Cathy Bryant's Blog: CatBryant.com ~ Journey Blog, page 87

"The Titus Mandate" by Ted Bigelow

My Review :

I found this book to be a thought-provoking read. I love it when a book makes me dig a little deeper into the scripture, and that's exactly what this book did. Though I felt the author sometimes made a pretty big jump between a scripture and the point he was trying to make, I found myself agreeing with much of what Mr. Bigelow teaches.



After further study, I see both a Biblical foundation and the practicality of a plurality of elders to govern the affairs of a church, as long as these elders meet the qualifications set forth in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. In fact, I couldn't help but question why so many churches are led by committees when there is no scriptural foundation for that system of government in any scriptures I read.



One point that the author made that really resonated with me was that when churches operate under a "majority rules" system, a single leader, or a system of committees, they've essentially patterned the church after worldly governmental systems rather than God's Word.



I believe this book has the potential to open up healthy debate in Christian circles on following a Biblical example of church leadership. In my very humble opinion, this book is not only a worthwhile read, but opens up a topic that warrants further study and prayer in our churches.

"Bathsheba" by Jill Eileen Smith

ABOUT THE BOOK:



Can love triumph over treachery?



Bathsheba is a woman who longs for love. With her husband away fighting the king's wars, she battles encroaching loneliness--which makes it all too easy to succumb to the advances of King David. Will one night of unbridled passion destroy everything she holds dear? Can she find forgiveness at the feet of the Almighty? Or has her sin separated her from God forever?



With a historian's sharp eye for detail and a novelist's creative spirit, Jill Eileen Smith brings to life the passionate and emotional story of David's most famous--and infamous--wife. You will never read the story of David and Bathsheba the same way again.



MY REVIEW:

Bathsheba, the third book in the Wives of King David trilogy, has become my new favorite book by author Jill Eileen Smith. I loved Abigail (book two in the series), but in Bathsheba the author proves that where sin abounds, God's grace abounds even more.



With attention to historical detail, Jill Eileen Smith weaves a story of heartache, love, lust, betrayal, sin, and redemption that will tug at your heart and leave you praising the Father for His amazing grace. Even from great wrong our God can bring about great good.



NOTE: This book was provided to me for review by the publisher (Revell). I received no compensation for my review. The opinion expressed is my own.

"An Anchor For The Soul" by Ray Pritchard

Book Blurb :

People have honest doubts and questions about God that deserve solid answers. How do we explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way we can all understand? Ray Pritchard has updated this best-selling presentation of the gospel in a clear, straightforward way using simple language and clear Scripture references.



An Anchor for the Soul is written with doubters, seekers, and skeptics in mind. In a clear, straightforward presentation, he answers questions such as: What is God like? How can I know Him? Who is Jesus and what did He do? What does it mean to be a Christian? Through stories and illustrations, Pastor Pritchard very personally, yet gently, challenges his readers with the Good News of Jesus Christ.



About the Author :

Ray Pritchard serves as president of Keep Believing Ministries. He has ministered extensively overseas, speaking at conferences and appearing on Christian radio and television talk shows. Dr. Pritchard focuses on evangelism and encouragement as a veteran pastor and as the author of 27 books, including An Anchor for the Soul and Names of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Pritchard and his wife, Marlene, have three sons. 



My Review :

This is an absolute gem of a book, and it could aptly be named Christianity 101. Originally released in 2000, this small and easy-to-read paperback puts in layman's terms the simplicity of the gospel message. In my opinion, this book should be a must-read for every Christian and a book that we use to reach others for Christ. I was delighted to have the opportunity to read this review book and highly recommend it.

"A Billion Reasons Why" by Kristen Billerbeck

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!



You never know when I might play a wild card on you!





Today's Wild Card author is:

Kristin Billerbeck

and the book:

A Billion Reasons Why Thomas Nelson; Original edition (February 1, 2011) ***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Kristin Billerbeck was born in California to an Italian father and a strong Norwegian/German mother. Her mother tried to teach her to do things right, how to cook, clean, sew, and budget accordingly—all the things a proper girl should know in order to be a contributing member of society. Yet Billerbeck said she "failed miserably," although her grandmother must still hold some hope since she gave her a cookie gun for her 40th birthday.



Billerbeck has authored more than 30 novels, including the Ashley Stockingdale series and the Spa Girls series. She is a leader in the Chick Lit movement, a Christy Award finalist, and a two-time winner of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. She has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. She lives with her family in northern California.





Visit the author's website.



SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

There are a billion reasons Kate should marry her current boyfriend.



Will she trade them all to be madly in love?



Katie McKenna leads a perfect life. Or so she thinks. She has a fulfilling job, a cute apartment, and a wedding to plan with her soon-to-be fiance, Dexter.



She can think of a billion reasons why she should marry Dexter…but nowhere on that list is love.



And then in walks Luc DeForges, her bold, breathtaking ex-boyfriend. Only now he's a millionaire. And he wants her to go home to New Orleans to sing for her childhood friend's wedding. As his date.



But Katie made up her mind about Luc eight years ago, when she fled their hometown after a very public breakup. Yet there's a magnetism between them she can't deny.



Katie thought her predictable relationship with Dexter would be the bedrock of a lasting, Christian marriage. But what if there's more? What if God's desire for her is a heart full of life? And what if that's what Luc has offered all along?





Product Details:



List Price: $14.99

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Original edition (February 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1595547916

ISBN-13: 978-1595547910



AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:





A Fine Romance





Katie McKenna had dreamed of this moment at least a thousand times. Luc would walk back into her life filled with remorse. He'd be wearing jeans, a worn T-shirt, and humility. He'd be dripping with humility.





That should have been her first clue that such a scenario had no bearing on reality.





"Katie," a voice said.





The sound sent a surge of adrenaline through her frame. She'd forgotten the power and the warmth of his baritone. A quick glance around her classroom assured her that she must be imagining things. Everything was in order: the posters of colorful curriculum, the daily schedule of activities printed on the whiteboard, and, of course, the children. All six of them were mentally disabled, most of them on the severe side of the autism spectrum, but three had added handicaps that required sturdy, head-stabilizing wheelchairs. The bulk of the chairs overwhelmed the room and blocked much of the happy yellow walls and part of the large rainbow mural the kids had helped to paint. The room, with its cluttered order, comforted her and reminded her of all she'd accomplished. There was no need to think about the past. That was a waste of time and energy.





