Evelyn Underhill
If God were small enough to be understood He would not be big enough to be worshipped.
Book Review – Where Treasure Hides by Johnnie Alexander Donley
Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction. It’s been good, and I’ve discovered some excellent books, but it was time for something lighter and full of a great story. I grabbed a copy of Where Treasure Hides, by Johnnie Alexander Donley on my Kindle.
Described as historical fiction, Where Treasure Hides takes place in Europe during the second World War. Centered around the art community, this is a story of a young girl, from a historic artistic family, who is struggling to find a way to save and protect Holland’s priceless art from being confiscated or destroyed by the Germans when they invade.
When I started reading it, I didn’t realize it had a romantic interest in the plot. I expected it to be historical fiction. While it was interesting from that point of view, the love story portion was chaotic and I found it uninteresting. The main character is involved in a whirlwind of emotions, being pursued by both an officer of the British military and a Prussian count, with ties high in the Nazi regime.
While I suppose the love story is the primary purpose of the book, I found it to be distracting. The book would have been much more interesting if it had been written strictly as historical fiction. I know I would have enjoyed it more.
With that said, I thought the book was well written, and I found it pretty engaging. However, the formatting for Kindle was atrocious, with no breaks between chapters and page numbers appearing in the middle of the Kindle screen occasionally. That made it hard to read. I hope this is resolved quickly. Otherwise, it would have been a more enjoyable experience.
If historical romance is your thing, I’m sure you will enjoy Where Treasure Hides. If not, I’d recommend that you look elsewhere for something to read.
If you enjoy historical fiction, what is your favorite era? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
If you are interested in reading Where Treasure Hides, by Johnnie Alexander Donley, you can purchase it at Amazon.com for Kindle.
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 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.“
Coffee Break – 01.28.2013
Monkey Pee Coffee – There is a coffee that is extracted from the digested leftovers from a certain cat in Sumatra. Yeah, you read that right. It’s supposed to be really good, and it’s prohibitively expensive. But there’s a cheap place down the road from anywhere that sells this kind of coffee. You know the place…
Where Are These Boy Bands Now? – Ever wonder what happened to those “flash in the pan” boy bands? Here’s a peek at what happened to twelve of them. Most of them have disappeared, and for good reason. But I recently saw Boyz II Men cameo in an Old Navy commercial…
Timelapse Web – Timelapse photography is intriguing, and this film of a spider weaving its web is pretty cool to watch.
Learning From The Largest Mass Execution In US History – History is a favorite subject of mine. Even more so when it hasn’t been attacked by revisionism. This story about a Sioux uprising in Minnesota is one you will have a hard time finding in your school books. Not only does this article open our eyes to the history that is largely being ignored, it draws a spiritual parallel that really strikes home.
Husbands: A Tip That Could Save Your Marriage – Have you ever considered getting a part time job to work from home? This article challenges husbands to put the effort into their marriage and family that they would into a job they love. It make sense, and is pretty convicting.
Why I Changed My Mind About The Millennium – History is bookended with two significant events: Creation and the Second Coming of Christ. But most Christians seem to avoid both topics. We can’t do that; we have to address these foundational and crucial issues. In this post, author Sam Storms compares the idea of premillennialism with amillennialism. His conclusions are pretty solid, and I’m looking forward to reading his book on the topic. It’s due out in May.
The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both. – James A. Michener
Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:8-9
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve looked at how Paul addresses the problems with false teachers and the law. In this week’s passage, he seems to desire to clarify what he’s just stated. He doesn’t want any misunderstanding concerning these false teachers and their treatment of the law.
This week’s passage is found in 1 Timothy 1:8-9.
Paul is clear: the law is good because it reflects the will of God. The problem he’s addressing isn’t in the law itself; it’s in the ignorance of these false teachers who are perverting it for their own good. He makes this very clear with the phrase “if one uses it properly.” The purpose of the law is to make it clear that certain actions are wrong, to convict us of sin, such as the list he lays out in the next coupe of verses.
The law is designed to bring us to an awareness of sin. Its purpose is to restrain evil actions.
Paul lists several characteristics of evil in the next few sentences, part of which we’ll memorize next week.
He starts off with three pairs of adjectives. These seem to be descriptive in a relational way.
- lawbreakers and rebels – this is willful rebellion.
- the ungodly and sinful – people who live disobediently, allowing God no place in their lives.
