Is LOVE WINS a winner?

Well, I just finished the book Love Wins by Rob Bell. To be honest, I expected more. Not more in terms of insightful content, but more in terms of controversial, 'heretical' content...because really, it seems EVERYONE was saying that this book was an abomination and a message from Satan. Ok, perhaps they didnt say anything that strongly, but it seems that there were a lot of people who thought Rob Bell has abandoned the faith and is leading people into the depths of hell. So, I expected the content of the book to be something along the lines of "there is no such thing as hell, and everyone regardless of the choices they make will make it to heaven when they die". Alas, that was not what the book was about at all. So...here is my review of the book "Love Wins" The first chapter is Rob Bell asking a lot of questions, and to be honest, it was probably my favourite chapter of the book. I like questions. I like questions and discussion a lot, and this chapter asked a lot of the questions that I have asked (at least in my head) many times over the last little while. He doesn't answer the questions in the chapter (and it could be argued that he doesn't really answer them later on in the book either), but he starts the book off right, getting your brain working and thinking about what you believe. Now, if you take what Rob Bell says about heaven and hell (which many people have), it could be argued that Bell is a universalist. And I guess, in a sense he is, but its a mild version. Bell still believes in hell, however he views hell as more of a place for God to teach lessons, and "refine" us. In the end, once everyone has learned their lessons, and recognize God as the true savior, then they will enter into heaven. So, yes...everyone, according to Bell, will eventually arrive in heaven, but it still requires a choice and it is still only through Jesus. What I loved most about the book (other than the first chapter), was how Bell focuses on HERE and NOW. I have blogged before about how we need to focus more on the now and not as much on the 'later', and Bell takes that same approach in the book. He argues that Jesus' messages about heaven and hell are actually more about heaven and hell on earth, and not as much about the life after death. Bell says that we need to do our best to create an earthly shalom, and work towards the Kingdom of heaven, here on earth. Whether you agree with Bell or not, doesn't take away from the fact that the book has a lot of really good things to say. One of the best things Bell says is (paraphrased), "having a different view on heaven or hell doesn't mean you aren;t a Christian". In other words, just because he believe one way, doesn't mean that he is not a Christian, and also just because some disagree with his opinions don't make them any less of a Christian either. I can honestly say, Bell is DEFINITELY a Christian. He says over and over again that it is only through Jesus that we are saved, and that the life we live here and now, and the choices we make while we are alive really do matter. It seems that, people find what he says heretical because 1) they haven't ACTUALLY read the book...they probably skimmed the book, or took things out of context, or just read other peoples reviews, or 2) because it is so different than what they believe that they can't accept that they may be wrong. Christians don't like to think that they might be wrong or misled...so its easier to just call someone a heretic than actually thinking about what they are saying. I don't know if I agree with everything Bell said (I say I don't know because I need to really think about what was read, and probably re-read the book to make sure I didn't miss anything), and I can't honestly say that all of his Greek translations are correct (I will give him the benefit of the doubt), but regardless, this book truly makes us think about what we believe and that is GREAT. Kudos to Bell for not being afraid to stir the pot. For not shying away from the questions that many people are too scared to ask. I highly recommend for everyone, before you pass judgement on the book, before you judge Bell and call him a universalist or a heretic or whatever, READ THE BOOK. It's ok to not agree with it. I don't think Bell expects everyone to agree with him. He just wants people to think, ask questions and come up with their own conclusions. The bottom line is, no one really knows what heaven and hell are truly like. No one can say with 100% certainty that "heaven will be like this, and hell will be like that". Bell doesn't push his beliefs on the reader, he just says what he believes, and why he believes it. He doesn't make you feel like a loser for not agreeing with him, which is more than can be said for many of the critics of Bell. I enjoyed the book, it got me thinking, and got me asking questions. To me, that is all I can ask of a theological book. My final score of Love Wins is 9/10. What did you think of the book (if you've read it)? or do you plan on reading it if you haven't? oh...and to answer the question of the title..YES, Love Wins is a winner!

