Redeemed from the Pit is a solid read for the biblical counselor who is looking to expand their understanding on this important topic and for anyone seeking to overcome an eating disorder or is ministering to someone who is enslaved to the lifestyle. The personal story victory and practical application of Gospel truth makes this a great resource.
In the Pit of Despair
As a biblical counselor and as a person who was once diagnosed with bulimorexia, I took on the challenge of reading Marie Notcheva’s book, Redeemed from the Pit: Biblical Repentance and Restoration from the Bondage of Eating Disorders book for both personal and professional reasons. I have had a love/hate relationship with food all my life. Like Marie, I once struggled with binging and purging and I alternated those behaviors with starvation.
From the introduction to the end of the book, Marie makes it clear to the reader that eating disorders are not a physical disease from which a person recovers but a spiritual disease from which a person must repent.
Marie’s personal story is weaved throughout this great book. She gives vivid details of how her early years provided the perfect mental and emotional set up for the development of her eating disorder. The culture of the late 1960’s and early 70’s that subjected women to consistent expectations of thinness and beauty fueled the fires of shame ignited by her family’s careless words about her weight and appearance. Her mother in particular (who appeared to struggle with her own food issues) was exceedingly fearful Marie would be overweight and suffer consequences to her health. She enrolled Marie in a toddler dance class to slim her down and restricted her access to sugar and starches.
At age 11, Marie began taking gymnastics. By 14, with gymnast Nadia Comaneci as her idol, she began a lifestyle of severe calorie restriction and over exercise. The highly competitive worlds of gymnastics and dance fueled her desire to become sylphlike. While she got the desired results through constant exercise and living on Slim-Fast and vegetables, the following year she determined to eat as much as she wanted, eliminating the food binge through vomiting.
In a very short amount of time, Marie’s binge/purge lifestyle was out of control. It was clear to everyone around her she needed help. Her health was in serious jeopardy. While referred to psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists, they were unable to breach the concrete protecting her heart.
A Way Out
In her sophomore year at college, she joined Campus Crusade and put her faith in Christ. She continued her secret lifestyle while active in Cru, Bible study, and discipleship. A job abroad followed college and her slavery to bulimia remained an active part of everyday life. She also began to drink heavily as a way to medicate the constant guilt and shame she lived with.
Marriage and children did not expose or alter her bulimia, although her husband did express concern about her drinking.
Marie writes at length about the self-disgust she experienced. It caused her to question her salvation and consider herself a hypocrite. She felt hopeless and at times she feared God had rejected her. However, she had such a desire to return to Him that she continuously tried to turn away from her sin. In desperation, she met with a small group of Christian women who prayed over her. It was then that she began to find freedom from alcohol and bulimia.
From this point forward in the book, Marie develops the inward battle of change at the heart level. She describes her battle with overcoming her eating disorder both on the physical and spiritual level and does not shrink away from describing the difficulties she faced or her failures in overcoming the desire to binge and purge. She notes, “Overcoming an eating disorder requires our constant, active commitment to inward change” (7).
Living Free
She urges the reader to “be one who believes” in the power of the Gospel as the means to transform life from victimhood to victorious in Christ, rightly emphasizing the critical need for repentance in overcoming an eating disorder.
“Forgiven, cleansed, and given a new start, He expects you to get up off your knees and get started—walking in repentance” (6).
Marie carefully breaks down the numerous issues of the heart that a person with eating disorder behaviors must repent of to overcome this sin and live victoriously. There is an entire chapter devoted to the believers position in Christ, which is very important for a woman with an eating disorder to understand since so much of her thinking is performance oriented. Marie brings forth the truth about the role emotions play in how a person thinks about food. This is vital since those with unhealthy eating habits believe many lies about food.
Throughout the book, there are application steps that make use of charts and Scripture memorization. There is also an entire chapter on practical issues that a person with disordered eating faces. Marie highlights the refining benefits of a biblical counseling relationship and involvement in a local church.
This book is a solid read for the biblical counselor who is looking to expand their understanding on this important topic and for anyone seeking to overcome an eating disorder or is ministering to someone who is enslaved to the lifestyle. The personal story victory and practical application of Gospel truth makes this a great resource.
Julie Ganschow
Julie Ganschow has been involved in biblical counseling and discipleship for over a decade. She ministers to women through Biblical Counseling for Women and writes a daily blog on counseling issues. She is a staff member at Reigning...
While I don't usually review or endorse many fiction books on this blog, (mainly because I have so little time for "pleasure reading" these days,) I have decided to make an exception in the case of Kathi Macias' Extreme Devotion series. I had not heard of Macias until receiving this book (her fourth), but I greatly enjoyed it. The series focuses on new believers who live in countries where the Christian Church is persecuted, and the trials they face. If you enjoy Christian fiction, I highly recommend this series to you! Below is an interviiew with the author.
Interview with Kathi Macias
People of the Book is the fourth and final book in your Extreme Devotion series. Each book is set in a different country, with the theme of first devotion and commitment to Christ above all else running through all four. How is People of the Book different, and who/what inspired you to write this book?
People of the Book was the most difficult of the four Extreme Devotion series books to write, but it is also the strongest when it comes to a call to personal commitment to Christ and to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. With each of the books, I began drafting the manuscripts through Internet research, since I had never lived in any of the four countries and had only visited one of them. After the original draft, I worked with someone who either currently lived in the country or who had recently spent many years there. People of the Book was the toughest because the Saudi women I connected with via the Internet were understandably apprehensive about associating with me. Most, in fact, were terrified to do so. I was therefore quite pleased to meet a young woman named Dolly Dahdal here in the States who, until just a few years ago, had spent the majority of her life in Saudi Arabia and understood perfectly why I had chosen to write this book. We shared a passion to help expose the fallacy of “honor killings,” a horrific crime perpetrated primarily against women and girls who in some way bring “dishonor” on their Muslim families, and Dolly was a major contributor to the authenticity of this book.
Can you give us a brief synopsis of this story?
Eighteen-year-old Farah, who lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her family, wants nothing more than to develop a deeper, more meaningful devotion to her Muslim faith. She sees the month of Ramadan as her chance to draw nearer to Allah, and she pursues that goal throughout the holiday. All goes well until the prophet Isa—Jesus—appears to her in a dream and calls her to Himself. At the same time, her only brother, Kareem, who has never liked Farah, actively seeks an opportunity to expose her for the sham he believes she is.
