Notes On Ezekiel (book review)

The Complete Works Of Oswald ChambersOswald Chambers’ insights into biblical texts, and his ability to transfer those principles to real-life applications, always astound me! I was reading through Ezekiel in my personal Bible reading time, and was happy to discover Chambers’ Notes On Ezekiel.

As with many of his books, this one is comprised of notes taken by shorthand by Mrs. Biddy Chambers as Oswald lectured at the Bible Training College (BTC). Reading each chapter of Ezekiel side-by-side with Chambers’ commentary and application is a real eye-opener.

The only complaint I have is that Biddy’s responsibility at the BTC kept her out of many of the lectures, so we are only blessed with Oswald’s insights on about half of the chapters in Ezekiel. But that being said, you can never go wrong reading Oswald Chambers!

Life Cartography (book review)

Life CartographyCharles Porter has a timely message for us―actually 40 timely messages―in his book Life Cartography. If you don’t believe me, perhaps you will find the subtitle of his book as intriguing as I did: “Don’t follow your dreams” and 39 other life lessons I’ve learned along the way.

This book is designed as a 40-day journey, especially applicable (in my opinion) for someone just launching out on their own. I believe a high school or college graduate would find Life Cartography especially thoughtful.

Charles has given us a candid glimpse into his life, and the thoughts he has processed after a few years of reflecting on those different life events. These lessons are then presented to us with catchy titles like “Don’t follow your dreams” and “Deal with excess baggage quickly” and “You can’t be anything you want to be.” Each chapter is short, but it will easily give you a day’s worth of thinking material as you apply the principles to your own life.

I’d recommend parents and teachers, and others who work with young adults, to pick up this book to help prepare them in a mentoring role. And then perhaps get another copy to share with someone just starting a new journey in life.

The author provided me with a copy of this book.

13 Other Quotes From “JumpStart Your Leadership”

JumpStart Your LeadershipOne of the things I appreciate about John Maxwell’s work is how many other authors and deep thinkers he reads. Dr. Maxwell then sifts through all those works and brings the best of the best to his books. Here are some of the other quotes John shared in his book JumpStart Your Leadership.

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.” —William Jennings Bryan

“No man is a leader until his appointment is ratified in the mines and the hearts of his men.” —Infantryman’s Journal (1954)

“The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably integrity.” —Dwight Eisenhower

“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” —Ken Kesey

“Let him that would move the world, first move himself.” —Socrates

“The most essential quality for leadership is not perfection but credibility. People must be able to trust you.” —Rick Warren

“Looking back, my life seems like one big obstacle race, with me being the chief obstacle.” —Jack Paar 

“Effective leaders reward dissent, as well as encourage it. They understand that whatever momentary discomfort they experience as a result of being told from time to time that they are wrong is more than offset by the fact that ‘reflective back talk’ increases a leaders ability to make good decisions.” —Warren Bennis

“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful idea in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” —Walt Disney

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” —Rosalynn Carter

“The outstanding leaders of every age are those who set up their own quotas and constantly exceed them.” —Thomas Watson

“Do what you do so well that those who see you do what you do are going to come back to see you do it again and tell others that they should see you do what you do.” —Walt Disney

“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.” —Knute Rockne

You can read quotes from John Maxwell in this book by clicking here.

You can read my review of JumpStart Your Leadership by clicking here.

What Does God Want Me To Do?

BibleI often hear people say, “I’m waiting for a word from God” when they are making a decision. Or sometimes someone will say, “I’m not sure what God wants me to do here.”

Many years ago the phrase WWJD―what would Jesus do?―was all the rage. It came from a renewed interest in Charles Sheldon’s book In His Steps. In order to do what Jesus would do (and say), we must be familiar with what Jesus did (and said). Jesus Himself said that the Holy Spirit would remind us of everything He had done and said (John 14:26).

Jeremiah was one of the most prolific prophets of Israel, with his writings making up the longest book in the Bible. Yet one thing clearly stands out―over 420 times Jeremiah uses phrases like:

  • The Word of the Lord came to me
  • Declares the Lord
  • The Lord said to me
  • What the Lord says
  • Hear the word of the Lord
  • Open your ears to the words of His mouth

It’s hard to know what Jesus would do, or the direction God would have you go, or the God-honoring decision that you should make if you haven’t read His Word! He has so much to say to you, and the Holy Spirit is just waiting to help you apply God’s Word to your particular situation.

If you want to make better decisions, and do and say things more like Jesus did and said, be like Jeremiah and be immersed in God’s Word more and more.

JumpStart Your Leadership (book review)

JumpStart Your LeadershipJohn Maxwell always gives his readers a treasure-trove of helpful thoughts for personal growth! I would highly recommend anyone to grab any one of his books and dive in. But a good place to start may be JumpStart Your Leadership.

This book is setup as a 90-day journey of leadership growth. Whether someone is just beginning in a leadership position, or has been in a position of leadership for quite some time, this is a tremendous resource. Each day has a quote, a short teaching point from John Maxwell, and then a page to respond to the question of the day. After three months, I am confident you will feel your leadership surging forward.

Small book, big dividends. Get this book and get growing!

I am a Center Street book reviewer.