Her eyes stopped on her aides, Carrie and Selena. The two women, so boisterous in personality, were usually animated. But at the moment they stood huddled in the corner behind Austin's wheelchair.





Carrie, the heavyset one in the Ed Hardy T-shirt, motioned at her.





"What?" Katie pulled at her white shirt with the delicate pink flowers embroidered along the hem and surveyed the stains. "I know, I'm a mess. But did you see how wonderfully the kids did on their art projects? It was worth it. Never thought of the oil on the dough staining. Next time I'll wear an apron."





Selena and Carrie looked as though there was something more they wanted.





"Maddie, you're a born artist." Katie smiled at the little girl sitting behind a mound of colorful clay. Then to the aides: "What is the matter with you two?"







Selena, a slight Latina woman, shook her head and pointed toward the door.





Katie rotated toward the front of the classroom and caught her breath. Luc, so tall and gorgeous, completely out of place in his fine European suit and a wristwatch probably worth more than her annual salary, stood in the doorway. He wore a fedora, his trademark since college, but hardly one he needed to stand out in a crowd.





As she stared across the space between them, suddenly the classroom she took such pride in appeared shabby and soiled. When she inhaled, it reeked of sour milk and baby food. Her muddled brain searched for words.





"Luc?" She blinked several times, as if his film-star good looks might evaporate into the annals of her mind. "What are you doing here?"





"Didn't you get my brother's wedding invitation?" he asked coolly, as if they'd only seen each other yesterday.





"I did. I sent my regrets."





"That's what I'm doing here. You can't miss Ryan's wedding. I thought the problem might be money."





She watched as his blue eyes came to rest on her stained shirt. Instinctively she crossed her arms in front of her.





"I came to invite you to go back with me next week, on my plane."





"Ah." She nodded and waited for something intelligible to come out of her mouth. "It's not money."





"Come home with me, Katie." He reached out his arms, and she moved to the countertop and shuffled some papers together.





If he touches me, I don't stand a chance. She knew Luc well enough to know if he'd made the trip to her classroom, he didn't intend to leave without what he came for. "I'm afraid that's not possible." She stacked the same papers again.





"Give me one reason."





She faced him. "I could give you a billion reasons."





Luc's chiseled features didn't wear humility well. The cross-shaped scar beneath his cheekbone added to his severity. If he weren't so dreaded handsome, he'd make a good spy in a Bond movie. His looks belied his soft Uptown New Orleans upbringing, the kind filled with celebrations and warm family events with backyard tennis and long days in the swimming pool.





He pushed through the swiveled half door that separated them and strode toward her.





"That gate is there for a reason. The classroom is for teachers and students only."





Luc opened his hand and beckoned to her, and despite herself, she took it. Her heart pounded in her throat, and its roar was so thunderous it blocked her thoughts. He pulled her into a clutch, then pushed her away with all the grace of Astaire. "Will you dance with me?" he asked.





He began to hum a Cole Porter tune clumsily in her ear, and instinctively she followed his lead until everything around them disappeared and they were alone in their personal ballroom. For a moment she dropped her head back and giggled from her stomach; a laugh so genuine and pure, it seemed completely foreign—as if it came from a place within that was no longer a part of her. Then the dance halted suddenly, and his cheek was against hers. She took in the roughness of his face, and the thought flitted through her mind that she could die a happy woman in those arms.





The sound of applause woke her from her reverie.





"You two are amazing!" Carrie said.





The children all murmured their approval, some with screams of delight and others with loud banging.



Luc's hand clutched her own in the small space between them, and she laughed again.





"Not me," Luc said. "I have the grace of a bull. It's Katie. She's like Ginger Rogers. She makes anybody she dances with look good." He appealed to the two aides. "Which is why I'm here. She must go to my brother's wedding with me."





"I didn't even know you danced, Katie," Selena said. "Why don't you ever come dancing with us on Friday nights?"





"What? Katie dances like a dream. She and my brother were partners onstage in college. They were like a mist, the way they moved together. It's like her feet don't touch the ground."





"That was a long time ago." She pulled away from him and showed him her shirt. "I'm a mess. I hope I didn't ruin your suit."





"It would be worth it," Luc growled.





"Katie, where'd you learn to dance like that?" Carrie asked.





"Too many old movies, I suppose." She shrugged.





"You could be on Dancing with the Stars with moves like that."





"Except I'm not a star or a dancer, but other than that, I guess—" She giggled again. It kept bubbling out of her, and for one blissful moment she remembered what it felt like to be the old Katie McKenna. Not the current version, staid schoolmarm and church soloist in Northern California, but the Katie people in New Orleans knew, the one who danced and sang.





Luc interrupted her thoughts. "She's being modest. She learned those moves from Ginger and Fred themselves, just by watching them over and over again. This was before YouTube, so she was dedicated."





Katie shrugged. "I was a weird kid. Only child, you know?" But inside she swelled with pride that Luc remembered her devotion to a craft so woefully out-of-date and useless. "Anyway, I don't have much use for swing dancing or forties torch songs now. Luc, meet Carrie and Selena. Carrie and Selena, Luc."





"I don't have any 'use' for salsa dancing," Selena said. "I do it because it's part of who I am."





"Tell her she has to come with me, ladies. My brother is having a 1940s-themed wedding in New Orleans. He'd be crushed if Katie didn't come, and I'll look like a hopeless clod without her to dance with."





Katie watched the two aides. She saw the way Luc's powerful presence intoxicated them. Were they really naive enough to believe that Luc DeForges could ever appear like a clod, in any circumstance or setting? Luc, with his skilled charm and roguish good looks, made one believe whatever he wanted one to believe. The two women were putty in his hands.





"Katie, you have to go to this wedding!" Selena stepped toward her. "I can't believe you can dance like that and never told us. You'd let this opportunity slip by? For what?" She looked around the room and frowned. "This place?"





The cacophony of pounding and low groans rose audibly, as if in agreement.





"This may be just a classroom to you, but to me, it's the hope and future of these kids. I used to dance. I used to sing. It paid my way through college. Now I'm a teacher."





"You can't be a teacher and a dancer?" Selena pressed. "It's like walking and chewing gum. You can do both. The question is, why don't you?"





"Maybe I should bring more music and dancing into the classroom. Look how the kids are joining in the noise of our voices, not bothered by it. I have to think about ways we could make the most of this."





