Therefore I Have Hope

How would you respond if the worst thing you could ever imagine happened? Or are you already living through your worst fears? This book is written by Cameron Cole, a father whose son died suddenly at the age of 3 years. He and his family were immediately plunged into their worst fear. How do you respond to the death of your nearest and dearest? Here Cole writes about the Biblical truths that sustained him throughout this time and continue to form his 'narrative of hope'. Although written from a perspective of bereavement, there is much here to feed the soul of any suffering believer. It is a book full of hope, a hope that can only be truly found in Christ, and this is where Cole directs our attention.  His own story is used to illustrate but not overshadow the Biblical lessons.  He is honest about his failings and open about the lessons learnt. He writes of grace given only as needed, of a desperate clinging to the basic gospel truths, of a faltering faith that cries out in doubt and confusion to a long-suffering and loving God. But he also speaks of the great comforts found in the Scriptures, the peace found in a total dependence on a sovereign God, the empathy found in the God-Man Jesus Christ, and the very real presence of a God who has promised to never forsake his people.
Helpfully, Cole is also very practical about difficult situations that can arise with friends, colleagues and the Church family during suffering times.  He writes of bitterness and sin, but also of service and joy.
My only word of caution is regarding the final chapter on heaven - there is perhaps too much imagination used over the unrevealed details of this glorious place. Regardless of this, there is much in this book to comfort a world-weary soul. The honesty is raw and hard to read at times, but powerful in its testimony to the sustaining grace of our omnipotent God.
Therefore I have hope by Cameron Cole, published by Crossway, £10.99

Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in your Home

Glimpses of Grace is a compelling book, it can be read from cover to cover or just as easily dipped into ad hoc without losing the thread. Ever practical and honest, Gloria Furman uses a mixture of personal anecdotes, biblical truths, sound quotations and faithful hymnology to gently persuade you of the vital necessity of treasuring the Gospel in your home.
A few extracts will show this better than my attempts to describe it (from Chapter 9 God's Abiding Presence in Our Pain):

...I live in the midst of pain.  We're all carrying some sort of burden - maybe it's a lost love, or a lost child, a broken friendship or a broken home. We all limp as we go about our daily lives, and sometimes the pain is so deep that we can hardly bear to stand up. Your daily life is complicated by situations and extraordinary pain.
...There's a saying I learned in Kenya when visiting the church there. When somebody says, "God is good," everybody answers, "All the time." We extol the character of God and affirm, "God doesn't change." But how does God's immutable character affect our everyday perspective on life? If God doesn't change, how are we to respond when our circumstances do change? Rejoicing in the unchanging character of God is much harder to do when you feel like your life is a sandstorm swirling all around you, and you can't see which way to go, much less where the road went.
...Martin Luther said "Although it hurts us when he takes his own from us, his good will should be a greater comfort to us than all his gifts, for God is immeasurably better than all his gifts."
...Every time God acts, he acts in righteousness and grace.
...We need faith to trust that God doesn't merely "know what's best for us," but that he is what's best for us no matter what our circumstances are.

Lorna
Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in your Home by Gloria Furman, published by Crossway, £9.99

God's Mighty Acts...

It's not often you read a children's book which makes you sit and think, seriously and profitably.  The author of these two books, Starr Meade has a way of writing that makes you do just that. These books are written for the 8-12yr bracket, but they do not shy away from weighty doctrinal issues.  Yet at the same time these issues are written about in a way that this age group can understand.  There's quite a skill in doing this and I think Starr Meade hits the nail on the head. 
The books are written with short chapters (no more than 2 pages) which can be used as daily devotionals and some points for further thought and discussion are given at the end of each chapter.  

God's Mighty Acts in Creation guides the reader through each day of creation with the main aim of showing how God is revealed through the things he has made.  For example, 10 chapters are spent on Day 1 (Light and Water) covering some great gospel truths such as Jesus the light of the world, the Holy Spirit shining light into a sinner's heart, Christ the cleansing fountain of water, and Christ the living water. I have started reading this one with my 7yr old and have found the illustrations used really grabbed him e.g. science experiments, camping trips, and the doctrinal applications have been clear without trying to be too simplistic.

God's Mighty Acts in Salvation looks in detail at the book of Galatians and aims to highlight the main teaching about God's saving work.  Again, the difficult doctrinal issues are not avoided and hard words such as justification or righteousness are not watered down but instead used and explained.

