JRF's #10 and #32 - Uneclipsing the Son by Rick Holland

I reread this book with our community group and we just finished.  It was encouraging to see the group be refreshed, challenged, and refocused with the Christ exalting message that I had been blessed with when I first read the book.

Some books just come into your hands at the right season of your life and say exactly what needs to be said.  In "Uneclipsing the Son", Rick Holland doesn't say anything that hasn't been already said, nor are the truths that he expounds truths that shouldn't be heard and dwelt upon in any season of a Christ lover's life.  Yet food is all the more tasty when one is especially hungry for it.  I  came upon this feast at a time of spiritual hunger.  It wasn't until I started reading this book however that I realized just how hungry I really was.

Holland uses the metaphor of a solar eclipse to expose the fact that many of us (all of us at some point) who follow Christ often live in the "spiritual gloom" created when lesser bodies drift between us and the brilliance of Christ's light.  We take our eyes off our Savior King and we become accustomed to the hollow shadow of a loveless faith.

The simple message of this book echoes Hebrews 12  "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame,and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

I commend it to all who feel stuck in the bog of spiritual apathy and the weariness of living outside of a clear vision of Christ's brilliance.

"There is a grave danger of mistaking the shadowland of the eclipsed Son of God for the broad daylight that the redeemed were redeemed to enjoy, thinking all along that this treadmill of Christian engagements, polite Christian conversations, and good Christian behavior is the abundant life Jesus came to earth to deliver and declare."

"We must learn to stare at the Son of God such that we are blinded to all the allurements of the world!"

JRF's #31 - 1984 by George Orwell

Mark and Drew have already amply reviewed this book, so I won't rehash the plot.  Suffice it to say that this is one of the most thought provoking books I have read in a long time.

Here are a few of the many thoughts that have lingered since reading 1984 months ago:

History matters:  Much of the world of 1984 and the oppressive regime that is symbolized by "Big Brother" revolves around the governments' control of history.  One of the key doctrines that is repeated over and over again is "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."  The "Ministry of Truth" for which the main character Winston works for, is constantly revising, erasing, and rewriting history.  This perverting of history keeps the masses in subjection to Big Brother as it robs them of their identity and keeps them in an ongoing present - never affording them the opportunity to reflect and learn on the success and failures of past generations.

It is no coincidence that God continually told and tells his people to REMEMBER.  In virtually ever book of the Bible there is a command to remember.  Here is just a small sample:

"This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations." Ex 3:15

"You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today". Deut 15:15

"Remember the days of old;

consider the years of many generations;

ask your father, and he will show you,

your elders, and they will tell you." Deut 32:7

"Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,

His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,"  I Chron 16:12

So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to fail from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their descendants.  Esther 9:28

I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;

Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

 Psalm 77:11

"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."  Eph 2:11

"‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."  Rev 3:3

"Do this in remembrance of Me..."

The salvation of sinners is inextricably rooted in the historical event of the incarnation of God, His perfect righteous life, his substitutionally death, and glorious resurrection.  Our present experience cannot alter those events, and our only hope for the future is in remembering and trusting the reality of that past historical accomplishment.  To be a Christian is to remember.

Truth matters:  Orwell shows (in a way congruent to Os Guiness in A Free People's Suicide) that the loss of freedom comes ultimately not through military conquests but through epistimological revolutions.   In 1984,not only does the government rewrite history to serve their current needs but even more sinisterly, they rewrite history to train the population (including themselves) to accept that there is no such thing as absolute truth and therefore entire histories, cultural and personal identities, and facts (such as gravity and math) are subject to "Big Brothers'" interpretation.  When truth is placed under the subjection of anyone or anything other than Omniscient God, it ceases to be truth and therefore ceases to offer any hope or freedom.