Hitting the Wall

The other day, I was watching the movie Run Fatboy Run and this scene really inspired me to write a blog. The movie is about a man named Dennis, who decides to run the London Marathon to prove his love for his ex-fiance. Early on, he gets badly injured, but instead of giving up, he keeps on going. Battling his inner demons reminding him that he has never finished anything in his life, and real people who bet against him finishing the race, who taunt him and insult him along the way, he keeps putting one foot in front of the other, until at least, he hits the dreaded Wall. In life, we all hit walls. Whether they are physical barriers preventing us from getting that job we want, going on vacation, getting married or whatever...or spiritual barriers that tell us we aren't good enough, pr don't have enough faith. It's inevitable. Life is filled with walls and obstacles. Sometimes, we have people around us who, instead of helping us get past these obstacles, and encouraging us, they instead remind us of our failures. They remind us that we aren't good enough, haven't finished anything, have amounted to jack-squat. It's easy to just stop moving forward, and give up. Hit the wall, and instead of breaking through it, just turn around. How to we overcomes these barriers? How do we break down the walls, jump over the obstacles? Well, as Christians we need to pray and have faith that, whatever God puts in our way is put there for a reason. It's also important to surround ourselves with people that will encourage us. People who have done the marathon before, and know the tricks. Breaking down the walls aren't easy. It can hurt, especially because often we are already in pain and worn out when we reach these walls. It's also important to remember that, once we break down the wall, we don't know what is on the other side. Usually, there are still more miles to run, more obstacles to overcome. Perhaps, we break down the wall, only to find out that we aren't on the path that we wanted in the first place. Or, we thought that once the wall was broken down, we would get what we wanted, only to find out that the wall was the actual destination all along (God works in mysterious ways sometimes). But, what I take from this scene, is...persevere! Never give up. As Justin Bieber reminds us, Never Say Never! (That's right...I Bieber'd this blog). Keep going. When we reach the walls, the obstacles, we need to find a way past them. Don't let our past failures hold us back. Focus on the goal, focus on the race. Stay motivated. It's not easy, and it's not usually fun, but it's worth it. What walls and obstacles are you facing? How are you going to get through, over, under, around it? Bloggers note: While I love the movie Run Fatboy Run, and genuinly think that it is a funny, inspiring movie, I do know that many people are easlily offended with language, sexual content and the like, so I just want to warn you that, if you are planning on watching this movie, be aware that this IS a typical hollywood movie and not the G-rated family friendly Disney, or Christian movie.

The Two Thieves

When we think of Easter there are a few things that pop into our head. First of all, we think of the Last Supper, which leads to Judas and his betrayel. We also think about the 2 other thieves that were executed to the left and right of Jesus. It is THESE 2 people, that I want to talk about today. Usually, when we think of the thieves, we think of one who is 'good' and one who is 'bad. The bad thief, we usually depict snarling, and hurling insults. Probably, like Mel Gibson in the Passion of the Christ, we take pleasure in thinking that maybe crows came and plucked out his eyeballs. But, what is his true crime? I'm not talking about the crime that led him to the cross, but his crime while on the cross. He simply asks Jesus to take him down from the cross. The NIV says it this way in Luke 23:39, "...Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!". Was he mocking Jesus? Perhaps. In fact, the NIV does say he insulted Jesus...but at the same time, it seems as if he understood that Jesus was truly the Christ! He KNEW that Jesus was the Son of God, and his insult to Jesus was that he didn't accept his fate. He didn't accept responsibility for whatever it was he did, and he thought Jesus, if he truly was the saviour, should save him from his execution. Interestingly, both Matthew and Mark, don't record this conversation between Jesus and the thieves. In fact, both of those books simply say that "those crucified with Jesus also heaped insults at him". So perhaps, the 'good' thief, in our minds anyway, wasn't as holy and righteous as we envision. For some reason, we always see this thief as a good looking man. We tend to forget that this guy DESERVED to be where he was. He probably killed someone, or stole something, or did something like Treason...he wasn't falsly accused like Jesus was. It's weird that, because Jesus sees favor in his eyes, we forget that this guy was a horrible sinner. I think we also forget that this guy never says the sinners prayer. He never officially asks Jesus to come into his life, as we Christians tend to think is the only true way to reach heaven. His conversation with Jesus, as written by Luke is short, and as follows, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom". That's all that is recorded in terms of this man talking with Jesus. He rebukes the other thief, and he accepts his fate, but the only words spoken directly to Jesus is "remember me". Now, as I mentioned before, Matthew and Mark record that "those crucified also heaped insults at him". So, either there were more than just the 2 crucified with Jesus, or both of these thieves, insulted Jesus while on the cross. If the latter is true, why is the second one redeemed? Why, if this thief who never told Jesus to 'enter my heart and forgive my sins', with Jesus in paradise? I think it's because he accepted his fate, KNEW he did wrong, and just humbly chose to die alongside the Son of God. He didn't desperately try to reason with Jesus, making a case for why he should be saved...he just asked Jesus to remember him. He didn't justify his actions leading to the cross, he accepted that he was getting what he deserved. THAT is why Jesus saved him. I think, we often act more like the first, 'bad' thief when troubled times come our way. When we go through hard times, when we feel God is being mean and life is throwing us curveballs, we beg God to save us. We, essentially say, "If you are truly GOD, you would take me out of this predicament". Sounds much like the first thief doesn't it? God doesn't need us, or want us, to cry out for him to save us every time the water gets a bit rough. He wants us to TRUST him, and praise him regardless of our situation. We need to act more like the second thief. We need to understand that, yes while God COULD save us, and is very capable of saving us, he doesn't HAVE to save us. The thief accepted his fate, and because of that, because of his humble 'remember me' request...he is partying with Jesus today. Maybe, we have salvation all wrong. Maybe salvation isn't demanding Jesus to come into our life, but instead it's telling Jesus that 'we deserve what is happening to us". Maybe it's humbly accepting our fate, while understanding that God is capable of saving us. Perhaps its just being willing to die alongside Christ. The sinners prayer, as we understand it (which isn't biblical by the way), seems to me to be more like the first thiefs response to trials and tribulations. "Jesus...if you are God, SAVE ME!". True salvation, is not a 'save me from hell, or from this trial' mindset...true salvation is a humble 'God, I know you CAN save me, but you don't have to...just please, go through this with me!'.

