Book Reviews

The Moody Handbook of Theology
by Paul Enns

While I have read about 90% of this book and I am grateful for the history and the overview of what's been presented, I am not too happy with the overt cessationism (belief in the cessation of certain gifts of the Spirit) found within.
From Biblical/sytematic/historical/dogmatic/contemporary theologies, it provides a great overview of well, pretty much everything you could think of on the topic found on the cover. But it tends to give a total cop out when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit. He'll give a thorough description of each of the gifts in Pneumatology (Study of the Spirit), but will completely dismiss them at the end of the specific one's they don't like (tongues, healings, miracles etc.) with a terrible interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13.
While I would recommend this book as a beginners guide to theology. I would caution them in this regard.




Desiring God: meditations of a Christian Hedonist

I would highly recommend this book to anyone attempting to reach their highest possible level of enjoyment. Just finished this audiobook recently, and I have been floored by the message John Piper has been preaching for the last 20 years! I can briefly explain Christian Hedonism by defining Hedonism: The pursuit of or devotion to pleasure.
If you simply tack on the adjective "Christian" you have a whole new meaning that is not centered on the person but on God. In other words, I am a Christian Hedonist because I find my complete satisfaction and enjoyment in God. There is so much more you delve into here. Like, how? How is this possible? How can one "enjoy" God? Well......You'll have to either ask me in person, because I can't spend much more time on this entry, or you'll have to read the book :-D
"God is most glorified in you, when you are most satisfied in Him" ~ John Piper

GOD THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD

I picked this up from the puritan prayer book "Valley of Vision". I've read about 5 of these prayers only to make them my own supplication to God since they are so potent and cuts to the heart of what I am desire to say (though the words are found in old english). But I thought I'd type this out as a start to this page I've created. Enjoy!

O LORD GOD, WHO INHABITEST ETERNITY,
The heavens declare thy glory,
The earth thy riches,
The universe is thy temple;
Thy presence fills immensity,
Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life, and communicated happiness;
Thou hast made me what I am, and given me what I have;
In thee I live and move and have my being;
Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation
and wisely administers all my affairs.
I thank thee for thy riches to me in Jesus,
for the unclouded revelation of Him in thy Word,
where I behold His Person, character, grace glory,
humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection;
Give me to feel a need of His continual saviourhood,
and cry with Job, 'I am vile',
with Peter, 'I perish',
with the publican, ' Be merciful to me, a sinner'.
Subdue in me the love of sin,
Let me know the need of renovation as well as of forgiveness,
in order to serce and enjoy thee for ever.
I come to thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,
with nothing of my own to plead,
no works, no worthiness, no promises
I am often saying,
often knowingly opposing thy authority,
often abusing thy goodness;
Much of my guilt arises from my religious privileges,
my low estimation of them,
my failure to use them to my advantage,
But I am not careless of thy favour or regardless of thy glory;
Impress me deeply with a sense of thine omnipresence,
that thou art about my path, my ways, my lying down, my end.


"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."
~Paul (Romans 11:33-36)

What an incredible privilege it is to know the inexhaustible God!