Meanwhile, Farah’s seventeen-year-old cousin, Nura, has begun to frequent an online chat room where former Muslims gather to discuss their new faith, based on their belief that Isa is much more than a Muslim prophet—He is actually the Son of God. While there, Nura becomes acquainted with an American girl of Muslim ancestry—now a devout Christian named Sara—and a friendship quickly develops. However, Sara has problems of her own due to her fifteen-year-old brother Emir’s involvement with a gang.
The lives of Farah, Nura, and Sara ultimately dovetail until each finds herself at a place where her faith is put to the test. Will they remain faithful to the end? Will God protect and keep them safe in the midst of persecution and treachery? Or will they be required to pay the ultimate price for their faith?
Kathi, how did you get into writing? Has it always been your passion, or is it something you came to later in life?
I’ve always wanted to write, for as long as I can remember. I was an avid reader even before I started kindergarten. I wrote a short story in third grade that the teacher liked so much she showed it to the principal, and they decided to turn it into a play for the entire PTA. I was hooked! One day when I was about 13, I was walking home from school with my then boyfriend (now husband), Al, and I told him I’d be a writer some day. He often reminds me how blessed I am to have been able to do what I dreamed of all my life.
I understand you’re running a special contest that has to do with this book. Can you tell us about it?
Not only are there several opportunities to win a copy of the book on various blog sites included in this tour, but I’m giving away the entire four-book series at the end of the tour to someone who leaves a comment on one of the blogs, so be sure to check them all out and leave comments on each one!
In addition to writing, you are a popular speaker at women’s event, writers’ conferences, and various venues around the country. How can people find out more about you, your writing and speaking, sign up for your weekly devotional newsletter (in English or Spanish), and/or just view your many book videos, etc.?
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speaker Services (www.ChristianSpeakerServices.com).
David Powlinson is a well-known CCEF counselor, writer and speaker at biblical counseling conferences. Also a member of the Board of NANC, he has produced many books, presentations and mini-books on a variety of practical topics. Along with Ed Welch's writing, I find Powlinson's material to be extremely helpful...not just as a biblical counselor in training, but for my own personal edification.
This week, CCEF's publishing arm, New Growth Press, made a free download available of Powlinson's "Life Beyond Your Parents' Mistakes: The Transforming Power of God's Love". In the 32-page booklet, Powlinson deconstructs the Freudian myth that human beings cannot experience God as Father without having had a loving, nurturing father figure. It is just such reasoning that has led to unhealthy dependency on the counselor, which often accompanies psychology-based therapy. This view also promotes the myth that "re-parenting or corrective emotional experience" is needed in order to know God as He is. It also begs the questions Powlinson raises:
"Are there any people with bad parents who have a great relationship with God? Are there any people with good parents who have a rotten view of God?"
Powlinson uses Scripture to counter this man-centric reasoning, which distorts the nature of the human heart and the reasons why people believe lies about God. Seeing God through the lens of an abusive, remote, or disinterested parent denies the power and truth of how God actually works through His Word and Spirit. Axiomatically, insisting that one must first experience a corrective human relationship to believe the reality of God's fatherly love is essentially to turn Almighty God into an almighty psychotherapist.
It is a sad fact that those of us who had abusive parents (especially of the "religious" variety) often project those images onto the true God. There is a hurt and a betrayal that doesn't just go away the moment we became Christians, and Powlinson acknowledges this. However, having sinful (or even evil) parents, of course, does not mean God is that way, so why do we often twist our view of God? Powlinson doesn't let us off so easily - and his clear, compassionate but uncompromisingly biblical angle makes us sit up and listen.
Other titles by which God identifies Himself include King, Shepherd, Master, and Savior. If human equivalents of these descriptions are corrupt, does that influence the way we see God? Not usually. Powlinson writes:
"Clearly, our fallen experience need not control us. Yet for many, the truth that "God is Father" seems to be the exception. They do feel that their knowledge of God the Father is controlled by the earthly parallel. So we turn to the second question: Must your own father dictate the meaning of that phrase until a substitute human father puts a new spin on it?"
This backwards, create-your-own-god philosophy comes from Freud and Erikson, not the Bible, and caters to our sinful tendency to find excuses and reasons for unbelief. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are prone to look for excuses and blame outside ourselves for our false beliefs and sinful behavior. (Case in point: try convincing a bulimic, even a Christian one, that bulimia is not a 'genetic disease'. Now insert a mental image of me tearing my very long hair out. Okay, illustrative rant over -- back to correcting our view of God.)
As with any false belief or assumption, this view of God as remote, severe or capricious must be countered with Scripture itself - the living and active Sword of the Spirit, and the only way God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. Powlinson points out that we change when we see what God tells us about Himself, as portrayed in Isaiah 49:13-16 (a nurturing Comforter); Psalm 103:10-13 (compassionate Father); and 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 (gentle, encouraging and comforting Father). Ultimately, the sacrificial love of Christ in coming to die for rebellious children displays the pinnacle of what God's fatherly love is - an historical fact from which counselees often feel disconnected.
Of course, these are only a very small sample of all the Scriptures revealing God as the perfect Father; one of the specific steps Powlinson recommends the reader take is to go through the Bible, finding specific truths that contend with the lies and cravings he identifies in his thinking about God. "There ought to be a battle going on within you daily as God's light and love battle your darkness," he advises.
This booklet is extremely helpful not only in defining the problem, but also in countering it on biblical terms and pointing the reader back towards the only source of truth and help - the Word of God - for the solution. Additionally, in true biblical counselor form, Powlinson leaves the reader with nine well-thought-out, probing questions to work through in order to identify and change warped thinking about God, due to parental abuse or poor relationship. I plan to tackle them myself, and expect it will take me at least three months to fully explore and resolve them. God desires His children to know Him as He is, not to view Him through the warped lens of fallen humanity! This little book is a helpful, convicting resource to help Christians struggling with a "dysfunctional" past not to use that as an excuse to keep God at arm's length. I highly recommend it for counselors and counselees alike.
The book that I spent over a year editing, translating and formatting for my former Bulgarian pastor, Rev. Hristo Kulichev, has been reviewed by William Fillebrown in "The Congregationalist Magazine". The original review is viewable on page 21. A mutual friend of mine and Pastor Hristo, Anne, tipped me off that it had been reviewed - she was disappointed that my name was not mentioned, as the book would not be available in English had I not volunteered my time to edit and produce it. Still, I personally am very glad that Rev. Fillebrown has given it such a glowing endorsement, as it will greatly stirr interest among American Congregationalists with an interest in Church history! May God get all the glory.