Judas' Feast

Well...it's nearing Easter. Ok...so it's about a month away, but I figure I would get a good start on Easter themed blogs. I've been thinking a lot lately about Judas, and the major role he plays in the Easter story. We seem to look at Judas in a bad light. I guess rightly so, as he DID betray Jesus with a kiss and sell him to the Pharisees for money. But I think we forget that, if it wasn't for Judas, Easter would never have happened (or at least, not in the way it did). Judas, through his greed and betrayel, actually allowed Jesus to fulfill his destiny. So, my question is this...did Judas really have a choice? Did Judas consciously decide to sell Jesus, and send him to the cross, or did God USE Judas to do those things? If Judas didn't do it, would someone else have done it, or would history and Christianity have been forever changed?
I'm not trying to say that we should rever what Judas did, and see him as a hero, but I am wondering if perhaps, painting him as the ultimate villain is a bit unfair. I guess the fact that Judas felt guilty afterwards, and killed himself, should be a clue that he CHOSE to betray Christ, and God just was able to use that deception for the ultimate good...but it was also prophesied. Jesus KNEW what his purpose was on Earth. He KNEW that Judas would betray him when he chose him as a disciple. Does the fact that Jesus knew this make what Judas did more than just a choice, and instead a pre-destined decision? If Judas didn't really have a choice in the matter, and it was HIS destiny and purpose to betray Christ, then I think we have looked at Judas all wrong for the two thousand or so years. I don't have an answer. I just don't know how to look at it. What do you think? Have we misrepresented Judas for all this time? Or is he truly the ultimate villain? Also...as a side note..do you think Judas is in heaven? After all, if it wasn't for him, Jesus never would have been able to make Salvation available for everyone?
Either way though, can you imagine being Judas at the Last Supper? The whole meal, knowing what you are going to do. I doubt he was even able to taste the food, or enjoy the conversation. His stomach was likely in knots, and chances are he was feeling sick. And then, having Jesus call him out in front of everyone! Talk about humiliation. It was bad enough that he knew what he was going to do...but having Jesus send him out to do it. I can't even imagine what that would have been like. Did he have a moment of regret, before it happened? Did he hesitate before taking the pieces of silver? Did he ever think of kissing one of the other disciples instead? Or maybe, the meal was an exciting time for him. Maybe his adrenaline was pumping and his blood was flowing because he knew that he was going to forever change history. He knew that he was going to send a good, innocent man to the cross, and that excited him! Perhaps he truly was evil...and the idea of no one knowing what was going to happen got his heart pumping...and then Jesus figured it out. Jesus caught him...read his mind, saw his heart. And told everyone at the table that Judas would betray him. There must have been a silence, deafening silence. Judas likely went red with embarrassment. Perhaps he tried to lie, saying "no...of course not (cough cough). I would never betray you Jesus!" Chills going up his arm.
I don't know what was going on in Judas' head during the meal. As I said before...I don't even fully know whether Judas had a TRUE choice in the betrayal in the first place. But whether the meal was filled with heart thumping excitement, or stomach turning anxiety, i know that the meal would have been a very different experience for Judas compared to all the other disciples.
What are your thoughts about Judas? Do you have any answers, or questions? Do you thionk Judas had a choice, or was it his destiny that he had to fulfill? Makes you wonder a bit, doesn't it? Either way...without Judas, Easter would be VERY different today!

What If I'm Wrong?

