Word and Spirit by R. T. Kendall
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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Story Notes
R. T. Kendall brings a challenge to Christians to understand that God is not limited to speaking in one of two ways, through His Word or by His Spirit. Rather, He speaks with a combination of both so that we will be able to understand His will and be challenged in our walk with Him.
Dr. Kendall’s newest spiritual growth book is well done and challenging for those who are considering the ways in which God speaks to His children. Some cling to the idea that we are only able to hear from Him through His written Word, while others are convinced that He is most clear through signs and experiential revelations. Neither idea is wrong, Dr. Kendall says, but the two need to go hand in hand so that we can both know the Word of God and see His hand at work in the signs and miracles He performs in our lives. Study of the Word is critical so that we are able to know with certainty that the words that others are claiming are Scripture are as they say or not. We cannot understand the direction of God’s will when He speaks if we have not first spent time with Him reading his word and praying over what we’ve read. From there we must move into the actual experiencing of God, through the workings of the Spirit in our lives. Those of us who wish to know and do that which God would have us do would do well to learn the importance of having both of these beliefs in constant connection. I, myself, found this book to be both encouraging and challenging. Encouraging in that Dr. Kendall affirmed my understanding of the importance of personal Bible study and prayer along with knowledge that the Spirit will enable signs and wonders when it is needed. Challenging in that he reminded me to be careful not to lean solely on either of these for understanding how and why God is working and speaking so that I do not become stagnant in my faith journey. I will say, however, that while I found some very good information, encouragement and challenge in this book, I did feel that this book is geared more towards pastors or teachers. There is quite a bit included that speaks to how one should be careful in teaching those in one’s congregation to look solely to one of these understandings or the other so it was a bit odd to read. There is a lot of information and some quite complex passages in this book so it might take a bit of time to really dig deep into the concepts presented here. I may spend a bit more time reviewing the chapters again as I’m not sure I was able to take it all in as expected given the short time I had to read it. I am sure that everyone who wishes to learn will find something that speaks to them in this book so I will certainly recommend it to others.
I received this ARC book from Charisma House in order to provide a review. I will receive no fiscal compensation for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.