Tim Tebow Shaken? That Captured my Attention

For full disclosure, I need to start this blog by saying that I have never been a Florida Gators fan.  As such, I delighted in the rare circumstances where Tim Tebow lost at the collegiate level. When be became a pro, however, my perspective of him changed.  This book keeps with that transformation and my respect for him continues to grow. 

The opening chapter of the book begins with him being cut by a pro team -- clearly a First World problem -- and the questions that he posed to God.  He believed that he knew what God had in store for him but, just like all of us that think that way, he learned otherwise. Someone once said "make your plans in pencil and give God the eraser," and those words are exemplified in Tebow's life. 

As he traces his story of ups and downs as well as those that helped remind him of the important things in life (e.g. the children that his foundation assists), he concludes the book with a chapter called "What Matters Most."  I would encourage you to start reading there.   He puts it this way on page 191 -- "I want to live off the field in a way that outlives me.  I want my love for God and for others to shine greater than an incredible comeback moment, a heavy gold trophy, or a handful of favorable headlines."  Those choices make all the difference in the world. 

We must, however, come to understand that God formed us and compares us to nobody else in this world.  More critically, we lack  nothing that His grace cannot supply to us BUT we must first turn to Him and surrender ourselves.  Therein rests the interesting piece of being "shaken" -- oftentimes, God must shake us to get our attention, ultimately, leading to surrender to Him.  As Ravi Zacharias has said, "There is no greater discovery than seeing God as the author of your destiny."

It is clear that Tebow is not the most skilled author; however, you can see his heart for God on every page.  This book is a quick read and, I believe, worth your time.

To comply with new regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, I am offering this disclaimer:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

The Lion Chased a Bit too Far

So, I have several of Mark Batterson's books and really enjoyed his first -- In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Evening.  It grabs your attention and makes you scratch your head in that you've missed that story somehow in the Bible.  His most recent book - Chase the Lion - goes back to that original but it lacks the grandeur of the first which was a New York Times best-seller.

The structure of the book is rather predictable in that he talks about his first book to start off and then he moved into this newer rendition.  Well, every chapter starts off with some story and then he talks about "chasing lions."  He used a snippet of a verse in that chapter that mentions going the pit with that lion; however, he never really spent time explaining their importance or relevance to the chapter.  he seemed to use the verses just to make it "more Christian" rather than doing some type of exegesis regarding the actual text.

Before I describe my largest concern, let me tell you that some good is here in the book.  He has put forward a "manifesto of the Lion Chaser" and those have some good statements.  In fact, one of them is the background to my computer -- run to the road!  If you want to see them all, you can find them here:  http://chasethelion.com/manifesto

Now, let's get into my big issue. On pages 10 and 11, the author quotes the minor prophet Joel and he totally missed  (not a slight miss but a HUGE one).  He used the prophet to lend credence to the summary of his chapter -- dreaming dreams is "the natural, supernatural by-product of being filled with God's spirit."  That conclusion is not even remotely in the context of the of Joel's prophecy.  If you read all of Joel 2, you will see that its a call to repentance and the Lord working in His people.  They are to be satisfied in Him alone.  What's the end of that work?  The people call on God's name which moves them toward salvation and deliverance from sin because God will be the judge of all mankind.  The statement about dreams concocted by Batterson is not the final product because salvation from sin and submission to His will is.  In this case, the author chased the lion a bit too much.

There are some good one-liners in here; however, get his first book instead of this one.


To comply with new regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, I am offering this disclaimer:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

Another Study Bible

I will go ahead and admit it -- I'm a sucker for study Bibles.  When I see one, I want to get it to see how its study notes are different than any other.  The MacArthur Study Bible is the "gold standard" in my opinion, so I confess a hardship in trying not to compare others to it.

The NKJV Apply the Word Study Bible is a new release and has some rather positive qualities.  First, I really like the name -- apply the Word -- because that is what we should do each and every day.  Second, I love (and I mean love) red letter editions because they help as you disciple new Christians to help delineate between narrative events and the words of Jesus.  As such, this one does not disappoint.  Third, there are good notes within it to point out some words and social/culture components.  It does not, however, go into the doctrinal or hermeneutical depths of a MacArthur Study Bible (see...I struggle in avoiding the comparison).

This one is the size of a "normal book" and not the typical Bible -- which is larger than a normal book.  To that end, the print is somewhat small and there is not much room for notes to go in the margin.  If you need larger print and desire to write notes on the pages, well, this is not the Bible for you.  Still, I can recommend this to you because you cannot go wrong studying God's Word! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLookBloggers.com review 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.”

Still Searching for Jesus

Robert J. Hutchinson has written a chronicle, of sorts, describing his quest to understand who the real, historical Jesus was.  The result is the book Searching for Jesus; and as the title suggests, it leaves anyone still searching for Jesus.  My main complaint is that the book left way too much open for interpretation instead of helping close the door with his own conclusions. 

For instance, he has a small section (A Conclusion...and a Beginning) that, of sorts, summarizes it all.  I use the two words "of sorts" twice for a definitive reason -- as much as the author leads to a conclusion, he never delivers one.  His final paragraph starts with -- "whether intentionally or not, Jesus ignited a worldwide crusade."  Well, if you read the New Testament, we see what His followers believed and that seems to be convincing enough to take a stand on something.  Further, there are a multitude of glittering statements like "whatever you believe" or "more evidence is still being gathered."  I do believe he does nail this one aspect right one the money -- we cannot construct a day by day, minute by minute reconstruction of everything that Jesus Christ did, and that is okay because Christianity is built upon faith not incontrovertible facts (which would remove any and all need for faith). 

If you are "on the fence" and are seeking secular sources to help you make a decision to accept or deny Christ, I doubt that this book will help you in that regard.  Thus, my title of the review is "Still Searching for Jesus." 

Let me offer you, however, a glimpse into the value of this book.  It provides a wonderful historiography of cynics, skeptics, atheists, and gnostic beliefs alongside modern scholarship that advances those thoughts BUT then balances it with modern scholarship that challenges those same components.  This is a "one stop shop" of Christology summarized and, for that reason alone, it is a valuable book to have on your shelf.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLookBloggers.com review 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.”