I think one of the questions everyone needs to constantly ask themselves is, "what if I'm wrong?". We all seem to live in this bubble that "I am right, and everyone else is wrong". I'm not just talking about Christians here, I think, generally, we all fall into that category. But it's a dangerous way to live. To be so arrogant that you can't even, for a small moment, consider that there's a chance that someone else may be right. But then, I got to thinking...what if we discovered that parts of our faith WAS wrong? How would that alter our lifestyle? Our faith? our religion?
Yesterday I went and saw the movie "Paul". It's a movie about an alien trying to get back home, so he hitches a ride with 2 british nerds. What surprised me in the movie, was the religous undertones. YES, the movie was poking fun at Christianity and other religions, but I found that it moreso posed the question of "what would you do if you found out you were wrong?". Another major controversial thing going on right now is Rob Bell's new book, "Love Wins", in which he comes up with (apparantly anyway, as I have yet to read the book) very controversial views on heaven and hell. Many Christians a quick to judge Bell, many bookstores refusing to sell the book. But I think, if Christians were smart, they would ask themselves, "ok...what if I am wrong, and Rob Bell is right?", and read the book to see what he has to say. Perhaps, at the end of the boo, they will stand firm in their beliefs. Or maybe, the book will open their eyes to something new.
Here's the thing. If you believe that the world was created in 6 days (leaving the 7th for rest), 4000-6000 years ago by God, then that is great. But what if you are wrong? If you believe that man evolved by chance 400000000000 years ago, and that there is no God, then that's fine too...but ask yourself "what if I am wrong?". Maybe neither of these options are true. Maybe, it's a combination of both. The point I am trying to make is...don't be so arrogant in your faith that you can't even consider someone else's point of view. Don't believe something just because it is what you always have believed, or because it easy to believe, or fun to believe, or whatever. To be perfectly honest, most aspects of our faith don't truly matter. Let me clarify. There are really only 2 things in the Christian faith that are VITAL to our faith. 1) There is a God and 2) He sent His son Jesus to die, and rise again, for our sins. Everything else, if we are wrong, doesn't matter as much. So what if God created the world using evolution 6 billion years ago...it doesn't matter. Who cares if Adam and Eve are mere mythological characters and aren't real...it doesn't really matter. To go even further...if your whole faith is based on the fact of "good Christians go to heaven and bad heathens end up in hell", then perhaps your faith NEEDS to be shaken up. Christianity is much more than just the afterlife (or lack of afterlife, or whatever). Christianity is about living for God NOW. It's about serving God NOW. It's about loving God, and everyone around us NOW. Heaven is just the bonus, it's not the point. Jesus didn't come to Earth to just tell everyone to forget about this life and prepare for heaven...he came to show us to love one another, to love God.
I'm not saying that I believe there is no heaven, or that I believe that the earth is 7 billion years old. What I am saying is that we just need to always ask ourselves "what if i am wrong? What if this person, this religion, this idea is right?"
Perhaps I didn't explain myself well, I don't know. But what do you think? Should we ask ourselves "what if i'm wrong?", or should we live as if we are right? Your thoughts!

Finding God Without Looking

"Seek and ye shall find". I believe that statement is true. If you go looking for God, you will find him. However, sometimes I find that, when we deliberately search for God, we 'create' God. What I mean is, we try to find God in everything so we put him in everything, even in places where he isn't. Does that make sense? Maybe not. Anyway, the point is, I often find myself finding God, or God's truth in things that I'm not even trying to find it in. Many times, I find it in things that I think it shouldn't be in. For example, I enjoy watching the Comedy Network. Shows like Big Bang Theory, and Just For Laughs and that kind of stuff. Every now and then, I will be watching a comedian, and something will hit me. I'll go from laughing to thinking about How Great God is, or How badly us Christians are messing up, or things like that. For example, I was watching this one comedian names Hari Kondabolu. He is a hindu-atheist comedian so he doesn't delibrately try to bring glory to God (or in his case...gods). But as I was watching him make fun of this woman who tried to witness to him, I thought "YES! He's right. We SUCK at evangelism!". I started thinking about how Christians just try to bring everyone to Jesus, without first getting to know them or caring for their needs. I then went on youtube to find some other stuff of is, and found 2 great clips (that I posted onto facebook...so check them out). While these clips aren't meant to be spiritual in nature (on of them ends up saying that there is no God, and the other one is about movies), I couldn't help but think that God was speaking to me in some indirect way.
Have you ever heard the saying that, as soon as you stop looking for something, you find it? I think the same can be said about God sometimes. I find that, the times that I'm not looking for God, are the times that God actually speaks to me the strongest. Probably because I'm not expecting it. I'm just trying to be entertained, or get somewhere, or talk with someone, or work or whatever and then BAM! God shows up and speaks. Maybe we need to stop deliberealy looking for God so much, and just go out living. Yes, there are times where we need to search for God, but if we do it so much then we will just trivialize the significance of truly Finding God.
Perhaps none of this makes sense..I am just rambling. Just thought I would give this thought, as I haven't blogged in a while. Give me some feedback? Have you ever found God without even looking?

Are We There Yet?