Both are books I would recommend.
Lorna

Worldliness

This is one book I have actually read thoroughly lately - in addition to the 'blokish' one featured by Lorna in the last post! It is generally a lot better than I first expected. The danger is that you dip into one part of it and reject it right away, especially if you are prone to look at the back first (strange how one does that automatically isn't it?) and hit the appendices. Perhaps I need to accept it's 'the American way', but checklists smack of an 'under the law' mentality to me. This actually contrasts with parts of the book which are firmly Christ focussed, and take on issues from a gospel perspective.

The fact is C J Mahaney, an American New Calvinist, has edited a book to which there are 5 contributors, all from within his Sovereign Grace Ministries network. It is on an important subject - one which all true Christians must recognise as having caused great corrosion in churches everywhere. Worldliness. Subtitle: 'Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World'. Maybe many rightly diagnose this problem, but much that is written/preached presents the wrong solution. The tendency is to 'get stricter', to insist on the application of the Law of God. Now this is good if dealing with unbelievers, but the children of God are not to be saddled with that unbearable yoke again after being brought into soul liberty through Christ. So I welcome the chapter 'God, my heart and media' being dealt with by expounding and applying Ephesians 5:1-14 and other passages from the epistles. The one on music is on similar lines and pretty good, as is 'stuff' and material covetousness.

In fact Mahaney himself is about the nearest to poor in that he boldly opens up 1 John 2:15 in the first chapter, but is rather hamfisted with 1 Timothy 2:9 on 'Clothes'. There are some good pastorally inspired points appealing for Christian women to be less naive about the way in which they can make themselves sources of temptation for men by their dress (or lack of it!). However, men themselves do not seem to be dealt with so evenhandedly in this section. It gives a good twist that the final chapter is 'How to love the World'.

The real problem about a book like this is that the people who probably really need to read it won't, and those that (relatively) don't, will. How do you get over that hurdle?

Worldliness, ed. C J Mahaney. Published by Crossway at £8.99. Good value for a nice hardback.

Jeremy

Young, Restless, Reformed

No it's not my CV, just the pacy title of a book new in from the US which I've just finished reading. Written by Collin Hansen, an editor of Christianity Today, it is absolutely fascinating. One feels to be looking in on something a world away from where we are, not just across the Atlantic. The thesis is that a movement, if not a revival, is taking place in America, and the doctrines of grace or Reformed theology or Calvinism (terms used synonymously by Hansen) have come to prominence again. This is particularly noticeable amongst the younger generation, fed up with 'seeker sensitive' evangelicalism. It becomes evident that Hansen can identify with this personally, and this fires his sympathetic treatment of the issue. In true journalistic style he embarks on a geographical and religious tour of research. It turns out to be a very thought provoking journey, well described, well written and never dry. He goes to the epicentres of the new Calvinism and interviews most of the main figureheads. You get a real feel for the characters who are just names over here. I certainly feel that this is essential reading for anyone involved in book buying decisions in the christian book trade (not that that counts many folk in!) In any case it enables you to orient yourself with regard to the contemporary American scene. He goes to Minneapolis to see John Piper's set up, Louisville KY to Al Mohler jnr's Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Seattle to Mark Driscoll's colourful Mars Hill church, Washington DC to Mark Dever's more sober one. R C Sproul, John MacArthur, C J Mahaney, J I Packer, Tom Ascol, Steve Lawson, Sam Storms...the list goes on! Some are interviewed more fully, but MacArthur refused. But Hansen digs deeper and chats to 'ordinary' people, and this is where some very remarkable stories are unlocked. Of real hunger for the scriptures, re-discovery of the puritans and Jonathan Edwards, bold ministry and great numerical success. I sincerely hope there is a real work of God in the new Calvinist network. I'm by no means persuaded by everything Hansen uncovers, but he finds enough to hold up such a hope. Take the refreshing attitude and maturity about the following excerpt from a conversation with Joel Brooks, who is ministering to students on campus in Birmingham AL, reflecting on the folly of some doctrinal controversialists:
"...they go full steam into arguments with others over the sovereignty of God because they think God's glory is at stake," Joel said. "But arguing over this actually defeats the very belief that God is the one who sovereignly changes hearts and the will. By arguing, you prove that you don't really believe the things you clam to believe.
"Humility," Joel said, "acknowledges that we all need sovereign grace in our lives, and this glorifies our God."
Young, Restless, Reformed' is published by Crossway for £9.99.
Jeremy