But she hadn't succeeded in changing the subject; everyone's attention stayed focused on her.





"You should dance for the kids, Katie. You possess all the grace of an artist's muse. Who knows how you might encourage them?"





Katie laughed. "That's laying it on a bit thick, Luc, even for you. I do believe if there was a snake in that basket over there, it would be rising to the charmer's voice at this very minute."





Luc's very presence brought her into another time. Maybe it was the fedora or the classic cut of his suit, but it ran deeper than how he looked. He possessed a sense of virility and take-no-prisoners attitude that couldn't be further from his blue-blood upbringing. He made her, in a word, feel safe . . . but there was nothing safe about Luc and there never had been. She straightened and walked over to her open folder to check her schedule for the day.





Tapping a pencil on the binder, she focused on getting the day back on track. The students were involved in free playtime at the moment. While they were all situated in a circle, they played individually, their own favorite tasks in front of them.





"Carrie, would you get Austin and Maddie ready for lunch?"





"I'll do it," Selena said. "And, Katie . . . you really should go to the wedding."





"I can't go to the wedding because it's right in the middle of summer school."





"You could get a substitute," Carrie said. "What would you be gone for, a week at most? Jenna could probably fill in. She took the summer off this year."





"Thanks for the suggestions, ladies," Katie said through clenched teeth. "But I've already told the groom I can't attend the wedding for professional reasons."





The women laughed. "I'm sorry, what reasons?" Carrie asked, raising a bedpan to imply that anyone could do Katie's job.





It was no use. The two women were thoroughly under Luc's spell, and who could blame them?





"Maybe we should talk privately," Luc said. He clasped her wrist and led her to the glass doors at the front of the classroom. "It's beautiful out here. The way you're nestled in the hills, you'd never know there's a city nearby."





She nodded. "That's Crystal Springs Reservoir on the other side of the freeway. It's protected property, the drinking water for this entire area, so it's stayed pristine."





"I'm not going back to New Orleans without you," he said.





Apparently the small talk had ended.





"My mother would have a fit if I brought one of the women I'd take to a Hollywood event to a family wedding."





Katie felt a twinge of jealousy, then a stab of anger for her own weakness. Of course he dated beautiful women. He was a billionaire. A billionaire who looked like Luc DeForges! Granted, he was actually a multimillionaire, but it had been a long-standing joke between the two of them. Did it matter, once you made your first ten million, how much came after that? He may as well be called a gazillionaire. His finances were too foreign for her to contemplate.





"And who you date is my problem, how?"





"If my date tries to swing dance and kicks one of my mother's friends in the teeth, I'll be disinherited."





"So what, would that make you the fifth richest man in the United States, instead of the fourth?"





"Katie, how many times do I have to explain to you I'm nowhere near those kinds of numbers?" He grinned. "Yet." He touched his finger to her nose lightly. "My fate is much worse than losing status if you don't come. My mother might set me up to ensure I have a proper date. A chorus line of Southern belles. And I guarantee you at least one will have the proverbial glass slipper and think her idea is so utterly unique, I'll succumb to the fantasy."





"Wow! What a terrible life you must lead." She pulled a Keds slide from her foot and emptied sand out of her shoe. A few grains landed on Luc's shiny black loafer. "To think, with courtship skills like that, that any woman wouldn't be swept off her feet—it's unfathomable." She patted his arm. "I wish you luck, Luc. I'm sure your mother will have some very nice choices for you, so go enjoy yourself. Perk up, there're billions



more to be made when you get back."





"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Katie."





e was right, but she didn't trust herself around him. She'd taken leave of her senses too many times in that weakened state. Since moving to California, she'd made it her goal to live life logically and for the Lord. She hadn't fallen victim to her emotions since leaving New Orleans, and she'd invested too much to give into them now.





"I'm sorry," she said. "I only meant that I'm sure there are other nice girls willing to go home and pretend for your mother. I've already done that, only you forgot to tell me we were pretending. Remember?"





He flinched. "Below the belt."





A pencil fell from behind her ear, and she stooped to pick it up, careful not to meet his glance as she rose. "I'm sorry, but I'm busy here. Maybe we could catch up another time? I'd like that and won't be so sidetracked." She looked across the room toward Austin, an angelic but severely autistic child in a wheelchair. He pounded against his tray. "The kids are getting hungry. It's lunchtime." She pointed to the schedule.





Luc scooped a hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. "Where else am I going to find a gorgeous redhead who knows who Glenn Miller is?"





"Don't, Luc. Don't charm me. It's beneath you. Buy one of your bubble-headed blondes a box of dye and send her to iTunes to do research. Problem solved."





He didn't let go. "Ryan wants you to sing at the wedding, Katie. He sent me personally to make sure you'd be there and sing 'Someone to Watch Over Me.' I'm not a man who quits because something's difficult."





"Anyone worth her salt on Bourbon Street can sing that. Excuse me—"





"Katie-bug."





"Luc, I asked you kindly. Don't. I'm not one of your sophisticated girls who knows how to play games. I'm not going to the wedding. That part of my life is over."





"That part of your life? What about that part of you? Where is she?"





She ignored his question. "I cannot be the only woman you know capable of being your date. You're not familiar with anyone else who isn't an actress-slash-waitress?" She cupped his hand in her own and allowed herself to experience the surge of energy. "I have to go." She dropped his hands and pushed back through the half door. "I'm sure you have a meeting to get to. Am I right?"





"It's true," he admitted. "I had business in San Francisco today, a merger. We bought a small chain of health food stores to expand the brand. But I was planning the trip to see you anyway and ask you personally."





"Uh-huh."





"We'll be doing specialty outlets in smaller locations where real estate prices are too high for a full grocery outlet. Having the natural concept already in these locations makes my job that much easier."







"To take over the free world with organics, you mean?"





That made him smile, and she warmed at the sparkle in his eye. When Luc was in his element, there was nothing like it. His excitement was contagious and spread like a classroom virus, infecting those around him with a false sense of security. She inhaled deeply and reminded herself that the man sold inspiration by the pound. His power over her was universal. It did not make her special.





"Name your price," he said. "I'm here to end this rift between us, whatever it is, and I'll do the time. Tell me what it is you want."





"There is no price, Luc. I don't want anything from you. I'm not going to Ryan's wedding. My life is here."