All of us, as kids, at one time or another has spoken those favourite 4 words "Are We There Yet?". Sometimes, we are able to resist until a few hours into the trip, other times mere minute pass before we have to utter the phrase, but someone always managed to say it sometime before the destination was reached. Our parents would always try to dsitract us, and keep us from noticing that the trip is taking longer than planned. Even trips to the grocery store would need activity planning. But no matter how much thought went into the trip activities, no matter how many games were brought, the phrase would be said. Sooner or later the game boy games would be finished, the colour books would have lost their appeal, the sibling crossed the invisible line on the seat, every possible I Spy and 20 Questions outcome has been reached, and one child, usually the youngest (right mom?) would utter "Are we there yet?".

Thankfully we grow out of this. It's amazing how, when we get older, we are able to enjoy long trips. We don't need game boys, movies, or car games to entertain us (yet, we still play them just because we can). We enjoy the ride, enjoy the scenery and wait for the final destination, no matter how long it takes. Unfortunately, we haven't really outgrown this cry of impatience in the ride of life.

We all know the phrase, "Be patient, God isn't finished with me yet", and yet we all seem to want to refuse to believe that. We want God to be finished with us. Not in life, but in teaching us lessons and putting us through the growing pains and trials of life. We pray for something, and before we say amen we are thinking "Is it here yet!", "are we there yet?". God is teaching us to be patient, and we have to constantly ask "Are you done yet?" We hate waiting. We want to get to the end already. We don't like the drive, when it comes to God teaching us, evolving us and causing us to grow and mature.

Did you ever realize that, until you asked the "Are we there yet quesiton" the ride went quick...but once that was asked, the ride went painfully slow? The ride would go from enjoyable, to "Horrendous Hell-ride in a Honda" in seconds. Everything became worse. Siblings were more irritating, bumps were bigger, seat was harder, bladder was smaller...it becomes nearly unbearable. Same is true in the character building sense. At first, we almost dont notice that God is working on us. We forget that God is teaching us patience, or putting us through a tough time, and then we ask "God, are you done yet?", "Have I learned my lesson?"...and then time slows to even more of a halt. The trials we are going through are harder, the days are longer, the pains hurt more, and God's chisel cuts away smaller and smaller pieces. Maybe God plans it like that. Or maybe, we bring it upon ourselves.

The bottom line is, we can either sit back, enjoy the ride, watch the scenery go by and reach our final destination before we know it, or we can ask "Are we there yet?", and spend an eternity driving down the winding roads of life, taking wrong turns, and getting caught behind seniors driving 40 in a 100. Either way, God will take us to the destination. We will get where we are going, but the question is, will we be patient enough to enjoy the ride to get there? Sometimes the ride isn't enjoyable. Sometimes we have to drive through some pretty ugly things to get to the end. Sometimes, we blow a tire and God requires us to get out, in the pouring rain and change it. But the destination is always worth it. Just like as a kid, that final destination always made the drive worth it. Whether it was Grandma's house, or Home...we always quickly forgot about the long strenuous ride to get there.

Where God is taking us will be worth it. Maybe each stop along the way isn't as comfortable or beautiful as we would like, but when God is finished with us, it will be worth it. Let's stop being impatient. Let's stop asking God if we have finally arrived. Let's just sit back (figuratively speaking of course, because when God works on us, it requires us to work as well), and enjoy the ride, and think about where God is taking us...wherever that may be!