Review of Heralds of the Truth:
The History of the Evangelical Church in Bulgaria
by Hristo Kulichev
Lulu.com, 184 pages, $12.00
Our friend Hristo relates the birth and grown of his nation’s evangelical church
by William Fillebrown
Pastor Hristo and Tsvete Kulichev are dear to our hearts. They have visited our churches and stayed in our homes. We have heard their passion and their pain as they have told their stories time and time again. We have marveled at their resiliency and commitment to the gospel.
In 2006, I was part of a group that visited Bulgaria. While in Plovdiv, we visited the church planted by the Rev. William and Susan Meriam, missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, who died tragically in 1862. Their story of sacrifice made the experience of leading devotions from the pulpit of their church profoundly moving for me. Multiply this experience exponentially and you will have a sense of the significance and value of Hristo’s second book, Heralds of the Truth: The History of the Evangelical Church in Bulgaria.
The fact that the book exists is a miracle in itself. The earlier portions were duplicated on a mimeograph machine many years ago. Over time, all but one copy was lost. Providentially, Hristo and his brother Dimitar came into possession of that one copy. To this, Hristo has added material that brings the history up to date.
My overwhelming impression on reading this book was of hearing the voices of a great cloud of witnesses. Names, dates, and events are listed; but behind them all is a zeal for the gospel born of a deep love of God and a compelling passion to proclaim Christ to the unreached and to live out a genuine faith that affects and impacts every facet of life. The movement of the gospel in Bulgaria began with American Congregationalist missionaries, but it was taken up and fueled by the Bulgarian people themselves. In some regions, Bulgarians advanced the gospel without the aid of missionaries. The common approach was simple: Booksellers went from town to town, selling books and preaching. They planted house churches, many of which grew into larger congregations and erected houses of worship.
We can only imagine the stories beneath the words that describe so plainly the efforts to reach the people of Bulgaria. Those who advanced the Gospel were driven by a desire to reach all kinds of people, regardless of who they were—Turks (oppressors), Gypsies (social outcasts), or even Communists enemies of the gospel).
There is evidence of many failures, and doors were slammed shut. But there is greater evidence of the supernatural work of God in opening doors and changing hearts even in the most desperate and seemingly impossible situations and circumstances. One line in the book is written in all capital letters. It summarizes the message of the book and epitomizes the history of the Evangelical Church in Bulgaria:
YET THE PRESENCE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD IS NOT DUE TO THE WORLD'S BENEVOLENCE, BUT RATHER TO THE WILL OF THE LORD.
I am deeply grateful that this book has been written, so that the names of these servant saints will be recorded and remembered, and that Hristo’s story within the larger story of Bulgaria will be known. My prayer is that they will stand as a testimony to the faithfulness of God and will inspire us to greater efforts for the gospel and God’s Kingdom.
Since 2000, the Rev. Dr. William P. Fillebrown has served as pastor of Chiltonville Congregational Church, Plymouth, Mass. He and his wife, Deborah, have served Congregational churches since 1976. His 2007 doctoral degree in Ministry to Postmodern Generations has ignited his passion to convey the gospel generationally and internationally.
This summer, my daughter read several of Brock and Bodie Thoene's historical fiction books, and wrote a review of "Jerusalem's Hope" (#6 in the Zion Legacy series) for her 8th grade English class. The Theones have written series set in New Testament-era Israel; the Irish Potato Famine; the Wild West; and the Holocaust and post-WWII Europe.
Back in the days when I had time to read fiction, I also enjoyed the authors' series - especially the biblical fiction ones Big surprise there, huh? The A.D. Chronicles, which followed the Zion Legacy, were the most enjoyable. I thought Valentina's review was quite well-written for a 13-year-old, and decided to post it here for any Christian fiction aficionados who are looking for a good read. She certainly gives the reader enough information about the book, and gives an idea of the action's pace. So, without further ado....
"Jerusalem's Hope"
by Valentina
This summer, I read the book, “Jerusalem’s Hope”, by Bodie and Brock Thoene. This book was Biblical fiction, because it combined real characters, settings, and events from the Bible along with fictional things, such as three orphan boys who were trying to reach Jerusalem for Passover. To me, the interesting parts of the book were the parts that involved the three little boys, Yeshua, and Zadok, the shepherd.
First off, the story begins when the three boys, Avel, Ha-or Tov, and Emet, were with Yeshua, or Jesus, in Galilee. Yeshua healed Ha-or Tov of blindness, and he also healed Emet of deafness. Yeshua also taught them about creation, stars, heaven, and faith. After a while, Yeshua told the boys to travel south and across Jordan, until they reached Migdal Eder, in Beth-lehem. There they would have to deliver a message to Zadok, the shepherd there. So, the three boys went, being careful of danger, including Kittem and bar Abba, who were rebel groups.
Finally, the boys reached Beth-lehem, and they met Zadok and told him the message from Yeshua. The message was: “Mourners are blessed, for they will be comforted.” (Yeshua wanted to tell Zadok that because Zadok’s wife and kids died). Zadok decided to let the boys live in his house. He taught them how to be shepherds, and how to take care of sheep. He also taught them about the Torah, God, and Jewish holidays, including Passover. He made sure they knew the alphabet too. In time, the boys grew closer to Zadok. There were still problems in Migdal Eder though. Roman centurions decided to build a aqueduct. This upset people who lived near where they were building it, including Zadok. The sheep kept getting stolen, and of course, the Jews blamed it on the Roman workers.
Meanwhile, Emet (who was only a five year old) had an encounter with Asher, who was a rebel. He overheard Asher talking about a plot to destroy the water tower. Asher caught Emet while he was listening, and he threatened to kill Emet if he told anyone about his plan. So naturally, Emut kept his mouth shut and the day came when the tower collapsed on top of most of the workers. (The tower collapsing actually did happen-*Luke 13:4*) The Romans blamed the Jews for that, and the Jews got angry, so they started to fight. Lev, one of the shepherds, killed Amos, a stone cutter. Then, Ben, another worker, killed Jehu, who was a Jew. Marcus Longinus, the only Centurion there who had any respect for the Jews, was fair and decided to crucify both Lev and Ben as an example-because they both committed murder.
Because Emet did not want Lev to be crucified, he had to give up something precious to take the place of the crucifixion. In his case, it was a black lamb named Bear who Emet loved. The lamb was slaughtered, and Marcus spared both men from their crucifixion. Emet later tells Marcus the whole story-that bar Abba knocked the tower down-and Emet asked for forgiveness for not telling anyone that this was going to happen. Zadok also teaches the boys a similar story. He told he boys about the coming of the Messiah and how He would die on the cross, even though He didn’t do anything wrong. A few days later, all four of them traveled to Jerusalem for Passover. Unfortunately, there was a lot of fighting and violence there, and Zadok and Avel almost got killed. Marcus saved them in the last second. When they arrive home again, they have a feast, and to Zadok’s surprise, Yeshua visits them. All five of them feast for the night and at the end of the book everybody is happy.