"Day and night . . . night and day," he crooned and then his voice was beside her ear. "One last swing dance at my brother's wedding. One last song and I'll leave you alone. I promise."





She crossed the room to the sink against the far wall, but she felt him follow. She hated how he could make every nerve in her body come to life, while he seemingly felt nothing in return. She closed her eyes and searched for inner strength. He didn't want me. Not in a way that mattered. He wanted her when it suited him to have her at his side.





"Even if I were able to get the time off work, Luc, it wouldn't be right to go to your brother's wedding as your date. I'm about to get engaged."





"Engaged?" He stepped away.





She squeezed hand sanitizer onto her hands and rubbed thoroughly.





"I'll give a call to your fiancé and let him know the benefits." He pulled a small leather pad of paper from his coat pocket. "I'll arrange everything. You get a free trip home, I get a Christian date my mother is proud to know, and then your life goes back to normal. Everyone's happy." He took off his fedora as though to plead his case in true gentlemanly fashion. "My mother is still very proud to have led you from



your . . ." He choked back a word. "From your previous life and to Jesus."





The announcement of her engagement seemed to have had little effect on Luc, and Katie felt as if her heart shattered all over again. "My previous life was you. She was proud to lead me away from her son's life." She leaned on the countertop, trying to remember why she'd come to the kitchen area.





"You know what I meant."





"I wasn't exactly a streetwalker, Luc. I was a late-night bar singer in the Central District, and the only one who ever led my reputation into question was you. So I'm failing to see the mutual benefit here. Your mother. Your date. And I get a free trip to a place I worked my tail off to get out of."





She struggled with a giant jar of applesauce, which Luc took from her and opened easily. He passed the jar back to her and let his fingers brush hers.





"My mother would be out of her head to see you. And the entire town could see what they lost when they let their prettiest belle go. Come help me remind them. Don't you want to show them that you're thriving? That you didn't curl up and die after that awful night?"





"I really don't need to prove anything, Luc." She pulled her apron, with its child-size handprints in primary colors, over her head. "I'm not your fallback, and I really don't care if people continue to see me that way. They don't know me."





"Which you? The one who lives a colorless existence and calls it holy? Or the one who danced on air and inspired an entire theater troupe to rediscover swing and raise money for a new stage?" Luc bent down, took her out at the knees, and hoisted her up over his shoulder.





"What are you doing? Do you think you're Tarzan? Put me down." She pounded on his back, and she could hear the chaos he'd created in the classroom. "These kids need structure. What do you think you're doing? I demand you put me down!"





My Review:

I loved this book! The characters soar from the page to your heart, and you can't help cheering Katie and Luc on as they muddle through old hurts toward their "happily-ever-after." Kristen Billerbeck knows how to write a story and proves it with A Billion Reasons Why. If you enjoy a good romance then I can give you a billion reasons why you should read this book!

"10 Lies Men Believe" by J. Lee Grady

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!



You never know when I might play a wild card on you!





Today's Wild Card author is:

J. Lee Grady

and the book:

10 Lies Men Believe Charisma House (February 1, 2011) ***Special thanks to Anna Coelho Silva | Publicity Coordinator, Book Group | Strang Communications for sending me a review copy.***



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



J. Lee Grady is contributing editor for Charisma. He was the magazine's editor for 11 years. He has been involved in Christian journalism since 1981. A native of Atlanta, he has been with Charisma since 1992, serving as news editor, managing editor, and then becoming editor in 1999. Lee's book 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, published in 2000, opened a unique door for him to preach internationally. He has since traveled to 12 nations, challenging the church to release women in ministry and to end abuse and gender discrimination. He and his wife, Deborah, have four daughters.





SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

10 Lies Men Believe is a compassionate but confrontational look at the reasons why so many Christian men today are in serious crisis. The author, who has spent eight years confronting the abuse of women in more than twenty countries, believes men are failing in marriage, fatherhood, friendships, and careers because of ten wrong mind-sets inherited from culture. With gut-level honesty, the author offers practical answers for men who struggle with a variety of issues, including addiction, abusive tendencies, pornography, controlling behavior, and emotional problems rooted in a lack of proper fathering. The book is also an excellent resource for women who are suffering because of mistreatment by the men in their lives.





Product Details:



List Price: $14.99

Paperback: 240 pages

Publisher: Charisma House (February 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 161638137X

ISBN-13: 978-1616381370







AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:





contents



Foreword by Napoleon Kaufman



xi



Introduction: Have You Been Brainwashed?



1



Lie #1: God made men superior to women.



13



Lie #2: A man cannot be close to his father.



29



Lie #3: A real man is defined by material success.



49



Lie #4: A man is the ultimate "boss" of his family.



69



Lie #5: Sex is primarily for the man's enjoyment, not the woman's.



85



Lie #6: It's OK for a man to hit or abuse a woman.



99



Lie #7: Real men don't need close male friendships.



113



ix



Lie #8: A man should never admit his weaknesses.



135



Lie #9: Real men don't cry.



155



Lie #10: A man should never receive spiritual ministry from a woman.



169



Conclusion: The Journey From Wimp to Warrior



187



Appendix: Every Man's Secret to Spiritual Power



195



Notes



201 The relationship between the male and the female is by nature such that the male is higher, the female lower, that the male rules and the female is ruled.1



—Aristotle, in Politica



One hundred women are not worth a single testicle.2



—Confucius



It is only males who are created directly by the gods and are given souls. Those who live rightly return to the stars, but those who are "cowards" or [lead unrighteous lives] may with reason be supposed to have changed into the nature of women in the second generation.3



—Plato, in timaeus



Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made

some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their

property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the

unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part

you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in

the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not

seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.4





—The Quran, 4:34



Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast not made me a woman.5



—Ancient prayer of Jewish rabbis



The souls of women are so small, that some believe they've none at all.6



—Samuel Butler, English poet





10 LIES





Lie #1



God Made Man Superior to Women.



Millions of women around the world are subjected to the horror of male domination. They are gang-raped in Latin America, their genitals are mutilated in parts of Africa, they are forced to wear burkas in Afghanistan, they are sold as sex slaves in Thailand, and they are denied education in India. Yet most of us westerners are oblivious to this cruel injustice. It's out of sight, out of mind.



