission Possible book to review. I pray that my post serves in getting this book in the hands of those who need to read it.

For more information go to : www.Godmissionpossible.com
Ms. McCarragher has e mailed this to me which I am repeating verbatim:
 If there is a women's Bible study group or other group of women at your church that are interested in my book, I would ask you to have them contact me (thru Contact Form) on my website to let me know that they want a "volume discount" - for anything over10 books.  I would sell them for $5.00 each and just add actual shipping costs via UPS for them.  I generally give a discount to churches and ministries instead of the price on my website

Book Review for The Joker and The Chest by Bruce E. Murphy

 The Joker and the Chest is about a teenage boy, John Marcellus. John has an irresistible compulsion to play “pranks” on handicapped people. He doesn't know why he does it except that he gets a “thrill” doing it. After his third prank his family sends him to a boarding school where he meets up with Morgan Fairway. Morgan is the headmaster's son and they become friends.

While helping to transfer everything out of an old school building into a new one, Morgan and John come across a decrepit chest in the attic of the old building. Apparently there is a mystery surrounding this chest and Mrs. Katanski, the elderly custodian of the school, knows something about it and is anxious for the boys to stay away from this chest. Could the chest contain evidence of a murder committed years ago?

Let me stop right there and say the above two paragraphs contain ingredients for a good story. Unfortunately Mr. Murphy does not develop any of these ideas nor does he tie them together. A plausible explanation is never given to why an otherwise nice, respectful boy like John impulsively plays pranks on helpless people. I might add that Murphy's use of the word “prank” is flawed. John goes beyond pranks. What he does sadistic and cruel. Slamming a child's hand in a door is not playful, neither is taking the crutches of someone with a broken leg or knocking all the books onto the floor of a girl with a broken arm. It's mean and hateful.

After an accident where John almost dies he is finally “cured” of his need to play pranks on others but his reformation of character is rather abrupt. Murphy would have done well to delve deeper in to the psyche of John. Why does he like hurting helpless people? Why is it so out of character for him to do so? These questions are not adequately answered.

Totally unrelated to this lack of character study is the “mystery” of a chest in the attic. In the end (which isn't long in coming-the whole book is fifty-eight pages) we find out...nothing. The mystery isn't solved, the story of the murder case is never told in full and we never find out why old Mrs. Katanski is so protective of the chest.

All in all a poorly developed plot with poorly developed characters. The makings are there. Maybe Mr. Murphy could go back and flesh his story out. 

I received a complimentary copy of  this book as a member of the
Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com 
to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

  

If you'd like to buy this book please do so through my link.  Thanks!

Book Review for Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A memoir of sorts

What author would I like to meet?  Hmm...A living one?  Hmmm....Could we fantasize and meet a dead one?
I'd love to meet GK Chesterton.  I'd like to debate him even though I know I'd lose abominably.  I'd just like to hear his responses.

 

Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me: A Memoir....of Sorts is Ian Morgan Cron's account of growing up Catholic with a father who on occasion worked for the CIA but mostly spent his days in a drunken stupor. I can divide this book up into three sections: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good: Cron is a good writer. This is obviously not the stuff of a ghost writer. Cron has an agile mastery of the English language and a scathing sense of humor to boot, both of which he puts to good purpose in his book. The first half of the book is filled mostly with humor, going to Catholic school with scary nuns, his first (and traumatic) experience as an altar boy and trying to fit in at school but failing miserably. These are experiences many of us can identify with and laugh at.

The Bad: About the middle of the book the story takes a dark turn. The humor is gone and replaced with a tone of bitterness and anger. He describes the hardship of having to live with an alcoholic father and a workaholic mother. Furthermore, Cron himself starts experimenting with drugs and alcohol as a teenager and by the time he's in college he's a raging alcoholic. In this section Cron loses his faith. He decides that God doesn't listen to the prayers of a young person begging to be delivered from the hell of an alcoholic home.