There are some confusing parts in the book, such as when the book shifted from the boys and Zadok to the arguments and politics of Rome, the Jews, and the rebels. For some reason, most of the time when the book talked about those things, it just bored me. Some of the parts were easy to understand because it was history that I’ve heard before. Other parts were difficult. Some of the centurions talked about “cohorts”, “delegates”, and “squadrons”, which I didn’t understand at all. It reminded me of those war movies that I used to watch when I was little despite actually knowing what was going on…and it just lost my interest.
Besides all of that, there were pros in the book too. A lot of the points in the book I understood-like when Zadok was teaching the kids about the coming of the Messiah and why they celebrate Passover. Those parts made the book more interesting. Also, the book talked a lot about the Hebrew culture which I liked because I enjoy learning about different cultures and religions.
Also, the book was suspenseful in some chapters. In one of the chapters, it said that when Emet lost Avel and Ha-or Tov while taking a walk, he heard a person in the woods. Before I figured out that it was Asher, I kept on trying to think of who it could be. I like suspense because it keeps my interest. I also like the characters’ personalities that the author wrote about. All of the boys were very intelligent and had common sense, Zadok was very caring and smart, and Marcus put others before himself.
I would recommend “Jerusalem’s Hope” to anyone who likes a lot of history, culture, and for peope who already have some knowledge about the Bible, considering that a lot of the book contains Bible stories, events, and lessons from there too.
Last month I read a book called “Three Little Words”, a memoir of a girl’s horrific childhood in the foster care system. Eventually she was adopted, as a teen, by a loving family. (This wasn’t something I read for pleasure – it was on my daughter’s public school summer reading list, and I was screening it.) While the material was inappropriate for 13-year-olds, it was a painfully raw and all-too-accurate glimpse of what some foster children experience.
Being shuffled through countless homes of indifferent or abusive “foster parents” obviously scars children. They come to see themselves as unloved, and presumably unlovable. Even the fortunate ones, who are adopted, face problems – they cannot trust adults, believe that they are loved, or understand what a permanent place in a family means. Many adoptions are actually disrupted when youngsters lash out and display belligerent behavior. Growing up in foster care means existing in constant limbo. Natural parents who don’t come through and foster parents who aren’t “for keeps” breed a deep-seated insecurity. Foster children often expect to be rejected – even after adoption.
Ashley Rhodes-Courter, the author of this particular memoir, describes an incident of teenage rebellion some time after her adoption had been finalized. When confronted by her parents, her first thought was that the adoption was over. She had long since steeled her heart against loving or being loved by anyone, and spent the first several years of her family life waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. She anticipated another rejection and ultimate return to the group home. Against her expectations and previous life experience, her parents assured her that she was irrevocably their daughter, and that it was high time to drop the “poor orphan” act. (They then punished her for her infraction).
That was the turning point for Ashley. Finally, she was able to begin building trust in her mother and father, knowing that no matter how “bad” she was, there was nothing she could do to make them reject her.
An awful lot of Christians are walking around with a “foster child” mentality, it seems to me. This is a mindset I’ve encountered in counseling, and it’s something I have fallen prey to myself at times. What we need to internalize is this: we are adopted sons and daughters of God, co-heirs with Christ, and have a permanent place in the family (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5; and John 8:35 respectively). Why is this so hard to believe? My answer, and it’s a fairly simplistic one, is because it takes humility to see this.
We did nothing to “earn” our status as His children; it was all of His grace…completely, freely, and lavishly bestowed on the unlovely delinquents we were when He found us. Pride wants to “earn our keep”; to do something that will merit God’s approval. This is the carnal nature that prompted the Prodigal Son's request to be made a hired servant. Humility, on the other hand, rejoices in the fact that we are fully known, completely loved, and sealed with the spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15). We can cry “Abba, Father” no matter how distant we may feel from God, because He has set His love on us for Christ’s sake (Romans 1:5) and called us His own (Isaiah 43:1; 1 John 3:2). In fact, He loves us even as He loves His only begotten Son, Jesus (John 16:27).
By human standards, this is a difficult concept to grasp. Repeated rejection by human authority figures (and especially by parents) can pervert one’s view of a benevolent God. Nevertheless, the One Who has redeemed our unworthy selves loves us unconditionally, and has made our identity secure. Legal adoption is a binding covenant. John 1:12-13 illustrates this clearly:
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
We have assurance that God really is as good as He says He is. He will never reject any who come to Him (John 6:37).
"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, " Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15).
Foster children are literally slaves to fear. They live in constant anticipation of the next infraction – or whim of the legal system – to be the end of whatever tenuous family situation they are in. How does this sad mindset play itself out in a child of God?
Shame.
Guilt over failure and indwelling sin drives the insecure Christian away from the Cross, rather than towards it. He or she cannot face a God Whom is still perceived as a righteous Judge, rather than a loving Father. God is both, of course; but what the fearful believer fails to grasp practically is that His righteous judgment has already been poured out on Christ, and there is no longer condemnation (Romans 8:1). She fails to realize that her sin was already foreseen by God, has been forgiven, and He is no longer holding it against her. As Jerry Bridges writes,
“…He is, as it were, coming alongside me saying, “We are going to work on that sin, but meanwhile I want you to know that I no longer count it against you.” God is no longer my Judge; He is now my Heavenly Father, who loves me with a self-generated, infinite love, even in the face of my sin.”
Pride.
While on the surface shame and pride may seem at odds with each other, actually they work in tandem. When a Christian sees herself as a “foster child” of God, she will seek to avoid Him when plagued with guilt – at least until she can “get her act together” enough to approach Him. However, it is actually the height of arrogance to believe that there is ever a time when we are more acceptable to God than another. Putting merit in our own works-righteousness or penance actually demeans the centrality of the Cross. C. J. Mahaney writes,
“Paul called himself “the worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:16). He wasn’t paralyzed by condemnation. He was exalting God’s grace by recognizing his own unworthiness and sin as he marveled at the mercy of God.”
Fear of Man and People-Pleasing.