But in 2009 a movie that exposed the cruel abuse of women in Iran hit theaters just a few weeks after Iran's authoritarian government came under international scrutiny. The Stoning of Soraya M. is based on a book written by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam.7 It tells the true story of a woman named Zahra, who is distraught because the men of her village—she defiantly calls them "devils"—have killed her niece, Soraya.8



Through flashbacks we learn that Soraya's immoral husband decided to put her away so he could marry a fourteen-year-old girl. When Soraya dares to defy her husband's scheme, he trumps up false adultery charges against her with the help of the local Islamic mullah. Zahra tries to stop the madness, but in the end the villagers commit



13





the Islamic version of a lynching. Along the way we learn how militant the antiwoman attitudes are in this part of the world.



"Women now have no voices," Zahra says at one point. We see how Iran's women, under the regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini, were forced to live in prisons of silence and were valued only as sex objects and domestic servants.



The worst part of the movie's twenty-minute stoning sequence is the way young men in the village click their rocks together while they wait for the signal to kill.



Why does this kind of madness still happen in the twenty-first century? I have seen it up close since I began confronting the abuse of women in 2001. I've traveled to more than twenty-four countries to conduct conferences and seminars, and I have interviewed many "Zahras" from every continent. I now carry a heavy burden for these women, and for the men who abuse them. Here are just a few of the statistics we know about this ignored issue.



Around the world, at least one in three women will be

beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused during her

lifetime.9





In Latin America, the culture of machismo, or institutionalized male pride, has resulted in a dangerously low

view of women. A report released in 2009 by the United

Nations says up to 40 percent of women throughout Latin

America have been victims of physical violence.10





Forced prostitution, trafficking for sex, and sex tourism

are growing problems in many parts of the world. Each

year, an estimated 800,000 people are trafficked across

borders. Eighty percent of these are women and girls,

according to the United Nations Population Fund

(UNPF). Most of them end up trapped in the commercial

sex trade. (This figure does not include the substantial







number of women and girls who are bought and sold within their own countries.)11



According to the UNPF, the greatest number of victims is believed to come from Asia (about 250,000 per year), the former Soviet Union (about 100,000), and from Central and Eastern Europe (about 175,000).12 An estimated 100,000 trafficked women have come from Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 50,000 from Africa.13



In Asia, at least sixty million girls are "missing" due to prenatal sex selection, infanticide, or neglect.14 In China, where young couples are only allowed to have one child, orphanages are overrun with infant girls, because boys are preferred. Baby girls are often thrown into rivers, left on doorsteps, or abandoned in forests.



Female genital mutilation affects an estimated 130 million women and girls, mostly in Africa. Each year, two million more undergo the barbaric practice.15 In most cases, a girl is forced around age twelve to undergo the cutting away of her clitoris so that she cannot feel sexual pleasure. Often this causes serious urinary problems as well as infections.



Violence against women also takes the form of other harmful practices, such as child marriage and dowry-related violence (especially in India), acid burning (in some Muslim nations), and abandonment of widows.16



In many Islamic countries, women die from what is known as "honor killings." If a woman dares to disagree with her husband or even shows a hint of disrespect, her husband and other male relatives (and sometimes her mother) will drag her into the street, bury her up to her waist in dirt, and then stone her in broad daylight.





Although this practice is illegal, it is estimated that there



are five thousand such killings every year.17



Guatemala has the highest rate of unsolved murders

of women in the world. A report released in 2005 by

Amnesty International showed that murders of women

climbed to 560 in that year, yet not one murderer was

convicted. In many cases, the women victims are tortured

or their bodies are mutilated. Often their bodies are

dumped in the streets.18





In South Africa, older men who have contracted the AIDS virus believe that if they have sex with a young virgin they will be cured of the disease.19 So they actually search for young girls to serve as their "wives," and they buy them from their poor parents. Needless to say, many of these innocent girls do not survive.





It's easy to read statistics like this and just push them aside. After all, we don't know these people, and we feel powerless to help them. But after I began traveling and speaking on this issue I began to match actual names and faces with these abstract numbers. Suddenly I began to feel the personal pain of the women and girls involved. Because I am a husband and the father of four daughters, I began to see these abused women in a different light. I identified with them. And my heart broke.



In Kochi, India, a desperate woman came to a house where I was having lunch. She was afraid to talk to me, so she spoke with the pastor's wife, who was hosting our meal. This woman's husband had just dragged her to a river and dunked her under the water repeatedly. He threatened to drown her until she promised to go to her parents and request more dowry money. She was risking her life to talk about the abuse because most women in India suffer silently. They consider it disrespectful to discuss family problems openly.



In Kampala, Uganda, a nineteen-year-old college student asked if she could meet with me in the church along with her pastor. Because I openly talked about sex abuse in a sermon, she mustered the courage to share her shameful secret: two male cousins had violated her when she was only thirteen. They took her to the countryside and told her they were going to ride horses, but when they arrived at their destination, both boys raped her repeatedly. When she threatened to tell their parents, one boy retorted, "They will never believe you. Girls are always the guilty ones."



In Port Harcourt, Nigeria, I met a twenty-four-year-old woman who came to me in tears. Her Christian father and mother had a happy family of four daughters. Yet her father decided to divorce his wife after all the girls were grown. The reason? Because this woman had not given him a son. "Nigerian men think it is the wife's duty to give them a boy," the distraught daughter explained. "They don't even realize it is the sperm of the man that determines the gender of the child."



In Nairobi, Kenya, a tired-looking woman asked me for prayer at the altar of a church. She had not been sleeping much. She said her husband regularly visited prostitutes, but sometimes he also demanded sex from her even though she was afraid he would infect her with the AIDS virus. Often he forced himself on her anyway; if she locked the bedroom door, he kicked it open.



In Kiev, Ukraine—a city known for its mafia-run prostitution rings—I spoke to a conference of three thousand women about the healing Jesus Christ offers to victims of sex abuse. When I opened the altars for women to receive prayer, almost every woman in the auditorium tried to crowd to the front. A Ukrainian woman later told me, "Most women here have been abused like that."



In La Paz, Bolivia, I spent many days ministering to the poor, indigenous people of that nation. I saw countless women on the streets of the city selling candy, cigarettes, stationery, and soft drinks from small wooden stands while their young children crawled on the dirty sidewalks or sat on mats behind their crude kiosks. The women's husbands were nowhere to be found. I later learned that many Bolivian men force their wives to work in the streets while they stay home all day to drink alcohol. These women have a popular saying that everyone in Bolivia knows by heart: "Cuanto m‡s me pega, m‡s me ama." This means, "The more [my husband] beats me, the more he loves me."