The Human Heart is Inherently Selfish:  Orwell seemed to understand that when pushed far enough our true selfish nature comes out.  Left to ourselves without any supernatural heart transformation, no matter how nobel, in love, heroic, civilized, or strong willed we believe ourselves to be, self preservation and interest reigns supreme.  It was excruciating to see the protagonist systematically stripped of all dignity and illusions of free will, ultimately not by an outside force, but from the enemy within - his sinful, weak heart.

1984 is a powerful parable.

JRF's #30 - Lord Radstock and the Russian Awakening by David Fountain

 

Granville Augustus William Waldegrave, 3rd Baron Radstock, known to history as Lord Radstock, is one of the many unsung heroes of the modern missionary movement.  He was godfather to the Cambridge Seven.  He was a dear friend of George Muller.  He was the father of Russian Protestantism.  He was both admired and caricatured by the Russian elite, including the Czar, Tolstoy and Boborykin.  And he was one of those rare men of wealth who leveraged his earthly treasure and high position for an eternal purpose.

I have wanted to learn more about Lord Radstock when he was mentioned briefly in John Pollock's Cambridge Seven which I read last year.

David Fountain's short book gives a good sketch of Radstock's life.   Unfortunately it is just that, a sketch.  Fountain's greatest success in this book was to wet my appetite for more information on this amazing man's life and legacy.  I look forward to learning more from the life and ministry of this faithful disciple.

(by the way if any of you readers are a person of considerable wealth, I am looking for a Radstock type to support our missionary work in South East Asia...let me know :)

JRF's #28 - A Tale of Two Sons by John MacArthur

 

I have had this book on my shelf for the past six years.  Preaching on Luke 15 gave me the push I needed to dig into it, and I'm glad I did.

In A Tale of Two Sons John MacArthur does what he does best - good old fashioned Bible exposition.  MacArthur shows that by ignoring both the Scriptural context and the cultural context of the parable commonly known as the Prodigal Son most readers have completely missed the point of this Gospel saturated story and failed to see the shocking ending that this cliffhanger of a story points to.

It was refreshing to look at such a familiar passage, taking the time to hear the message through the ears of those to whom Jesus first spoke these words.  I was often brought to tears as I meditated on the scandalous Grace that my Savior joyfully spends on me.

I highly recommend this book as a great exercise in applying solid hermeneutical principles to a familiar passage.  But more importantly I recommend you read this to refresh, renew, and restore your affections and amazement at the unfathomable love that our Lord lavishes upon us.

JRF's #27 - The Master Mind of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Yes there are more of these books and yes I'm still reading them. And loving them!  After five books in the John Carter of Barsoom series Burroughs' plot lines had become somewhat formulaic.  This 6th book breaks the formula a bit and introduces not only a different plot arch but an entirely different protagonist - Ulyssees Paxton, an American killed on the battlefield of World War I only to wake up on Mars.

Paxton finds himself in the custody of Ras Thavas, a mad scientist who runs a brain transplant laboratory.  As is apt to happen to anyone who travels to Mars, Paxton falls in love with a beautiful Martian, unfortunately his love's brain is trapped inside of the evil queen's body that has stolen her beauty.  It is here that that the tale plunges back into the familiar romance and adventure that is the signature of Burroughs.

There is an interesting subplot that satirizes both militant atheism and blind fundamentalism, adding another level to an already enjoyable read.   If you are a fan of Barsoom you will want to read this.

JRF's #26 - Fearless by Eric Blehm

 

Fearless tells the heroic story of fallen Seal Team Six Operator Adam Brown.  But Fearless is much more than just a military biography.  It is an against all odds story.  It is the story of a prodigal son returning. It is the story of a drug addict and felon becoming not only a contributing member of society...not only a U.S. service member...not only a Navy Seal...but a member of Seal Team Six!  Its the story of a broken, sin-enslaved wretch becoming an honorable husband, father, and man of God and warrior.  It is the story of the power of a loving, faithful wife and the courage her patience and forgiveness inspires.  And that is only the tip of the iceberg.

This is a story of God's Amazing Providential Grace and the power of the Gospel to transform.

Read this book.