The Allure of Hope by Jan Myers

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

I shall rise from the dead... I shall see the Son of God, the Sun of Glory, and shine myself as that sun shines. I shall be united to the Ancient of Days, to God Himself, who had no morning, never began... No man ever saw God and lived. And yet, I shall not live till I see God, and when I have seen him, I shall never die.

- John Donne

"Nothing is more misdiagnosed than our homesickness for Heaven. We think that what we want is sex, drugs, alcohol, a new job, a raise, a doctorate, a spouse, a large-screen television, a new car, a cabin in the woods, a condo in Hawaii. What we really want is the person we were made for Jesus, and the place we were made for, Heaven. Nothing less can satisfy us. C.S. Lewis said, 'The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God.'

"In his discussion of Christian orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton wrote, 'The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even in acquiescence... When I heard that I was in the wrong place... my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring. I knew now... why I could feel homesick at home.'

"I like Chesterton's picture of feeling homesick at home. We can say, 'Heaven will be our eternal home,' or 'Earth will be our eternal home,' but we shouldn't say, 'Heaven, not Earth, will be our eternal home,' because the Heaven in which we'll live will be centered on the New Earth.

"A Christian I met in passing once told me it troubled him that he really didn't long for Heaven. Instead, he yearned for an Earth that was like God meant it to be. He didn't desire a Heaven out there somewhere, but an Earth under his feet, where God was glorified. He felt guilty and unspiritual for this desire. At the time, my eyes hadn't been opened to Scripture's promise of the New Earth. If I could talk with that man again (I hope he reads this book), I'd tell him what I should have told him the first time-- that his longing was biblical and right. In fact, the very place he's always longed for, an Earth where God was glorified, is the place where he will live forever."

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn

Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris

Every Woman's Battle by Shannon Ethridge

Every Woman's Battle: Discovering God's plan for sexual and emotional fulfillment. Growing up in the church, I think I already realized that women's temptations are more emotional that physical, but that we are called to holiness in everything and are called to be wholly for our husbands, mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I think my favorite chapter was the one about retreating with God. It gave creative ideas on how to do this, and stated why it is important. And it's probably more applicable to me now as a single woman.

The Knowledge of the Holy by AW Tozer

My favorite part of this was that Tozer pointed out that we can only know God because God has made himself known to us. And how AMAZING is that?!

We can also only know God by the Holy Spirit. It is then that knowledge about God becomes knowing God, which is what we need.

These facts, as many of those in this book, are things that I *know* but benefit greatly from meditating upon and applying to my life. I also really liked Tozer's take on the whole "God's sovereignty vs. man's free will" endless argument. He says:

God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, “What doest thou?” Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so."

Neither Poverty nor Riches: A biblical theology of possessions by Craig Blomberg

A prayer I first read here that I LOVE:
"Oh God, to those who have hunger, give bread; and to those who have bread the hunger for justice." --Latin American prayer

And speaking of the parable of the unjust servant (Luke 16:1-13)-- "Stegemann (1984: 63) concisely captures the contemporary application of verse 9: 'We affluent Christians, too, can make friends for ourselves by means of unrighteous mammon. We can become poorer in a purposeful way by giving away part of our wealth to benefit the poorest people of the world.' But we must do so in the name of Jesus as we proclaim a gospel of spiritual as well as physical wholeness." (122)

I appreciated Blomberg's explanation of the sermon on the mount, particularly the statement by Jesus that has baffled me often: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). I understand the point that spiritual is more important than the physical, but one does not have to look very far past the comfort of our country to see that many of God's people in this world who cry out to him for daily bread do not have their most basic needs met. Of the thousands of people that die every day from hunger, we must not think that none are Christians, because if they really had faith and asked, God would have provided. This is my problem with Matthew 6:33.

Blomberg points out that the Sermon on the Mount was given to a community of his followers. Then he says, "Either one must entirely spiritualize this promise or relegate its fulfillment to the eschaton, neither of which fits the immediate context of one who is worrying about current material needs; or else we must understand the plurals of verse 33 as addressed to the community of Jesus' followers corporately (as indeed the entire sermon is--[Blomberg had explained this earlier]). As the community of the redeemed seeks first God's righteous standards, by definition they will help the needy in their midst" (132).

Oh, how much does this speak to the Christian community in the West today? It is easier than it has ever been to connect with people around the world. We hear of their plight indeed, but often we ignore it. We are content as long as we are doing okay. May we realize all the blessings we have, and all the ways the "excess" can be given to others. I think of Galatians 6:10-- "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those belonging to the family of believers." The family of believers includes those outside our local church, though we should be generous toward them as well.

I find Blomberg's explanation so encouraging. Listen to the conclusion to the section about Jesus' teaching in the gospels: "The good news of the gospel is consistently holistic, according to the teaching of Jesus. Material substance without spiritual salvation proves meaningless, but the liberation that God in Christ grants regularly includes a physical or material dimension to it as well. The only way God's people can consistently obey all of his commands is as the entire Christian community worldwide, and any local expression of it, in its midst" (145).

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

One of the best parts of this book was the contrast between obsessed people and lukewarm people. It was convicting. This part hit me hard:

"Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don't have to trust God if something unexpected happens.... The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God." (78)

I didn't like the examples he gave during the ellipses of that paragraph particularly, because they don't apply to me. But that doesn't mean the principle doesn't apply to me. He made some good points about loving those around us, or that may seem far away from us because we're too busy in our small worlds to even see their existence. He talked about how if we love God, really love him, as he commands, it will require giving everything. We are quick to assume we are doing okay compared to others, but are we really living the life God would desire? "I know that this whole swimming-upstream, pursuing-Christ, taking-up-your-cross, counting-the-cost thing isn't easy. It's so hard, in fact, that Jesus said the road is narrow and few will actually find it ... and fewer still among those who are rich. Like the parable of the sower, don't assume you are the good soil; don't assume you are one of the few on the narrow way." (98) Hard, good words.

Hebrews 11:6-- "Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

"What are you doing right now that requires faith?" (124)

Coming Attractions by Robin Jones Gunn

I'm a girl okay?! This is good stuff. When God writes a love story-- it is beautiful!!

The Scarlet Thread by Francing Rivers

Reading Francine Rivers is going to be a Christmas tradition. This story, like the two others I've read by her, is interesting, convincing, and also paints a picture of God's love. LOVE reading it by the tree.