Book Review: Dad’s Devotional Bible

So I read through this book and some of the devotionals and they seem like they are pretty solid devotionals, if you are a dad, which I am not. That being said I didn’t relate very well to it, however I believe that it is a good one if you are a father or to gift to your father. Another problem that I had was that it was NIV. Now i’m okay with most translations of the Bible even though I prefer KJV and secondly ESV, however the NIV does take some verses that include doctrinal elements and changes the wording to change the truths of God’s holy word. So I would recommend it very lightly maybe to Dad’s but I am not without reservations about it.

My Recommendation: Pass unless you’re looking for something like this
My Rating: 3/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: 7 Men by Eric Metaxas Paperback

Out of all of the books I have reviewed for BookSneeze/BookLook, 7 Men is by far my favorite! In this book Eric Metaxas writes seven “micro-biographies”  about seven of histories great men. Some of which all of us have heard of and some you’ve likely never heard. All of which are very inspiring and informative. The seven men that Metaxas chose to write about really are great lives including George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, & Charles Colson.

This  book inspired me so much, just by telling what these great men went through! It was so good that I didn’t want to put it down. Every story and life flowed cohesively through the book it was expertly written. Unlike most books I review there really isn’t much biblical basis to the book for me to review if it’s an accurate representation of scripture. However each life does illustrate how their faith helped them through their trials. I loved this book! I am a bit of a history nut, but I truly think all would enjoy it.

My Recommendation: Buy!
My Rating: 5/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: Life Is _____ by Judah Smith

Okay so I chose to review this book because I reviewed his book “Jesus Is ____” when I first started doing reviews for BookSneeze a couple years ago. Now if I’m being honest this book was easy to read, because Judah Smith has a pretty good writing style, but I wasn’t very impressed with the book itself, similar to how I felt about Jesus Is _____, which of the two I think was the better book. I think that also I am not overly impressed with Mr. Smith, but I do think he writes an okay book. I would not personally recommend this book to any of my friends, but if you’re just looking for an easy Christian book to read, this is the one that would be good for a new Christian maybe. I would personally pass on this one.

My Recommendation: Pass
My Rating: 2/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers 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.”

Book Review: KJV Note-Taker’s Bible

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)

There are a lot of really good things about this Bible, I really liked the wide margins, which isn’t something new, but has been getting popular recently. A major part of Christian discipline is studying the word of God, this Bible isn’t good for that (I use the Apostolic Study Bible), because it’s simply the word. I also didn’t like the feel as it’s just a hard cover version of it. I know you can get leather bound versions  and if I ever were to get another note-taking Bible I would probably be a little more picky. I do really like the idea of having a place to write in your Bible as I already did this, just with no space. This Bible is really good to read when you’re praying through scriptures or during a sermon and you can write about the text.

Other than a few things I really liked this Bible! I’d buy it.

My Recommendation: Buy
My Rating: 3.5/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers 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.”

Book Review: David Wilkerson by Gary Wilkerson

Many are familiar with “The Cross & The Switchblade”, even though I am not, this book is not about the book, it’s about the man behind it. I first ordered this book because I was interested in reading more about the man. I saw a video from a sermon he preached years ago called “A Call to Anguish” and desired to know more about the man who preached with that much conviction!

The biography is pretty interesting, and it kept my attention fairly well. It’s a sizable book. I would recommend this book to anyone because I think we could all learn something about Christian life from this man’s life. David had a passion for youth and those in need and that is something that we could do better at as 21^st century Christians. At least borrow this book from someone.

My Recommendation: Buy
My Rating: 4/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers 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.”

