No Experience Necessary: Fulfilling the Gospel Commission is Easier than you Think: A Review

This new book by Karl Haffner is a good read-

Using stories-both personal and biblical, Haffner demonstrates that God can use even the most timid among us to bring His children home. Yes, He can use you and every evangelistic misfit out there to carry out his mandate: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ So take heart, come on board, and explore Scripture to discover how God has uniquely gifted every one of us to accomplish what matters most to Him: reaching His kids for the kingdom.

Karl admits that traditional evangelism has not been high on his preferred activities. However, if you will click on this link and read online the first chapter of the book for free. I am sure you will see that Haffner lets God use him to help fulfill the Gospel Commission. Chances are you will want to order the book and be inspired to let God use you too.

Penny-Pinching Principles for Money-Wise Parents: A Review

Definitely this is one of the very best 31 page booklets I have ever read! Gordonn Botting, the author, does a masterful job of presenting 31 readings on how to handle money and how to teach your children to handle money in a responsible way and to prepare your children for a successful financial future.

The old saying ‘Money makes the world go round’ is no less true today than when it was first quoted decades ago. Money affects everything that we-as a community, as a church, and as a family-accomplish, purchase, and achieve.

Learn about the 4 temperaments and how they apply to money and people:

Daring Lions (Cholerics)

Playful Otters (Sanguines)

Golden Retrievers (Phlegmatics)

Intense Beavers (Melancholics)

Here are a few of the Parenting Tips explored in this book:

Show your kids that the debt-free life is wonderful! Your paycheck goes much farther if you are not paying interest, and you certainly have a lot more options for spending, saving, and sharing.

With the proper guidance, even young children can realize the hazards of borrowing and the benefits of saving.

Whenever possible, involve your teens in your family finances, and it will earn you worry-free dividends in the future.

Teach your children to save up for major purchases. Let them see you do the same for your own large purchases In order to communicate ongoing lessons in patience and perseverance.

Help your kids to learn early the value of paying up front and NOT at the backend.

I think this booklet would be excellent reading for every parent, and even if you are not a parent the lessons set forth in this book are good for anyone that lives on planet earth where money is an essential in most people’s lives.

For information on ordering this book please click here

The Book of Acts: A Review

This new book by Wilson Paroschi is a great companion book to go along with the 4^th quarter 2018 Adult Bible Study Guide also known as the Sabbath School Quarterly.

Thirty years; that’s all it took, In the 30 years the Christian church gained sufficient growth and credibility to become the largest religion the world ever saw and to change the lives of hundreds of millions of people. And it all began with a dozen men, a handful of women and the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Acts is their story.

While it’s tempting to think of the early Christian church as the pinnacle of unity, purity, and perfection, this is misleading. Author Wilson Paroschi writes, “We find the early believers, including the apostles, entangled with misconceptions, personal conflicts, prejudice, and several other difficulties typical of human nature. They were not infallible. What they were able to accomplish in such a short period of time, however, is a perpetual testimony of how powerfully God can work when men and women, despite their limitations and failures, humble their hearts in prayer and submit their lives to the control of the Holy Spirit.”

Author Paroschi quotes from the book Acts of the Apostles and Counsels for the Church both written by Ellen G White:
           

The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world…The church is the repository of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to the ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God.

The church, enfeebled and defective, needing to be reproved, warned, and counseled, is the only object on earth upon which Christ bestows His supreme regard. The world is a workshop in which, through the cooperation of human and divine agencies, Jesus is making experiments by His grace and divine mercy upon human hearts

Reading this book can help you catch a glimpse of what God did through his people in the days of the Apostles and what He wants to do through his people today. If you would like to read the first chapter of this book on line for free click here .

Good News for a Change: A Review

The subject of this new title by Matt Micalatos is How to talk to anyone about Jesus.

It is a fascinating read. This book is about evangelism and how to share the Good News about Jesus.

The author points out that we need to get past the idea of needing to use sales tactics and high-pressure sales pitch because if we remember that the Gospel is Good News, then all we have to do is share it.

Evangelism is, first and foremost, us participating with the Holy Spirit to tell people about God and his love for them and to invite them into a relationship with Him. Because we’re doing the work together with the Holy Spirit, we can trust that God will pick up the slack where we’re failing. God wants us to participate, but it is God who ultimately makes the good news clear to our listeners. In fact, Paul said that even when someone shared the good news with evil motives, he was still happy the message was going out.

Read in this book how the author shared the gospel with a Buddhist and led him to Christ in a 15 minute conversation.

The author explains how God can use us in unique ways and unique because everyone that we share the gospel with, is unique also.

For more information take a look at this book at your local Christian book store or get it on line by clicking here.

You Don't Need a Title to be a Leader: A Review

This 100 plus page book by Mark Sanborn tells How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference, how each of us can be a leader in our daily lives and make a positive difference, whatever our title or position.

