Rediscovering Holiness (A Book Review)

"All ventures in holiness go rotten at the core when gain in any form, rather than gratitude, motivates them.  The true taproot of holiness is always the Spirit-prompted urge to show love to God and others by doing what is right out of gratitude to God for Jesus Christ..."
~J.I. Packer

This is one of my favorite books on holiness.  J.I. Packer makes vivid what the holiness of God is and what it means to us.  He explains that holiness is not just a concept but it is who God is and it is what He requires of us as His beloved children.  Packer goes on to say that living a pure life inside out is not as impossible as we think rather it is made possible by Jesus who paid the price of our sins on the cross and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In this journey I will fall many times, but it gives me much comfort and encouragement to know that the Creator of the universe is helping me every step of the way.  What a relief!

"The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."
~Psalm 51:17 (NLT)


"He gave us His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
~Titus 2:14 (NLT)


♥

Night

How I fall between shadows!
What is this night
that displays
light in absence?

The clock of sky
is relentless
in its slow circular motion
without a care.

I keep on falling.
Under its face
I am still,
small,

alone

as the sun seem absent,
waiting for the light
to break the night blue.

Sartre and Heidegger: What is Your Essence?

"Existence precedes essence."
~John Paul Sartre


"The essence of Dasein lies in its existence."
~Martin Heidegger

Ontology!  Do I exist because I have essence or do I exist because I will have essence?  What if I say, "I am happy."  Is being "happy" the essence of "I am" because "I am" exist or does "I am" as a dasein exist because of the essence of being "happy"?

Or is this a problem of syntax?

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Anatomy of a Librarian

source

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

"If it is I who determine where God is to be found, then I shall always find a God who corresponds to me in some way, who is obliging, who is connected with my own nature.  But if God determines where He is to be found, then it will be a place which is not immediately pleasing to my nature and which is not at all congenial to me.  This place is the cross of Christ.  And whoever would find Him must go to the foot of the cross, as the Sermon on the Mount commands.  This is not according to our nature at all, it is entirely contrary to it.  But this is the message of the Bible, not only in the New but also in the Old Testament..."
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I love reading biographies because I get to glean lessons from the lives of great men and women.  I have yet to get to the middle of this book but I have learned a thing or two already.

Bonhoeffer, no matter how mischievous his students were, did not lose composure and kindness to them.  I think a good and kindly composure is one of the outward manifestations of having trust in Jesus.

I get too emotional and lose composure most of the time especially in tough situations.  Next time I should remember to take a deep breath, harness those self-indulgent emotions, and think of what response will delight the Lord and then composure will be the posture.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
~Galatians 2:20

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The Tehran Initiative (A Book Review)

So far I liked all the novel's from Rosenberg that I've read.  All are fast-paced action-packed political thrillers.  It's like reading something from Michael Crichton.

The Tehran Initiative is a fiction novel and sequel to the first The Twelfth Imam.  This book continues to follow David Sharizi's journey to unravel the twelfth imam's plot to destroy the world through war.  It shows three conflicting countries with differing beliefs and points of view.

I personally liked the first book more.  In reading trilogies (which this book is) the second book is often the least I like.  I find it less exciting than the first and last.  Anyway, The Tehran Initiative has suspenseful moments.  Will the nuclear devastation planned by the antagonist be stopped?  How will the characters and three main countries handle high pressure situations?  What will be the consequences of each action they take?

The secondary plot of this story is a love story.  Every now and then this gives the reader a break from all the politics and action.  But the love story, though it softens the plot, is also gripping.

This book concludes with a solution and then a cliffhanger.  The third book is called The Damascus Countdown which will be available later this year.

Have a blessed weekend!

♥

Reading List

1. Rediscovering Holiness 

J.I. Packer

2. The Tehran Initiative

Joel C. Rosenberg

3. Elijah 

Charles R. Swindoll

4. Now, That's a Good Question

RC Sproul

5. Bonhoeffer

Eric Metaxas