Links & Quotes

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Some good reading from today…

[PHOTOS] Today is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Here are some great pictures of our Marines in action.

“Your hope for the future is not in what you did yesterday, but improving today so that you can meet the future head-on.” —John Maxwell

Did you know that 90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted?! Here are 9 people with Down syndrome who live highly successful lives.

“‘Circumstances over which I have no control’ is a perfectly true phrase, but it must never be made to mean that we cannot control ourselves in those circumstances.” —Oswald Chambers

“The whole Bible and all past history unite to teach that battles are always won before the armies take the field. The critical moment for any army is not the day it engages the foe in actual combat; it is the day before or the month before or the year before. … Preparation is vital. Let this be noted by everyone. We can seek God today and get prepared to meet temptation tomorrow; but if we meet the enemy without first having met God, the outcome is not conjectural; the issue is already decided. We can only lose.” —A.W. Tozer

“We must open our Bibles every morning with this prayer—‘Give us this day our daily bread.’” —Charles Spurgeon

Good advice on how to respond to people who are antagonistic toward your Christian faith.

Hmm, Pope Francis demotes (again!) a U.S. cardinal who is doctrinally conservative.

Book Reviews From 2013

BookshelfHere are the books I read and reviewed in 2013. Click a title to read the review…

10 People Every Christian Should Know

A Harmony Of The Gospels

Alive To Wonder

All In

Alone

Altar Ego

Andrew Murray Daily Reader

Dear Abba

Decision Points

Did The Resurrection Happen … Really?

Draw The Circle

Fight

Firsthand

Francis

God’s Favorite Place On Earth

God’s Workmanship

Habitudes

He Shall Glorify Me

I Never Thought I’d See The Day

If Thou Wilt Be Perfect

If Ye Shall Ask

It Is Finished

Jesus Is _____.

Jesus: A Theography

Knocking At God’s Door

Love To The Uttermost

One Year Book Of Personal Prayer

Outliers

Plastic Donuts

Pouring Holy Water On Strange Fire

Promotion

Raising Your Child To Love God

Seven Men

Smith Wigglesworth On Healing

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn

Stopping Words That Hurt

The 13th Resolution

The Baptism With The Holy Spirit

The Bare Facts

The Five Levels Of Leadership

The Highest Good

The Hobbit

The Man Who Knew Too Much

The Purpose Of Christmas

The Ragamuffin Gospel

The Reagan Diaries

The Secrets Of Intercessory Prayer

Things We Couldn’t Say

Understanding Sexting

Unfinished

Unstoppable

Visioneering

Who Do You Think You Are?

You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader

For my book reviews of 2011 click here, and for 2012’s list click here.

Francis: Man Of Prayer (book review)

FrancisUnless you’ve been locked away somewhere, you know that a new pope was recently elected. Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s life is recounted in Francis: Man of Prayer by Mario Escobar.

I have always felt that history books (including biographies and autobiographies) shouldn’t be published until a later date. When we are “in the moment,” things are so fluid and their outcome so uncertain, that it’s best to wait for awhile to see how things turn out before they are committed to a book. So I was a bit surprised to see a biography of the new pope appear in print so quickly after his election.

Clearly this is not a book that looks at Francis’ papacy, but one that chronicles his ascendency to that position. For the most part I found this biography to be very factual, and dry. The events of Bergoglio’s life are presented dispassionately and disjointedly. This book could have been written in bullet-points, and it would have maintained all of the same coolness as it has in its current form.

Perhaps a book will be published later in Francis’ papacy which will have some more sizzle to it, but this biography is a real snoozer.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.