Talking about the Devil

It seems that a vast majority of horror movies center around the devil. This is the case with M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, fittingly titled "Devil". The movie begins with a story, about how the devil takes human form, usually following a suicide, and then takes a group of people to hell with him. Most of the movie takes place in an elevator; similar to the concept of the movie Phone Booth, where most of the movie takes place in the phone booth. In the elevator, the passengers soon discover, is the physical embodyment of the devil. One by one, the devil begins to kill off the passengers, and take their souls. It is a chilling movie, and left me somewhat shaken afterwards, but it also raised some interesting questions about the power of the devil, the existence of the devil and believing in the devil and God.
I won't spoil any more of the movie, but I do want to ask a few questions, and give my opinion on the answers (and then give you room to give your perspective). The first question is the ability of the devil to take on human form. Can the devil walk among us, and look like us? As the bible says, the devil walks among us "...like a wolf in sheeps clothing". Is this saying that the Devil can put on a mask, hiding among us? Maybe. I don't know for sure, but I do know that the Devil can definately use people for his purpose (just like God uses people for his). If demon possession is real, which the bible sys it is and I believe it is, then it seems only logical that the devil taking possession of a human body could at least be very plausible.
The movie also implies that the devil has control over life. The devil chooses who is in the elevator, who dies and how they die. Also, the devil has power over physical objects, the ability to control peoples mind, and thoughts. Is this true? Does the devil have actual power and control over everyday life? In my opinion, no (or at least, not unless we give him that power). I think the devil can give us ideas, and tempt us with things. I think he can exploit our weaknesses, but I don't think he has actual physical power over us and what we do, and definately not over physical objects.
There are other questions that can be raised, however most of the questions would require a spoiler of the movie, or at least sort of, so I will not do that, because I don't like movie spoilers. There are some insightful quotes however, one being "everyone believes in [the devil] even a little bit", and another, "don't worry, if the devil is real, then that must mean God is real too". I think these quotes are great. It's true that everyone seems to believe in the devil, at least a little bit. Even athiests who claim there is no God, will give credit to the devil for bad things, even inadvertantly. There's a part in all of us who believes in the great villian, the Lord of Darkness, Satan, the devil. We almost WANT there to be a devil, because we can lay blame on him...we can give him the credit when bad things happen to us, and when we do bad things we can blame him for tempting us.
Christians can sometimes give too much credit to the devil, in my opinion. When people are sick, when finances are low, when people die, when disasters happen...we blame the devil. Everything is the devil's fault. We are afraid of watching certain movies because the devil may decieve us, or worse, possess us. We say we feel the devils presence in certain situations, and hear him. i'm not saying that these things can't be true, but I think we tend to focus so much on the devil, that we forget that God is greater than the devil. God CREATED the devil...and if the devil is real, then God must be real too. Like the Christians who are so focused on heaven that they miss out on earth, those Christians who focus so much on the devil and avoiding the devil tend to miss out on the love, mercy and glory of God.
The bottom line is, we have no need to worry. God is greater, God is stronger...God is higher than any other (sorry...got a little carried away with the Chris Tomlin there). Whatever power the devil has, God's power is infinitely greater. Why are we so afraid of the devil? Yes, the devil is the deciever, but God is the forgiver. God is the lover, protector and saviour. God already defeated the devil. The more we tend to focus on the devil, and think about the devil, the power we give him. It's like the old saying "no such thing as bad publicity". The goal of the devil is to keep our focus from God...and the more we think about the devil (even thinking about avoiding the devil), the more we are achieving that goal. So let's keep our eyes on the prize, keep our eyes on God. There is nothing to be afriad of, for God is in ultimate control.
That's my opinion, bu I realize that this topic can easily be discussed and argued over. Please, let me know what you think, ask questions, answer questions and give your own thoughts. And I recommend the movie Devil...yes, it is somewhat frigthening, but it could lead to great discussion. Blessings everyone, and keep focused on Christ.

The Biography of my life

Lately I've been reading a lot of biographies. I read a book called "The Son of Hamas" which was a very interesting biography of the son of the man who started the terrorist group Hamas. His life story is fascinating, incredible and intense. The things he has seen. and the things he has done (both good and bad) make for a very exciting story. I also recently read the biography of Russel Peters, the Indo-Canadian comedian. The book was great, he too had an amazing story of overcoming obastacles and making something of his life. Currently I am starting a long 600 plus page autobiography of Nelson Mandela. While to be honest, I don't know a lot about Mandela, I do know that his story is going to be AMAZING. I do know that he overcame a lot, faced many years in prison and eventually brought together a country on the brink of disaster. These biographies have been fascinating, but they have got me thinking...what have I done? What would my biography look like? At the rate my life is going, it won't be much of a biography. In fact, it will probably be a sad look at a life that is unfulfilled. A life that had such potential, and yet fell short. I don't want that to be the story of my life. I want to exceed expecations. I want to make something of myself. I want God to look down on me with excitement and enjoyment at what I am doing, instead of shaking his head at what I COULD be doing.
So I'm going to try to do something about it. Perhaps it will be through this blog, that like 5 people read. Maybe somehow, God will use the words that I write on the internet, to a few people, and make a difference in the lives of many. I've been thinking of writing a book, and in fact I already sort of started it. The book would be one of those "Blue Like Jazz" or Rob Bell type book, in which every chapter is of a different topic, and yet it all connects and flows together. I would probably use my blogs as a base, and just expand on them. Go into more detail, pull up some key bible verses, quotes and stories. I enjoy writing, and I do feel that my "talent" is being wasted with me only blogging every once in a while. God gave me a passion for writing, and challenging people and I want to use it.
Now, will this book that I am writing ever get finished? Will it get published and become the new "Purpse Driven Life" or "The Shack"? To be honest, probably not, but that's not going to stop me from at least trying. Whether I ever write a book, become a famous actor (which also would be nice), or actually use my BA in Pastoral Ministries isn't exactly the point of however. My goal is to try to live a life of fulfillment. Help those who are around me, spread the love of Jesus (in word and deed), and use the gifts and talents that God has given me. Maybe my life will never be exciting enough for a biography, but that can't stop me from living my life with purpose. God put me on this earth for a reason. And he put you on this earth for a reason too. Let's challenge ourselves this year to live our lives with passion. Live out LOVE, and all the rest of the Fruit of the Spirit. Imagine someone writing your biography. Would the words be uplifiting, and challenging. Would your life story cause others to think "I wish I could live a life like that", or would it cause people to scoff, and laugh and joke "I'm glad my life is more meaningful than that". May this year be a year of fulfillment. May you follow the path that God leads you on, and challenge yourself to make a difference, even in just a small way.
Happy New Year everyone. I hope that this year will be a year of happiness and joy, and more importantly, a year in which you will grow closer to God.