A child of God who does not realize his true identity is constantly anxious about where he stands with God. Desperately trying to earn the favor of his Father, which he doesn’t realize he already has, he tries to impress others or appear more spiritual. (I had one bulimic counselee tell me she wanted to “redeem [herself] in God’s eyes by becoming a nutritionist, and hopefully help others”.)
I confess that I have fallen prey to this mindset myself, when I make idols out of goals or “splendid vices” (George Whitefield’s term for spiritual activity done with wrong motives). Getting my book “Redeemed from the Pit” published is very important to me, and now that it is becoming a reality I have been preoccupied with obtaining endorsements from well-known authors in the biblical counseling field. When they like my work, I somehow feel God approves of my endeavor. When they decline or suggest revisions, I despair – their opinion of my writing overshadows pleasing God. It becomes too easy to forget that my work is ultimately all for His glory, anyway. Although I would never say so out loud, being thought well of by “celebrity Christians” can eclipse the truth – that God neither thinks more nor less of me based on man’s opinions; and I have nothing whatsoever to commend my self to Him in the first place. He loves me with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) simply because I am His daughter.
This tendency to think God sees us as others do takes many different forms, but the root is the same – doubting the reality and immutability of God’s personal and tender love.
The Solution
Let’s think about this logically: an omniscient God knew from eternity past exactly what you would be like; He saw every sin and dark thought that would enter your mind. Yet He set His love on you anyway by electing you as His child. He called you out of darkness; then transferred you to the Kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). Jesus Himself is not ashamed to call you His brother or sister (Hebrews 2:11), so on what grounds would He decide to kick you out of His family? What, exactly, would you have to do to “disrupt” your heavenly adoption, and get sent back from whence you came?
It’s time, as the Courter parents so bluntly put it, to “drop the poor orphan act” and realize we’re God’s for good. And that’s Good News. Intimacy cannot grow apart from relationship, and the entire New Covenant proclaims that our relationship as children is irrevocable. We didn’t do anything to earn it in the first place – we were all broken and flawed when God called us – so what makes us think we can “lose” His parental bond? Fellowship may be broken, just as in human families – but God promises to forgive and restore each and every time we humble ourselves to seek Him (1 John 1:9). Craven fear and cringing supplication have no place in the life of a child of God. Repentance is a gift freely offered to all who will accept it and return to God on His terms...no running, hiding, and fear of the boon lowering any more. The writer of Hebrews poetically banished any possibility of seeing ourselves as “foster children” when he wrote:
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Do rent the movie, if you haven't seen it. It is worth it for the history lesson alone, as well as the uplifting message of a life transformed by Christ.
Elyse Fitzpatrick is who I want to be when I grow up.
Of course, I mean that completely in the Ephesians 4:15 sense of "grow up". The ability to articulate the simple, profound truth of the Gospel and its implications for day-to-day life as beautifully as Elyse has in "Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life" speaks of a real spiritual maturity. Her passion, from the first page of this encouraging book, is for her reader to have the same joyful, settled assurance of Christ's love that she herself has found in the pages of Scripture.
Why is it that so many of us recognize our need for the Gospel - the Person and work of Jesus Christ - for salvation; then slowly move past the Good News in our daily strivings to "please God"? We come to the Cross for justification, but practically live as if sanctification depended solely on us. Elyse spots this tendency - which often leads to a moralistic, defeated attitude - and reminds the reader of the only antidote: applying the finished work of Christ to our continually sinning hearts. Weaving the entire thread of Scripture around a central point - that God FIRST loved us - Elyse shows how getting this knowlege of His deep, abiding, personal and unfathomable love for us down into the very marrow of our bones completely changes everything. In fact, it transforms our whole identity - who we reckon ourselves to be.
If we see ourselves as "foster children", who can be evicted or abandoned at any moment, we will live like it. Realizing we are a permanant, cherished part of the family - His adopted children - transforms our hearts and enables us to live for Christ in His strength. As she writes on page 148, "Any obedience that isn't motivated by His great love is nothing more than penance." Well said.
How does the Gospel message impact our walk, 10, 20, even 30 years after our conversion, when we can rattle off the Doctrines of Grace like the days of the week?
"If we don't consciously live in the light of His love, the gospel will be secondary, virtually meaningless, and Jesus Christ will fade into insignificance. Our faith will become all about us, our performance, and how we think we're doing, and our transformation will be hindered."
This tendency to take our eyes off of Him and focus inwardly on our failure becomes a viscious cycle, especially when one is battling a life-dominating sin. Many of you bear witness to this fact. This week, I received the following in an e-mail from a reader:
"...I have been REALLY struggling again lately. I have trouble turning to God, because I feel sometimes like I don't deserve His forgiveness, or to ask Him for help. Lately I have been obsessing about food and eating all day long, and binging and purging A LOT! I work as a nanny, so I am alone with kids and in a house full of junk food I wouldn't buy, and have found myself unable to keep from destructive eating behaviors. Please pray for me that I will go back to Christ for guidance, and be able to truly repent for my sin. Please also pray that I will stop worshiping false idols of food and thinness, and instead live to glorify Him..."
(emphasis mine).
This young lady sincerely loves God and wants to please Him, but her words reveal that she has fallen into the trap so common to all of us: living as if our position before God is based on our own merit. When did any of us, in our "best" moments, EVER "deserve" His forgiveness? We didn't. Christ secured it for us - while we were still His enemies. We forget this. When we succeed, we feel good and can worship. Failure brings shame and a fear of approaching God, which naturally leads to more failure and despair. We are, as Elyse points out in this book, essentially not trusting God that He is as good as He says He is.
This is unbelief, and it leads to idols. When we don't feel fully secure in our position in Christ - solely based on His righteousness and grace - we seek the satisfaction that should be found in Him alone through counterfeits. Putting our trust in these "earthly treasures" leads to fear, worry, and anxiety - which leads us ever further away from the Cross. Freedom from fear comes from contemplating and remembering the love of God, manifested in Christ. As I have written before (and Elyse so much more articulately), change in our behavior can only come from truly realizing and appreciating who God is and what He has done for us. Knowing that His kindness is what has led us to repentance (Romans 2:4) motivates us to love Him back, and approach Him with confidence. Our 'identity in Christ' (as Elyse refers to it; I might use 'position') is permanent and irrevocable. It is what frees us up to walk in love.