The Ugly: Because this book is published by a Christian company (and “Jesus” after all is in the title) I kept waiting for Cron to give an inspiring testimony of how he finally turned to God and was delivered from the hatred he had for his father and his own demons of alcoholism. He does write of being delivered from his addictions but no prayer is uttered, no explicit credit is given to God. I suppose it is implied: his psychologist is an Episcopalian priest, his wife is a Christian and he has a mystical fascination with the Eucharist.

When he talks of the Christian youth groups he attended in high school and college at the urging of well-meaning Christian friends he more or less sneers “it was dumber than I thought it'd be” (pg. 162). He also talks about God in an irreverent way which I'll assume we're supposed to chalk up to his bitterness.

Cron's turning point comes in the middle of a church service when he hears a voice asking him for forgiveness. He later concludes that Jesus was asking for his forgiveness. He gives it and things seem to take an upturn swing after that.

I guess that's the ugliest thing in this book: Cron's act of making God in his own image. Please show me in the Bible where Jesus asked anyone for forgiveness. Did the woman who bled for seventeen years demand it? Did the parents of demon-possessed children expect it? What about the lepers or the men blind from birth? In fact there's only one group of people I saw in the Bible that thought Jesus was accountable to them. They were called Scribes and Pharisees. A Perfect, Sinless Being would never ask for what He does not need.

I can understand being angry at God. All of us have been angry at Him at one time or another- some of us, like people with alcoholic or otherwise abusive parents have more reason than others, I'm sure.

But true repentance and salvation comes not when we call God on the carpet but when we understand that all humans are on the carpet, accountable for a sin-sick soul. We all possess lives that need God's forgiveness and His Son's sacrifice to pay what our sin owes. This crucial point is what's missing in Cron's book.

Somehow he ends up becoming an Episcopalian priest but he never tells us how he arrived there. And here's another ugly detail of the book: For a man of God, Cron has riddled his book with vulgar and coarse language. Unfortunately I'm seeing this as a disturbing trend in many Christian circles, literary or otherwise.

If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned Cron's father's work in the CIA it's because it really doesn't play a large role anywhere in the story. This book is mainly about Cron's father's and then his own substance abuse.

I think this book could benefit people who bear the scars of living in a household held captive by alcoholism yet at the same time, he doesn't offer a true path to healing and deliverance. For that you'd need to find a book that actually makes God and His Scripture as the focal point rather than a young man's angst.

 I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers

If you'd like to buy this book please do so through the link below, thanks!

Book Review of Final Summit by Andy Andrews

In exchange for my honest review, Booksneeze gave me a complimentary copy of The Final Summit by Andy Andrews.  All I can say is that this review is definitely going to be honest and I'm glad I didn't pay money for the book. .
  Books like this are a growing problem in so called "Christian" literature and I was disappointed to see how many reviewers on Amazon gave the book a glowing report.  I was also surprised to see how many well-known Christian media personalities endorsed this book.  Where was their spiritual discernment?

    Plot:  David Ponder returns in this sequel of The Traveler's Gift. He is whisked away by the Archangel Gabriel to a meeting hall ( somewhere in heaven) where he meets other 'travelers.'  They are assembled here to save humanity from God's wrath and the subsequent end of the world.  They can only do so by correctly answering a question:  What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?"


   The time travelers get five chances to answer the question before earth meets its doom in the same manner it did when the flood destroyed the earth in Noah's time.

     Ok, already spiritual red flags should be popping up in your head.  Did you catch the first theological blunder?  What must humanity do?  The time travelers-which include famous historical figures such as Winston Churchill, who's portrayed as a buffoonish hot head, Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, King David and George Washington Carver, each come up with their humanistic solution to save mankind.

Did you catch the second theological blunder?  King David, a man after God's own heart informs people that all we need is self discipline.  Really?  Why'd he bother writing Psalm 51? Create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a right Spirit in me.. Others give equally self-saving answers 'restore hope,' 'seek wisdom' etc..