My 2010 Book Review!

So, I thought I would try something different right now. Lot's of people are starting to get resoultions ready, and looking back on their year. I thought I would look back on my year too...but I'm going to focus on the books that I read in the past 12 months during the year of 2010. I will give my review of the book, and a score out of 10 for that particular book.
Chances are, I am going to forget a book or two that I read, and there is also a good chance that one or two of the books I mention here will have actually been read by me at the end of 2009...but oh well. These are in no particular order:

1) Son of Hamas (Mosab Hassan Yousef)- This book was, simply, AMAZING! It's a story about the son of one of the people that started the terrorist organization Hamas. Incredible events, well written, and really gives a fresh new, REAL perspective on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. This guy went from Hamas, to working as a collaborater for Israel to becoming a Christian. He is now in hiding in the U.S. I bought this book on Thursday, and it was finished by Friday night. The deduction is because sometimes the names got confusing (not his fault as it's his true, life story...but made it kind of hard to fully grasp everything sometimes). 9.5/10

2) Gone, Baby, Gone (Dennis Lehane)- A real page-turner. It's the story of 2 detectives, who are reluctant to take on the case of a missing infant, but when they do the stakes get high and more and more questions are raised, with less answers being given. Lehane is the author of Shutter Island and Mystic River (both to be reviewed later). While this one is better than Mystic River, it falls short of Shutter Island. Overall tho, a great read. 9/10

3) The Town (originally published as Prince of Thieves, Chuck Hogan)- As I read this book, I couldn't get Eminem's song "I'm Not Afraid" out of my head...as it is the theme song of the movie trailer (which apparantly isn't in the actual movie). An incredible story of bank robbers in Charlestown, one of which falls in love with one of the people that they robbed. It has romance, action, some humour, a bit of mystery...it was a great read and was definately better than the movie (although the movie was pretty freakin awesome too!). 9/10

4) Jesus Want to Save Christians (Rob Bell)- I am a big Rob Bell fan, and this book does not disappoint. He writes in his classic style of short, often incomplete sentences...and it reads like his NOOMA videos. He raises excellent questions about the church, while going through the story of Israel. 8.5/10

5) The Rainmaker (John Grisham)- A typical Grisham novel...about a lawyer. This one is all about insurance fraud. If I were to tell you that a book about lawyers and Insurance Fraud would be good, you probably wouldn't believe me...but you should. It's not the best Grisham, but it is good enough to read quite quickly. 8.5/10

6) The Broker (John Grisham)- I was really excited to read this one, about a notorious broker who gets pardoned by the president, in a plot to get him assasinated. It sounded like it would be action packed...but in typical Grisham fashion, the real action doesn't start until three-quaters of the way through the book. It had it's moments, but it was far less then I expected. 6/10

7) The Guinea Pig Diaries (A.J. Jacobs)- This was another book I was really excited to read, and once again minor disappointment ensued. I say minor, because each chapter in this book is a different 'experiment' that Jacobs puts himself through, such as being 100% honest all the time, outsourcing his life, and doing only 1 thing at a time. Some chapters were great, others were ok and a few weren't as good as they could have been. After hearing reviews about his other books, especially "The Year of Living Biblically", I was really excited for this one. Too bad it wasn't as good as it had the potential to be. 6.5/10

8) Boneman's Daughters (Ted Dekker)- For being a Christian Novel, this one was really good (Did that sound cynical?). It kind of had a "Kiss the Girls" type feel (the movie with Morgan Freeman..check it out, it's a good one), and was a good page-turning thriller. I like that Dekker doesn't use this novel to preach at us, as other Christian novelists often attempt to do (even he does in some other books...more on that later as well). A decent 8/10

9) Plan B (Pete Wilson)- I read this book when I was going through a phase about what Faith is. This book was exactly what I needed to read. He talks about when life throws us unforseeable curveballs. When our Plan A becomes a Plan B or C. He uses real life stories, and has some great points. A good book to read for anyone going through a Plan B in life, or who knows someone who is. 9/10

10) The Summons (John Grisham)- 2 brothers, a father's will, and a big secret. This one isn't as much of a legal thriller as other Grisham novels, which is a nice change. It still has lawyer-esque elements to it, but it stays out of the coutroom. Surprisingly good story, typically well-written, and nice shocking moments throughout. 8/10