Through the stories of a number of unsung heroes, Sanborn reveals the keys each one of us can use to improve our organizations and enhance our careers.

Genuine leadership-leadership with a “little l,” as he puts it- is not conferred by a title or limited to the executive suite. Rather, it is shown through our everyday actions and the way we influence the lives of those around us. Among the qualities that genuine leaders share:

·         Acting with purpose rather than being bogged down with mindless activity

·         Caring about and listening to others

·         Looking for ways to encourage the contributions and development of others rather than focusing solely on personal achievements

·         Creating a legacy of accomplishment and contribution in everything they do

I really enjoyed this book, and the stories Mark Sanborn uses to illustrate the points he makes are priceless.  Check with your local book store or follow this link to order this inspiring from Amazon.com

Steps to Personal Revival: A Review

This new book by Helmut Haubeil is quite a thought provoking book on the need for us to ask God for, and to receive the Holy Spirit into our lives. 

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” Luke 11:9-13. NKJV
Some questions covered in this book;

What is the Center of our problems? Is there a spiritual cause to our problems? IS the cause a lack of the Holy Spirit?

How can we grow to be happy and strong Christians? How can the Holy Spirit fill our lives?

What advantage do we have with a life filled with the Holy Spirit?

What do we lose when we don’t pray for the Holy Ghost?

How can I implement and experience God’s solution for me?

How should I pray so that I am sure of being filled with the Holy Spirit?

I recommend this book.  For more information on this book and to order on line click here.

Kidnapped: A Review

Violence and bloodshed spread across Zaire like wildfire. But nowhere were the effects as chilling as in Kinshasa, the capital. The soldiers and police formerly the people’s protectors, had become the ones most feared. They had been given a license to steal and kill at will, trapping the eight million residents of the capital in a nightmare of fear.

Pastor Paul Ratsara, president of the newly formed West Zaire Union had moved his family to Zaire from Madasgascar. Ratsara, on business for the church, parked his car and began walking to the travel agency and as he did do, he heard footsteps and then a voice saying, “get into the car!”

Seeing that the young man demanding that he get in the car had a gun, he determined he would comply and pray that he would be able to negotiate once he was inside the car. He knew that often after robbing their victims the abductors would throw the victim in the river to be eaten by crocodiles.

So, Pastor Ratsara began to pray and to give over the items from his pockets that the abductors demanded. He also thought about how God had led him from being an ancestor spirit worshipper destined to take over from his grandfather and father who led their people, to becoming a Christian and eventually a Seventh-day Adventist minister.

Paul was a very good student and read many books and one day he found the New Testament.  Reading it, his life was changed.

Back to the Kidnapping experience, as Paul was praying, the leader of kidnappers realized that this was truly a man of God and told his partners in crime to give back the things they had taken from him and told Paul that he was free to go. Paul asked that they take him take him back into town, which they amazingly did.

To read the full first chapter on line of this amazing book click here.

God Space Daily Devotion for Teens: A Review

Tompaul Wheeler, author of this recent Teen Devotional along with a few friends of Tompaul have written 365 readings to make a great read over a year—or like I just did over a few days!

Tompaul says he wrote this book to explore God through a mix of topics.

            Innovation. Music. Media. Bucking the system.

Adventism. It’s a people. It’s a belief system. We’ll look at the long and the short of it.

            Bible. Biblical, spiritual, archaeological, and sociological insights.

Science. The universe from neurons to nebulae. Real perspective on evolution, creation, medicine-and everything else God has made.

            Spirit. The subtleties of God working around and within us.

Life. From romance and sex, to self-image to the end of the world, it’s what you face in the everyday.

           Mission. God’s calling in your life-put in action.

I enjoy a teen devotional from time to time and this one did not disappoint.  Tompaul wrote this devotional to encourage teens to determine to put God in first place and along the way discover God’s mission for their life.

You can read the first chapter on line by clicking here

It's My Choice: A Review

This workbook of Ten Bible Studies by Steve and Marit Case is a revised edition of the same titled workbook which has been a popular item for many years.

These 10 lessons are geared to prepare a person for baptism into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. You can use this workbook to interact with Scripture, jot your own notes, and then refer back to it later as needed. Baptism should be seen as a significant step of increasing discovery in your life with Jesus; not a graduation or completion of it. It’s your choice so continue to choose.

            The 10 lessons cover the following topics:

Success (Salvation)

            Surprise (Creation and Sabbath)

Showtime (Second coming of Jesus)

            Seek (Sanctuary)

Special (Spirituality)

            Share (Spiritual Gifts)

Sleep (What happens after you die)

             Shine (Standards)

Shout (Three Angel’s Messages)

            Symbols (Baptism and foot washing)

For more information and to  order click here.