Review: The Incomparable Christ

The Incomparable Christ by John R.W. Stott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Of the hundreds, if not thousands of books I have read, this has got to be one of the finest. I first chanced upon a daily devotional (written by a certain John Stott) that was donated to my school library. As the part-time librarian, I skimmed through a few pages to size up if the book should be put into circulation or sold. The result? I was so mightily impressed by the overall biblical theological format and the theological richness in the individual pages, that I ordered one copy for my personal use. The book? Through the Bible, Through the Year: Daily Reflections from Genesis to Revelation (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...)

Stott (and his editorial team) have married brevity with brilliant scholarship. The Incomparable Christ is made up of 4 sections, all of which pack so much substance into so very little (number of) pages. Stott somehow managed to keep me intellectually engaged and emotionally excited to continue reading when three quarters of the book contain topics that I naturally do not find much interest in. In sections 2 (church history) and 3 ("fathers of the faith"), I was continually reflecting about and even inspired by the content.

While not one of my favourite books of the bible, I have had to study parts of the book of Revelation extensively for the purposes of completing course requirements (and have also twice listened to D A Carson's 26 lectures on Revelation). I have found that most of the top scholars who have written commentaries on Revelation to be extremely difficult to understand; I often found myself wondering why did they have to make the commentary so complicated and cryptic. In section 4, Stott on the other hand, has taken a lifetime of research and study, conveying just the the cream of (probably after years of painful deliberation on the many conflicting views) his positions in a concise, highly accessible format.

While easily comprehensible, such a wide-breadth-ed book on the incomparable Christ calls us to read it many times over. It would be a pity to just leave it on our shelves. Thank you Pastor John, for leaving this most wonderful labour of love for generations to be challenged with and blessed by. I'd imagine that laypeople, scholars, and pastors all should find something from the book that they would be able to take away. For me, it was the majesty of the matchless Christ who lovingly calls me to come and die and follow him.

I received this book from InterVarsity Press for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Review: Subversive Jesus: An Adventure in Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness in a Broken World

Subversive Jesus: An Adventure in Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness in a Broken World by Zondervan Publishing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This books ranks among a very select few in my bookshelf - those which I regard to be 6 stars. If Scripture is meant not only for knowledge but application, Greenfield candidly shares his struggles in obeying and applying God's word. Many books would focus on the theological necessity of justice and mercy ministries, and attempt to persuade the average educated, well-to-do (and relatively wealthy) Christian to action. But taking his wife and two young children in on the act as well, living in the neighbourhood of the poor in the slums of Cambodia and the inner-city of Canada, there is nothing to debate or argue in defense. Rather, I felt invited by the Holy Spirit to consider whether I have been faithful and obedient to God's call for me in my lifetime. At no point in the book did I feel preached at or guilt-tripped. Greenfield comes across as authentic, honest and loving, as he sought to communicate God's heart for the marginalized. While I thoroughly enjoyed the read, more importantly, I was compelled to reflect on my own life and my future goals. I heartily recommend this book to all Christians.

I received this book from the Harpercollins’ Booklook Bloggers Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Greenfield on bandaid charity

I was compelled to reflect on this heart-wrenching paragraph on two levels. First was how I am so very thankful about Lee Kuan Yew's vision to provide public housing, education and healthcare for every Singaporean. In Singapore, while there are those who fall through the cracks of the social/welfare nets, I am heartened that at least slums, drugs and gang violence are not as serious as in some other countries.

Secondly, I was grieved by the sorry state of justice and mercy ministries by the local church. While Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) is one of the few that stand out for the boots on the ground, I am aggrieved by the one-off "charity" events during festive seasons. How is it that I could have grown up in church and not caught God's heart for the poor? Surely it should take the form of a long term or even permanent ministry? It is indeed easy to criticise the efforts of others, but rather than discussing the theological necessity of justice ministries, Greenfield was compelled by Scripture to uproot his family to live among and be a blessing in the slums of Cambodia and Canada. There is nothing to argue when somebody lives life like that; rather, we are posed with the question of whether we have been faithful and obedient to God's call for us in our lifetime.

I recognise my anger and discontent that a HDB flat (in the areas I'm looking at) has gone by about 40% since 2006. I cannot believe that I'm going to spend so many years slogging my guts out just to own a home. While I had hoped to purchase a 5 room or Executive apartment so as to have extra rooms to host friends and missionaries from overseas, the exorbitant price of HDB flats make 3 and 4 room flats as a more realistic choice. And that would mean that we probably wont be able to host as many as we had hoped to. I pray that the pressures of my own financial needs do not drown out the just-as-important need to use God's money on a group of people that is very close to his heart - the poor.


From Page 110 of Subversive Jesus

"By shuffling the hungry into soup kitchens, charity placates the downtrodden and assures that the rest of us won't need to be bothered by protests or unruly behavior. Meanwhile, temporary homeless shelters have become substitutes for a housing sector that includes affordable housing for the poor. Food banks and soup kitchens have become substitutes for affordable, nutritious food and livable wages. Tutoring has become a substitute for an education system meant to serve everyone. Free clinics and emergency rooms have become substitutes for affordable healthcare for the poor and unemployed."

