Bricks And Rungs (book review)

T.M. Moore is a first-rate theologian, so everything he writes is well-grounded in Scripture. However, when most people think of “theology,” they think of a lifeless treatise that is boring to read, or perhaps difficult to grasp. But T.M. totally shakes things up in Bricks And Rungs with rock-solid theology presented in beautiful poetic verse.

Bricks And Rungs is all about finding our purpose or calling in life. T.M. says—

“Most people have a sense of being here for some reason. They must become something, achieve something, or come to know something which they consider to be unique to them. Something is out there for them, beckoning them, drawing and wooing them beyond themselves to realize more of something, however that is envisioned or whatever it may be.

“Calling is experienced as a summons from without, a beckoning which resonates with something within, something deeply personal, leading us to aspire to more than what we know or are or have at present. …

“Everyone has a sense of calling. Christians know this to be a summons from God, a command which their lives are intended to fulfill by knowing God and serving Him. The Christian knows that each human being is called to know God and, knowing Him, to serve Him gladly and fruitfully. Calling thus involves our need to be blessed and to be a blessing to others.”

Some of these poems are autobiographical to T.M. Moore, some are reflections on Scripture, and some are musings about how each of us discovers our own calling. But all of these poems will open a window in your soul to hear God’s voice speaking to you about your own unique calling.

Take some time to linger over these insightful words.

Poetry Saturday—Prayer

Lord Jesus, Maker of creation, Word
and Son of God, Redeemer, Savior, Lord
and King, we worship You, because we know
You, and we know that You have loved us so
that we might never have to live in fear;
and when our sojourn has concluded here,
Your resurrection power, which now transforms
us into Your own image, and conforms
us to Your pleasure, will deliver, keep,
and bless us. Catch us up, Lord, in the sweep
of Your forever-marching-forward grace,
and bring us to Your glorious, waiting face,
where are we, with You, and like You, will abide
forever, in Your presence, by Your side.
Amen. —T.M. Moore, in To Know Him

4 Quotes From “To Know Him”

In T.M. Moore’s book of poetic verse entitled To Know Him, he provides some insightful notes at the back of the book. These are a few quotes from those notes. You can check out my review of this book by clicking here.

“The historical data bearing witness to the reality of Jesus, and the events of His life, death, and resurrection, is unassailable. Thousands of documents, from both within the Christian movement and beyond it, as well as numerous archaeological artifacts testify to the existence of Jesus. The consistent witness of countless multitudes of believers through the ages also adds to the certainty that a historical personage of considerable enduring influence, Jesus from Nazareth, lived at a certain time, and talked and lived in ways which anyone with an open mind can investigate for himself. Only the most willingly blind deny that Jesus existed, and only the most foolhardy refuse to explore the evidence that bears witness to Him.”

“No one can claim to know Jesus as He intends without this twofold sense and experience of His immanence (God with us) and His transcendence (God exalted in glory). The better we acquaint ourselves with Jesus in both these dimensions, the more our outlook on and approach to life will reflect His. We will see our lives as He does, as enormously significant, and we will desire for our lives what He does, so that our relationship with Him bears fruit in daily life, and our fellowship with Him grows daily stronger.”

“We know Jesus by the work He does in and through us, especially the freedom from sin’s power which the power of Jesus unleashes in us.”

“As full and enjoyable as this life of knowing Jesus can be, it is but a foretaste of a richer, fuller, and more joyous relationship yet to come. Now, in anticipation of that greater glory, we seek it earnestly by faith, and thus know it increasingly as our daily experience—living the there and then in the here and now.”

To Know Him (book review)

I am so appreciative of those who have the gift of poetry. There is something about the rhythm and flow of poetic verse that speaks to our hearts in a way that typical writing cannot. I’m even more amazed when the poet happens to be someone who is also a premier theologian, which is exactly what you will find in To Know Him by T.M. Moore.

I have benefitted greatly from the theological and doctrinal insights from Moore. I daily read his posts and always come away with an insight on Scripture that I hadn’t previously considered. Even knowing that I was blown away by the profound truths in To Know Him that were flowing off the pages in poetic verse.

To Know Him leads us through a Christian’s progression in attempting to really know who Jesus is. To help you along the way, Moore has provided endnotes on his poetic verses, as well as ample references to all of the biblical passages which he masterfully wove together in the crafting of his poem.

I know you will find To Know Him as rewarding, heart-warming, and mind-opening as I did!

Book Reviews From 2017

I love reading, and I love sharing my love of good books with others! Here is a list of the books I read and reviewed in 2017. Click on a title to be taken to that review.

#Truth

10 Commitments For Dads

50 Core American Documents

A New Kind Of Apologist

Absolute Surrender

As Kingfishers Catch Fire

Born After Midnight

Brady vs. Manning

Cherish

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About God

Evidence That Demands A Verdict

How Great Is Our God

If

Interpretation Of The Scriptures

Islam Booklets

Joy To Your World

Know Who You Are

Leadership Promises For Every Day

Live Dead Journey

Live Dead Life

Longing For A Changed World

Man—The Dwelling Place Of God

Marching Off The Map

No Limits

On Calvary’s Hill

Ordering Your Private World

Paths To Power

Peace In The Face Of Cancer

Prevailing Prayer

Run Today’s Race

Seeing Jesus

Shade Of His Hand

Take Your Life Back

The Broken Way

The Christian Book Of Mystical Verse

The Christian In Complete Armour

The Christmas Candle

The Dawn Of Christianity

The Servant As His Lord

The World’s Last Night

Transforming Grace

When A Nation Forgets God

Your Next 24 Hours

Here are my book reviews for 2011.

Here are my book reviews for 2012.

Here are my book reviews for 2013.

Here are my book reviews for 2014.

Here are my book reviews for 2015.

