Adam Barnett

You Were Born For This

Many of you remember The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson... it literally changed how millions of people pray and strongly influenced my life.  Wilkinson is back - I just finished You Were Born for This, his most recent book about 7 keys to a life of predictable miracles.  Anyone can do a good deed, but some good works can only happen by a direct intervention from God.  Around the world these acts are called miracles - not that even religious people expect to see one any time soon.  But what would happen if millions of ordinary people walked out each morning expecting God to deliver a miracle through them to a person in need? This book starts with the dramatic premise that everyone at all times is in need of a miracle, and that God is ready to meet those needs supernaturally through ordinary people who are willing to learn the "protocol of heaven." 

In the straightforward, story-driven, highly motivating style for which he is known, Wilkinson describes how anyone can be a "Delivery Guy" from heaven in such universally significant arenas of life as finances, practical help, relationships, purpose, and spiritual growth.  

Many people will tell you, "Don't pray for patience unless you're ready for God to give you opportunities to demonstrate patience."  Along the same lines, Wilkinson says in his book, "I've noticed something reassuring... when asked to be sent by God, He matches each of us with people we can help."  (p. 59) This is something that this book motivated me to have - open eyes and ears and a willing spirit to be used by God to bring about the miraculous in the lives of those around me. This book can easily change how you see your world, and what you expect God to do through you.  I confidently suggest you to read this book!

You can click here to watch "God Wants to do a Miracle through you." (YouTube)

This book was provided for review by the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Eyes Wide Open :: The Disappearance of God

Just finished two good books for Random House. Eyes Wide Open by Jud Wilhite is a book that focuses on who we are meant to be... not who we think we are or what we've become.  He focuses on the real you - that you are loved and forgiven by God - that you have an identity in Christ that you can walk in.  He says, "I had it all backwards.  The main thing was not my love for God, but his love for me.  And from that love I respond to God as one deeply flawed, yet loved.  I'm not looking to prove my worth.  I'm not searching for acceptance.  I'm living out of the worth God already declares I have.  I'm embracing his view of me and in the process discovering the person he created me to be."  This is a book of stories about following God in the messes of life (and we all have messes!) - about broken pasts and our lifelong need for grace.  It is about learning to see ourselves and God with new eyes - eyes open to a God of love.

The Disappearance of God is written by the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler.  The uncomfortable truth is that there is a lot of faulty information about the Lord that is causing a lot of uncertainty in our culture, even among Christ-followers.  For centuries the church has taught and guarded the core Christian beliefs that make up the essential foundations of faith.  But in our postmodern age, sloppy teaching and outright lies create rampant confusion, and many Christians are free-falling for "feel good" theology. 

Mohler says, "The entire structure of Christian truth is now under attack."  He writes about some of the important aspects of modern issues concerning Christianity:

• Is God changing His mind about sin?
• Why is hell off limits for many pastors?
• What's good or bad about the "dangerous" emergent movement?
• Have Christians stopped seeing God as God?
• Is the social justice movement misguided?
• Could the role of beauty be critical to our theology?
• Is liberal faith any less destructive than atheism?
• Are churches pandering to their members to survive?

Mohler is confronting and challenging our generation to stand up for the foundations of our faith and fight for truth! 

These are both great books and I recommend you check them out!

Discerning the Voice of God

I just finished Right People, Right Place, Right Time by Jentezen Franklin and really enjoyed the book! It is about discerning the voice of God, which honestly is something that I could use a good dose of help with in my own life!  Let me share a few things in this book that stood out and challenged me:

A U.S. Treasury officer who had the job of identifying counterfeit dollar bills said, "The key to identifying a false bill is to spend hours and hours handling the real thing."  Jentezen makes the point that it is the same with the Lord - we can become so familiar with his voice that we are able to immediately recognize the counterfeit voice of Satan when we hear it.

He also writes about how the Spirit of God thrives on solitude... we must quiet the noise around us so that we can hear Him and respond to Him.  This confronts my lifestyle head on - I live a busy, loud, hectic, crazy life - always moving. (Not to say that it's a terrible thing... I enjoy what I do very much and am confident that God is using me, but...).

The most challenging concept in this book is when he talks about the key that unlocks discernment: Prayer.  He tells us that when we pray, God dispatches angels.  No matter what you're going through, they stand by you.  If this is true, then one of the greatest tragedies of prayerlessness on our part is the scores of unemployed angels just waiting to be dispatched by God.  What a thought!  What a challenge! 

Jentezen also talks about protecting your marriage, standing up for your family against the schemes of the enemy, discerning sexual temptation and creating a legacy through the way you live.  I highly recommend this book to those of you that are looking to discover more about God's voice and direction for your life!!!