Lifelong Learner

It’s no secret I love to read. But why do I read? It’s not just to get more information, but to have the tools to help others. Every year I reevaluate my reading list, and ask God to guide me to the wise people from whom I need to learn.

Check out these words from Charles Spurgeon―

C.H. Spurgeon“Paul is inspired, and yet he wants books [2 Timothy 4:13]. He has been preaching for at least thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, ‘Give attendance to reading’ [1 Timothy 4:13]. The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read.” ―Charles Spurgeon

What’s on your reading list this year?

Links & Quotes

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[VIDEO] I loved watching Stuart Scott on ESPN SportsCenter. This video is a great tribute to his life.

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” —Stuart Scott

“Hang this text up in your house; read it every day; take it before God in prayer every time you bend the knee, and you shall find it to be like the widow’s cruse, which failed not, and like her handful of meal, which wasted not: it shall be unto you till the last of December what now it is when we begin to feed upon it in January.” —Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Hebrews 2:18

“This verse is full of encouragement for imperfect sinners like us, and full of motivation for holiness. It means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are ‘being sanctified,’ ‘being made holy’—that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness.” —John Piper, commenting on Hebrews 10:14

Seth Godin has a great way to help anyone gain a huge advantage over his/her peers in his post Doing Calculus With Roman Numerals.

Winning With Principle (book review)

Winning With PrincipleNot only did John Wooden win, and win, and win on the basketball court, he won off the basketball court too. Literally decades after he stopped coaching, his players still traced their off-the-court success to the principles Coach taught them, and they continued to seek out his wise counsel. Winning With Principle is a collection of quotes from this legendary coach.

Coach Wooden was a lifelong learner. He relied on lessons his father taught him, he continued to read and memorize other wise people, and he continually learned how to adapt with the changing times. Some people have called Wooden’s maxims “homespun wisdom,” but I call it down-to-earth practical wisdom.

There are dozens of books that Wooden’s former players have written on the life lessons they leaned from Coach, but it’s best to hear from the man himself. This book of quotes is the perfect introduction to this amazing man’s wisdom.

Links & Quotes

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“Lord, show me just so much (neither more nor less) about myself as I need for doing Thy will now.” —C.S. Lewis personal prayer

“The whole problem of our life was neatly expressed by John the Baptist when he said (John 3:30) ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ This you have realised. But you are expecting it to happen suddenly: and also expecting that you should be clearly aware when it does. But neither of these is usual. We are doing well enough if the slow process of being more in Christ and less in ourselves has made a decent beginning in a long life (it will be completed only in the next world).” —C.S. Lewis

For my pastor friends: “Our preaching and teaching must endeavor to promote three kinds of love: a proper self-love, love for God, and love for our neighbors.” —T.M. Moore

“Among those who are able to enjoy God with us, we love some whom we help, some by whom we are helped, some whose help we need and whose wants we supply, and some on whom we bestow no benefits and from whom we await none ourselves. Be that as it may, we should desire that all enjoy God with us and that all the assistance we give them or get from them should be directed toward this end.” —Augustine

[VIDEO] John Maxwell on the value of exploring new things—

Links & Quotes

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Some good reading and watching from today…

“The worst form of ill association is ungodly marriage. I do not know anything that gives me more satisfaction than to see our brethren and sisters, who have walked in the faith of God, united in marriage—the husband and wife, both fearing and loving God. It is a delightful spectacle, and bids fair to be the means of building up the church with a generation which shall fear the Lord. But a very fruitful source of ruin to church members is that of a young man or a young woman choosing an ungodly partner in life. They never can expect God’s blessing upon it. They tell you sometimes they hope to be the means of their friend’s conversion. They have no right to hope such a thing; it so seldom occurs. The much more likely thing is that the ungodly one will drag the other down to his level, than that the godly one shall pull the other up.” —Charles Spurgeon

“If homosexuals are bullied, we need to protect them. If they’re unjustly discriminated against, we need to help them. If they’re treated with contempt, the person hurting them should be stopped. If a family member comes out as gay and then is belittled, harmed, or vilified, then the offending family needs to be corrected. If Christians ridicule people who identify as gay or lesbian, they need to admonished. If a church doesn’t welcome seekers of all stripes (including people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual), then it needs to change. But none of these circumstances are reasons to reinterpret Scripture to affirm homosexuality.” This is from a fascinating article: Bad Reasons To Adopt Pro-Gay Theology.

 

“Prudence means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it.” —C.S. Lewis

“Resentment simply cannot dwell in a loving heart. Before resentfulness can enter, love must take its flight and bitterness take over.” —A.W. Tozer

“No nation ancient or modern has ever lost the liberty of freely speaking, writing or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves.” —John Peter Zenger (in 1735 after winning his case that established the precedent for our freedom of the press)

“Never leave growing till the life to come!” —Robert Browning

“Why should you turn from God when you turn to your books, or feel that you must turn from your books in order to turn to God? If learning and devotion are as antagonistic as that, then the intellectual life is in itself accursed and there can be no question of a religious life for a student, even of theology.” —B.B. Warfield

[VIDEO] John Maxwell has some great advice on conflict.

Did you know there is a right way to procrastinate? Yep! Check this out.