A Review: "The Truth About Forgiveness" by John MacArthur

"The Truth About Forgiveness" by John MacArthur is another book in "The Truth About" trilogy. In this book, the focus is forgiveness, both our need to receive it and to give it. He opens the book with a look at our utter sinfulness and need for a Savior. By starting with a portrait of humanity's total depravity, he sets the stage for the rest of the book:  "It is the good news that man's sin can be forgiven, guilt can be removed, life can have meaning, and a hopeful future can be a reality" (p. 16). MacArthur then goes on to show that forgiveness comes from God alone through Jesus Christ and the extent to which we are forgiven. It is a beautiful picture of the love of God toward His people. He brilliantly weaves together our sinfulness, our need for forgiveness, and the grace and love of God poured out on humanity through Jesus Christ.

My two favorite portions of the book were in-depth looks at the story of the paralyzed man (Luke 5) and the story of the prodigal son. He helps the reader to better understand the culture of the day in order to fully grasp the depth and beauty of the story. I now have a much greater appreciation for those stories as a result of the teachings from this book.

It is a quick read, but so rich in its concepts and deep in its teachings. It is a fabulous book for individual study or for a small group study. Either way, it should be a must-read for all serious people of faith!

(I’ve received this complimentary book through the BookLook program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)

A Review: "The Truth About Grace" by John MacArthur

Grace is a word that tends to get tossed around in Christian circles. But how many of really stop to think about what it means for believers? John MacArthur explores this issue in "The Truth About Grace", one book in a trilogy called "The Truth About" series. He takes a detailed look at what grace means, how believers receive grace into our lives, how the idea of grace gets distorted, the implications for living a grace-filled live, and the practicalities of living a life of grace. He draws on a plethora of Scripture passages to shed light on this uniquely Christian concept, as well as looking at the Hebrew and Greek meanings of certain words to further emphasize his point.

I really enjoyed this book and exploring the concept of grace and what it means for me as a believer. My favorite chapter was the last one, discussing the hallmarks of a grace-filled life. Grace is truly transformative and every aspect of our lives should be changed once we really grasp the implications of what grace means for us as believers. I also appreciated where MacArthur makes the point to say that he promotes "fidelity to Scripture". As believers we also need to know and speak the true Word of God, not just our ideas about the Word.

This is a short book, but so very rich. It would be a wonderful book for a small group or book club to go through together as there are many points that are worthy of further discussion.

(I’ve received this complimentary book through the BookLook program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)

Book Study

I've had a copy of "The Mission of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson for a while now, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. But I now have more incentive! There is a blog called MomHeart.org that is doing an online book study of this book, complete with personal or group discussion questions, online interaction with others who are going through the book, and reflections from bloggers. I'm going to be participating in it. Anyone want to join in? You can find the link here:  http://www.momheart.org/blog/welcome-to-the-mission-of-motherhood-book-study. Enjoy this dive into the calling and mission of moms the world over!

Favorite Parenting Books

With two small children at home, I've turned to books to gather different ideas about parenting and discipline issues. There is such a plethora of books available, I thought I would share a few of my personal favorites that have been beneficial to me in my parenting journey.

1.  "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp
2.  "Sacred Parenting:  How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls" by Gary Thomas
3.  "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" by Noel Piper
4.  The Power of a Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian
5.  "Grace-Based Parenting:  Set Your Family Free" by Tim Kimmel
6.  "Loving the Little Years:  Motherhood in the Trenches" by Rachel Jankovic
7.  "Wild Things:  The Art of Nurturing Boys" by Stephen James and David Thomas
8.  "Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood" by Jim Fay and Charles Fay
9.  "Your Boy:  Raising a Godly Son in an Ungodly World" by Vicki Courtney
10.  "5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Son" by Vicki Courtney
11.  "The Five Love Languages of Children" by Gary Chapman

Inspired Reads

I recently was turned on to a website called "Inspired Reads" which finds and shares free or reduced price Christian Kindle books. As a new Kindle user, I've loved checking out this site in order to expand my collection of books. It's a great way to test out some new authors or find some that I've really been wanting to read but haven't gotten around to buying yet. It's a great site and definitely worth checking out!