In the final section of "Because He Loves Me", Elyse demonstrates how remembering and contemplating this unfathomable love God has for us is the true motivation for lasting change. She writes,
"Our natural unbelief will always cast doubt on His love for us. It is the awareness of His love and only this that will equip us to wage war against sin. Until we really grasp how much He loves us, we'll never be able to imitate Him. We won't come near to Him if we're afraid of His judgment. We won't repent and keep pursuing godliness if we don't believe that our sin doesn't faze His love for us one bit. We won't want to be like Him if we believe that His love is small, stingy, censorious, severe. And we'll never be filled with His fullness until we begin to grasp the extent of His love (Eph. 3:19). As a member of His family, you're the apple of His eye, the child He loves to bless. You're His darling."
"Every failure in sanctification is a failure in worship."
Far from minimizing the seriousness of sin, Elyse reminds the reader how costly it was to God - and invites her to rest in this reality. At the same time, we are thus enabled to "wage a vicious war against sin" - the imperative (command) that naturally follows the indicative (what God has already declared to be true). Every sin, from greed to sexual immorality, is a failure to love as we've been loved - at its root, unbelief. The key to walking in freedom and joy, then, is remembering that we're beloved children, redeemed by Jesus, set free from the power of sin. This settled confidence produces thanksgiving ane edifying speech, rather than complaining and bitterness. This is what applying the Gospel to every area of our lives looks like in practice.
I have been recommending "Because He Loves Me" to women who write me about their specific struggles, as well as counselors and anyone else who would benefit from the reminder of what Christ's perfect life, love, cross, resurrection and intercession really mean to us as we grow in Him. In short, everyone reading this would likely benefit from the encouraging and joyful explanation Elyse presents on the synergy of God's grace and our response. Like C.J. Mahaney's "The Cross Centered Life","Because He Loves Me" trains the reader to reflect more deeply on the finished work of Christ on her behalf as a catalyst to worship, rather than presenting sanctification as a spiritual self-help plan.
"Crossroads: A Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction" is the best resource for Christians with addictions (including eating disorders) I've seen yet. Written by Ed Welch, who holds a PhD in counseling psychology and serves as counselor, faculty member, and director of the School of Biblical Counseling at CCEF, "Crossroads" is a 10-part study guide rooted in his earlier book "Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave".
What makes this book so good is that is speaks directly and yet compassionately to the heart of life-dominating sin. I have read many books dealing with the issue of habitual sin or behavioral addictions from a biblical perspective, but none which cut to the heart of the matter as effectively as "Crossroads". While unflinchingly unmasking the lies and sin inherent in addiction, Welch avoids spiritual-sounding cliches, polysyllabic "Christianeze" terms, and endless lists of verses to look up and memorize.
Are You Still in the Pit? Look Up!
Since "Crossroads" is geared towards individuals still controlled by their respective vices, such exercises would probably scare the reader away rather than help them. (The average addict does not have the attention span to complete a lengthy homework assignment anyway). This book is a valuable first step to help the desperate anorexic or bulimic get to where she IS functioning at peak capacity, and can do the hard work of biblical change. It is assumed that the reader is at the critical or crisis stage, still living as a slave to sin, and looking for hope.
Welch gives that hope effectively, and shows the wanderer how to come home - step by step.
Realizing that you are double-minded is one of the first steps to repenting of an addiction. If something about your drug of choice were not attractive, you would not have chosen it. Welch describes this tension in the addict's heart:
"On one side, you feel powerless. Your world feels out of control, and you are sick of it. On the other side, you think that your addiction helps you manage your life so you have more control. That's why you hate it and you love it. You hate it and you need it. Your addiction is not the friend it once was because it has messed up your life."
This is a man who gets it. He empathizes with the inner torment a bulimic (for example) feels, but he does not coddle the sin. He does not minimize, nor allow the reader to stay stuck in despair or self-pity. He takes you straight to biblical principles which force you, the addict, to make a choice - which kingdom has your allegiance?
Welch immediately unveils the compelling attractiveness of God - "the only One more beautiful than your addiction" - while exposing the Christian addict's paradoxical relationship with Christ: "You know you need him, but you don't necessarily want him - at least not on his terms, which is total surrender." Rather than just prescribing the pat (yet accurate) answer, "repent and pray more", Welch acknowledges how difficult and awkward it is for the addict to talk to God, and coaches her* through it. Discussing the importance of bringing sin out into the light, which the Word does by exposing hidden motives, he notes that the reader's interest in the Bible will be a gauge measuring her desire for change.
Welch emphasizes God's infinite patience with the repentant believer, citing Romans 2:4 early on: "Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" This is a key life verse for any of you who know the pain of trying to break free from bulimia and failing, again and again. Through the first 4 of 10 steps (I would have preferred he call them "stages", to avoid the connotation with the unbiblical 12-Step programs), Welch takes the reader through the "folly" of addiction; exposes it as idolatry that has mastered the reader by tracing her descent from life before the addiction; notes that the reader has chosen independence from God by her choices; and examines God's gracious response.
He forces the question: how does God speak to the purposes your addiction serves in your life? This is an extremely crucial point in repenting of bulimia or other food-related bondage. Until you submit to God's sanctioned means of responding to pain, disappointment and fear of man, your default mode will always be to turn to the food. The probing, penetrating questions Welch gives under each step's "Take Action" section are designed to help you see your sin through God's eyes, and renew your mind with His Word.
There is a fine line between gentleness and compassion, and sympathizing to the extent that you tolerate or even rationalize sin. Ed Welch never crosses that line.
The Lies We Tell and the Truth of God
In Step 4: Go Public, Welch identified 8 different types of lies addicts tell to cover up their sin, as well as lies they believe about God. "God doesn't care about one binge...it's not like I am killing anyone." (Does that one sound familiar at all?) Tracing this defense mechanism back to Genesis 3, he shows how speaking and believing lies not only displays loyalties to Satan, but leads to the "voluntary slavery" of addiction. Once this is established, the groundwork is laid for confession to God (which Welch describes as feeling "like a cool shower after working all day in 100-degree heat"), and repentance - turning away from darkness and the false kingdom to Jesus and the true kingdom.
From emphasizing the trustworthiness of God, Welch then moves seamlessly to a fuller exposition on the attributes of God in Step 5: Know THE God. The addict's ultimate goal is to be transformed into the image of Christ. Since this is only possible if one knows Christ AS HE IS, Welch builds the case that knowing the Person of God is key to victory over addiction. He rightly identifies addictions as idolatry, and encourages the reader that God wants to free her of these idols in His great love and holiness.
God is Not Ticked Off
Step 6: Follow Jesus marks the second half of "Crossroads" and Welch starts to get into some theology - without overwhelming the reader. A right concept of God is crucial to sound doctrine, which, in turn, determines whether changes made will be either biblical or lasting. He opens the chapter with this rhetorical question:
"Have you ever thought that Jesus is good, the Father is ticked off, and the Spirit is a thing - an impersonal force?"
