Giants – The Lost Civilization Series

The Lost Civilization Series – by Vaughn Heppner.

Most people I know need some down time. For me, that down time will usually find me reading (my wife calls me ‘readie smurf’). After spending the last 4 days laid up in bed with a shoulder and neck injury, I got to do a whole lot of that recently!

One of the things I am sure many of you will relate to, is the difficulty of finding a good, clean author. I still want to read a good story, but,  I would like to avoid many of the things that many authors like to include these days (I am sure you know what I mean…).

So onto the Lost civilization series. The first book, Giants, came up when I was looking at books from another Christian author (Ben Witherington), as something Amazon would like me to look at. I took a look, and it seemed promising. And at under a dollar, was well worth the risk!

Giants (and the rest of the series) delves into the time before the flood, and bases it’s primary story line around a fictional portrayal of the Nephilim – yes, those ones. The meeting of the ‘sons of god’ and the ‘daughters of men’. The author also draws heavily from the Bible and Biblical themes, though out of place and context (for example, a key character has many of traits of Abraham, though obviously out of place and time). The book has a well weaved story line, though it takes a few chapters to understand what is going on. There are the usual ups and downs, mysteries and puzzles. Heppner also isn’t afraid to deal with issues of good vs evil and right vs wrong, which is very refreshing. Even better, he has an obviously biblical viewpoint of the world.

In a typical fantasy style, the storyline of the first three books follows primarily the character Joash, who is one of Elohim’s seraphim (chosen people – not Angels) to bring about things on the Earth. The fourth book takes up a side story of another character Lod, who we heard but didn’t see in the first three. The books all have little side stories and paths which add to the overall picture, and leave you interested and looking forward for more at the end. While not ground breaking (the first book is a little less polished than the rest especially), they are a good read.

My recomendation? If you like a good bit of fiction, without all the garbage of many modern writers, give it a go. For a dollar, seriously, you can’t lose. It is good to see people with more solid morals addressing a story we would all be interested in hearing. I will be looking forward to reading Heppners other series called ‘The Ark Chronicles’, and hope that he considers adding more to this series as well.

Do you know of any good authors who deal solidly with Christian values, whilst still writing a good book? If so, please share! Leave a comment below and I will check them out (and encourage others to do the same).

Old Wives Tales – Mark 10:23-27

Mark 10:23-27

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

I was reading a great post today from Trevin Wax – Urban Legends: The Preachers Edition. It is about stories and myths that preachers use to emphasise their point or help explain the Bible - believing them to be true in most cases. I know personally I had heard the first two.

The first one is around this verse in Mark, and relates how there is a gate in Jerusalem called the “eye of the needle.” A camel could pass through it only after stooping down and having all its baggage taken off.

The take away is supposed to be that we can be saved (if we are rich) – but we need to lose our baggage, and be on our knees before God.

The problem is, there is no proof that such a gate existed, and from my perspective, even when I first heard it preached, it weakens what Jesus is saying here. Take a look though at the last verse, which I believe is the key take away for us all.

And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

With man it is impossible. Totally. Even on our knees with no baggage, we still can’t do it, because it is simply impossible to be saved without the work of Jesus in our lives.

So what does this mean for our lives now (apart from without God we are lost)?

If it’s not in the Bible – be wary. If then further research doesn’t show it to be accurate through reliable scholars, then it is a fable, an old wives tale, a myth to be left out. God doesn’t need help to spread His word – no matter how great we think the example is!

John 8:31-32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

2 Timothy 2:15-17a

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.

1 Timothy 1:3-4

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardshipt from God that is by faith

2 Timothy 4:3-4

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Lord God, help us to rightly handle Your Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us and others through it, not falling into myths and false teachings, no matter what we think of them or how helpful we think they will be. Help us to focus on You and You alone. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Book Review – Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

I’ve only just finished this book – what an amazing life story! I had seen this book reviewed on a few sites, so decided to grab a copy. I had maybe heard the name once or twice – but I never realized the importance of Bonhoeffer not just for the time he was in, but to the church as a whole since then.

As a quick preface, I would call myself ‘reasonably interested’ in the World War II period – there are just so many stories and so many take aways for life even now, that it has remained an interest of mine for some time. I just find it amazing the story of one man – Hitler – who would grow to such power and prominence in the world, despite his views. And also to see the responses of the other nation states in the world over time. Lastly, it is a time of personal sacrifice and perseverance, and there are so many amazing stories. As someone born almost 30 years after the end of the war, it is still something that I find interesting.

To the book!

As with most historical works, this being a recent addition allowed the author access to greater resources than some of those before him. He was able to see many parts of Bonhoeffer’s life and provide a great overview – from his childhood, to his final days in a concentration camp. As with anyone, their thoughts, theology and writing are never done in a vacuum - they are affected by the time they are in and their situation in life. By covering his life in such a broad fashion, it allows the reader to understand better some of his Theology and other writing.

