“Sun Stand Still Devotional,” Steven Furtick

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Photo courtesy of WaterBrook Multnomah

Having being impressed with the book Sun Stand Still I was excited by the idea of a 40-day condensed devotional version of it.

Both books reflect on Joshua’s audacious prayer asking God to freeze time so he and his Israelite army have more time to vanquish the Amorites. And God answers by doing just that.

Furtick believes we all should be living lives of audacious faith where prayers such as Joshua’s are common practice and just as importantly we are stepping out in faith so that God can demonstrate His faithfulness to us.

This devotional is excellent. Each day’s message is short featuring a passage of Scripture that encourages us to be faithful. Yes, God can be trusted. What I particularly love about Furtick’s writing is that he is the master encourager (he’d be a great sports coach) to be able to motivate by demonstrating God’s faithfulness and then equip the reader with the tools to utilise to step out in faith.

He also uses a lot of great soundbites that are short, sharp and memorable, such as:

– The proof of faith is the action it produces.
– Faith not only prays. It also pursues.
– Live a life that is explainable only by the existence of a God who is infinitely great.

Furtick shares a number of stories of his own journey in starting his church (which is quite a remarkable story) and this devotional includes some updates which weren’t included in the book. Each day’s lesson then ends with an accompanying action to pray.

If you’re desiring something more for your life, I’d encourage you work through this devotional. You won’t be disappointed. I expect I’ll keep returning to it on a regular basis.

“All In,” Mark Batterson

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Photo courtesy of Zondervan

Batterson challenges us to be the person God wants us to be: completely committed to Him in everything, ie, to be All In.

He uses great stories and powerful Biblical passages to emphasise different aspects of our lives where we struggle to be fully committed. And of course, no Mark Batterson book would be without many wonderful soundbites that the reader can highlight, add to their journal, tweet and/or post on FB. But more importantly these help you remember key points of the message. One of my favourite ones is:

“If you want God to do something new, you cannot keep doing what you’ve always done.”

This is a challenging read as it’s very difficult to stay seated on the bench once you realise the Biblical truth that Batterson is sharing. Read it and get ready to be shaken up and stirred to jump off the bench with renewed vigour.

Finding joy in ordinary moments

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IMG_0626One of my favourite moments of the week is to sit down at the breakfast table to read the Saturday papers with my morning coffee. I’ve done it most weeks of my adult life.

There’s something about the extras that come with the Saturday paper. It’s more than the sport, business and headlines. It’s the culture, the longer articles that you can lose yourself in or the reviews of the latest movie, book or show.

Last Saturday I sat back and soaked it in. Especially took note of this hour of quiet where it’s just the paper, my coffee and me. The family are still in bed. Oh, except for Beanie, our pup. She’s usually racing around outside and from time to time pops in to remind me she’s not far away.

Gee, I enjoyed it.

“Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments – often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the burst of joy because we’re too busy chasing down extraordinary moments. Other times we’re so afraid of the dark that we don’t dare let ourselves enjoy the light.”1

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“Sedona Storm,” Barbara Scott

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Book cover courtesy of Landheart Press

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I understand it was originally published a decade or so ago and the authors have modernised it (even with an iphone mention!). A story of the unseen world that angels and demons inhabit interwoven with the natural world of man is as timeless as the Bible.

It’s suspenseful and contains some graphic scenes that are not for the faint of heart but it’s how the authors depict the two worlds intersecting (including many a collision) that has the reader spellbound. Prayer engages heaven by activating angelic assistance and this is wonderfully demonstrated in this novel.

We see the consequences of dabbling in the darkness, yes, it can destroy, kill and steal. But we also see grace, healing, forgiveness and salvation. Yes, this novel sure packs a lot in it.

I’m pleased the authors elected to re-launch after so many years as it’s messages are important for the world to hear.

God answers prayer

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Photo courtesy of Sura Nualpradid/Freedigitalphotos.net

My pastor shared a wonderful message yesterday on the power of prayer. He particularly emphasized corporate prayer and used the example of Peter’s ‘release’ from prison in Acts 12: 1-19 as evidence.

Please take a few moments to read the passage. You may recall that Peter was the top dog in the Christian world at that time. King Herod realised if he took out the top guy then the church may get discouraged and fade away into the background. But the church had other ideas. They “earnestly prayed to God for him.” (v5)

And God answered.

My pastor mentioned the 5 amazing ways God answered their prayers. I thought this was a great way of both summarizing the passage and providing encouragement for all of us to remain fervent in our prayers.

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