Review: (Un)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things

(Un)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things by Steven Furtick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was a breath of fresh air to see a charismatic/pentecostal preacher discuss about the brokenness in his life, the struggles of ministry, weight of expectation from other people, and in an authentic and vulnerable manner at that! Furtick's title of the book was actually an adjective by which a theologian had labelled him with (during an interview). I was also pleasantly surprised to read that Furtick regards salvation to be a process (p127-134), which is a view more commonly held by reformed theologians/pastors.

The preacher often needs a quotable quote that the congregation would be able to take away, and Furtick does not disappoint with "God can't bless who you pretend to be." I recognise the importance of this one liner in the charismatic/pentecostal church (which I grew up in), and weakeness and struggles are often kept secret so as to portray a perfect facade for others to see. On this topic, I appreciate his frank discussion by using the illustrations of the Frustrating Furtick, Future Furtick and Fake Furtick. He also authentically recounts stories about his two boys, which casts them in a light that they would probably be embarrassed about when they grow older; I applaud him for his courage to show that pastor's kids are human and carnal, but more importantly reveal his secure identity in Christ and the resulting heart condition of not needing to put up a "perfect" front of his family to the world.

Furtick's strength is his understanding of and utility of pop-culture references to illustrate its dangers (UFC fights, Pintrest Fails, #goals). He is also gifted in his ability to take "famous" bible stories, of Moses and the burning bush, Gideon, Joseph, Solomon, Isaac, Jacob and Rebekah, Laban and Rachel, etc., and retell them in an engaging manner that is highly accessible to the often biblically illiterate average Christian. I was however uncomfortable with the allegorical approach of citing Jesus' parable about the talents in Matt 25 to symbolize "all our God-given resources-time, money, energy, abilities, and yes, talents" (p50). With Jesus' original context being money, I hope that in subsequent revisions Furtick would explain how did he apply the parable to so many other different contexts.

That was the one blip in an otherwise wonderful book which I found thoroughly enjoyable. I heartily recommend this book! I received this book from the Crown Publishing Group's Blogging for Books program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Review: Heavenly Help: Experiencing the Holy Spirit in Everyday Life

Heavenly Help: Experiencing the Holy Spirit in Everyday Life by Sarah Bowling
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Would really have appreciated an introduction to the book whereby Bowling would, at the start of the book, clearly highlight the allegorical nature of the fictional storyline of Ruth and Naomi. Somehow I had missed that part and had a rude shock when I found out in the last chapter. What I had thought to be an amazing and authentic recounting of a real life friendship turned out to be just a fairy tale. While I did feel cheated (although due to my own fault of not reading more conscientiously), I really did enjoy the story though!

The book's primary thesis would probably be the importance and joy of living a life that is sensitive and obedient to to Holy Spirit. As Bowling does not attempt to engage in complicated theological discussion, the book is suitable for readers with sparse bible knowledge, i.e. new believers or even Christians who have yet to receive formal theological/seminary training.

While easy to read and not too lengthy, I was bothered by the many attempts at lexical theology, i.e. trying to explain the Greek meaning of a word to illustrate a point. As my hermeneutics professor pointed out, the non-Greek and non-Hebrew students/scholars often give themselves away by doing that; those well versed with the bible languages are able to explain and persuade using english words. For an important caution, see D A Carson's Exegetical Fallacies (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59...).

I am concerned why Bowling had to use fictional stories when personal testimonies would have added so much more credibility and encouragement to those who struggle with listening to and obeying to the voice of the Holy Spirit. This and coupled with the problematic lexical theologies, make me hesitant to recommend this book. Hopefully in subsequent revisions, Bowling would be able to share more of her real-life testimonies and experiences.

p.s. If I could think of a person who walks and talks and lives a life in tune with the Spirit's voice, Sis Margaret Seaward comes to mind. While you probably would not be able to find books written by her, she ministers and lectures in churches and bible schools in Singapore and Malaysia. Hopefully she would be able to pen down her testimonies and real-life encounters with the Holy Spirit so that generations across the world would be blessed and encouraged.

I received this book from Baker Publishing Group's Chosen Books Blogger Review Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Review: Too Busy Not to Pray

Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pastor Hybels shares authentically about his personal journey in prayer, with most anecdotes being real-life events that occurred in interaction with people he knows. The book has plenty of advice for Christians to consider implementing. As with any other books authored by Hybels, the style is engaging and lively, the content is highly accessible to the lay Christian. For example, Bible stories quoted are often paraphrased with dialogue that modern believers can immediately understand. Hybels also does not shy away from the difficult discussion of when God does not answer prayer. In fact, I felt that he did so in a sensitive and pastoral manner.

While I thoroughly enjoyed his books on leadership (most of which I regard to be 6 out 5 stars), this book did not venture into deep exegetical or theological discussion. Well, that is probably due to Hybels being a pastor rather than a bible scholar. For the purposes of a small group study, perhaps this book could be used as introductory material to James Bryan Smith's Apprentice Series (https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Ja...) or one of Kenneth Boa's books on spiritual formation. But it would be inaccurate for me to conclude that the book suffers from the serious deficiency of a watering down of the gospel. I came away with a renewed commitment to pray and found many practical suggestions extremely useful. To highlight a couple, it would be reflect on the previous day in the prayer journal so as to examine our lives, and that we could pray whenever we are commuting or going about our daily lives.

I received this book from InterVarsity Press for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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