It's okay to admit it. I used to think that way, too. I was a bit surprised to see that impression so succinctly articulated, but Welch then goes on to explain both the mysteries of the Trinity and the Atonement - and why the addict's tendency to minimize sin is so toxic. Welch doesn't just "go there", he camps out there. He owns real estate there. He calls food binges (and related addictions) "expressions of false worship and misplaced loyalties". The only thing I don't like about that sentence is that I didn't think of it first.
Christian addict, you need to repent. God gives you hope, grace, and provides strength. Ed Welch is happy to help spell out the implications of your freedom and how to "let the cross have the final word" in this convicting chapter.
Step 7: Have a Plan lays out proactive means the reader must take if she is truly serious about leaving the addiction behind, and Welch highlights the importance of getting your thoughts under control (see 2 Cor. 10:5, although he didn't cite it). As Jay Adams has noted, often people will seek counseling for a life-dominating problem, but when asked what they have done about it, they will simply respond "I prayed". Prayer is a crucial first step and remains "your most powerful weapon", but Welch points out that practical changes in behavior are necessary. I would suggest that such a strategy as he suggests for a repenting bulimic would include avoiding driving to doughnut shops; grocery shopping with another person; refusing to have junk food and "binge foods" in the house. Accountability by including people in your plan - avoiding privacy - is another weapon Welch advises.
Moving Forward in Love
The final two steps of repentance Welch outlines include loving others and restoring relationships where you have hurt people (biblical confrontation and forgiveness is a critical part of restoration), and responding well when you err. While meaningful repentance will always preclude a true "relapse", a temporary slip back into your old ways need not spell total failure. Welch is realistic about the ongoing reality of sin and the spiritual battle a Christian must face. This is true all the more of one repenting from an addiction - how will you respond the next time you seek comfort in Krispy Kremes instead of fellowship with God? "Failing well" eliminates despair as an option. Welch warns the reader against blaming God (see James 1:13-15); reminding her that everything she does is either leading her from Him or toward Him.
In a thorough section on confession and knowing you are forgiven, Welch explains the danger of interpreting guilt (over failure) to mean, "God is mad at me". This is an important point, and I have never known a bulimic woman who didn't think God was angry and/or disgusted at her. My jaw actually dropped at how accurately Welch described the thought process and proclivity towards self-punishment typical of eating-disordered Christians:
"You impose your own punishment; you stay out of his hair and go to bed without your supper. You decide you'd better not talk to him until you have figured out some way to get your life back on track."
"Was this man reading my diary?" you're thinking.
Welch then goes on to show the folly of this thinking: it leads right back to the path of "pursuing your own kingdom". The subtlety of this lie is one ALL bulimics (and other addicts) need to spot and renounce, long after they have stopped the actual behavior. He spends the remainder of the chapter re-cultivating hope, refining the plan developed in chapter 7, and defining where Jesus is in it. What makes this chapter so helpful is the fact that Welch doesn't pretend that once the addict sees some success in abstaining from the behavior or enjoys a measure of spiritual victory that life is suddenly blue shies and fluffy clouds. Pious-sounding platitudes are notably absent from Welch's writing, as is the idealistic formula of self-help books. While he states from the outset that Christ is the answer and the addict's goal is to live to glorify God, Welch never diminishes the reality of ongoing sin in the believer's life. We're in a battle; and we need a plan - turning quickly to Jesus while feeding on Scripture is a long-term strategy; not a quick fix.
In Step 10: Welcome to the Banquet, we see the object of our hope: the joy that is found in Jesus. By this time, the reader should be able to see fruit that her addictive behavior is giving way to seeking Jesus, and she should be convinced that the battle is worth it. Welch highlights "crossroads" of key Scriptural passages; examples of when God's people had to choose to seek Him in the midst of the desert of exile. He relates this to Christ's temptation in the wilderness, and that His "passing the test" on our behalf enables us to follow Him. He concludes with exhortations to fight temptation by expecting it, maintaining hope, countering it with the Word, and praying continuously - good advice for ALL believers; not only those who happen to be struggling with addictions.
Designed for use in either a small group, one-on-one counseling, or on one's own, "Crossroads" is truly a superb, helpful guide towards biblical repentance from an eating disorder. In addition, Welch himself suggests in the study that you seek counsel from a mature fellow believer - a practice I would always recommend for anyone in the grips of an eating disorder (or other addiction). The shame and secrecy surroundingaddictions make them difficult to confess; but the guidance, prayer and accountability another Christian can offer increases your odds of success in walking away.
The only caveat I would offer about this book is that in the first chapters, it appeared that Welch was not necessarily assuming the reader had a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The wording indicated he might be writing to seekers, as well as "backslidden" Christians ("If you find yourself shutting down when the conversation turns to God, don't just wait for the conversation to move to something else..." "...you know different, even if you aren't sure what you believe about God.") If he was not assuming the reader was a Christian, I wondered if a clear Gospel presentation might have been appropriate at that point. However, as I moved into the subsequent chapters, it appeared the reader was assumed to be a Christian (just one who had turned from the path). In fact, most of the folks who will seek out biblical counseling DO fit into that latter category, but the possibility always exists that some who profess to be Christians might not actually be regenerate at all.
If using this book for counseling, I would encourage the counselor to ask all the diagnostic questions and collect extensive data beforehand (as one usually does in a first counseling session). Then, if any doubts remain, engage in what Jay Adams calls "pre-counseling" - essentially evangelism - to make sure the counselee has a relationship with God through Christ before going any further. Chapter 6 of this book offers a great exposition on propitiation that would be helpful in presenting the Gospel to an addict.
If you choose to use this book on your own to aid your fight against bulimia, examine yourself to see whether you are really in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5) before turning to the addiction itself. Do you really know Christ as Savior and Lord? Have you repented, and surrendered your life to Christ on His terms? Has there been any fruit in your life?
If the answer is "yes", yet you are still stuck in the foul pit of addiction, Ed Welch's "Crossroads: a Step-by-Step Guide Away from Addiction" is a wonderfully edifying tool to help you take the next step of faith.
Watch this 5-minute video of Dr. Welch discussing addictions and how to face them Scripturally:
* I always use the personal pronouns "her" and "she", as most people with eating disorders tend to be women. No feminist agenda is implied.
Well, now that my 15 minutes of fame are up (the feds picked them up today), I can get back to blogging and studying for the NANC exam. (Just until Thursday, when we have an assault and battery jury trial. Fun times.)