Here are my book reviews for 2016.

6 Quotes From “Joy To Your World”

In Joy To Your World, T.M. Moore encourages Christians to view joy as the fuel for their testimony to others about their vibrant relationship with Jesus. Check out my book review by clicking here.

“The Christian life is joy, the joy Jesus glimpsed as He went to the Cross, that sustained Him through all His betrayal and suffering, and in which He now dwells, at the right hand of God.”

“The joy which infects those who receive the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ causes them to see creation and all culture in an entirely new light. Whereas formally such things were merely taken for granted and used as we saw fit, now they are received as gifts and servants of the joy-giving God, to be redeemed, renewed, and redeployed with joy to the praise of His glorious grace.”

“First, we need to make sure our own lives makes sense, that the way we live supports the reasons we might give for why we live this way. … Second, we must make sure that we know the Gospel. … Finally, we need to make sure we can explain the Gospel’s impact on our own lives. How has the Gospel brought new hope, new purpose, new direction, and new life to us?”

“It is not our task to convert those who ask a reason for the hope that is within us. It is our task to make sure, to the best of our ability, that we have explained the Good News of Jesus as clearly as we can.”

“Joy is not determined by what we can see in our immediate environment. Instead, joy is a condition that attaches to knowing the Lord and being able to see past or through what is seen to engage what is not seen (Hebrews 12:1).”

“When, because of our knowledge of God, the joy that fills our souls comes to expression as joy lived, then our lives will make sense, our salvation will be visible to the watching world, and we can offer any who may ask, sound reasons for how that joy can be theirs as well.”

Joy To Your World (book review)

“Joy To The World” is a Christmas song, right? Well, we do often sing it during the Advent season, but T.M. Moore persuasively makes the case in his book Joy To Your World that this message is a year-round blessing.

Quite simply, Moore reminds us that “the Christian life is joy.” Joy is what distinguishes the Christians from others, and joy is what attracts others to the Christian faith more than anything else.

Jesus sent His followers out to make disciples, and the empowering force behind the Christian’s testimony is the joy that Jesus is the One who has conquered hell, death, and the grave. So of all people, Christians should be brimming over with joy.

T.M. Moore writes: “When, because of our knowledge of God, the joy that fills our souls comes to expression as joy lived, then our lives will make sense, our salvation will be visible to the watching world, and we can offer any who may ask, sound reasons for how that joy can be theirs as well.”

This is an excellent message to be read at anytime, not just at Christmas.

Don’t Miss God’s Greatest Blessings

T.M. Moore“One of the great mistakes of the people of Israel in the Old Testament was to seek and wallow in the temporal blessings of God so much that they missed the great blessing of God Himself. We are in danger of doing the same today. …

“Having failed to pursue the presence of the Lord, Israel ultimately came to despise His many blessings, attributing them instead to their own prowess or to the false idols and pagan deities of their unbelieving neighbors.

“Yet God promised that their highest pleasures and most lasting joys would be found in Him, and not in the conditions of their lives. Not in His blessings, but in Him. Israel completely missed the mark, and we today are in just the same place.

“As long as we continue to seek our happiness in the blessings God provides rather than in the God Who provides blessings, we will be in danger of falling short of the exceedingly great and precious promises of God. ‘Come to Me,’ Jesus insisted, ‘and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). We will never know complete contentedness in the presence of the Lord as long we count our blessings primarily in terms of conditions and things. …

“Until seeking Him, knowing Him, dwelling with Him, walking with Him, delighting in Him, and partaking of Him is the greatest blessing, richest pleasure, and surest joy we know, we will be in danger of falling into idolatry and failing at our Kingdom-and-glory calling from the Lord.” —T.M. Moore

Learning To Pray Without Ceasing

As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice. (Psalm 55:16-17, emphasis added)

T.M. MooreT.M. Moore has an interesting suggestion based on these verses:

“Establishing set times for prayer—hours for prayer—in your daily schedule can be a first step toward praying always and without losing heart. Observing these hours of prayer doesn’t mean you need to pray for an hour each time; usually 10 or 15 minutes, sometimes more, will suffice to keep us focused on the Lord throughout the day and in continuous communication with Him.”

Here’s how I have tried to put this into action in my life. I have three alarms set in my iPhone as prayer reminders:

  • Early in the morning I dedicate my schedule and To Do lists to God, and ask Him to direct my steps and my stops.
  • At noon I pray through my prayer list for family and friends.
  • Just before bedtime I reflect back on my day and give God thanks for His blessings throughout my day.

Why don’t you try something like this, and see if it helps you learn to pray without ceasing. Feel free to share some things that have worked for you in the comments below so all of us can benefit from what you are learning.

Revival God’s Way

T.M. MooreI am a part of a weekly gathering of pastors from around the country who are praying for revival. T.M. Moore, who organizes our prayer time, shared some fantastic thoughts about revival.

He said, “The better we know God’s word, way, righteousness, justice, and judgments, the more our prayers for revival will have the right focus, and be more likely to be heard and answered.”

By way of example, T.M. Moore shared some verses from Psalm 119. I think you will be able to spot the pattern pretty quickly—

  • …revive me according to Your word (v. 25)
  • …revive me in Your way (v. 37)
  • …revive me in Your righteousness (v. 40)
  • …revive me according to Your lovingkindness (v. 88)
  • …revive me, O Lord, according to Your word (v. 107)
  • …revive me according to Your justice (v. 149)
  • …revive me according to Your word (v. 154)
  • …revive me according to Your judgments (v. 156)
  • …revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness (v. 159)

Praying for revival never comes on our terms, it’s always on God’s terms. Revival is never focused on me, it’s always focus on God.

By the way, if you would like to join me and these other pastors in our weekly prayer for revival, please send me a message and I will get you all of the details.