THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE by Dr. Charles F. Stanley

Are you trying your best to be a “good Christian,” but still feel that something’s missing?  Does the “peace that passeth all understanding” seem to be missing in your life?  Has your spiritual walk come to a stand-still?

Maybe you need a fresh start . . . and a fresh understanding of The Other Comforter that the Lord Jesus promised his disciples he would send. 

The Spirit-Filled Life by Dr. Charles F. Stanley provides an introduction, and invites you into his study as he patiently peels back the layers of misinformation, misunderstanding, and just plain bad theology that have been foisted upon the third member of the Trinity . . . The Holy Spirit.

In this primer on the Holy Spirit, you will discover:

·        Who He is . . . and who He isn’t

·        How the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer

·        What it means to hear the Spirit’s voice

·        What happens when the Spirit’s power is unleashed in your workplace, your family, your friendships, and every other area of your life

And so much more . . .

Be prepared to take some time with this book; it’s not “How To Rock The Holy Spirit In 30 Days.”  This is going to be a journey that will transform your understanding of the Holy Spirit . . . and it will transform your life, as well.

5 stars for fresh teaching on a difficult subject

THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE

Charles F. Stanley

Thomas Nelson

ISBN 978-1-4767-5206-8

Religion/Christian Life/Spiritual Growth

283 pages

$15.99 softcover

Streams In The Desert Devotional Bible by Zondervan

I’ve been enamored with the devotional Streams In The Desert ever since I came to saving faith.  So when my wife received a copy of the NIV Streams In The Desert Devotional Bible – I snagged it.  With permission, of course.

Zondervan does the usual great job with the NIV text, including textual aids and some cross references at the bottom of the page.  However, this is a devotional Bible, not a true study Bible, so don’t look for a lot of that material.

It’s strength lies in the devotions that are tied to various portions of scripture; 365 of them, to be exact; one for each day of the year.  Drawn from Streams In The Desert, as well as from other authors, the devotions help the reader to “put shoe leather” to the passage under consideration.  I was preparing the evening message when this arrived, and I found material that fit perfectly with my message in the very first devotional.  Very cool!

The review copy I received was the hardback copy, with a dust jacket.  The dust jacket was designed to suggest that this was a book that had been on the shelves for many, many years.  As such . . . some might not find it so appealing.  Also, one of the “features” mentioned on the back cover was a ribbon marker.  The copy I received did not have that ribbon marker.

But I’m not throwing the book back, by any stretch of the imagination.  As mentioned, I’ve already “put this book to good use,” as it was intended. 

4 stars for a classic devotional Bible

STREAMS IN THE DESERT DEVOTIONAL BIBLE

L.B. Cowman, ed. by Jim Reimann

Zondervan

ISBN 978-0-310-44184-7

Bibles / New International Version / Devotional

1,508 pages

$34.99 hardcover with jacket

DEBT-PROOF LIVING BY MARY HUNT

While the author admits that this book is actually the 3^rd Edition, the world of finance, money, debt and the problems associated with all of the above have so drastically changed that one might well say author Mary Hunt has written the same book – three times over!

And I say, “God bless her, for it!”  Because the problem of debt has grown to be an enemy of enormous size, and its chief weapons are depression, distress, and despair.  Let’s face it – debt is BIG BUSINESS these days.  For every book written trying to show the way out of the wilderness, there are ten more books written, ten more voices clamoring that you really DO need that new item, and it really IS ok to whip out that credit card and get it NOW!

Mary Hunt is not afraid to stand in the shadow of the giant, and sling her stones of wisdom and practical advice in order to bring him to the ground.  And while the book IS somewhat intimidating in terms of size (311 pages) author Mary Hunt brings a readable style honed by years of teaching her methods, and is able to explain and illustrate complexities in such a way that you really DO get it.

Mary Hunt is not idealistic when it comes to this subject.  She recognizes that she is never going to single-handedly reduce the $851 BILLION United States credit card debt, and the $1 TRILLION dollar student loan debt to a zero amount.  However, in her own words, “What matters are individual lives. I measure effectiveness and progress by the mail I receive from people whose lives have been forever changed because they learned how to manage their money by following the debt-proof living principles you will find in this book.”

Who knows?  You could be her next success story!

5 stars for a book that is not afraid to take on the giants!

DEBT-PROOF LIVING

MARY HUNT

ISBN  978-0-8007-2145-9

CLBF / Personal Finance

Revell

311 pages

$ 14.99 (U.S.)