Amid the numerous genres and sub-genres of "Christian music" available today, (including hardcore and the oxymoronic "Christian emo"), my personal favorite style are the theologically-rich hymns of centuries past put to modern musical arrangements.
My taste in CCM has definitely evolved over time. I think the first album I bought as a Christian (now I'm dating myself) was Michael W. Smith's "Go West Young Man". Either that or "Eye 2 Eye". I remember he was sporting a mid-eighties George Michael hairdo at the time, even though it was already the early nineties. (Christians always seem to catch onto secular trends a bit late). I still like Smitty, but primarily for his heartfelt worship songs - hearing him sing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" frankly doesn't do much for me. But he does have a tremendous passion for God and an amazing voice, so his "Worship" and "Worship Again" CDs are among the most played in my car.
This past year or so, I have been getting to like Chris Tomlin more and more - I first saw him on the "Amazing Grace" video trailer ("Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone"). The bridge Tomlin added to John Newton's anthem changes the tempo a bit, but lends itself well to congregational singing. My two other favorite songs performed by Tomlin are "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name (Raise Up the Crown)", originally written by Edward Perronet in 1780, and his rendition of Isaac Watt's "Joy to the World", also from the 18th century.
This CD includes Tomlin's "All Hail the Power" and a number of other famous hymns performed by contemporary artists. An Amazon editorial review explains, "While the modern worship movement has revolutionized Christian music, lead worshippers realized that in their zeal to write cutting-edge church music they forgot the songs that were cutting that "edge" once upon a time." I couldn't agree more. The Passion artists who sing such classics as "All Creatures of Our God and King", "Praise to the Lord the Almighty" give all glory and honer to God, where it belongs, rather than sliding into the man-centric trap of many CCM praise songs.
And they do it to an upbeat tempo, which uses both acoustic and electrical guitars, rather than pipe organs. Come to think of it, our church's praise team does an excellent acoustic "Be Thou My Vision", which would sound nice on a CD like this. So many hymns; so few CDs!
Interestingly, "Hymns Ancient and Modern" also features an interpretation of "Hail Gladdening Light" (Phos Hilaron (Φῶς Ἱλαρόν), which is the earliest known Christian hymn recorded outside the Bible (I believe it dates back to the second century, if not before that). One translation of the lyrics is as follows:
O Gladsome Light of the Holy Glory of the Immortal Father, Heavenly, Holy, Blessed Jesus Christ! Now that we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the light of evening, we praise God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For meet it is at all times to worship Thee with voices of praise. O Son of God and Giver of Life, therefore all the world doth glorify Thee.
Now compare that poetry to the following:
We're gonna dance in the river We're gonna dance in the river We're gonna dance in the river We're gonna dance in the river
We're gonna dance in the river We're gonna dance in the river We're gonna dance in the river We're gonna dance in the river We're gonna dance in the river "Yeah" We're gonna dance in the river "Yeah" We're gonna dance in the river
Everybody dance now
And yes; I'm aware Chris Tomlin authored those lyrics. I like him better when he's singing real hymns....just a matter of taste, I guess.
Anyway, if you enjoy contemporary praise and worship music, but just wish it had more of the theological depth and reverence of the older hymns, this is the CD you've been waiting for. It also has a calming, uplifting effect on the spirit when you are stuck in rush-hour traffic jams. Rock on.
Actually, it's a gift for my daughter, who turns 13 in a couple of weeks. But before I gift-wrap it, I couldn't help devouring this gem myself and banging out a review.
If you'd enjoy warm, anecdotal writing about some of the more lovable, yet flawed folks of Scripture - along with deeply poignant, touching applications to your own life's struggles - drop everything you're doing and order yourself a copy at the link above. Don's casual, down-to-earth style of writing is humorous at times and convicting at others, but is always enlightening and enjoyable.
As the title indicates, this book focuses on the stories of the biggest mess-ups God ever saved, as well as some hapless dudes who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time (from a human perspective!). If you are a Greek snob looking for an exegetical study of present perfect and auxiliary verb tenses, well... this is not that book. If you are looking for life lessons to be gleaned from the grace God lavished upon His repentant or underdog children, you will be blessed by Don's treatment of Joseph, Moses, Job, the Prodigal Son, and - my personal favorite - the Apostle Peter. (I did wonder why he left out the ultimate 'comeback kid', King David. Perhaps because David was such an obvious choice that his inclusion would have been a bit cliche. At least David left us with the great penitential Psalms, to aid in our own spiritual "comebacks").
Some of these "comeback kids" were victims of circumstance; they landed in perilous or unfortunate situations through no fault of their own. Don thoughtfully paints a 3-dimensional portrait of the characters of Joseph and Job, who even in horrific circumstances strove to glorify God. Through their life stories, he draws parallels to how we are to react when life throws a curve-ball.
From the chapter on the "comeback kid" with whom I most closely identify:
"Peter was also very impulsive. That's putting it mildly. There was no pretense about him. You weren't ever left to wonder what he thought, or how he felt about you. His impulsiveness was certainly one source of his prideful downfall. As you read the account of Jesus in agonizing prayer in that Garden, you can probably hear Pete snoring in the background. Peter was only dimly aware of the approaching soldiers led by Judas, the traitor. He was awakened abruptly. Startled, and perhaps only half-awake, confused with the torchlight playing off the Roman soldiers' armor and faces, with swift, instinctive angry skill he unsheathed his sword and sliced off a soldier's ear.
I've apologized for Peter for that act on several occasions. I feel I now know him well enough to tell you he did not mean to slice off the soldier's ear. He meant to split his skull! Wide open!
Jesus took control of the situation, corrected it, and commanded Peter to put his sword back in its scabbard. Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword," He said (Matthew 26:52).
Something I've observed which may be worth your further thought: Sometimes a person's great strength can also become his or her greatest point of weakness. If someone has a "gift of gab", that "gift" can become the Achilles heel which leads to a downfall. An above average beautiful lady or "too handsome" guy, has more than once allowed that to lead to unjustified pride which almost always leads to destruction. Of one sort or another, and sooner or later - if allowed to run its course unchecked."
Don's driving ambition, as he describes it, is "to get as close to Christ as I can and stay there." This passion shows through, loud and clear, in his writing. Although he demurs to call this work a "Bible study", it is far too deep and rich to be labelled simply a "devotional". Anyone, new Christian or seasoned believer alike, can learn a new lesson by examining the lives of these heroes afresh through Don's writing.
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
(Psalm 40:1-3)