- the unholy and irreligious – those who have no room for reverence or the sacred.
Many commentators have connected Paul’s list here and in the next few verses with the Ten Commandments, such as Homer A. Kent, in The Pastoral Epistles. These three seem to go hand in hand with the first four commandments: Having no other gods, creating graven images, taking God’s name in vain, and keeping the Sabbath. And in fact, verses 9 and 10 list more of Paul’s list, equating them to dishonoring parents (commandment number five), and murder (commandment number six).
Why is Paul giving such a close scrutiny of the law compared to these false teachers here? Because the law was not intended for the righteous; it was given for the sinner. The very essence of the gospel is that Christ died and bore the curse of the law for us. And we have died with him, leaving behind our ties to the law. We are now under grace.
If we were still under the law, then we should also bear the curse of the law. Otherwise the authority of the law dissolves and we have nothing. So the proper use of the law, Paul writes, is to apply it to sinners so that they are convicted of their sin, and see the need for the gospel and salvation which comes through Jesus.
Much of this jumps ahead into next week’s passage, because it’s impossible to separate Paul’s list of criminal activity from the resolution. It’s just easier to memorize in two segments. But don’t worry, while this week ends on a negative note, the good news is just around the corner.
Do you live as if you’re under the law, or under grace? What do you do to help you remember that fact? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Do not have your concert first and tune your instruments afterward. Begin the day with God.
Hudson Taylor
Think On These Things… Whatever Is True
Towards the end of 2012, I started a series of posts on Philippians 4:8-9. And then, with the holidays, all the end of year wrap-ups, reviewing my goals, my Life Plan, and One Word for the new year, and the birth of my son, I kind of let it slip through the cracks.
But now, I want to revisit that idea, and write some articles about each of the characteristics listed in this passage.
Paul’s grammar, in the original Greek, gives each of these first six traits distinct and special emphasis. The first one Paul mentions is “whatever is true”.
There are a lot of ways the word “true” can be used, and numerous implications throughout Scripture. But what does Paul intend here? Based on his context and wording, “true” here means that one’s thoughts conform to reality. This seems to be reinforced by the phrase “think on these things.”
This is not the word used for reaching a truth at the end of a logical thought process. This is more of the idea of truthfulness, integrity, character. True means honest, genuine.
That’s a tough quality to find in the twenty-first century. It seems as if everything is ambiguous; that nothing is black and white. the line between truth and falsehood is fuzzy and indistinct and gray. Based on the fact that Paul found it necessary to write this, it must have been much the same in the first century.
Book Review – Loving The Church by John Crotts
As a minister, sometimes it’s hard to remember that what I do is more than just a job.
The day to day routine starts to become much like any other job, I suspect. Head to the office, work on lessons and messages, study for this class, plan that event, finalize this program, emails, phone calls, and lots of coffee.
But the church isn’t just another job. The church is the Bride of Christ. And that makes a huge difference.
In Loving The Church, John Crotts reminds me just what the means. Taking an over-arching view of the church, Crotts looks at the church, what it is, its value and its purpose. He then takes a look at how individual people fit into this grand view, making it intensely personal.
But I’m a minister. Most people aren’t. And this is the point of view that Loving The Church takes. Crotts has written this in such a way that it serves as a great reminder to each and every person sitting in our building every week just what this glorious design is and how important the church is in God’s design for the Kingdom.
From church leadership to spiritual gifts, from unity to spiritual growth, Loving The Church lays out a brief, yet detailed, look at the church.
The church is more than just a Sunday diversion. The church is more than just a few sermons or potlucks or youth groups or Bible studies. It is all those things, and more. So much more. And in this brief examination, Crotts defines for each of us what it means to love the church.
I really appreciated his easy to understand writing style. Too often, books on the church are too… well, churchy. Crotts has made this topic simple to grasp, while not simplifying the complexities of God’s Church.
His story-telling approach makes it fun to read as well.
I plan to stash a few extra copies of Loving The Church in my office, ready to hand out to people who wonder what this church thing is all about, and why it’s so important to God’s plan.
Perhaps you should grab a copy and read it as well…
What is your favorite characteristic of the Church? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
If you are interested in reading Loving The Church, by John Crotts, you can purchase it at Amazon.com in print or for Kindle.
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Cross Focused Media as part of their Cross Focused Reviews blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 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.“