And in Monterrey, Mexico, an articulate woman pastor pulled me aside after I had spoken about domestic violence at a conference. She wanted to tell me the unthinkable. "Every month I go to the hospital to visit a pastor's wife," she whispered, as if she was afraid someone might overhear. "Pastors are beating their wives. The problem is not just in the secular culture. It is also in the church!"



After hearing these kinds of stories from women all over the world, I decided I could not sit on my hands or close my ears. I went on the warpath against the oppression of women. I began to write about it, preach about it, and mobilize churches to confront it. I sponsored women's conferences, men's conferences, and pastor's conferences so I could hit the issue from all sides.



I also realized that this violence won't stop until men forcefully oppose it. I now believe that this is one mark of a true man: he stands up against all forms of social oppression—including this horrible sin of abuse and gender discrimination. Real men don't put down women. Real men fight for them. Our mothers, sisters, and daughters need us to speak out. They have suffered long enough.



let's talk about it



1. Were you already aware of this problem of violence against women? How did you learn about it?



2. How do these statistics about gender-based violence make you feel?



3. Is there something you can do to address this problem in your own church, community, or elsewhere?





a BiBlical View oF GendeR



One of the main reasons there is such pervasive violence against women is that men believe they are superior. We have several terms for this attitude. Some call it chauvinism, a word derived from the name of a French soldier, Nicolas Chauvin, who was fanatically loyal to Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon himself was the ultimate chauvinist. He once said, "Nature intended women to be our slaves. They are our property."



In Latin America, this attitude is called machismo, and it is promoted not only by authoritarian men but also by women who teach their sons that they are superior to women. Chauvinism is also known as a patriarchal mind-set—and it includes the idea that only men can lead and that women were created only to have babies and serve men.



Ultimately, male pride has its roots in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve disobeyed God and the world came under the curse of sin. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect, intimate partnership without any shame or dysfunction in their relationship. After the Fall, the man began to dominate the woman, and her life became more painful. Adam blamed his wife for being deceived, even though he willingly chose to rebel against God. The Lord said this to the woman in Genesis 3:16:



To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain



in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your



desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."



You don't have to look far to see Genesis 3:16 at work in the world. In every culture on Earth, especially those where the gospel of Jesus Christ has never been preached, women suffer under the domination of men.



If you examine the world's religions, you will find that all of them except Christianity denigrate women and place them at severe disadvantage. In Islamic cultures, especially where Sharia law is enforced, women have no civil rights and are not even allowed to drive cars. In Hindu cultures, women suffer unimaginable discrimination; for centuries, in fact, a Hindu wife whose husband died was expected to commit suicide by jumping into his funeral pyre. In Mormonism, women whose "celestial marriages" are sealed in temple ceremonies are told that the only way they can attain eternal salvation is if they have babies.



Christianity offers a unique and revolutionary message of empowerment to women, and the Bible calls men to treat women as equals. Jesus Christ, who showed amazing compassion to women during His earthly ministry and who called women to be His followers, canceled the painful reality of Genesis 3:16. I like to preach that Genesis 3:16 was canceled by John 3:16! When Christ came into the world as the Father's only begotten Son to save us, He made a way for men to be delivered from their pride and for women to be healed from violence and abuse.



Of course, Christian leaders themselves have not always walked in total deliverance from male pride. The church has not always reflected the heart of Christ. Some leaders, even today, impose their own gender biases and errant interpretations of Scripture—and this has led to much pain in the lives of Christian women around the world. That's why it is so important for us to go back to Scripture and recover what the Bible actually says on this issue, rather than parroting religious traditions that were passed down to us.



Here are seven important truths about gender that have been clearly articulated in Scripture. You must allow the Word of God to renew your mind. These principles will help liberate you from the heavy yoke of male pride.



1. Men and women were created by God with equal value.



The first account of Creation in Genesis 1 says God created both the male and the female in the divine image. Genesis 1:26–27 says:



Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.



In ancient Greece, philosophers such as Aristotle and others believed the male was created from the divine matter of the gods, while the female was created from inferior animal matter. The Judeo-Christian view of gender is in stark contrast to the pagan Greek mind-set. In the very first chapter in the Bible we see that men and women are created as equals.



The word picture that is painted in this passage is of two equal partners standing side by side. Then, in the Genesis 2 description of Eve's creation, we are told that she was taken from Adam's side. It is worth noting that God did not take the woman from his head (so that she would rule over him) or from his feet (so that he would rule over her). God's intention for marriage was always for intimacy, affection, and partnership.



2. In their original perfection, the man and woman were both given authority.



Even some Christians believe that women can never have spiritual authority. Yet throughout Scripture, in both Old and New Testaments, we see that God anointed certain women with leadership gifts. Genesis 1:28 says:



God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."



The word subdue in this passage is the Hebrew word kabash, which means "to subdue, dominate, tread down." Women are called to do this also! This was always God's plan: that men and women would rule together to advance His kingdom.



Of course, Adam and Eve's fall in the Garden of Eden created a huge setback. But when Christ came and paid the full price for our sins, He made full restoration possible. Now, because of His redemption, men and women can walk in divine authority once more.



3. God never intended for women to be viewed as appendages or as servants to men.



The woman is referred to in Genesis 2:18 as the man's "helper" (or "help meet" in the King James Version). What does that word mean? If we have chauvinism in our hearts, we might be tempted to believe that God gave the woman to Adam simply so she could pick up his socks, fix his dinner, and meet his sexual needs whenever he pleased.



But actually the word helper does not imply subservience or inferiority. If anything, the passage shows that the man was totally incomplete without the woman—and that he could not fulfill his divine mission without her. The passage says:



Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be



alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."



This word helper comes from the Hebrew word ezer, a term that actually refers to God more than fifteen times in the Old Testament! Of course we know that God is our helper, but we would never think of Him as inferior to us. Neither should we think of women as inferior or second-class just because Eve was created after Adam. (After all, Adam was created after God made all the animals, but we don't consider man inferior to animals!)



4. God does not value boys over girls, so neither should we.



In many cultures in the world girls are at a huge disadvantage. In India, for example, many families choose abortion if an ultrasound shows the unborn baby is female. In many cultures males are considered more valuable because they will grow up and be more financially productive. But this is not how God views girls.