11) Blessed Child (Ted Dekker)- One of Dekker's first, and not one of his best. It's about a child who has a special connection with God. It has the cheesy Christian novel feel to it, almost to the point of frustration. A few action packed moments wasn't enough to save this one. Sorry Dekker fans, this one is a 5/10

12) The Street Lawyer (John Grisham)- Not very action packed, but packed with heart. Grisham takes on the homeless situation, and he does it in a profound, almost tear-jerking way (yes...I think I teared up a little in this one). This book inspires me to want to get out and DO something...which is rare for a novel. 9/10

13) The Pelican Brief (John Grisham)- Let's get my last Grisham novel of the year out of the way. This one was good. Excitement, explosions, intrigue. Not much to say, other then Classic Grisham. 8.5/10

14) Deadline (Randy Alcorn)- I did a whole blog on this book (and not in a good way) a while ago. This one takes Christian Fiction cheesiness to a while other level. This book comes in 3 parts, the main story about a murder (which was good), a characters experience in heaven (unnecessary and complete b.s.), and Alcorn's stance on abortion. To say that I felt preached at would be a huge understatement. 3/10

15) Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)- Words can't express how much I loved this book. Just hands down, one of the best works of fiction I have ever read. Chilling, exciting, very well written. Just an amazing novel from beginning to end. The only reason I am giving it the score I am is because I somewhat predicted the ending. I fit could have actually surprised me in the end, it would be a full on 10. 9.5/10

16) Adam (Ted Dekker)- This book started well...with a serial killer. Then it turned into a weird "kill me so i can get a near death experience" book (The main character dies about 3 times in this one). And then, if that wasn't enough, it turns into an Exorcist type book...which wasn't what I expected when I read the last few chapters while in bed ready to go to sleep. Definately not Dekker's best. 4/10

17) The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)- Any book that I use as a discussion starter for my status on Facebook has to be good. Brown delivers another winner. I read this one fast, just like his other ones. Raises great questions about the mind...and the power of prayer. Whether you agree with his stance or not doesn't take away from the exciting story and his amazing writing ability. This one actually did surprise me...so for that, I give it the much awaited and highly anticipated 10/10.

18) O Me of Little Faith (Jason Boyett)- Moving from a Dan Brown novel, to a non-fiction book about doubt. This book was incredible. Had sort of a Donald Miller, Pete Wilson, Rob Bell feel...and was just what I needed to read. It didn't challenge me, as I already agreed with everything in the book...but it did encourage me that I am not alone. A great read for all those who doubt. 10/10

19) Crime and Punishmen (Fyodor Dostoevsky)- My critique with Son of Hamas was that the names were tough at times...that would be an understatement for this one. Not only are the names Russian (such as Raskolnikov)...but Dostoevsky gives each character about 3 or 4 different names throughout the book. The story itself is interesting, and raises ethical questions, but the name issue, and the fact that the book had many slow moving, too-much-detail moments turned this classic into a bore for me. (In fact, this book took me so long to read that Kristi said it was very painful watching me slowly get through it). 3/10

20) Lord of the Flies (William Golding)- I never got the chance to read this one in High School, which disappointed me. I had low expectations for this one, as everyone seemed to hate it that I talked to. But I actually enjoyed it. I mean, it wasn't spectacular...but it was a good read. It took on some very interesting issues, and really brought into question the raw nature of mankind. Plus...who can hate a book with a nerdy kid with "athsmar" named Piggy. 6/10

21) Mystic River (Dennis Lehane)- As I mentioned in the Gone Baby Gone review, this book wasn't as good as his others...which isn't to say that it's not great. It's about 3 boys, one of whom gets kidnapped by perverts. After he returns home, he is different (not Tobey Maguire in "Brothers" different...but different). The story mainly focuses on their adult years...and ties them all into a murder investigation. If you want the best Lehane book, read "Shutter Island", but this one is still great. 8.5/10 (I couldn't give it the same score as a book I said it wasn't as good as).

22) Evil and the Justice of God (N.T. Wright)- No book review would be complete without N.T. Wright to end it off. This was a book I 'read' while at Bethany...but I literally skimmed through it so fast that I didn't remember anything from it. To be honest, I expected a bit more, but at the same time Wright is such an intelligent thinker and writer, that the book was exactly what it should be. Why is there evil in the world? Will it ever end? Great questions, and he does a great job of attempting to give a satisfactory answer to those, and other, questions. 8.5/10

Well...that's my review of the 22 books that I read over the past 12 months. That averages to almost 2 books a month, which I guess is a pretty decent number if I do say so myself. So what do you think? Do you agree with some of my reviews? Was I too harsh on some, too lenient on others? Did I inspire you to read some of these books? What have you read over the past 12 months, and what books should I read in 2011? Let me know. Merry Christmas...and hope you enjoyed this review...and if not, then that's ok too. Blessings everyone, and Happy New year (perhaps a bit early for that...but it's close enough).