      In the end (SPOILER ALERT) all their answers were wrong, or rather they were part of the right answer.  Guess what the answer that will save humanity from God's wrath is?  Go ahead guess!  Ok I'll tell you:  What humanity needs to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civlization is (drum roll please)  DO SOMETHING!


  That's it.  That's the answer.  Do something.  Am I the only one who finds that answer a bit nebulous?

   I understand this is a work of fiction but that doesn't mean the author doesn't have a very real message in it, otherwise why did he bother writing it?

  I suggest Mr. Andrews read Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? 

 Man can't save himself. Period.  That's why in Isaiah 59:15, 16 it says:

  The Lord saw that there was no justice, and He was offended.
He saw that there was no man-He was amazed that there was no one interceding:
so His own arm brought salvation,
 and His own righteousness supported Him.


 Why else did Christ come into the world if it was in our own power to save ourselves? John 3:16 is well-known but I want to put it here because it's my favorite passage of scripture:

For God so loved the world
That He gave His only begotten Son
That whosoever believes in Him
Will not perish, but have eternal life!


   So my main objection to this book is that it is, in fact, a humanistic book and not a Christian book.  If this book was published by a secular company it wouldn't matter but why is a Christian company promoting a book that has a decidedly unChristian message?

 My other objections is the way Andrews anthropormorphises Gabriel.  He characterizes him to be petty and arrogant. Those are sinful human traits.   When you give a sinless being sinful characteristics you are bearing false testimony to one of God's glorious beings.  Andrews also makes King David out to be awkward and bumbling not to mention ignorant of a Biblical solution for the problem. In addition to that, many people who, according to history, never became Christians are there in heaven.  That's a universalist belief, not a Christian one.

    The only positive I saw was the obvious historical research that went into the book, although the only person I didn't know about-and he was worth getting to know- was Eric Erickson who, according to Andrews was an Ally Spy who was the primary reason for Germany losing the war.  However, if I were you, I'd google for information on Erickson rather than buying this book to find out about him.

 Last but not least, the book is boring.  Most of the book takes place at a  meeting  with everyone brainstorming to arrive at the correct answer.  I've been to plenty of meetings, I really don't need to read about one.
   In conclusion, The Final Summit is a boring, poorly developed book filled with bad theology. I hope I have allowed you to make an informed decision about reading this book or not but you may notice that I haven't provided a link for anyone to buy it through my blog.

 
   

Book Review of The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

John D. Rockefeller was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived. After he died someone asked his accountant, How much money did John D. leave?” The reply was classic: “he left....all of it.”



If that point is clear in your mind, you're ready to hear the secret of the Treasure Principle. (pg. 18)



The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn is a short readable book based on a set of principles each built on top of each other. The first principle is that everything we have, including all our money, is God's. The second principle is that if we treat all we own as the Lord's we will spend it according to God's will. This involves seeking out how God wants us to spend His money. The third principle is that if we truly are seeking God's will in how to spend His money then we will be giving sacrificially.

The impetus is the focus. Alcorn expounds on his “Treasure Principle” which comes from the words of Jesus:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and hwere thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thjieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)




If we keep our mind on our eternal treasure we will willingly give up our temporary one. In one chapter he tells of a widow who fasts every Thursday in order to use the money she's saved to buy food for others.

Alcorn discusses not only how we should be spending our money but, as Christians, who and what we should be spending our money on. He compares the different viewpoints of tithing, concluding with his own. He also talks about the fruits that God promises to people who see themselves as the managers or caretakers of God's money rather than regarding it as their own.


Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38


What Alcorn has to say is convicting and requires a lot of faith to follow. Lest anyone think, “Well sure, easy for him to say. He's a successful author and pastor” I'll point out that Alcorn is practising what he preaches. Some years ago he peacefully protested outside an abortion clinic. He was arrested and put in jail. The judge awarded the clinic a substantial amount of money. Alcorn refused to pay it because he didn't want any of his income going to an industry that profits from infanticide. The judge then demanded his church pay a quarter of his wages to the clinic each month. To prevent this from happening Alcorn resigned. He now can make no more than minimum wage to avoid garnishment. Recently the ten year statute of limitations came up and Alcorn would have been able to receive his salary again but the judge awarded an extension of another ten years. What does Alcorn have to say about all of this?

What others intended for evil, God intended for good (Genesis 50:20). ..My inability to legally own assets was nothing I sought after and nothing to be congratulated for, but God used it to help me understand what He means by “Everything under heaven belongs to Me.” Job 41:11 (pg. 23)

In conclusion The Treasure Principle is a good book to read but don't do so unless you want to be convicted.
 
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Multonomah book publishers in exchange for my honest review.
 
If you buy a copy of this book, please do so by clicking on the link below so I can receive a small percentage.  Thanks!!

 
 

Book Review for Making the Best of a Bad Decision by Erwin W. Lutzer

Have you settled for second best in a situation because you chose the immediate over the permanent? Have you married the wrong person? Have you crossed a moral boundary thinking no one will be the wiser only to have your secret exposed? How about a bad financial decision or maybe you hate your job? Maybe you've hurt other people.


Erwin Lutzer addresses all these issues each in their own chapter in his book, Making the Best of a Bad Decision. The book starts off with the worst decision ever made in world's history (it started in the Garden of Eden) and how all of mankind has had to pay for Adam and Eve's bad decision. The succeeding chapters address how people arrive at bad decisions and how they and others suffer the consequences for them. Luckily he doesn't end there. He also shows how turning to God for the solution can make even the worst decision ultimately lead to victory and God's glory.

Lutzer turns to different stories of the Bible-Adam and Eve, the Israelites wandering in the desert, Joshua's foolish vow to the Gibeonites, King David's infidelity- and demonstrates how God took their wrong choices and made ultimate good out of them. Lutzer doesn't sugarcoat sin. He never refers to it as a “mistake” or a “stumble.” Those terms imply that one didn't do it on purpose. Sin is always a conscious choice. Lutzer explains that there will be negative consequences for it but he also shows that with God all wrong can still lead to right.

I especially appreciated his section about being the person who suffers from other peoples bad decisions. Whenever one hears about some abusive individual who does horrible things to his family, inevitably I hear someone say, “Well, that's probably how he was raised.”

Lutzer has this to say about that “explanation”:

God's grace goes where it is most needed and desired. Millions of children with unfaithful-and even evil- parents have served God with faithfulness and great blessing.


A couple named Tony and Ruth exemplify this truth. Tony came from an abusive, alcoholic home, and Ruth was thrown out of her home as a teenager and ended up working on the streets. Both have been redeemed by God's grace and are raising their children with careful parenting and faith. Together, they are affirming, “The curse stops with us!” (pg. 33)

I also found his words toward people who believed they married the wrong person encouraging. He tells of James Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scottish pastor with a difficult wife. When other pastors praised their wives he had this to say.

My wife has been better to me than all of yours put together...She has driven me to my knees seven times a day, and that is more than any of your wives have done for you!”(pg. 65)

Such sacrifice is unheard of today and Lutzer discusses the myth and lie “I have a right to happiness” and how this belief has caused more misery than any perceived dissatisfaction with a given situation has.

I read a review on another blog about Madame Bovary. This blogger waxed eloquent on Bovary's
“brave emancipation from her husband and duties of motherhood”. (A nice way of saying she cheated on her husband and abandoned her daughter to a life of grinding poverty). The reviewer summed up with “It's a pity she could never find happiness.”

I wrote a response: “Selfish people can never be happy.”