In the Book of Numbers, we read about five women who were the daughters of a man named Zelophehad. This man had died with no male heirs, and the traditions of Israel said that a man with only daughters would leave no land rights to his family. However, when these women came to Moses to protest, Moses asked God what to do. Numbers 27:6–7 says:



Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "The daughters of Zelophehad are right in their statements. You shall surely give them a hereditary possession among their father's brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them."



That one moment changed the course of life among the children of Israel. God contradicted the patriarchal traditions of the day and ruled in favor of the daughters of Zelophehad. He made it clear that women do indeed have equal value in His eyes.



5. Jesus Christ modeled a completely different approach to women than that of the religious leaders of His time.



When He began His ministry, Jesus challenged the religious and cultural rules of a male-dominated culture. While other rabbis believed it was improper to teach women the Bible, Jesus called his disciple Mary to sit at His feet. While other religious leaders refused to go near bleeding women, Jesus healed one. While the Pharisees shunned Samaritans and divorced women, Jesus had compassion on the Samaritan divorcée and commissioned her to be an evangelist.



Jesus's approach to ministry was radical for His time. If a Jewish leader saw a woman coming down the street, he would typically get on the other side of the street to avoid her. Yet Jesus went out of His way to befriend women, even those who were the outcasts of society. He also allowed a group of women to travel with His entourage (Luke 8:1–3), and those same women became the first witnesses of His resurrection—in a time when women were not even allowed to testify in a court of law



6. The New Testament calls men to treat women as equals.



In the first century, marriage was a painful prison for most women. Husbands viewed their wives as property. Women had no right to seek a divorce, and there was no protection from violence. Yet to this male-dominated culture the apostle Paul wrote the epistle to the Ephesians, which contains the most revolutionary description of marriage ever penned. Paul explains that marriage is not a hierarchy but a partnership that celebrates equality, tender intimacy, and unity of heart. He gave husbands these instructions in Ephesians 5:25 and 28:



Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her....So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.



Paul also challenged the Corinthian church with another radical idea about marriage. He told them that men and women have equal authority over each other's bodies when it comes to sex. This concept cut deep at the heart of a patriarchal culture, because men believed they had the right to demand sex from their wives whenever they wanted. Paul said:



The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.



—1 Corinthians 7:3–4



This passage offers the essence of New Testament teaching on marriage. Clearly, if God desires an attitude of mutual submission and equality in the sexual area, which lies at the very core of a man and woman's relationship, then He also desires that husbands and wives treat each other with the same attitude in every other area of life.



7. The Holy Spirit empowers both men and women for ministry.



When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early church on the Day of Pentecost, both the male and female followers of Christ were together in the Upper Room. The Bible says a flame of God's fire rested on each person. It does not say that the men had blue flames, while the women had pink flames. The same holy power came upon men and women alike.



After that dramatic encounter, both men and women began to preach the gospel with power. Philip the evangelist had four daughters who were prophets (Acts 21:9). A married couple, Priscilla and Aquila, traveled with Paul and taught the Word of God (Acts 18:24– 26). Paul commended a woman minister named Phoebe because she was a powerful deacon of the church (Rom. 16:1–2).



Throughout Paul's writings he makes it clear that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not given to people based on gender, race, or financial status. God anoints whomever He wills. Nowhere in Scripture are spiritual gifts linked to gender. In fact, Paul told the Galatians:



There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free



man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in



Christ Jesus.



—Galatians 3:28



Under the old covenant, only Jewish males from the tribe of Levi who were between the ages of twenty-five and fifty could serve as priests in the tabernacle. But all that changed after Jesus came. Because of His death on the cross and because of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, all restrictions related to age, class, race, and gender were removed. Today, Christ has a new "holy priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9) that is made up of both men and women from every language, tribe, and nation.



let's talk about it



1. How do you explain why there is so much violence and abuse toward women in the world? Is there a spiritual root to this issue?



2. What did God mean when He called Eve a "helper"? Have you ever treated your wife or women in general, as inferior?



3. What do you think it means to love your wife "as Christ loves the church"?



4. Secular feminists sometimes angrily demand women's rights and use crude language to describe men. How does this form of angry feminism differ from a biblical view of gender equality?



5. The apostle Paul had many women on his ministry team, such as Phoebe, Priscilla, Euodia, and Syntyche. Yet he seemed to limit women at times, such as when he told them to be quiet in church (1 Cor. 14:34–35). How do you explain that?





let's Pray about it



Father, I don't want any chauvinism or male pride in my heart. Please break my hard heart. Forgive me for any time I have mistreated my wife or other women. I want to have the heart of Christ, who showed respect, dignity, and compassion for women and recognized their equality. In Jesus's name, amen.



My Review:

Since I have so many men in my life (hubby, two sons, grandson), I thought this would be an interesting book to review. While I agree with many things the author had to say, there were some points made which I believe are inaccurate when it comes to the Bible. If you choose to read this book, be prepared to do additional study to determine which points are scripturally accurate.

Hanging Up My Hat

Hi Friends,



After much prayer and contemplation I've decided to discontinue my blogging and writing. It wasn't a decision I reached easily, but I've at last reached a sense of peace about it. It also wasn't a decision I took lightly or impulsively, but one which took several weeks of sorting through thoughts and emotions.



There are many contributing factors to my decision, but the main one is an eyesight issue. In 2007 I was diagnosed with a rare eye disorder which could eventually claim my sight. Over the past few months, my left eye has steadily grown worse to the point that I can no longer see well with that eye. Though the right eye is holding strong at this time, there is good reason to believe that one day it will get worse too. It doesn't take a doctor's degree to realize that hours in front of a computer screen isn't the best thing for my eyes.



Ironically enough, the diagnosis was actually one of the main catalysts to me blogging and writing books in the first place. I'd always wanted to write a book. God allowed me to write two. If He wills, I might write again, but at this point there are other avenues I want to pursue while I can still see well enough to do so.



I've enjoyed the journey with you, and I want you to know how very much I appreciate all of you who have read my humble words, encouraged me along the way, and befriended me. I pray God's richest blessings upon all of you and send you my deepest gratitude. I look forward to spending eternity with you!























P.S. There will still be occasional posts while I fulfill my obligations to publishers/authors for review books, but once those obligations are met, WordVessel posts will discontinue.