Clutter-Free Christianity

I just finished Clutter-Free Christianity by Robert Jeffress (also wrote Outrageous Truth).  When I was first offered this book to read, I couldn't resist - it deals with a very common cancer to our faith - clutter (or busyness).  The back of the book even says, "As you strive to fulfill a never-ending inventory of requirements for being a godly parent, spouse, voter, employee, and more, you feel increasingly disconnected from the God you're trying to serve."  So true.

Jeffress focuses on how to completely transform the heart in order to transform our lives.  He writes on 7 different topics of the heart:

1. A Forgiving Heart: Clearing away Anger, Bitterness & Emotional Knots
2. An Obeying Heart: Saying Yes to the Impossible
3. A Trusting Heart: Allowing Peace to Rule Your Life
4. A Content Heart: Finding More in Less
5. A Serving Heart: Discovering the Key to Greatness
6. A Praying Heart: Communicating with the One who Loves you Most
7. The Transformed Heart: Creating a Plan to Change Your Life

I love what he says about salvation: "Salvation involves more than the assurance that one day we'll be in heaven.  In its fullest sense, salvation is our complete deliverance from patterns of thought and behaviors that prevent us from experiencing the kingdom of God right now."

One of my favorite chapters is the one on contentment.  Jeffress says, "Sometimes the bait Satan dangles in front of us to satisfy our discontent is inherently sinful (sexual immorality, dishonest financial gain, substance abuse).  But I believe that every temptation we consider can be traced to our basic lack of contentment with God's provisions."  I can appreciate how Jeffress gets back to the truth about this subject - contentment only comes through the Father, and when we don't experience it, it could be because we aren't fully satisfied or rooted in the Lord. 

I highly recommend this book to any of you who want a strong reminder of the kind of heart we must have in order to live in a way where Christ truly is the center of our lives.  It is a battle that we will all continue to face (daily!), but one that we can win!

The Heavenly Man

I just finished The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun.  Every one of the 348 pages in this book tells the stories of the progress of the Christian church in China throughout the 80's and 90's.  Brother Yun, who seems to be labeled as the modern-day Paul, proves his devotion to the Lord in a variety of ways...

He gladly accepts persecution, prison sentences and torture for the sake of Christ.  He was told countless times to join China's idea of "church," but he knew the true purpose of church and refused.  Because of this, he was brutally beaten, tortured, mocked, urinated on, nearly starved and electrocuted.

He put his family behind Christ, which isn't always easy.  Of the first 20 years of his marriage to Deling, he was in prison for 7 of them.  He wasn't there when both of his children were born.  However, due to his obedience to the Lord, his family has been tremendously blessed!

He never compromised his integrity.  No matter what happened or how he was tempted, he never gave up on his conviction of what is right and wrong.

He was disciplined, even in the midst of persecution.  He fasted 74 days in prison without food or water (impossible, I know... but the Word says that what is impossible for man is possible with God). 

He always advanced the gospel.  Everywhere he went, he found people who didn't know Christ and told them of our Savior.

Incredible.  PLEASE click the link above and purchase this book.  You will surely not regret it - it will challenge you to think, live and speak differently. 

Love Books

No doubt about it, the best place to look for lessons on love is in Song of Solomon.  But, if you're looking for more reading material during this season of love, here are a few books that I recently received to review and thought very highly of them...

The Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman is a daily devotional (90 day) that "makes love a daily habit."  First of all, if you've ever read The Five Love Languages by Chapman, it will surely push you to pick this devotional up!  In this devotional, Chapman talks about cultivating a new lifestyle built around seven characteristics of authentic love (kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, honesty). Each day, you're challenged through biblical truth to make these 7 characteristics habitual.  If you and your husband/wife enjoy spending time around the kitchen table like Andrea and I do, you should consider picking up this book!

I Do Again by Cheryl and Jeff Scruggs is about a couple that hit rock bottom - an affair led to divorce and the typical "shattered" family that you see so much of in our culture.  However, after seven years, the reunited and devoted their lives to each other... again.  For those of you that enjoy true stories, you'll enjoy this book.  And talk about a perfect example of the power of prayer and reconciliation between husband and wife.  Their story is a perfect example of 1 Corinthians 13 - love conquers all. 

For Couples Only Box Set by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn is a guide showing you how the opposite sex thinks.  It comes with a book for women only and a book for men only (so I'm implying that if you know a young couple about to be married, this would make a great engagement present).  Each book is based on input from more than 1,000 members of the opposite sex.  I feel like the more you learn about how to understand your significant other, the more likely you will both feel fulfilled by your relationship.  Relationships are like classes - you gotta study! 

     

Don't Waste Your Life

I just finished "Don't Waste Your Life," by John Piper.  Rather than cover details in his book, I'm simply going to quote some of the challenging things he says in his book.  It is a very great text and I encourage you to read it if you're ready to challenge your view of the real purpose(s) of this life. 

"Now we see that every experience in life is designed to magnify the cross of Christ.  Or to say it another way, every good thing in life (or bad thing graciously turned for good) is meant to magnify Christ and him crucified."