This book is filled with many personal stories and examples both from the Bible and people Lutzer has known and counseled throughout the years. He ends with a chapter titled, “The Worst Decision You Could Ever Make”. This is the only decision any human can make that God cannot change for good. Readers who are Christians will know exactly what that is, the rest will need to read the book.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for solutions or an escape from their wrong choices.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishing Co. in exchange for my honest review.



If you buy this book, please do so through my link so I can receive a percentage.  Thanks!!

Book Review for My Forty Years as a Diplomat by Feng-Shan Ho

Feng-Shan Ho was appointed ambassador of the Republic of China by Chiang Kai-shek in the 1930's. As the title states his career spanned forty years and saw several governments in various countries come and go. His initial job was to establish relations with countries to help China in their “War of Resistance” against Japan and later in a race to get countries to recognize the Republic of China as the legitimate government of the Chinese people rather than Mao Zedong's communist regime.


While Ho's writing (translated by his son) is not written in a flow-able storyline it is a book worth reading for the wealth of information it provides. Ho recounts his work as Ambassador to Austria during Hitler's regime, the development of leadership in Middle Eastern companies and his efforts to keep them from sympathizing with Communist China. He describes the tactics of Communist China in their efforts to gain support throughout the world as well as the sad shrinking of the Republic of China until it is finally delegated to the island of Taiwan.

His work in Germany is probably most notable for his efforts to get as many Jews out of the country as was in his power. Many Jews were not accepted in the Allied countries but they could get a Visa to Shanghai and stay there until they were able to move on to Israel or the United States. Ho was instrumental in providing Visas to many Jews. Even after his government back home told him to desist and ultimately recalled him, he continued to hand out Visas. As his train was leaving Vienna, he passed Visas through the train car window to outstretched hands. It's interesting to note that some of these Jewish refugees stayed many years in China, receiving their education and employment there. In 2001 Ho was posthumously recognized in Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

One of the most interesting aspects of Ho's memoirs is his efforts to get Chang Kai-shek's China recognized and to prevent the People's Republic of China (communist) from making headway in countries around the world. His book exposes the double talk and hypocrisy of many political leaders-such as the ones in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries and India as they said one thing to the Western countries and another to the Communists.

Also interesting is his description of the development of the Arab nations as they went from being poverty-stricken nomad countries living in a 2000 year old way of life to being the richest countries in the world at the expense of American and British engineers who harvested their oil for them.

One of the most provocative things he wrote about was the strategies of Communist China to get themselves recognized and consequently validated throughout the world:



I had long known of the seriousness of the Communist infiltration. Their ultimate objective was to establish diplomatic relations. I had already experienced the 'three-phased' strategy of the Communists when I was in Egypt. The first phase was to offer to buy goods, to entice with profit. The second was to apply for opening a trade fair, in order to exchange delegations and establish a permanent trade relationship. The third phase was to shift from commerce to politics, the final purpose being to request diplomatic recognition.....


...In seven years, the Communists launched fourteen infiltrative activities in Mexico. They sent to Mexico an economic delegation and a trade delegation, which started to trade and do business... They tried to infiltrate culturally by sending a circus troupe.(pg. 193)

Hmmm.. none of that has transpired in the U.S., has it?

Ho also describes how the Communists worked to infiltrate into the media, fine arts and performing arts (television, movies) of their targeted countries (including the US). Surprise, surprise.


While Ambassador Ho met with varying success in the Middle East, he did successfully counter Communists efforts in Mexico. A colleague had this to say about him:

Mexico is a large country in North America. She has a boundary of over a thousand miles with the United States. It is here that Ambassador Ho blocked the infiltration of the Chinese Communists.(pg. 208)


All in all, anyone interested in the history of the international political arena for the past eighty years from the viewpoint of someone from another culture and time (and who does not always paint a flattering picture of Western countries) would benefit greatly from reading this book. I personally think anyone who cares at all about the future welfare of our own country (which should be everyone) should read this book.




I received a complimentary copy of  this book as a member of the
Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com
to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.