He-Man: Masters of the Universe [1987]

Recently I have been struggling with some issues. Sometimes it seems as if things are a little hopeless. So I turned to Psalm 88 for some encouragement. Heman, a musician for King David, is the psalmist, but he was in moments of despair. Now, Psalm 88 has absolutely nothing to do with Masters of the Universe, but the psalmist, Heman, made me think back to He-Man. 

I'm not saying you or I should seek refuge in movies, but we were made in the image of God so we can enjoy the act of creating because God is the ultimate creator. We get our creative abilities directly from him. And He-Man: Masters of the Universe certainly did a great job of cheering me up tonight. In a way, the movie wraps up a lot of the '80s in general.

Book Review: The Necessity of an Enemy

THE NECESSITY OF AN ENEMY
HOW THE BATTLE YOU FACE IS YOUR BEST OPPORTUNITY

Ron Carpenter, Jr.

WaterBrook Press, 2012

Ron Carpenter, Jr.’s book, “The Necessity of an Enemy,” is broken up into eight sections: (1) The Necessity; (2) The Plan; (3) The Target; (4) The Enemy Within; (5) Weapons of Mass Destruction; (6) Prowling Your Neighborhood; (7) How to Fight to Win; and (8) The Spoils of Victory. Carpenter's thesis is that we have an enemy and we need to fight that enemy with all we have because we can, because it's necessary.

Book Review: 40 Questions About the End Times

40 Questions About the End Times
By: Echard Schnabel
Series Editor: Benjamin L. Merkle
Kregel Academic and Professional, 2011

Thanks to Benjamin Merkle, the Series Editor for Kregel’s “40 Questions” books, evangelicals now have a quick and concise tool for understanding end times. The book’s author, Echard Schnabel, is an evangelical and takes a very conservative look at all end times scripture throughout the Bible.

Perhaps the most helpful thing he has done is not begin with Revelation. I believe folks are guilty of going straight to the end of the Bible to understand what will happen in the end times which is not beneficial unless you have a good idea of the rest of the Bible’s metanarrative. To understand apocalyptic writing in scripture, one must understand the genre in general, but also understand the book of Daniel.

Remaining Confident in the Gospel

This morning at T4G, Thabiti Anyabewile is speaking from 1 Timothy 4. I sometimes go through the seasons of doubt he is talking about by losing confidence in the Gospel. Not that I wouldn't affirm the Gospel as a necessity and of first importance, but that even in my thoughts I question whether it is true.

Being a student of Southern Seminary and the leader of a college ministry, you probably think I am an apostate or heretic. No. I am just being honest. We will all go through doubts unlike Jesus who had perfect confidence. When we do go through these doubts, it is important to have your faith community and closest friends with you for support.

As Anyabewile has said this morning, it is necessary that we have confidence in the Gospel. Those who we witness and minister to need us to be confident and we need the confidence. As Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4, the Gospel is sufficient. It has everything we need. Going further, the Gospel is trustworthy. And lastly, the Gospel comes to the worst of sinners and has the power to save the least deserving (including myself).

Trusting in the Sovereignty of God

Dear Readers,

This post is not primarily about me, nor is it primarily about my doubts, fears, frustrations, or complaints. This post is about thankfulness and joy. The thankfulness and joy we have in Christ who has redeemed us. Coming out of Easter Sunday, my awareness has been heightened as it has been with most. My thankfulness and gratitude for my salvation and the multiple blessings God has given me is great. At that same time, I am fighting doubt.

Book Review: Our Favorite Sins

BOOK REVIEW

OUR FAVORITE SINS
The Sins We Commit & How You Can Quit
Todd D. Hunter
Thomas Nelson, 2012

I was excited to receive this book after requesting it from BookSneeze. It’s got a great design and the review makes it out to be the best new book on battling against daily struggles with sin. But, it’s not. I cannot, and will not, recommend this book.

Maybe I should have read the endorsements, particularly who they were from, before getting my hopes up. Our Favorite Sins reads little better than a twist on self-help which Hunter seemingly does not like… At the end of his book he recommends his readers to leave the realm of self-help requiring me to conclude that he does not want anyone to read this book either.

Book Review: As One Devil to Another

BOOK REVIEW

AS ONE DEVIL TO ANOTHER
Richard Platt 
Tyndale House Publishers, 2012

As One Devil to Another is critically acclaimed for accomplishing the best diabolical correspondence since C.S. Lewis introduced the genre with The Screwtape Letters. In As One Devil to Another Slashreap trains his young protégé, Scardagger, to win over souls from Heaven just as Screwtape taught his nephew. The book aims to uncover the very real problems plaguing society today with total accuracy. Anyone who picks up this book will be trapped, in a good way.