"The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ.  When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

"What you love determines what you feel shame about.  If you love for me to make much of you, you will feel shame when they don't.  But if you love for men to make much of Christ, then you will feel shame if he is belittled on your account."

"Daily Christian living is daily Christian dying.  The dying I have in mind is the dying of comfort and security and reputation and health and family and friends and wealth and homeland."

"The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God.  They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ's sake and count it gain."

"One of my aims is to explode the myth of safety and to somehow deliver you from the enchantment of security.  Because it's a mirage.  It doesn't exist.  Every direction you turn there are unknowns and things beyond your control."

"God delights in being trusted and enjoyed.  It shows his value.  And when we remind ourselves that none of these undeserved blessings could be ours apart from the death of Christ in our place, every heartbeat of joy in God becomes a boasting in the cross."

Crazy Love

Meet Francis Chan - one of the most profound, challenging and inspiring authors I've ever read.  I just finished his book, Crazy Love (Overwhelmed by a Relentless God) and it really messed with my perspective on life, love, others and the purpose of the church body.  Let me share something that knocked me out of my seat: "Do you recognize the foolishness of seeking fulfillment outside of Christ?  Do you understand that it's impossible to please God in any way other than wholehearted surrender?  Do you grasp the beauty and deep joy of walking in genuine intimacy with God, our holy Father and Friend?  Do you want to see God more than you desire security?"  Another thing that Chan stresses is the idea of faith and calling - he asks the question, "What are you doing right now that requires faith?"  So many times, we go through life and get in such a routine that we don't live through faith, unless that faith is in ourselves and our own abilities.  What am I relying on God for right now?  What am I completely depending on him in right now?  If he doesn't come through and provide, how would I suffer or how would life be different? 

A must read!  Please purchase this book and enjoy...

The Greatest Words Ever Spoken

I'm definitely not going to write a complete review on this book because it is more of a resource to your walk with Christ than it is a sit-down-and read sort of text.  But, The Greatest Words Ever Spoken by Steven K. Scott has quickly become one of my favorite resources for researching Jesus.  The book categorizes everything that was ever said about Jesus or said by Jesus.  Here's the contents:

1. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about Jesus
2. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about God the Father
3. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about the Holy Spirit
4. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about Eternity
5. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken to Jesus' Followers
6. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about Humanity
7. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about God Reaching out to Us
8. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about How to Know God
9. The Greatest Words Ever Spoken about Personal Relationships

I highly recommend you picking up this book if you want something to lead you to a more in-depth look at Jesus' words about... well, everything!

How Would Jesus Vote?

I've been reading a book that has challenged me more than anything I've ever read before when its comes to politics and my view on culture.  How Would Jesus Vote? by Dr. James Kennedy has really taught me to ignore things about McCain vs. Obama and Republican vs. Democrat and instead, turn my attention on to what the Word of God says about the issues we're facing in society.  I feel like the most disappointing thing about elections is the promises and direction each candidate offers when scripture already shows and determines these things in our lives. 

Here's a list of the topics discussed in this book:

• Do Jesus and Politics Mix?
• Abortion, Stem Cells, Suicide and Euthanasia
• Crime and Punishment: Judging the Death Penalty
• War: Is it ever justified?
• Education, Economic Concerns and Health-Care Issues
• The Environment, Immigration and Racial Prejudice
• Marriage: Society's Smallest Unit
• The Problem of Political Compromise

So, as you can see, it covers all bases!  Here's a few lines from the book:

"The clear biblical teaching is that God is the giver of life; it is created by Him and is, therefore, sacred.  Life and death are in His hands."  (p. 48)

"While more than a trillion dollars has been poured into the secular public-education system in America and Christ has been taken out of it, the illiteracy rate has increased thirty-two times."  (p. 86)

"One of America's leading economists, Professor Thomas Sowell of Stanford University, observed: 'The amount of money necessary to lift every man, woman and child in America above the poverty line is one-third of what, in fact, is being spent on poverty programs.  Clearly, much of the transfer ends up in the pockets of highly paid administrators, consultants and staff."  (p. 105)

"I believe (Jesus) would not favor governmental welfare programs.  Such programs have a vested interest in the continuation of poverty, because if the problem of poverty is solved, then the money is no longer needed and the program might end.  Let the government get out of the charity business, and let the family, churches, and communities be free to take care of the less fortunate."  (p. 118)

This is a GOOD book that will help you understand the biblical perspective to these very issues we're about to vote on.  Choose wisely.  Observe scripture.  Don't be bound by a certain party simply because it "sounds" better or wiser.  And, in the deepest sense of this statement, may the Lord bless America.

By the way, this picture has nothing to do with my political preferences.  I simply wanted to show how pitiful we (people in general) look when we assume how Jesus would vote without first looking at what His Word has to say about it...