My Road

  I recently read and reviewed the Joseph Road by Jerry White. This book has really got me thinking about my life and God's plan for it. If there is one thing I have learned is that God's plans aren't future events, they are now! Today is the day. Now is the time. These are the days of our lives... sorry, I know that was lame:) 

  I know I've been guilty of searching for hours, trying to discover God's will for my life not realizing that I was already in it. Looking into the future to see what great things I could do for God, all the while neglecting the great work he has placed me in the midst of. I guess we are all guilty of imagining our great purposes being performed in some glorious work, manifested to all and forever remembered in history. But that's not reality.

  God has not called us to wait for just the right moment to go above and beyond. We are called to live like this everyday. Joseph didn't wait till he was second in command of mighty Egypt to step up to his a “A” game. He wasn 't saving his best till he stumbled across a worthy calling. God expects our best in every situation no matter how horrible or mundane. Remember, the God who raised Joseph to power in Egypt, first humbled him in slavery and then locked him in prison. Was not Joseph's fall, as much a part of God's plan as his rise?

   This is what I find most inspiring and most challenging when observing Joseph's road. He was faithful in slavery. He was diligent in prison. How many of us would have just wrote those times off as waste and hoped for another chance later? Joseph didn 't. This was his chance. Today was his day. He found himself in circumstances that were cruel and unfair, yet he responded with faithfulness and kindness. He did good when I'm not so sure I would have. He seized opportunities that I would have prayed to have passed me by. How much have I already missed? God forgive me!

   What is God's will for my life? The life he has given me right now! He has called me to be a husband to my wife, a father to my kids, an employee to my employer (ouch!), a witness of Jesus Christ and his saving grace to all I meet. These are the mighty tasks to which I have been called and must give my all to perform. These are the opportunities God has laid before me. Oh God, please don't let me miss it!

Book Review: The Joseph Road by Jerry White

The Joseph Road has been a such a great blessing. I would like to thank Navpress for sending me a free copy of this book to review. Jerry White has done a fantastic job of bringing out practical, rubber meets the road truth and applications from the biblical account of Joseph. The Joseph Road brings into view God's sovereignty and our responsibility when dealing with life's difficulties. So many books offer little more than popular self-help theology under the guise of Christian truth, but this author succeeds in exposing life's troubles in light of God's truth explaining how we should react accordingly. Joseph's life serves as an example of how God uses different circumstances, many of which we don't understand, to bring about his ultimate good. The Joseph Road will show you how to navigate and respond to these trials while keeping your eyes on the God who controls them. I highly recommend this book to everyone! This would also be very effective in a group bible study where participants could encourage each other along the Joseph Road.

Book Review: The Voice New Testament

  The Voice is a different sort of translation, one with a particular purpose in mind. The vision behind the Voice wasn't simply to start from the Greek and end up in English, but to create “a fresh expression of the timeless narrative known as the Bible,” as quoted from the book's preface “about the Voice project”. The resulting text was geared more towards a re-telling of scripture, with a more “vocal” sense of expression, like following a narrative rather than studying a text book.

  The authors sought to achieve their goal by even utilizing the layout. The text is written as a screenplay with the speaker being designated at the start of each passage. This feature is helpful in that it makes it clear who is speaking, but the text does require deviation from the original manuscripts for this to be accommodated. The commentary is sometimes woven into the story as italicized wording integrated into the text itself. These comments can sometimes be helpful in keeping the flow of the narrative or giving a fuller expression of the passage, but again these are additions based on the authors' interpretation and not part of God's Word. The concern with this being the potential for confusion between scripture and commentary. All other commentary is contained in boxes between passages. Some of which give helpful background information that shed light on certain passages a new bible reader may find confusing, but the majority of the comments are more devotional in nature, posing questions or leading the reader to reflect upon issues or situations.

  I went into this with some serious reservations, some of which I mentioned above. I was quite surprised when I found myself liking the Voice as much as I now do. There are still issues of concern but these can be alleviated if this version of the New Testament is used as is intended. The Voice works well as an introduction to the Bible. To someone who has never read the scriptures for themselves the Voice provides an easy read and a nice overview, exposing the reader to the people, places, and events of the New Testament. The Voice should not be your only Bible and I certainly hope no one ever preaches from it. There are just too many liberties taken to accommodate the purposes driving this edition. The commentaries are not meant to be doctrinal statements and should not be taken as such. All in all if your looking for a New Testament to sit down and read cover to cover enjoying the story or you want to invite a friend to experience the scriptures for the first time, then the Voice will meet the need.

  I'd like to thank Thomas Nelson Publishers for providing me with a free copy of the Voice as part of their “BookSneeze.com” blogger book review program.

Theologian: Most Christians Infected with Prosperity Gospel | Christianpost.com

Theologian: Most Christians Infected with Prosperity Gospel | Christianpost.com

This article is definitely worth reading. It expresses the danger of the prosperity gospel and how it has permeated the church today.