Book Review: Streams in the Desert Bible

First and foremost this is the first Bible that I’ve ever reviewed for BookLook…or ever for that matter. I love the Bible so it’s almost like what is there to review about it. For one who believes that the Bible is inherent and “…given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3:16) it seemed strange. This one is unique however. This is a devotional Bible which uses devotions from Streams in the Desert by L.B Cowman. This is one of my favorite devotionals, because it is very good. The blending of this excellent devotional and it allows daily measurable reading of the Bible. My only qualm with this book is that they chose to put this devotional with the NIV version of the Bible which is okay, however it just isn’t the most accurate translation of the Bible.

My Recommendation: Buy
My Rating: 4.5/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers 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.”

Book Review: Sidelined by Chuck Pagano

Sidelined by Chuck Pagano was a very exciting book for me when I saw it was on BookLook, as a huge colts fan and a personal fan of Coach Pagano’s I was very excited. I have been a Colts fan all of my life and was a huge fan of the leadership and style of man the former coach Tony Dungy exhibited, when he was replaced by Jim Caldwell post-retirement I wasn’t a fan. Two years later after he was fired the Colts hired Chuck Pagano and I quickly became a fan of his coaching style and the way he lived and carried himself.

This book is an inspiring memoir of Chuck’s first year as the head coach of the Colts in which he was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. The book tells of the fight that he put up that year and the encouragement he received from people in the Colts organization and through God. This book held my attention very well, I had trouble finding time to read it, but when I did it kept my attention. It is not necessarily a book about Christ as it is a memoir, but when it talks about Jesus is accurately represents Christian truths.

My Recommendation: Buy
My Rating: 5/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers 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.”

Book Review: No More Dragons

I really like this book, I decided to review this one honestly because the title piqued my interest, I had never heard of Jim Burgen, but the description and title were interesting. The premise of this book is basically about how sin gets its claws into our lives and even though we don’t mean to become a different creature, we do.

“Becoming a dragon is a dangerously sneaky process. Becoming a dragon takes a long string of bad choices and decisions you don’t even realize you’re making until it’s too late. One day you glance at yourself in the mirror, and a monster is staring back at you” [excerpt]

The title is taken from the story in in C.S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and even though I didn’t know this before reading this book it was a pleasant surprise as I am a huge fan of Lewis’s and the Chronicles of Narnia books. This book does a fairly good job of presenting biblical truth, and it held my attention pretty well. I would definitely recommend it.

My Recommendation: Buy
My Rating: 4/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: Passion by Louie Giglio

Passion by Louie Giglio is a pretty good book, not one of the best that I have read this year. The reason I desired to read this book is because It looked appealing, I figured it would talk about the passion conferences which are always cool to hear about, and produce a lot of cool music. I was right in that it would talk about the history of passion and it also had messages from many big name preachers including: Louie Giglio, John Piper, Judah Smith, & Francis Chan. All of that being said I did like the book, but didn’t love it. It held my attention okay. Unless you are a huge Louie Giglio fan or LOVE passion then I would just recommend borrowing the book or passing altogether. But if someone is offering you the book or you are interested in Passion then it is worth a read

My Recommendation: Borrow
My Rating: 3/5

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Monday Musings #47

I was reading my Bible this morning and came across a chapter that I’ve read before, but never really thought of it in the way I did today, in 2 Samuel 10; Israel is about to be attacked by some 30,000+ Syrians, Ammonites, and other peoples and he has sent his mighty men to defend the kingdom. When a certain quote that perfectly makes sense for the situation stood out to me.

[Joab speaking to Abishai his brother] “And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.”

Like I said in this instance it makes perfect sense; If the enemy is too much, I’ve got your back. Now they were obviously talking about a literal battle here, but I thought about it in more of a figurative sense. Satan wants to tempt and derail the children of God that is something he desires to do, however as brothers and sisters in Christ we need to bind together and fight off this temptation. If your brother is struggling, have his back. I know that’s simple but if your sister is fighting all of Hell in the season she is in, cover her in prayer. The greatest strength that the church can have in fighting off the enemy is unity and prayer.

[Mockingjay, Aladdin & The Enchanted Lamp – free on audible.com (45)]