"Stars Collide" by Janice Thompson

Stars Collide by Janice Thompson is the first novel in the Backstage Pass series. Set in present-day Hollywood, the book tells the romantic adventures of Kat Jennings and her on-screen love interest Scott Murphy.



I enjoyed the author's comedic voice and references to lines from various movies, both old and new. The story is cute, with Kat's grandmother, an aging Hollywood star, stealing the show. If you enjoy romantic comedy, this might be a book you want to check out.



NOTE: I received my review copy from the publisher (Revell), but was not compensated for my review. The opinion expressed is my own.

My Favorite Poem

I know this may seem like a lazy blog post, but in preparing for a family ski trip my time was limited. I have to credit my mom for sharing with me her love of poetry. This is a poem I first learned from her, then as my boys grew into young men I framed a copy of this poem for each of them. Hope you enjoy it too!



Ifby Rudyard Kipling 

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; 

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at the beginning

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on"; 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

The Sabbath: So Much More Than Nap Day

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1-3, ESV)



At the end of 2010, I reviewed a book entitled Sabbath by Dan Allender. I enjoyed the book much more than expected, with the biggest takeaway being that it forced me to look at the Sabbath with fresh eyes.



As a result of reading the book, my family and I made a few changes to how we observe the day, and it has been such a blessing. We prepare a large Sabbath meal for the first evening. (This provides enough leftovers for the following day.) We make it a special and intentional event, with an emphasis on remembering what God did at creation, at the cross, and what He's currently doing to prepare a place for us in heaven.



Another result from reading the book was the decision to do a more in-depth Bible Study on the subject. I hope this is beneficial to you as well.



1. The day is blessed by God.

The original Hebrew actually means "He is blessing," which carries with it a continual deep joy and satisfaction.



2. The day was made holy by God.

Again, the original Hebrew suggests an ongoing and present action with "He is making holy." "Holy" means set apart and unique (in other words, different from the other six days).  The seventh day is the only day of the creation account that doesn't end with the evening-followed-by-morning refrain. Some theologians believe the omission signifies that the seventh day continues.



For further study, read Exodus 20:8-11 and Hebrews 4:3-11.



3. God "resting" doesn't imply that He was tired or that His work was finished.

All of the creation account in Genesis 1 points to the ease with which God created the universe ("And God said . . . And it was so").



God's work of creation was completed, but His work wasn't (John 5:17). God continues to work to this day.



For further study, read Isaiah 40:28 and Psalm 121:4.



4. The Sabbath was instituted as a memorial to God's rest at creation AND as a remembrance of the deliverance from slavery.

The Exodus account of the Ten Commandments points to creation, while the Deuteronomy account points to the deliverance from Egyptian slavery for the Hebrew people. The correlation for Christians is our deliverance from sin slavery through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross.



It's also important to note that God's resting and the deliverance from bondage aren't the subject of the Sabbath. It's a holy day to God simply by virtue of the fact that He blessed and hallowed the day. He finished His work with delight, and that delight flowed over into blessing on the day and on His creation.



I love this Matthew Henry quote: "God did not rest as one weary, but as one well pleased . . . . The Christian Sabbath which we observe, is a seventh day, and in it we celebrate the rest of God the Son, and the finishing of the work of our redemption."



See Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15.



5. The day wasn't meant to be kept in a legalistic way.

There's nothing like a bunch of additional rules tacked on to God's law to zap every ounce of beauty from the Sabbath (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). The restriction given for the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments was to cease work. No one was excluded, and everyone benefited.



Under the old covenant, those who observed God's day of rest were promised blessing and spiritual nourishment (Isaiah 56:1-7; 58:13), but failure to keep the day brought destruction (Nehemiah 13:15-22; Jeremiah 17:21-27).



6. Keeping the Sabbath shows a commitment to the covenant relationship with the Lord.

Observing the Sabbath requires that we organize our week around the Lord. It also serves as a testimony to a dying world that we've entered the eternal rest of God.



See Isaiah 56:2-8 to see that the day also included refraining from evil. Exodus 31:12-17 mentions the observance of the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and His people. See also Ezekiel 20:12.



7. Most of Jesus' run-ins with the Pharisees revolved around the observance of the Sabbath.

In each situation, Jesus didn't challenge the Sabbath law, but the Pharisee's interpretation of it. Since Jesus was God with flesh on, His interpretation of the law was entirely accurate. He is the Lord of the Sabbath and declared that it was right to do good on the Sabbath. Note that He never lessened or did away with the Sabbath, but did clarify its purpose when He mentioned that the Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around.



See Matthew 12:1-12 and Mark 2:27-28.



8. Keeping the Sabbath (or any of the Ten Commandments, for that matter) isn't a means of salvation.

I know this probably goes without saying, but our salvation comes only because of God's amazing grace and our faith in Him.



See Hebrews 10:11.



9. In Biblical times the day was celebratory, with rejoicing and delight.

To view the Sabbath as a weekly vacation or afternoon nap is to miss the grandeur of the day. The Israelites observed it as a holy day with corresponding offerings (Numbers 28:9). It was also a day of celebration (Hosea 2:11) and delight (Isaiah 58:13).



10. The purpose of the Sabbath is to point to God's rest.

As earth creatures, we're under the curse brought on by the fall of man. But God, in His boundless grace gave us the Sabbath as a picture of future glory and eternal rest. 



* * * * *

Additional Thoughts:  I'm certainly not suggesting that anyone should feel obligated to celebrate the day as I do. In fact, a couple of verses in the New Testament could possibly be interpreted to show that a Sabbath day celebration is an individual decision (Romans 14:5; Colossians 2:16-17).



I can only speak for myself, but the deliberate and intentional celebration of the Sabbath day each week has been a true delight, and the day is so much more than nap day (though naps are always appreciated)!

Just Out Of Our Reach

As a pianist and a piano teacher, I've learned the importance of working on songs that seem to be out of reach. Though my students don't like it when I assign a difficult song, I know through personal experience that it's the only way to advance.



The same can be said of our lives.



Our heavenly Father, in His great wisdom, often allows us to go through times that are difficult at best. We question why, often throw tantrums and sulk, wondering what we've done to deserve such treatment.



But after we've passed through the storm and the valley of the shadow of death, we can look back and see how strong we've become, how we've been purified in the fiery trials, and especially how close and intimate is now our walk with God.



Whether we like it our not, tough times challenge us and help transform us into the likeness of Christ.