For those who have not heard (and that was me recently!), Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian, born to an aristocratic family and background just after the turn of the century. In his time, he grew up to become a passionate pastor and theologian. These traits lead then to his place as a spy and rebel against Hitler’s regime, and ultimately, to his death – just before the end of the war. In a way the books title measures up to the content (which isn’t the case with all books!) – Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.

Throughout the book, and especially the second half where the war is prominent, I was amazed by Bonhoeffers complete trust in God. He appeared to have absolute faith that God had a place for him to be, and that whatever the outcome, Gods will would be done. Even in the face of death, when he was given multiple opportunities to escape to a safer life, he took what he thought to be his place – with the German people struggling against Hitler. At one point he actually makes it back to New York – but knows that is not the place for him. From the moment he is there he is very uncomfortable – and knows that his place is back as a pastor to the German people and the Confessing Church. Rather than life in safety, with the promise of a prosperous life as a theologian and speaker in America, he takes a ship back home – to his people, where God had called him to be.

Metaxas uses the third person to narrate the book – almost like an observer to the actual events. You can see he has drawn extensively from books by those close to Bonhoeffer, and his research pays off as the story seems very complete. In the times where there is little or no information he doesn’t invent stories or make theories, but honestly says that not much is known of this time or event.

Whilst this is a lengthy book, I think this is a great book for Christians to read. It gives an interesting perspective on not only the war, but God working through people during that time. And I think a great example of ultimate faith and trust in God – no matter what the circumstances or outcomes.

Book Review – Max on Life by Max Lucado

Max on Life, by Max Lucado.

This is another one of those books that came up through a review program I am part of. Having a history of decent Lucado books, I thought it would be a good one to give a try to!

And I was not at all disappointed.

First, what this book isn’t. This isn’t an in depth, biblical study on any one topic. This is also not like any other Lucado book I have read, in that there are a lot of topics in here – there is a lot of content, across many themes. The simple fact is that people have written whole volumes on some of the topics in here – so it simply wouldn’t be a practical book if it was!

What this book is. Lucado addresses a whole bunch of ‘general questions’ that people have about life and God. Based on letters and questions posed to him over the years, he posts what is essentially a one page answer to them all. As I said – this is not an in depth biblical study. But it excels in that it is a simple, biblical response to all of these questions. There may be enough there for someone to move on – or there is enough there to pique further interest in studying the biblical passages and responses he gives to each question.

There are some pretty basic questions like ‘who is God’ and ‘how can we know there is a God’ and ‘can we trust the Bible’. There are also some doozies like ‘what do I tell my kids about sex’. There is reasonable coverage on the married life, and plenty more on home life, bringing up kids, and general life. In the Help section he also covers some pretty tough ones like abortion, death and disability, and many more.

So in sumnmary – this book is a great primer for many topics. Like a ‘pocket reference’, it provides simple, instant guidance to many of lifes tough questions and topics. If it answers your question, I am sure Lucado would say ‘great’. If it doesn’t, you are started on a Biblical path of understanding of the question, which can help guide you to find out more.

I was just looking at the other books I have reviewed by Max Lucado, and was surprised they were all given 5 stars (out of 5). And again, I have to rate this book 5 stars, no question. My main reason for this is he has tackled a very broad range of topics – and tackled them all with Biblical understanding, love and compassion. The goal of this book appears to be to guide people back to the Bible to find the answers to all the issues in their lives – and I think it does an admirable job.

Product Disclosure – I was provided a copy of this book free of charge, in electronic form, by a representative of the publisher. I was in no way required to provide a positive review, just an open and honest one, and the review above reflects my honest thoughts.

Book Review: Tithing – Test me in this – Douglas LeBlanc

Tithing – from Douglas LeBlanc. I agreed to review this book, because from the title it definitely had promise! My summary? An interesting book of testimonies about tithing, but little Biblical teaching or study. If anything, it would be a good companion book to a dry theological study – providing the ‘human side’ to a Biblical principle.

I have to admit – in the end, I was disappointed with this book – but that is less about the book than the expectation from the title. I was hoping for something theologically strong with examples, but found myself with what is essentially a collection of testimonies about tithing. A better title would have solved this one complaint, such as ‘Tithing – a testimonial’ or ‘Experiencing Tithing’. But then, I am not the publisher

Some of the testimonies I found very interesting and encouraging. Some of them I found irrelevant to me, or long winded – for example, one spent considerable time explaining first why they had moved to the Greek Orthodox church. Whilst this was interesting, it was in the end off topic from what I was looking for, and what the title promised.

So in the end I’ll come back to the summary – the book is a reasonable collection of testimonies from people who have tithed – and experienced Gods generosity in measurable ways. Whilst alone I found it a bit lacking, it would be a great companion to a Biblical study of tithing (which is mostly lacking from this book).

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